Nintendo DSi First Impressions

So i finally got my DSi after it arrived 5 days late.
I’ve only spent an hour with it, but first impressions count and i am impressed with it.
First of all i got the black colour version and it looks oh so sweet.
One of the things that struck me about the DSi is it kinda feels abit rubbery unlike the DS Lite, which gives it a much better grip.
The screens are noticeably larger which makes it all the more better.
I turned it on and then you have to set up your DSi.
The usual things.
Country
Username
D.O.B
Personal Message
All very easy. Once you get past all that you will see that the DSi has a menu now where you can access it’s different channels. Much like the Wii.
First thing i did was head to the DSi shop. The system needed updating which then allowed me to configure my wi-fi settings. Again all very easy to do and the update took about 2 mins to download.
When that had finished i then had to link my DSi to my club nintendo account and then i wa able to access the store. Which after i had done this i was given my free 1000 points. What i liked about the store on first glance was the music it played which is just like the one that is played on the Wii Shopping Channel.
I didn’t really take time to look at the different titles available on DSiWare at the moment because i’ve already read reviews on them and there is nothing that takes my fancy at the moment, so i went straight to downloading the free web browser. Now heres where things go abit downhill. The browser is slow, very slow and has trouble displaying webpages with alot of information in them. First page i tried was Facebook. I got to the login screen easily enough but then after i logged in i got an error message saying there was not enough memory to display the page properly. This was a problem ign talked about, so for all your facebook addicts out there, don’t bother trying to use it through your DSi. Next i obviously tried to get onto Gamemanx and SUCCESS!!!!! i was able to get on and look through the forums which even displayed pics that have been posted, but Youtube videos will not work on the DSi as i was told it doesn’t have a plugin which supports it. Gay i know.
Oh and i also wasn’t able to listen to the podcasts lol.
So even though i was gutted about facebook at least i know i can check out the greatest gaming site on the internet through my DSi if i’m out and about and i’m in a Wi-Fi spot.
Next it was time to try out the cameras and i was surprised at how clear they were. The room i tried it out in has alot of light in it so that was an added bonus but i doubt the cameras will work in the dark considering there is no flash. So bright light is essential. I check out a few of the camera features, like being able to distort them etc. It was kinda fun. My little niece was more impressed by it though, whereas it’s nothing that i can’t do with the camera on my phone, but you know i guess it’s nice to have just to play about with.
Well i think it’s about time we tried a game.
I popped in GTA China Town Wars and the game looks even better than when i was playing it on the older system. The DSi is supposed to be abit brighter and i could tell that it did the game alot of good. The graphics looked abit more vibrant and colourfull and the bigger screen sizes again just made the whole experience alot more enjoyable. Then i switched over to Chrono Trigger, and the same again. Game looks alot better than on the old systems, so i was very pleased.
Well thats about all the time i have spent with it at the moment.
Like i said, first impressions count and i was impressed.
I think the DSi has alot of potential through the games that can now be made to take advantage of the cameras but thats all up to the developers to exploit that feature.
Is it worth picking up if you already own a DS Lite? Hmmmmmmm i’m not sure as of yet. Obviously the GBA slot has gone so if you are a person who still plays their GBA games then i would suggest not to buy one. Not unless they bring the Virtual Console to the system and let us download GBA, Snes and NES games. If they do that then i will be very happy.
I think you really need to weigh up the Pros and Cons of the system before you make your purchase. For me, i am very happy with it. I didn’t own a DS before and with me not having any GBA catridges as i got rid of them all years ago then i have no reason to complain about the lack of the GBA slot.
I can now start building my DSi game library.