PC gaming on the DS

A strategy I never anticipated for the DS was to host a series of PC ports. I should probably call them "re-imaginings", though, because an initial inspection of Age of Empires DS reveals only a passing resemblance to its forebear. The game has been turned into a turn based strategy title, with battles looking like something out of Advance Wars as opposed to the RTS classics of yesteryear.

Strategy First followed this up with news that turn based franchises Disciples and Jagged Alliance would be available for the DS as well. Along with Age of Wonders, Disciples helped re-galvanize the weakened state of turn-based fantasy epics and secured a position in my catalogue of PC favorites.

On a similar note, Paradox announced last month that their turn-based Europa Universalis II would be available for the DS sometime in 2006, with seemingly little visual modifications.

Nintendo has always been known to capitalize on past successes, as any Gamecube or Gameboy Advance owner can tell you. Instead of simply re-releasing old games, however, developers will be taking advantage of the DS's interface. The buttons coupled with a stylus will attempt to mimic the mouse and keyboard, the PC gamer's requisite control scheme. With two screens at a player's disposal to display information, I can see these titles succeeding in concept, though what remains of the gameplay will be the ultimate deciding factor.

The trend continues in homespun ports, with agile programmers utilizing a growing number of DS development tools to get SCUMMVM running on the DS. I've only seen photos of The Secret of Monkey Island running - but that's enough to get the gears turning. I've said before that Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is easily one of my favorite games of all time; to think that I would be able to play it on the DS has me considering the purchase of a wireless network card to interface with my DS.

Based on my experiences with Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, the first person shooter is another genre that has the potential to broaden the DS's library. Case in point: Heretic DS. Forget for a moment that Heretic was a feeble attempt to recapture the success of Doom. The programmer responsible for the port has not only managed to get the game to run with both screens in operation, it appears that he has essentially copied the design concept of Metroid Prime Hunters. Do not think for a moment that the lack of an analog control stick somehow cripples the DS. When you realize that the touchscreen is an extension of the control pad the potential for this platform becomes perfectly clear.

he hands the drill to his son