by Eilidh Clark

Created on: October 04, 2010

The Nintendo DS is a handheld gaming console, approximately 20cm by 10cm, and less than 2cm deep. Its main feature is the use of dual screens: when the DS is open, you have one on the top half and one on the bottom. The lower screen is a touch screen, used in conjunction with the "stylus", a small plastic pen-like thing which you use to tap the screen. The DS also features several buttons which are also used in games, very similar to many other consoles.

My particular DS is a DS Lite - not a DSi or XL. It is a special edition Guitar Hero one, which has a silver top with the Guitar Hero logo on it. The bottom and inside are black.

The ease of use of the DS is of course often dependant on the game you are playing, however in general it is very easy. Many games use the touchscreen only, while many others use a combination of touchscreen and buttons. Not many use buttons only. The touchscreen is very responsive and easy to tap - a light tap is more than sufficient. The layout of the buttons are very similar to on the controllers of many other consoles, and so it is a familiar layout for those who use other consoles.

The DS is easy to hold. Most games are played in the standard set up of the DS, with one screen above the other, touchscreen and buttons at the bottom. However some games require the DS to be "flipped" onto its side, so it is held like a book (main examples are the Guitar Hero games and reading "games"). In both ways of holding the DS it is easy to use the touchscreen and the buttons. The stylus is stored in a recess accessed from the side of the DS, and is easy to get out but at the same time does not fall out when not in use.

Games are very small cartridges, and are inserted into a slot on the back of the DS. There is a slightly springy action to the slot, so that you feel a bit of resistance and then a click when you insert a cartridge, and when you remove one, it pops up a little. The cartridges are completely secure once inserted.

When you start up the DS using the small power switch beside the stylus recess on the side of the console, you are presented with a screen mentioning safety and asking you to tap the screen to move on. You then reach the menu screen of the DS, from which you load your game. From this screen you can also set the time and screen brightness - there are four brightness settings, the higher you choose the more battery it uses, but in all honesty I can't use the top two as they are simply too bright. On this menu screen you

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