So I just played a Nintendo 3DS

[WhoKnows_WhoCares]

I'm sitting at a train station while awaiting my train home. Today I attended an 'invite only' preview event for the latest handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS. How did I get an invite? Well I have connections...

Anyway I thought I'd post my thoughts now while I had a moment and they were fresh in my head. So what do I think about the 3DS?

Wow!

When they say you have to see it in order to see it they ain't kidding. The nearest (and only) thing I can compare it too is playing the PS3 in 3D... Only you dont need special glasses at all. It works perfectly. not, it's kind of like 3D or it's not the same as the cinema... Exactly.

Ok, so it fails a little in places but that's due to the games. The 'Winner' notice in Dead or Alive: dimensions is way off and looks terrible, but thats more to do with the echo effect on it that anything else. Street fighter's map screen looks a bit blurred to.

Zelda rocks though, as does kid iccurus (though it takes a while to get used to the control scheme). Rabing rabbits (a game i've never been into) is great with awesome effects (especially when you die)

So yeah, if you get a chance to try this system, do... You really need to experience it before you buy it.

I'll do s bit more detailed 'review' later... Got to go get my train now

[Pikachu3828]

Oh wow so you succeeded in getting an invite then

I think my biggest question is does the 3D actually make a noticeable difference to the gameplay experience or is it simply another gimmick like some people argue motion control is?

[WhoKnows_WhoCares]

That is a damn good question sir, one i'm not sure i can answer - i think the best one i can give is yes and no...

While there is no game that is required to play in 3D, so the effect isnt needed to actually enjoy the game, Games like Zelda and Resident Evil: Mercineries, the added depth does help out... its like there's a bit extra giving in to that bit of your brain that says 'that thing is getting closer to you now'

I guess its kind of like playing Xbox with headphones in rather than just playing through the TV. The headphones (especially ones like turtlebeaches and steelseries) give a sort of surround sound effect, you know what's left and what's right more with them on - its not needed to play the game at all and it doesnt increase your playing ability much, but it does immerse you a bit more into the game. Its the same with the 3D i experianced - you can turn it off and enjoy it just as much, but it just adds that little extra immersion.

Full review/breakdown later - i need to eat!

Edit, because as a mod i should never double post:

Ok, here's my full break down of the 40 minutes i got to spend at the Nintendo 3DS preview event.

First up was a little 'history of nintendo handhelds' - ok, this was more just the waiting area while everyone was registered but it had this cool touch screen floor. you stood on it and it put a couple of squares under your feet where ever you moved, and when someone else stood on it, it connected both of you by lines... we got about 15 people on it going round in a circle and it looked crazy awesome. After that we moved into the first 'presentation area'

It sounds kind of cheesy when you hear about it, but i see why this was done - if you think about it, 3D is about getting you 'into the games' - so when we walked through to see a guy looking like ryu from street fighter, we were pretty cool with it... then out came ken and they had a fight - it was kind of cool.

next area we were thrown into groups of about 6 or 7. i managed to end up in the first group so we had no idea what was going on when we headed through to the next area. we barely got 10 feet when the guy at the end, who we all thought was just another event staff memeber... then he yelled "everybody get down on the floor, Now!" - so we all had to crouch down, but why, we all thought, then he explained "my name is chris redfield..."

I'll give these guys credit, Chris looked the part, and so did clare who joined us (who if that wasnt a profesional job would win any cosplay competition) - they explained we needed to move through a zombie area quickly on her word... and so we did - but the zombies werent just there to go 'argh' - they grabbed... one caught my leg at the begining and one at the end snagged the bag of the guy in front of me...

Finally though the 'putting you in the game' sections, we get a brief preview video of all the games coming - i forgot about the likes of mario kart and solid snake was announced (and that solid snake was renamed to have the snake eater tag - a version of MGS3 on a hand held? awesome, even if i dont personally like the series)

15 minutes it took to finally get to the demo pods. we were told we'd have 20 to play (we ended up with 25 before we got kicked out.) I walked in a direction and ended up with street fighter 4 first... one of 3 i had wanted to play when i got here. Handles great, especially with the quick commands on the touch screen. the map screen looked a little weird to me, but i wasnt truly looking at it... i also skiped the story modes opening animation, match start and end animations as well, so i dont know how well the 3D works on them.

After a couple of matches that demo ended so i went looking for something else, and found Resident Evil Mercineries - well i am here to try things, even games i didnt want to play... its actually a good game (and the shot gun is beast in it) - took a while to figure out the control scheme but i guess that's what insturcion manuals and training demos are for. this was the first chance to truly try the annalgue pad as well... responds great, exactly as you'd expect it should.

DOA Dimentions is a game you really need to know the controls in advance - i didnt... still got moves off though... thank team ninja for button bashing. as i've already said, the winner symbol looks strange, but that's because of the echo effect they tried to put on it, which in 3D makes it look ugly... sort it out TN.

At this point i went to find zelda, another on my 3 must play list. Looks so good... This point i tried the 3D slider, looks good even without the 3D on it... Its a nice little feature which, for all these games that dont require 3D to play fully, it could be good if your eyes start straining over the 3D. As for Zelda i noticed a couple of interesting things, like dropped items seem to be more noticable when they're lying on the floor... like they're shiny or sparkly or something.... oh and navi is still annoying as ever.

So after having a go at Zelda i went and played the 3rd game on my must play list, Kid Iccurs. Control scheme takes some getting used to (and i know Starfox will probably use the same scheme) - Basically you move Kid around the screen using the anolouge pad, but you aim your attacks using the touch screen (using the shoulder button to fire). I found it funny when medusa pops up to gloat shes back in the first level... "it must have been 24 years since the last time" - i love in jokes! Didnt get much play time on this, we were ushered into the altered reality section (Which was closed off for the first half of our demo section), which we would be eventually ushered out of the session from.

So in the altered reality section i was hoping to see some camera stuff, maybe try that face raiders thing... instead i stumbled upon raveing rabbits... basically a platform game but the 3D is used well. All the platforms stand out, so you know what you can jump on or not, and when you die, the rabbit slams into the screen, shattering it (which then falls to pieces) - used very well. its not a game i would have though about getting but now i dont know if i will or not... one i'll look at properly later i think.

While playing those darn rabbits, i struck up a convo with the event staff on that both. She was asking what i thought about the system, about how i think it will do and all that. I had said that its great they're showing off all the system can do, that's cool... but if they dont do good stuff with them later on in games, it will end up like the wii's motion control which is now a glorified wiggle left and right. She started talking about more of the altered reality stuff, like face raders, which should prove that games companies will use this well - since i've see this all go down before, i can doubt that remark for a year or two, then we'll see what's being made. She did, however, mention a game/feature than had a card placed on the table (i think playing card, but dont quote me) - the 3DS then took a shot (or video) and then displayed this card in 3D on the screen... sounds a bit like it could be used for an eye of judgmet on ps3 type game to me... would work awesome on Pokemon TCG if that's how it works. unfortunatly, as i went looking for this next (as it did sound interesting) we were told that it was time to leave. Since i wasnt playing anything at the time, i wouldnt be able to try anything else so i had to leave... a shame too - 20 minutes on 6 games is no where near enough time...

If i get another opertunity to play this system before March 25th i will do - and i recomend that if any tour heads near them to go and try this system... it is definatly something you need to look at yourself before deciding if it is indeed worth the hype... personally, even without the 3D this is going to be a great console (awesome graphics, Streetpass, improved DSi demo/download games shop to name a few things) - but that is a personal oppinion and you need to judge for yourselves.

[Ryan659]

That sounds awesome, particularly some of the 3D effects. Shame me (being someone who physically can't see 3D effects like that) will have to resort to the 3D being left off, but...eh. It's the game that matters, anyway.

[Zohne]

I skipped over my birthday present this year to get a 3DS. I guess you could say it will be a late birthday present. I still need to preorder it though.

[pikalover1234]

Hey y'all. I have the 3DS in my hands, so if you have any questions, just ask. Also, my Friend Code for my 3DS is 3136-6637-0716. It's a cut above my DSi that's for sure.

[MollyDJmaster]

I hate you all *Goes and sulks in corner*

I want one so bad!

[teamgalactic2]

Have you played Pokémon Black or White on it?

[WhoKnows_WhoCares]

yes, but there's nothing special, works the same as it does on a DSi