First Weekend with the 3DS

I have been excited about the 3DS for ages, which is weird because I don't like 3D in movies. It gives me a headache. That being said, Nintendo games and consoles fill me with a sense of childlike wonder that calls back to my childhood. The first time I used the Super Scope (a fucking bazooka video game - yes please!), huddling around an original Game Boy with my cousins, blasting through Mario and failing at Tetris (in between marathon Ace Ventura viewings) and that sweet spot on Super Soccer that you could score from every time.

I consider myself to be a true video game fan. I love all video games. I love consoles, I love PCs, I love handhelds, I love mobile phone games and I love those crappy little Game and Watch things and all their clones. I don't play PC games because it feels like you have to buy new hardware every time new software is released but, given the chance, I play when I can. I try not to let past experiences negatively colour my opinion of new things - it'd be a hell of a shame if a crappy implementation caused me to miss something in future. Makes no sense.

I'm a reader. I've spent the last 3 months reading about the 3DS every day. I joined the internet in feeling anxious about the weak lineup, disappointed with the crappy battery life and concerned about 3D-induced headaches.

Thursday night came, and I could barely contain my excitement. I was still reading reviews at 7pm, three-and-a-half hours before I was going to leave for the midnight launch, and I was still very excited. Whilst waiting in the queue (second place!), I got a chance to play Pilotwings, which made a very good impression so I walked away with that and Super Street Fighter 4. I have since picked up Ridge Racer on a friend's recommendation, too.

Now I've had the chance to give all three games, as well as the built-in and AR software a go so I thought I'd add my opinions to the pile.

The Good

That screen. It's damn impressive. I mean really impressive. I play everything with the 3D ramped up as far as it'll go and I've not once experienced the motion sickness or headaches that you might be concerned about. Once you get used to looking at the screen, the sweet spot seems to grow and keeping focussed on the 3D becomes a much more relaxed affair. It adds a depth to Pilotwings that makes the experience a lot more accessible. It makes the car pop out of the track in Ridge Racer (not essential, but a delightful effect). It makes the characters in Street Fighter look like the little plastic wrestling figures I used to smash into each other and contort into shapes when I was little.

With the 3D turned down, the graphics are still great and the framerate increases (battery, too, apparently). It's not essential to have 3D on at all - the improvements to the system make the graphics better anyway, so don't feel like you might lose out if you don't like 3D.

Built-in software. The OS is much more responsive than the DS, the Mii creator is great fun (and actually made a pretty good job of my face), AR games are hopefully a strong indicator of what's to come - the yellow question mark one is the only real game, though.

The cradle. As you will have read, this cradle is going to become your 3DS' best friend. The battery does run down pretty quickly, which doesn't really affect me as I mostly game at home, but it will be a problem for some people. I find it quite comfortable playing whilst the 3DS is mounted in the dock, which is good because I will probably pick up a battery expansion when Ars Technica tells me which one to get.

Sound. The built-in speakers make a great sound. If you've got a good pair of headphones, it's obviously better, but the speakers are more than sufficient. None of that tinny sound you had to get used to in the DS.

Street Pass. I haven't walked past anyone with this enabled yet, but I love the idea and I'm hoping that the implementation is as good as it could be.

The Bad

Friend codes. What the fuck is the point in these things? They're so irritating. The social element of the 3DS is brilliant, and this seems to be such a weak link. I kinda understand the increased privacy of an obfuscated identifier, but decent privacy controls could achieve this, too. No. I hope Nintendo drops this.

Stylus. They've moved it. It's now next to the cartridge slot. Fine, y'say? Not when the 3DS is in its cradle - you just can't get to it. There's a fold-down flap, but unless you've got tiny, tiny fingers, you aren't getting the stylus out at all. Annoying.

Hinge. After less than a day, my hinge started to exhibit a bit of "give". It's a tiny bit flappy, which doesn't fill me with confidence about its long-term durability. If it stays how it is; great, but I'm not confident about its lifespan.

Camera. The camera is shocking. I'm not talking about megapixels or anything like that. The quality is abysmal. Noisy-as-hell images, which are almost incomprehensible make this feature basically useless. The AR and Mii Creator are the only uses for the camera. Don't even bother taking pictures. Nintendo; please don't work on a video camera - spend the resources getting rid of friend codes.

Battery. The battery doesn't last long. This is easily fixable with a decent peripheral. Unless it's like the Game Gear battery monstrosity.

The Games

Street Fighter. I have the equivalent on PS3 and this is a great port. It's basically impossible to hit L+M+H combinations properly due to the separation of the shoulder buttons from the rest, but you can set the bottom screen to have a shortcut for L+M+H P or K, which eradicates this. The thumb-stick is my input device of choice - once you get used to it, it's accurate and much more reliable than the d-pad.

Pilotwings. The best demonstration of the 3D, and the best usage of it. Adds depth perception, which helps with landing. Great learning curve, some of the later challenges are quite frustrating to 3-star - involving a lot of concentration and coordination. There may only be 3 types of vehicle (there's a couple of different types of plane and a weird bike/hang-glider), but there's plenty of variety to keep you quiet and more than enough enjoyment to keep you coming back, even when the main missions are done.

Ridge Racer. Arcade racing at its finest. The main game is 3 Grand Prix, each with around 20 challenges, each with 4 races. I've got 5 hours play-time with around 30% complete. Couple that with the sheer fun of the game and local multiplayer (no online, unfortunately - maybe in an update?), make this a definite keeper.

Conclusion

It seems a popular verdict that the 3DS isn't without its faults. I wanted to love every bit of it and totally disagree with all the little negative points. I don't. It's true that there are faults, but this is very-first revision hardware. The only thing I think is required is a bigger/better battery, re-positioned stylus and an improved hinge. Other than that, it's an excellent piece of kit that has the potential to perpetuate Nintendo's trend of wiping the floor with other handhelds (there's a broom pun I can't be bothered to make there - fill your boots).

Once Mario Kart, Super Mario (Galaxy, Paper or 2/2.5D), Dead or Alive, Starfox, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil, F-Zero and Street Fighter x Tekken come out (the latter two are a rumour, but it needs to happen please), I think you could basically sell all the other consoles. It's really that fun.