Filed under: Fun, Games, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64
iDeaS Nintendo DS emulator updated, works well
by Lee Mathews Jan 8th 2009 at 5:00PM
My four year old son (not me, of course) can't get enough of the monochrome greatness that is our collection of old Gameboy cartridges. The Gameboy, however, has taken a dirt nap and he's had to learn to play them in VirtualBoy on my laptop.What about newer games? What if your DS happened to get crushed under a truck tire and you were left with a pile of games you couldn't play?
The iDeaS emulator's latest version would be one solution. With the release of v1.0.2.8 frame rates have improved greatly and several bugs have been fixed that make the emu extremely usable.
Of the half dozen roms I tested (all of which I own, of course), I didn't note any major issues. There were a few cutscenes that didn't render fully and some momentary choppiness, but nothing that made the games unplayable.
iDeaS worked nicely on both my systems, one running Vista Home Premium and the other with Ultimate x64.
It's a free download for Windows and should, of course, be used to play only roms of games that you own - not ones that you download from, say, Pirate Bay.
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
James said 5:28PM on 1-08-2009
I never really got the point of PC emulators of handheld systems. If I could do the reverse -- emulate non-portable consoles on a handheld -- I'd be all over that, but the best I can manage on that front is SNES games on my PSP. Don't get me wrong, that's awesome, but my original point stands: why would I want to play e.g. Phantom Hourglass on my PC when I could be playing Twilight Princess (or OOT) on the console that sits next to it?
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DiRT said 5:30PM on 1-08-2009
Generally speaking, it's because people don't want to pay for the system or the games.
Freezer said 6:05PM on 1-08-2009
Tried it. Pass. No$GBA is faster and much more stable.
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cheboncruz said 8:02AM on 1-09-2009
I agree, No$gba is better.
Alec said 8:08PM on 1-08-2009
DiRT, I disagree.. I am interested in some of the newer consoles, but grew up during the joystick days of game consoles and detest the D-Pad-type controllers. I'd much rather play a game with a programmable joystick, than the (in my opinion) 4-bit alternative that's the norm after Paystation.
Sometimes , the reason isn't because you're looking to get something for free.. sometimes it's because you have options with a PC that you don't have with a console gamepad.
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DiRT said 9:54AM on 1-09-2009
You just confirmed what I said. You don't want to pay for the hardware. Even though you want to play the games, you don't feel like using the system it comes on. That means, again, that you aren't willing to pay for the hardware.
DarkeSword said 2:15PM on 1-09-2009
Pretty sure all the controllers on home consoles these days have analog joysticks. Or, you know, you could get one of those fighter pads for games like SC or SFII.
James said 8:34AM on 1-11-2009
@Dirt: reading is fundamental! Dude was complaining about the controller options -- for all you know, he bought a DS and a bunch of games and stuffed them in a closet, then got the emulator.
@Alec: just because you run a DS emulator doesn't mean you're not going to have "4 bit" controls -- the game isn't magically going to move your character with finer control just because you're using a flight stick.
And to everybody else: I understand using emulators generally, like being able to play my SNES games without digging out my RF adaptor, and on a pad I like better than the original controller (like X-Arcade). But specifically portable-game emulators seem a bit pointless to me, since most portable games are designed specifically to be fun in smaller doses, when you're on-the-go. That was my original point.
steve1 said 2:44PM on 1-09-2009
[quote]You just confirmed what I said. You don't want to pay for the hardware. Even though you want to play the games, you don't feel like using the system it comes on. That means, again, that you aren't willing to pay for the hardware.[/quote]
Don't be stupid, he didn't say anything like that. I HAVE the hardware in my closet for example, and boxes of old games. That does not mean I wouldn't rather have easy access to the games on my PC or portable device rather than dragging all that old stuff out of the closet and hooking it up to my TV. So uh, maybe try getting off your soap box.
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Maniac said 1:23PM on 1-21-2009
It would be badass if a ds emulator was made... with the ability to link up to a wii that happens to be hooked up to your tv. Of course the computer would have to be hooked up to a wireless network, or the wii computer adaptor.
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