Mad Catz DS Starter Kit Pro Review (DS Accessories)

£12.99 from Dixons.

Bought protective stuff for my new DS over the weekend, in the form of a Mad Catz DS Starter Kit Pro (as you may have guessed from the post title). It comes with a squishy/hard foam rubber zippered case (made of “EVA” apparently), a metal stylus, 4 DS game cases, 4 GBA game cases, a wrist strap for the case and a car charger.

Stylus: The metal stylus is nice. Locks into the stylus slot on the DS very securely.

Everything else is kinda cheap and plasticky but it does the job.

DS Case: The case would be pretty good if it didn’t smell quite so strongly of synthetic rubber, but I’m hoping that will pass. It provides good enough protection that I can just sling it in my rucksack without worrying about damage and that’s all I wanted anyway. Also fits two extra DS games with cases plus a GBA game without a case although it’s rather snug. Doesn’t have Nintendo DS plastered on the outside in big letters, which is a bonus.

Update 9th Jan 06: The case smell calmed down after a couple of weeks – it’s probably all been absorbed into my skin. No adverse side-effects yet!

DS Game Case: The DS cartridge cases protect the exposed metal bits of DS games very well but don’t quite grip them properly so the games leap out at you when you open them, with potential for great havoc if you’re changing games in public. They feel cheap but haven’t fallen open by themselves yet, so good enough for protection.

GBA Game Case: The GBA cases are pretty much the same but thankfully don’t spit the cartridges out when you open them. They also have a clip to hold them closed so no chance of them falling open. Again, does the job.

Car Charger: I don’t have a car so haven’t used the car charger. It fits the DS nicely though, so shouldn’t cause damage or fall out. Has a little power LED on it too, so you know when it’s plugged in properly.

In summary: Cheap and cheerful. Nice stylus.