Why is it so Hard For me to Play DS Games?

I have a bit of a problem with DS games. As best as I can remember I have only ever completed one; Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs. Why have I only every completed one, solitary DS game? Scattered around my desks amid the coffee stains lay the cards for Scribblenauts, GTA, Dinosaur King and my R4. Unless I can work out what my problem is I’m worried my latest portable lover, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, will soon be joining them.

My first thought was that my R4, bought before they were cool, is to blame. Why pay and play just one game when I can hop on the net and instantly download the top 1,000? Every big game that comes out I can have in the palm of my hands within minutes.

Each game may cost £40 new but to me it’s free if I want it, and that’s a problem. I get no satisfaction from getting my money’s worth if there is no money being spent. If I buy a terrible game and I’ve paid money for it then I’m going to keep playing past the point where I want to stop, simply to feel like good value has been had. That’s the theory anyway.

I’m sure for most the idea that “free” equals “invaluable” holds up, but the more I think about it the less it applies to me. I’ve gotten free games and played them to death and I’ve equally paid large sums for a games and lost interest within the first half an hour (I’m looking at you Fallout 3). I also spent many years of my life gaming only on PC where there is an abundance of free titles out there, many of which I played relentlessly.

If it’s not the cost of the games, could it be the quality? Going back over the titles I can see from my vantage point above my keyboard, most of these games would turn into somewhat of a joke if brought up in conversation. They really aren’t up there with the greats.

However; I have a soft spot for crap games. I really did enjoy my time with Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs. I’ve spent hours playing poor flash games. I like to think I have a metaphorical itch for certain things within games and some titles, irrespective of their quality, scratch that. There’s also the notion that if the problem was something to do with quality, then my modest yet varied range of DS games would stop that being a problem.

Unless there is one common aspect to all DS games I’m forgetting. One overarching theme that connects them all and makes it hard for me to play. And there is; they’re all DS games. Obviously.

I just find it hard to play games on the DS. Not because they’re bad or have sense of worthlessness, and not because I don’t enjoy actually playing them. It’s also got very little to do with the act of playing the damn thing. For me the DS is not just a small console but it’s a very personal console. It’s a console I play in bed or in my favourite comfy chair; it’s the console I take with me on long journeys; it’s the console I play when I’m alone.

I’m completely out of practice playing a game by myself.

Add this new personal revelation to the understanding I like to stay connected and always up to date on what’s going on and I find the root of my problem.

Step one is accepting there’s a problem, step two is working to solve it. So, for the next 30 minutes I will lock myself away in the bedroom and play some Elite Squadron… right after checking Facebook and a quick round of Left 4 Dead 2.