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The Nintendo DS has the potential to provide a great multiplayer experience and many developers have made good use of the device’s Internet connectivity. Fortunately, you don’t always need to have your buddies over to play; you can wirelessly battle players around the world using an internet connection via Nintendo’s Wi-Fi gaming service. We decided to run down the five best online-enabled DS games out there to help point you in the right direction when you feel like some multiplayer action. If you need assistance getting your DS online, Nintendo has you covered; this site will help you get started. Continue reading to find out which games we think offer the very best Internet multiplayer experience on the DS.

Mario Kart DS – Nintendo’s first take on online multiplayer gaming was a great success. Hop online and race up to three opponents on over a dozen tracks. You can Race against people from your friends list, worldwide opponents, or rivals of your own skill level. It takes just about two or three minutes to get a race started, with no lag or other problems the majority of the time. Wi-Fi Mario Kart is great fun and very addictive, even just racing against random players worldwide. Certainly one of the best Wi-Fi games out to date.

Clubhouse Games – It’s a shame this game is so overlooked, seeing all the online multiplayer features it provides. You can play against worldwide opponents in well over 30 different board or card games, including Darts, Bowling, Billiards, Blackjack, Chess, Hearts, a Battleship-like game, and many, many more. Up to seven players can join you on certain games, and you can send previously-set messages such as ‘Good Luck!’, ‘Nice!’, and ‘That was close!’, to give you a limited sense of long-distance communication. However, if you play against people from your friends list, you can send Pictochat-like messages with the stylus, with different colors to choose from. Clubhouse Games features the best variety available for Wi-Fi multiplayer gaming with lots of replay value.

Custom Robo Arena – Build your robot with a huge variety of weapons and artifacts and take it online to battle other players. Search for worldwide rivals of any skill or those close to your level. You play best-of-three matches of three minutes against a single opponent. If you play against people from your friends list you can voice chat with your opponent before and after a battle. Custom Robo Arena’s online features provide an exciting challenge that the game’s AI cannot match.

Metroid Prime Hunters – Multiplayer First-Person shooting action for your Nintendo DS. Play Deathmatch with up to three worldwide opponents in a variety of levels. If you have people on your friends list, you can play many different game modes and even voice-chat with them before and after matches. Metroid Prime Hunters is a very fun online game, offering a challenge to those looking for it.

Animal Crossing: Wild World – Build your own little town and invite your friends over. You can invite up to three friends at a time, and they can hang around on your town, buy items, bring you presents, or leave you messages. You too can visit a friend’s town and chat with them with an on-screen keyboard.

So far we have only scratched the surface of what online DS games can offer. Here are some tidbits on other online-enabled games:

Tetris DS – Online puzzle action. Play against worldwide rivals (up to three) in Standard Mode and Push Mode.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin – Open an online shop to sell your items, or fight alongside a random player on a co-op mode. (Read our review here).

Mario VS Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis – Build your own game levels and trade them with your friends, or download levels for you to play on.

Star Fox Command – Online dogfights against worldwide opponents and friends.

Diddy Kong Racing – More online racing for your Nintendo DS, for up to six players at once.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales – Engage on card battles against opponents or friends.

Many games soon to be released will also utilize online features, including the famous Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl for online Pokémon trades and battles, Planet Puzzle League for more online puzzle action, and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass which features online multiplayer, as well as many other games for different genres. It seems as if almost every highly-anticipated upcoming DS game will offer some form of internet connectivity, making the multiplayer future of the console look bright. ...