The 4 Best Nintendo DS Games

This article will list the top 4 Nintendo DS games. Keep in mind that these are simply the author's opinion, and that others may not share the same opinion. All of these games were released for the original DS, and are highly entertaining and relatively easy to find in gaming stores.

This is a port of the second AoE game for the PC, but does differ slightly. While the PC game is a RTS game, meaning that actions happen in real time, the DS game is turn based, and players take turns moving and attacking with units. The style of the game stays true to the PC version, though the amount of options open to the player are somewhat limited in comparison. However, in terms of a DS game, there are many more options, and a lot more replay value, than most other games. The controls feel quite natural, and you won't ever find yourself making a mistake when it comes to moving or attacking with your units. The campaign allows for quite a bit of gameplay, but the endless replay value comes from the skirmish mode, where certain matches can take hours to complete. Special units and other unlocks can be purchased with money earned from playing the campaign or by playing skirmishes. There are 5 different civilizations that players can choose from: the Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, and Japanese, each with their own art style and unique units. There are over 65 units in the game, allowing for varied combat situations and an ever-changing battlefield.

This DS game is the mobile version of the Nintendo 64 classic 007 game. The campaign is difficult and fun to play, and will take you roughly ten hours to complete - maybe longer depending on the difficulty and skill level of the player. The real value of this game, just like its predecessor, is the multiplayer. You can play with up to seven other players wirelessly off of just a single card. There are a number of different gametypes you can choose to play - from Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Domination (control different points on the map until your timer reaches 0), and Tug of War (Move a bomb to the opponents base three times to win). The large amount of maps, and the ease in which you can play with friends, makes this game probably the best multiplayer game on the DS (minus Pokemon, but that's coming up).

While the entire Pokemon series is arguably the most popular video game series in the world, the DS versions have made a number of improvements. While the newer Pokemon are not as popular as the classics, the dual screens make it a lot easier to fight battles and access your inventory or manage your team on the fly. The gameplay has stayed relatively similar to the very first Pokemon games, but newer moves, Pokemon, items, characters, and locations have freshened up the series at every new release. Many classics are even being rereleased, as we have seen with SoulSilver and HeartGold. Black and White 2 are said to be coming out next year, and are sure to add even more to the series. Pokemon has the highest replay value of any DS game (getting all of your Pokemon to level 100 takes a while, and catching every Pokemon will take a fair bit of time as well), but is also quite fun to play and has an entertaining story.

Mario Kart was first released in 1992 for the Super NES. There are actually two DS versions, one for the DS and another for the 3DS, Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart DS is a classic DS game and has a high replay value due to the competition that comes from trying to improve your times constantly and beating your friends times either through online play or by sharing a DS. The singleplayer gamemodes can get boring after a while, but Time Trial, where you try your best to race your ghost and set a new time, as well as Balloon Battle - try to pop your opponents balloons before yours are popped - and Shine Sprites - collect the most sprites, as the one with the least is eliminated after every lap - make the game last a lot longer and gives players a break from just racing or doing missions. You can easily sink over 100 hours of gameplay into Mario Kart DS, and it is a must have for any DS owner.