Use-ability

The period of enforced X-box abstinence continues and my latest attempt to ease the pain took the form of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for DS. I'm only a little way into the game so far, but have seen a startlingly comprehensive approach to all of the features of the Nintendo handheld. I've had to blow out flams, shout to get someone's attention, plot a ship's course using the touch -pad and - best of all so far - draw out the path of a boomerang's throw.

A sea-change in modes of interface has been the big selling point of the current generation of Nintendo consoles, and it is where this is most fully realised that the accompanying games have been most successful. As it stands perhaps only Zelda and Nintendogs have made this work on DS, and while other games (Animal Crossing, Mario KArt, Phoenix Wright) have been big, these two really stand out as full experiences.

Anyway, it's great and I just wanted to say that.