I'm in Seattle, Washington, and I've just spent over three hours playing Nintendo's DS system. I still have questions about the machine, but for the most part, I've received the answers that I was looking for. I spent some time inspecting the machine, chatted with reps, and I played over 10 games. The only question now is; do I like it, and after pondering this all day, have come to a simple answer: For the most part.

The system itself is a lot bigger than I'm used to (I just love my SP), but it's shed some weight since E3. Clam-shaped and stylish, the dual-screen portable is a lot more mature- looking and fun to tinker with. However, it has its fair share of pluses and minuses. As far as positives go, the system is much more than a simple gadget. True to its word, Nintendo is reinventing videogames and offering a unique experience you just won't find anywhere else. Games like Nintendo's WarioWare, Sega's Feel the Magic, and Yoshi's Touch & Go are games that are based on simple concepts, but with touch screen implementation are just a blast. It's not that these games are necessarily better than the top titles this fall, but it's the gimmick driving them that sets them apart from everything else. I've imagined playing Feel the Magic with a controller and the game doesn't seem as cool, but while poking scorpions with a stylus, you just can't help but grin the whole time. Of course, part of my joy is knowing that, in addition to the cool launch titles, there are a slew of potentially great games coming out for this thing. Viewtiful Joe, Advance Wars, and Mario Kart are but a few of the games that'll likely rock this hand held.

There's so much more that attracts me to the system. The carts (more like chips really), are truly amazing. The size of a U.S. gold dollar coin (but not as thick), it's cool that a game like Super Mario 64 DS (more on that later) is contained in such a small device. Speaking of small, the tiny holder for the stylus is nothing short of genius! It slides vertically into the back of the system, and all you have to do is just pop it out!

Also cool is the system's durability. I really made sure to press down hard with the stylus to see if I could scratch the screen, and while it's prone to smudges, any marks caused by that little piece of plastic are temporary. With a sweep of my thumb, they disappeared!

I'm also pretty psyched about the GBA backwards compatibility. Yeah, I wish I could pop in Ninja Gaiden for the old school Game Boy, but only being able to play GBA titles isn't a bad thing. With well over 500 available games for that platform, Nintendo's made sure the DS has an impressive library right off the bat, but that's not all they've done. They've continued the use of lithium ion batteries (which can provide between 6-10 hours of gameplay), added a headphone jack, and made both screens backlit. However, the coolest thing about the DS is its price. At $149.99, Nintendo's made the unit very affordable, and with the recent announcement that all Nintendo first party games will retail for $29.99, they definitely got my sale.

Unfortunately, along with all this cool stuff came some things I'm a little iffy on. For starters, the DS is pretty heavy, not in the sense that carrying it with a hand or in your back pack is going to be a chore, but since many of its games want you to hold the left side of it while controlling the characters onscreen using the touch pad (meaning your free hand), the 75% of the machine that's not being supported may hurt wrist. I'm also not that impressed with the touch screen's brightness, because for some odd reason, the top screen is a lot lighter than the bottom one.

In addition to that stuff, some of the games on display just don't make as good a use of the touch screen. Some use it just for the sake of using it, like for selecting options and text that could just as easily be accessed using the D-pad (and for most of these games you can use the D-pad if you wish), while others are trying to be innovative and user-friendly but come up short. I think the idea behind Ridge Racer is decent enough (a wheel is displayed on the touch screen and you need to spin it around), but it just doesn't feel right, at least not yet.

Finally, a few of the games aren't too impressive looking. You'll notice that some are just rehashes of older games while others look absolutely dreadful. While the DS is certainly capable of awesome-looking 3D graphics, booting up certain games only to find that I was seeing a PS1-looking game in my hand was extremely disappointing.

Thankfully, the system is more appealing than not, and that's because, for the most part, Nintendo has the games. WarioWare is amazing. Metroid Prime: Hunters is cool, and Super Mario 64 DS is simply astounding. Mario 64 is three games rolled into one and then some. Not only are we getting the N64 adventure, but they've added 30 new stars, the ability to play as different characters, new secrets, new power-ups, so many mini-games that I lost count, and the wireless multiplayer mode (which they weren't really showcasing today). It is THE killer app for the DS, and it'll probably sell at a 1:1 ratio with the system.

All things considered, I like the DS. I wasn't blown away by it, especially since I know that Sony's PSP hardware is more than capable of some amazing things, but Nintendo's really driving fun over processing power, and based on what I've played, I'm definitely having fun. Sure, the system's a little bulky, but it's got a lot going for it. Nintendo's really aiming high, and after sampling what they've put together, my head's been up in the clouds all day.