GameRating

It’s amazing to think that a little less than 20 years ago, the gaming public were being wowed by a console about the same size as a small brick which could play Tetris in full black-and-white, on no less than six double-A batteries. Fast forward to 2011, and it’s even more amazing to think that we’re now able to play fully 3D games on a device about half that size (although battery technology doesn’t seem to have improved that much - more on that later).

This is Nintendo’s 3DS, the long awaited successor system to the monumentally popular DS, which was released a little over six years ago. The 3DS carries over many of the features of the previous iteration - dual screens, a touch sensitive lower panel and the DSi’s cameras - but adds possibly the boldest and most revolutionary feature on a handheld to date - glasses free stereoscopic 3D. So, without further ago, let’s get started...

The 3D

How good is it? It depends.

As long as you are viewing the screen at a non-extreme angle, the effect is sustained rather well - but it’s all about finding that “sweet spot” where the effect is in perfect focus. If you shift too far left or right, the screen becomes impossible to view clearly and the effect is distorted quite severely. This means that playing whilst traveling in a car, for example, is all but out of the question. Luckily though, Nintendo has implemented a slider to the right of the screen which can be used to adjust the intensity of the effect, or even turn it off completely - a welcome addition.

When it does work, the effect is quite simply magical. The 3D isn’t the kind you might be used to at the cinema - the small size of the screen means that the effect it creates is more about adding depth to the image in front of you, rather than having things fly out of the screen at you. Some games, like Ridge Racer 3D for example, do make use of this to some degree however, with confetti popping out of the screen at you - it’s very cool. 

It’s difficult to explain on paper how well it works, because the simple truth is that it’s something that has to be seen to be believed - and that makes it very difficult to judge. It probably not something you may think is a necessary addition in games, and in some ways this is true, but the fact that Nintendo have managed to pull it off and implement it into a mass market product is an achievement in itself. The 3DS definitely has the “wow” factor, and I have no doubt that it will sell well because of it.

The Hardware

As with most first generation Nintendo products, the 3DS is definitely more about the technology inside it, rather than exterior style. 

The 3DS is a chubby, heavy piece of kit that, whilst feeling solid, also feels incredibly plastic-y. To make matters worse, Nintendo decided that they would release the 3DS in a disgusting metallic turquoise colour which makes the console look more like a naff 80’s Doctor Who prop rather than a cutting edge piece of tech. All is not lost, however - the console is also available in black, which looks much, much better.

Nintendo have wisely added a “circle pad” which is reminiscent of the analog stick on the PSP - however, this one is made from rubber and is the perfect size to be fully usable. Nintendo has wisely chosen to include a d-pad as well, which is positioned below the circle pad. Further improvements come in the form of face buttons which have an added clickyness which gives the controls a much more solid feel.

The Battery

One word - dismal. On a single charge I managed a paltry 2 hours and 45 minutes with full brightness, full volume and 3D turned all the way up. Ok, so it’s understandable that the 3D technology will be a battery drainer, but if the only way to get decent battery life is to turn off the system’s main feature, then what’s the point? The only consolation I can give is that Nintendo have wisely chosen to include a charging dock with every console - think of an iPhone dock that you simply drop the system on to charge it and you’ve got it. In order to get the most out of a 3DS, you’ll have to be dropping it into the dock pretty frequently to charge, so forget playing this on long flights.

Software

Much like the DSi, the 3DS includes a suite of media functions which, whilst basic at best, offer decent functionality to make use of the included 2GB SD card - a good move by Nintendo. Included is a photo viewer, a barebones MP3 player and some fun distractions, like a Mii creator which attempts to recreate your face and transfer it into an avatar - although the results are more comical than accurate, partially due to the pathetic 0.6 megapixel VGA cameras used on the 3DS (one on the front and two on the back to take some rather impressive 3D pictures).

There are also two rather fun augmented reality games included, which utilise the systems gyroscope and cameras to superimpose virtual gameworlds into the real world - FaceRaiders is a classic arcade style shoot-em-up which plays a bit like a kiddie friendly version of Time Crisis, whilst the most impressive but unassumingly named AR Games takes some bundled AR cards, which, when focused on, turn into mini golf courses, volcanos and even giant walking robots. It’s incredibly cool to see your desk turn into a battlefield, and the 3D effect makes it all seem oddly believable!

Closing Thoughts

In all honesty, I’d say that the 3DS feels like it has been released too early in order to get into the marketplace before Sony’s NGP. The lineup of launch games, whilst decent, has no killer titles at all, and is disappointedly already filled with shovelware (like Asphalt 3D, which honestly looked better on the 59p iOS version).

What you are buying with the 3DS, though, is potential. Lots of potential. Future releases look stunning - Mario 3DS, Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil: Mercenaries to name a few - and, more excitingly, movie studios have already announced they are going to be bringing full 3D movies to the 3DS via download and cartridge, which is incredibly exciting.

I’d hold out until the inevitable 3DS lite is released instead of purchasing a system now - expect better battery life and a more slender form factor to be included. The 3DS is a classic, first generation Nintendo system. It’s badly designed, heavy and has terrible battery life but it’s unique selling point of glasses free 3D crucially works, and it works well. 

And that is why the future for the 3DS is looking very, very bright indeed.