The Nintendo 3DS!
Alright, when I first found out about the new Nintendo 3DS, I was skeptical as could be. All it was to me was, "Look, Nintendo is coming out with another gimmick that these poor parents will have to buy for their kids, but hey they are releasing Ocarina of Time on it..." I was not thrilled about the system at all, I thought the 3d was a stupid idea. Well I went into work about two days before the 3ds were released and we had a demo unit that I could play with. That completely changed my mind. All my doubts about the system were pretty much gone after playing with it. I immediately started thinking of random crap I could trade in for the system. Release day eventually came and I surprisingly had enough money for the system. Now let's start the review.
Initial Reaction with the 3D
So, I bought it, I plunged, took the leap of faith, whatever you wanna call it when you buy a system when it first comes out. I did it. And honestly, I am pretty happy with it. The 3d works amazingly. It is not just a gimmick, I mean Nintendo did a nice job with the 3d without glasses. I always have to have it set really low though if I am using it just because it does give you a headache. That's the thing, the 3d WILL give you a headache no matter what you say. I think they honestly could have done without the 3d and made a nice system and dropped it like $50. Even though it does give you a headache, it is pretty cool.
Visuals
The graphics on it are much better than I expected. I will say, however, it is maybe just a little bit better than the PSP's graphics. Maybe this is because the system just came out, who knows. I would liked to see some better visuals.
Physical Appearance
The control setup is nice too. I really like the addition of the analog stick. The only worry about it is, if I wear out the analog stick, how do I get a replacement. Also, it feels awkward using the D-pad that is located below the 3ds and holding the entire system.
Another nice addition was that the top screen almost looks like it is widescreen. The bottom one is about the same size as a normal DS's screen, while the top one looks to be a centimeter or two wider.
The colors it has currently released are Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue. I bought the blue one just because black is soooo mainstream. They look very sleek and are a nice upgrade from the DSi or DS lite.
An awkward change that they made was they moved where the stylus was placed. It is now placed on the top/back of the system right next to the cartridge. It just makes it awkward when you need to quickly unsheath your sword. BUT the new stylus is TELESCOPIC, meaning it extends. WOOO! I thought it was pretty neat.
System Applications
The DSi was a big hit because it offered you two cameras, one on the outside and one on the inside. Kids loved this because they could finally take a million pictures of random crap, like their animals or that girl that beats him in class which he secretly loves but he is too scared to sa... Sorry. Now with the 3ds it has.. wait for it... 3 CAMERAS! Yeah, sounds odd. It has the camera on the inside so you can take a picture of yourself, but on the outside it has 2 cameras. The reason for this is because it allows you to take 3d pictures. It does a pretty good job of it too, but probably needs to be polished just a bit more.
The 3ds comes with a couple built in games. The one I found impressive was the AR (Augmented Reality) card application. The system comes with a few little cards that you can place in front of the camera when you select this application and the system will recognize the card and bring up a little 3d figure on your screen. It could be Link, Samus, Mario or maybe you want to play the little 3d games on the question mark card. This was honestly the thing that hooked me in. If they can build on the AR cards that would be fantastic.
Also they added the Streetpass which allows you to communicate with other 3ds owners if they have theirs in their pocket or whatnot. The communications range from sharing Mii's to maybe a Street Fighter match between you two. It is a cool addition for sure.
Too Long Didn't Read
All in all, I love the system. I am not saying that just because I bought it, I am saying it because I think it could honestly go somewhere. The graphics are a very nice upgrade and could improve further down the road. The 3d is amazing, but can give you a gnarly headache. The system itself looks great and the analog stick was a great addition. The lineup for games look to be great as well, even though the top ones may be just ports from other systems. Major downside is the internet application will not be up until late May. Aside from the little downsides though, I love the system.
8/10
Alright, when I first found out about the new Nintendo 3DS, I was skeptical as could be. All it was to me was, "Look, Nintendo is coming out with another gimmick that these poor parents will have to buy for their kids, but hey they are releasing Ocarina of Time on it..." I was not thrilled about the system at all, I thought the 3d was a stupid idea. Well I went into work about two days before the 3ds were released and we had a demo unit that I could play with. That completely changed my mind. All my doubts about the system were pretty much gone after playing with it. I immediately started thinking of random crap I could trade in for the system. Release day eventually came and I surprisingly had enough money for the system. Now let's start the review.
Initial Reaction with the 3D
So, I bought it, I plunged, took the leap of faith, whatever you wanna call it when you buy a system when it first comes out. I did it. And honestly, I am pretty happy with it. The 3d works amazingly. It is not just a gimmick, I mean Nintendo did a nice job with the 3d without glasses. I always have to have it set really low though if I am using it just because it does give you a headache. That's the thing, the 3d WILL give you a headache no matter what you say. I think they honestly could have done without the 3d and made a nice system and dropped it like $50. Even though it does give you a headache, it is pretty cool.
Visuals
The graphics on it are much better than I expected. I will say, however, it is maybe just a little bit better than the PSP's graphics. Maybe this is because the system just came out, who knows. I would liked to see some better visuals.
Physical Appearance
The control setup is nice too. I really like the addition of the analog stick. The only worry about it is, if I wear out the analog stick, how do I get a replacement. Also, it feels awkward using the D-pad that is located below the 3ds and holding the entire system.
Another nice addition was that the top screen almost looks like it is widescreen. The bottom one is about the same size as a normal DS's screen, while the top one looks to be a centimeter or two wider.
The colors it has currently released are Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue. I bought the blue one just because black is soooo mainstream. They look very sleek and are a nice upgrade from the DSi or DS lite.
An awkward change that they made was they moved where the stylus was placed. It is now placed on the top/back of the system right next to the cartridge. It just makes it awkward when you need to quickly unsheath your sword. BUT the new stylus is TELESCOPIC, meaning it extends. WOOO! I thought it was pretty neat.
System Applications
The DSi was a big hit because it offered you two cameras, one on the outside and one on the inside. Kids loved this because they could finally take a million pictures of random crap, like their animals or that girl that beats him in class which he secretly loves but he is too scared to sa... Sorry. Now with the 3ds it has.. wait for it... 3 CAMERAS! Yeah, sounds odd. It has the camera on the inside so you can take a picture of yourself, but on the outside it has 2 cameras. The reason for this is because it allows you to take 3d pictures. It does a pretty good job of it too, but probably needs to be polished just a bit more.
The 3ds comes with a couple built in games. The one I found impressive was the AR (Augmented Reality) card application. The system comes with a few little cards that you can place in front of the camera when you select this application and the system will recognize the card and bring up a little 3d figure on your screen. It could be Link, Samus, Mario or maybe you want to play the little 3d games on the question mark card. This was honestly the thing that hooked me in. If they can build on the AR cards that would be fantastic.
Also they added the Streetpass which allows you to communicate with other 3ds owners if they have theirs in their pocket or whatnot. The communications range from sharing Mii's to maybe a Street Fighter match between you two. It is a cool addition for sure.
Too Long Didn't Read
All in all, I love the system. I am not saying that just because I bought it, I am saying it because I think it could honestly go somewhere. The graphics are a very nice upgrade and could improve further down the road. The 3d is amazing, but can give you a gnarly headache. The system itself looks great and the analog stick was a great addition. The lineup for games look to be great as well, even though the top ones may be just ports from other systems. Major downside is the internet application will not be up until late May. Aside from the little downsides though, I love the system.
8/10