[Review] Nintendo 3DS
The consensus opinion on 3D has been mixed at best. You have those that find the technology an added boost to the visual experience a film provides and others that hate wearing those damn glasses. Last year saw retailers bring on an onslaught of home theater upgrades into the 3D realm as well as seeing the tagline “In 3D” at the end of seemingly every movie trailer and now we are seeing it in gaming. Though 3D gaming on consoles is in it’s infancy stages there looks to be a clear front runner that comes as an unlikely champion in a very small package.
The Nintendo 3DS will instantly shock and make you a believer in where 3D technology will go in the very near future. For now, what it does give us is a way to experience 3D gaming without those damn glasses. And yes, the 3D is not a gimmick, it does look and work how 3D does in a theater or at home with some clever manipulation of the image on screen (only in the top screen on the device). The user has the ability to increase or lower the depth perception of the image on screen with a slide bar on the device itself going from standard 2D into 3D. Setting the slider up halfway or more in 3D mode will bring the user directly into the action of the game and gives it another level of depth that is astounding to say the least. The type of 3D seen here is more immersive, bringing the user into the 3D world as opposed to seeing a movie (wearing glasses) and having images and objects appear to move forward towards you. It’s something that needs to be seen and experienced rather than explained.
Street Fighter IV is a MAJOR stand out in what the 3D effect does to change the perspective on an entire game that you might have played before but will want to play again and experience it in a whole new way. Other stand outs include Pilotwings Resort and PES 2011 Pro Evolution Soccer that we’ve played thus far.
The price of the device ($249) is not cheap. That’s almost $100 more than Nintendo’s flagship console the Wii as a bundle. That alone will set some parents and other people to think twice before dropping that kind of cash on this.
We in the Marvelous World love the 3DS and can’t wait for more titles to come out and for us to get our hands on!!
