DSi XL Deus ex, the revenge: Xtreme; origins. Or my DSi XL review
By GuardianKnux 5 Comments
While at first glance you might look at the DSi XL as just a large DSi... and you would be right of course. But is that really a bad thing?
To be honest when I first heard about the XL I literally laughed out loud. "So your going to make a new DS, twice the size as the last one you just recently came out with, and not upgrade or ad anything new to the system? But why!?" In short, old people. Japanese old people to be specific. Apparently Nintendo is not content just with turning our moms into a "casual gamers," they have to go after our grandmothers too! The only problem? Granny cant see so well now a days . Hence the DSi Xtra large! At least I assume that's what the XL stands for, then again they never officially said that DS stood for Duel Screens did they?
All that aside what comes out of the package is pretty standard fair. Big DS? Check! Very large multi lingual instruction manual? Check! Full sized not-stylus pen? Whaaaa!? That's right, Nintendo packed in a same-color-as-system pen in addition to the slightly larger then normal stylus. I'd tell you more about the not-stylus but being that it's not attached to the DS like the stylus is, I immediately lost it the first day I got my XL. I swear it's around here somewhere. Other then the pen though, it's the same as a DSi.
Now I'm going to be honest with you, yes this system will just barely fit in your pocket, It did mine anyway, but this is no longer a portable gaming machine. In the sense that it can be moved easily form one place to another yes ok, it technically IS still portable, but I dare you to walk around in public playing on this monstrosity and not feel awkward or embarrassed. However I'm just fine with it being non portable. Personally I don't play games on the go. If I'm out somewhere it's because I'm shopping, eating, working, or hanging out at one of my friends house. I don't play games during any of these activities, except when hanging at a friends place, but even then I'm playing in a home next to a TV anyway so that doesn't count!
Now do you remember Pokemon stadium for the N64? (Trust me this will tie in soon) Remember the little dongle that came packaged with the game that let you hook up your gameboy copy of Pokemon Red or Blue? Well besides allowing you to transfer your Pokemon back and forth from gameboy to 64 it also let you play your Red or Blue version on the TV with your 64 controller. I would play Pokemon for hours like this, and every time my brother or parents saw me doing so they would always say the same thing. "Why don't you just play on your gameboy? You can take it anywhere. Go outside or to your room, quit hogging the TV!" But why would I want to do that? I'm in an air conditioned house sitting in a comfy chair playing a great game.
That is exactly how I feel about the DSi XL. I always play my handheld games inside in my extremely comfortable chair anyway. Why not let me play on a larger screen? Also, unlike Pokemon stadium where the screen would be all stretched out and, lets face it awful looking, the XL screen is just shy of being twice the size of the DS lite, all the while looking sharp and crisp. The only way to appease me more would be to add functionality like the PSP Go, on which you can hook it up to your TV and also use bluetooth to connect a PS3 controller to the Go, allowing you not only more solid feeling controls, and not only the comfort of having a non cricked neck from looking down for hours, but also a kings crown for making an already lazy activity even lazier. Wishes aside, the XL is a fine piece of hardware, and if you don't already have a DSi you might want to pick this not so little guy up.
Pros:
A crisp looking large screen.
Longer lasting battery life.
All the functionality of the DSi.
Makes some precision games just a little bit easier.
Nice wight to it, heavy enough to make it feel solid, but not to heavy to make your arms tired of holding it.
Cons:
A little pricey, coming in at $189 msrp. Although many retail stores offer deals if you trade in old DS hardware.
Not a wide selection of colors. Only two for now.
Feel like a dumbass for buying it when one week before its release Nintendo announces the next DS