DS experts we're new to this and can only afford 2 DS games for ds6's bday so what on earth should they be?

[MilaMae]

After 2 years of nagging we've relented and are pooling all his bday money and some of Xmas to get ds a ds. Consequently he'll only be getting 2 games so they have to be a success. There are 100s

He likes the look of that dalmation dog thing ? that roles over etc. The Lego ones,Bolt?

I thought the Mario Karts,Carnival fairground games,Sims wild animal thing(the new one with a bear on)????

What does your son love and what has been a success. Ds is a good reader,very computer literate and picks things up easily.

Also does the DS do anything than run these games that you buy on?

We're going for the cheaper older one,is that the right thing to do or should we get the newer one-we won't be replacing it for a long time.

Mario Kart has been THE game of the year for us both on Wii and DS. Any of the Lego games, but in particular Lego Star Wars has been a hit.

My dses are 8 and 5.

Look on ebay, they go for so much cheaper than in the shops.

You can also use gameboy advance games in a DS. The graphics aren't as great as with a DS game and you can only control it with the pad rather than the pen but you can pick those up for very little.

I'd go and get him 2nd hand games from gamestation if there is one near you or even from ebay just make sure they are a seller based in the UK.

Juat an idea - could you buy the second hand games? then you could maybe afford a couple more?

Go to somewhere like Gamestation or Computer Exchange (CEX) and buy the games secondhand. People get bored and sell on very quickly, and at 6 he's not going to be that worried about it being the latest thing.

Would agree with Mario Kart and any of the Lego games btw.

My ds is a little younger but his two favourite games are MarioCart and Advance Wars (the latter is a sort of strategy game a bit like chess). He does like the Lego website too so may get him a Lego game next - he has also played Lego Starwars on the Xbox and liked it.

Great idea!

Would we get our money back if they were faulty?

Any more recommendations?Mario and Lego seem to be the most popularso far. What is that dog thing like anybody got it?Is it a bit girly?

Also should we stick with the older one,don't want to have to replace it for the sake of spending more now,we'd end up spending more in the long run?

Many thanks all.

The games themselves are fairly indestructable but yes they would refund if faulty. Dh says gamestation often has 3 for £20 type deals and that our Tesco is selling them at a good price at the moment new.

Buy an R4. It is around £18 and can be loaded up with games for free. Slightly immoral I suspect but it has saved us and our bank balance.
If buying an DSi you need the R4 that is compatible with the latest software update.

Slightly immoral and given that the free games you download are pirated, very illegal. (Not to say we haven't got any whistles innocently but probably only fair to point out)

Should clarify actually. R4's aren't illegal in themselves, but the pirated games are

could buy a multi game cartridge from these people www.nds-multi-games.com/ which will give him lots of choice

we bought from them for ds and got custom catridge of 100 games, out of 100 games only 2 didnt work, excellent value for money (but illegal......)

i have some games i dont want any more if your interested

mario world
mario kart
indiana jones lego
over the hedge
crash boom bang

we have the older console for ds it is much more sturdier we got it for 35 on ebay it really withstands a lot more then the ds lite you only ever really see faulty ds lites on there not the old ones which have stronger shell

Definitely Mario Kart my 7 yo DD loves it. Batman or Starwars lego as well. Second hand games are excellent value.

mario kart , mario party, cars

If you are planning on erm, borrowing games of the internet, don't get a DSi, just the ordinary DS.

that www.nds-multi-games.com/ site is a rip-off. the marginal cost of extra games to them is basically zero, cos they're all pirated. So how come they charge £60 for 100 games on a 4GB card and £40 for 50 games on a 4 GB card?

If you're going to pirate games, DIY

you can play pirated games with the DSi, you just have a more restricted choice of pirate chips. The DS is easier though.

someguy, know they charge for loading the the games for you, but I cant be bothered working out what equipment is needed, how to download games, which sites to use and spending time doing it myself

so for me worth the money..........

Actually with the DSi you can use a 32g card which gives you a massive amount of choice.

And it is just as easy to use, if not easier than the DS, All you need to do is make sure you have the right R4 for your software version.

Oh sorry I must have got dud information about the DSi. As you were

Lindax, I guess so, it's not difficult though.

I'm not terribly impressed by their idea of top 100 games:

www.nds-multi-games.com/100_games_deluxe.html

Those ATV games are shite, as are many of the others.

I would avoid those 'pet the dog' type games personally.

There's a list of DS games by score order here:

www.metacritic.com/games/ds/scores/

I would recommend:

Mario Kart
Legend of Zelda
Advance Wars - 2 games (this is an army strategy game so is best for older boys)
Elite Beat Agents
New Super Mario Bros
Mario & Luigi Partners in Time
Dragon Quest V
Kirby Power Paintbrush
Dragon Quest Heroes
Sonic Rush
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
the Phoenix Wright series (start from the beginning) then Apollo Justice
Bomberman Land Touch
Final Fantasy III

You can find 'rom packs' by searching on piratebay....

yes 32gb card is a good idea as 8GB doesn't actually go that far, BUT the DSi has recently had an updated designed to brick the R4 card. Lots of people now have useless R4 DSi cards.

The DS is pretty much trouble free in that there is a choice of mature and tested pirate chips to use.

mario world i meant new super mario bros

There is a new R4 out which has a patch to get round the block, hence my post saying you need to make sure you have the right R4 for your software version. It came out last week, we have it.