Since I started reviewing games in a semi-professional manner I’ve avoided reading other reviews until I have written my own but in this case I’m happy I made an exception. I just read a review on a reputable online game site in which the author skimmed over the quality of books on offer and focussed on what they viewed as poor functionality and ultimately awarded this with a laughable score of 4/10. It’s at times like this, when I have the opportunity to offer an alternative view, that I’m most passionate about writing reviews.

I feel the need to point out that this is not a “game” and the very fact that such a statement is required indicates that perhaps not every gamer is ready for this. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that anyone who bashes this collection because it isn’t a game probably doesn’t read many books in the first place. This is made all the worse when the blind leads the blind and in the case of the review I mention above the author writes, and I quote, “books based on successful musicals (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera)”. This level of ignorance was painful to read and just as painful to reproduce.

It has been suggested that it’s difficult to read the text on the DS screen and I can tell you now that I had no such problem. There are two settings for the size of text but I found the default size to be perfect, I had no issues following the stories, and I certainly didn’t have to reread any lines. There is an option of playing background music which I don’t use and I’m not going to waste your time going over this in detail as the choice neither adds nor detracts from this collection.

There is a suggestion that this isn’t a great collection because you can read e-books in a similar manner using the iPhone but in order for this argument to hold any weight sales of the iPhone would need to closely rival sales of the DS and that’s simply not the case. I’m sure someone out there can provide more detailed figures but, based on numbers released in February of 2009, around 1 Million iPhones have been sold in the UK while in the same region DS sales are around 9 Million. The iPhone is a much more expensive piece of equipment and currently does not, nor will it ever, have anywhere near as many units in the hands of consumers so to put forward the iPhone as a good alternative is ludicrous.

Prepare yourself for the LONG list of classic books included in this collection!

This “does exactly what it says on the tin” and offers a wonderful collection of classic books. Since the DS appeals to all age-groups and backgrounds, unlike the iPhone which is predominantly used by more tech-savvy individuals, I see this as the perfect way to present these texts to a large number of people. The importance of libraries, not least of which the quiet atmosphere and the often unspoken unity amongst visitors, is hard to question but even the most fervent reader should agree that it matters little how these books are read as long as they are being read.

This collection will set you back just £20, working out at an incredible 20p for each book, and if this had been around while I was studying English at University I would have saved myself so much money. I like to end reviews with a small section on whom I’d recommend the item to and I am sorry if “everyone” seems too vague but I really believe that this title should sit proudly in every DS collection. This is a ridiculously cheap collection of classic books and with the added convenience in storage and portability this really is a must-have title and I can only hope that a second collection is released. Buy. Read. Enjoy.

10/10

Other TTB Posts Like This One

• Review: Style Boutique (DS)
• Review: G-Force (DS)
• Review: GI Joe: Rise of Cobra (DS)
• Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DS)
• Review: Junior Brain Trainer (DS)