The Nintendo DSi XL has finally made its way over to the US and brings it big screen badness. Even with the larger screens is the Nintendo DSi XL a worthy buy with all the current DS models out? Check out the full review inside.
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Hardware
The Nintendo DSi XL is a large “bigger younger brother” to the rest of the DS lineup and takes most of its specs from the DSi which was released last year. The main new feature is the 93% bigger screen it has compared to the screen you normally get with the Nintendo DS. The screens measure out to 4.2in diagonally and will provide you with more space for viewing content on the device and also playing games that require a lot of stylus actions and/or RPG or strategy games which require many items to be shown on the screen at once. The device comes with the same resolution cameras that the DSi has and there is no GBA slot at all which is kind of weird considering the size of the device but that’s why the DS Lite is still around. It has a nice finish on the top with a matted finish around the rest of the device. The device is definitely heavier than previous DS models and isn’t going to just drop right in your pocket as this is not meant for that. The hardware is up to par with Nintendo standers.
Software
The software is pretty much the same from the DSi model.There isn’t much difference in here except for a few minor tweaks in the browser interface and in the camera section. The web browsing is still slow and won’t always fully render pages with rich content. There is currently no way to transfer DSiware games purchased on the original DSi to the new DSi XL. Nintendo needs to get some sort of online registration and user ID so it will track your purchase history and allow you to re download when you get a new device. Other than that the software is pretty much the same.
Games
Games look great on the bigger screens and allow you to take in more of how the game looks than it ever has before.Playing The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks on it show no major issues and even looked better than before. The DSi XL has access to the DSi Shop to download DSiWare games to further extend your gaming experience.
Conclusion
Overall the device is solid and has all the same features that the DSi had in the past but in a bigger scale. The larger screens to play games just make it that much more of an enjoyable. The hardware is solid, the software is great and the overall package is great in the way its presented. For some that still have the original DS its time to upgrade right away. For those that have a DS Lite or a DSi this is going to be a lateral upgrade for most of you but for the DS Lite owners you get a chance to play DSiWare games if you upgrade at the expense of losing your GBA slot. The DSi XL is a great addition to the Nintendo DS Lineup.
Choose your DSi XL Below
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