Nintendos new system has come out in Australia at last. With the 3DS on shelves, the question is- what do I think of it?
I got the device on launch day, it was within a bundle which came with Rabbids. As well I picked up Street Fighter which also came then. The console was unpacked, and I went straight in to see what can this device do for me.
To make it clear, I have never seen anything in 3D before. Movies? No. Nintendo 3DS? Defiantly not. I was coming into this with no prior experiences on what to expect 3D to look like.
So because of that, I was somewhat disappointed with the 3D. I also found the 3D to be quite strenuous on my eyes at first, however did get used to it. With the games when I started playing I had the bar halfway, only to get used to the 3D and be able to push it up to full blast. Now my brother had a go of the 3DS yesterday, he hasn’t bought one yet and is eagerly waiting for Ocarina of Time. So I informed him I had one as he ranted that I shouldn’t have large amounts of money because I would buy a 3DS- only to go “I already have one”. Ruining home and bringing the device back for him to get some hands on. He looked at the device and one of his choice quotes was “This is the blue one?”, he then turned it on and found the 3D quite intense, headache producing and within the few minutes he fiddled with the device, he stopped playing because it was giving him a headache. He found that he couldn’t play with 3D at all, and for the most part had it turned off. He had a go of Rabbids, and found the 3D distracting. Turning it off and playing with the AR cards, he ended up giving up on that because of the awkwardness involved in playing them.
While my first time with the device was more forgiving, I do see where he was coming from. My experiences with the 3D where varied at the start. With headaches been possible when I did have the 3D on full blast originally, only to dumb it down and move it up to the top spot ever so slowly through my game progress to be used to the effect. As I had no prior 3D experience, my comments where “this is 3D?” as well as “this is weird”. After introducing 3D to the equitation I never had a since that this is what everyone should do- agreeing essentially with my brother that it is a fad. However I was able to be much more forth coming with 3D and be able to accept it- with surprisingly little effects on my eyes after using the 3DS for a good amount of hours. My eyes felt more like I had a coffee, more focused.
Moving on from how I found 3D, one of the major features for the 3DS is the AR games. I didn’t play them until after I logged a considerable amount of hours in Rabbids. Face Riders, I played and was like annoyed for the fact I was playing it in an area which most people would play a game- a couch. So I was annoyed in that most of the action ended up twisting me around so often. The AR games which use the cards, I decided to give more of a chance. Playing them quite often the other day to finish all the default games. I ended up cheating and shook the 3DS a few times to get a few points to buy some of the next levels in the games. I found them interesting, but a major issue was the 3DS camera didn’t find the AR card unless it was midday- if I was playing closer to night, it would have issues distinguishing the AR cards from the other fuzzy stuff the camera detects. So I decided to up the anti, and used my phone, which not only gave out a bigger space for the AR card. I also produces light- so its easier to detect. After that I was able to enjoy the games regardless of the time of day or lighting conditions.
Moving on, I had two games for the system- Rabbids and Street Fighter. I’ve played Rabbids games in the past, and I am quite fond of the series. However this was my first Street Fighter title ever. I normally stay away from the genre as well unless its something like Smash Bros, or offers a good range of options such as online and anything else the device could do. In which case Street Fighter was my show off title- with Rabbids been my game. I enjoyed Rabbids a lot more. Rabbids been a side scroller this time around, giving me a vibe of “Rabbids Go Home”. A title which I found to be the pinnacle of the series and thought it was going to finally drive the brand out of mini game mash up games and into more funky adventure style games. I was disappointed that Travel in Time was a party game. However the 3DS Rabbids title, is better known as “Rabbids: Travel in Time 3D” in a few regions (It’s just Rabbids 3D here). Which means, I can finally play Travel in Time in the style which I wanted. A quirky, exciting adventure/sidescroller.
Rabbids is weird just like how the past games are. It does give the Rabbids charm, however at the same time- it is still a basic sidescroller, which just so happens to work nicely. The Rabbids you see have a clothes fetish which they steal other Rabbids clothes when they attack them. They also have a rubber duck fetish, and the level is full of Ducks and Coins (I think they are most likely floatation devices rather then coins, but anyway). Some how the charm is still there I guess. There is 4 time periods you can explore, with each one having a good amount of levels about 10 – 14ish really. There are some levels which are bonus rounds and more fun the then usual platforming level. For example the one which collects all the stuff they can- those types of levels have the best music in the game, and make the Romanian music in Go Home- have a run for its money.
Overall I feel the 3DS will probably grow as a whole to try and make the 3D seem less as a gimmick, same as AR type games. There is however a good range of titles coming within the next year, such as Zelda, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Star Fox- the usual Nintendo contenders which will make the system amazing if you like 3D or not.