Today, we had some hands-on experience with the latest offering from Nintendo, the 3DS due out, so far as we’re aware, around March 2011.  Three of us went, myself (LorD), Xander and Hooty and we’ll give our opinions of it in a variety of different aspects, beginning with the general overview of the console.

Hooty
It’s very impressive bit of kit, it’s something that seems to be furthering the advancement of handheld console technology.  It feels leaps and bounds better than the existing handheld consoles.

LorD
I think the current popularity of 3D in TVs and cinema meant that games were bound to make this step, but there is a certain joy about having the 3D there, but not having to wear any passive or active glasses.  Whether this technology can translate to other display media is another matter; it could be the perfect use of the lenticular-style display.

Xander
I think it’s a defining point in technology and gaming, it’s impressive and I like the transitional feature between 2D and 3D.  3D films have influenced it, and it is a great console.

And now we’ll talk about how the 3D worked...  Read more to see... erm. More!

Hooty
I think the 3D worked very, very well, even when the slider was just above nothing, but it is nice to have the option there, if people want to blast their eyes out, it’s there.  It’s early days, so though it might be the case that you have to have the slider quite far down so that it’s acceptable to your eyes, over time you’ll get the benefits of enjoying a greater 3D experience when you gradually turn the slider up.

Xander
Again, I think you can have too much of it, so the slider is a must; the 3D camera feature is amazing and the way you can change the depth is awesome.  The effect can be overpowering with things far off in the distance, but if you reduce the slider, that effect becomes more acceptable.

LorD
Yeah, I found that there were issues with my eyes failing to adjust.  Sometimes I had to move my head to get the image right with the angle I was looking at and sometimes, with things far off in the distance, there was the feeling that I really had to almost cross my eyes in order to get the two images to align and it was actually uncomfortable.

Okay great, so let’s talk about titles and how they came across.

Xander
I particularly liked Resident Evil Revelations and Nintendogs + Cats.  The 3D worked really well in both games and the sound is great, though I didn’t get to play any of Resident Evil.  Nintendogs played really well, and the 3D works really well; I think that if someone said to me about Nintendogs in 3D, I’d have asked “is it really necessary, really?” but seeing it when the dog comes up to the screen and starts licking you, it’s worth it; I like the face recognition feature as well.  I was slightly disappointed by Mario Kart and PilotWings Resort with the 3D and controls being a bit all over the place.

Hooty
I thought that cinematically, the most impressive was Metal Gear Solid 3D where I just watched a cutscene, it looked really good, as if it was using the full capabilities of the machine; the textures were fantastic for the tiny little screen, at times I forget that I was holding the 3DS because it was that good.  I actually quite liked PilotWings Resort; I didn’t have a problem with the controls.  I felt the art style was a little haggard; it’s another Resort game, so you have to find that art style acceptable to enjoy the art style of that game.  I also liked Nintendogs + Cats.

LorD
For me, the runaway winner was Nintendogs + Cats, it was set in a room and so the extreme 3D was enjoyable and not too strenuous on the eyes and the dog (the demo only featured dogs) model was seriously cute; petting and playing were simple and the controls were intuitive, the game has an almost universal appeal (i.e., to everyone save Cruella deVille) and since the AI was so clever, you could just get a bit lost in its cuteness, if not for the horde of blonde clones on the other side of the desk, staring at you.

What about everything else, other features, the look, and feel of the physical console itself, that kind of thing?

LorD
It wasn’t too heavy, though we don’t know how long the battery lasts.  I presume it’s going to be akin to the DSi on account that the 3D is a feature of the screen itself and not something that’s going to take up extra power.  The movie trailer I watched means that the 3DS is going to be forcing film distribution companies to bring their media out on DS card and I’m not really sure how that’ll work in terms of pricing or whether it’s really worth it.  It could be UMD all over again.

Hooty
It felt like a strong, sturdy stable machine with the right kind of weight for that type of console, the buttons responded well to pressing and everything was how it should be and it’s in prototype still, so things could still change from now until release, which is why they’re not giving us a proper release date.  The way they’ve added 3D into the device means that it’s an additional feature for the console and not its main selling point though I think it will be to some people, but I don’t think it necessarily should be considered as that, when you see the rest of the stuff it has to offer in terms of the improved graphics and promised online implementation and HD movies and the fact that it’s a much more powerful console than the DS, so all those things together are a stronger reason to get the console than just the 3D, though the 3D is pretty damned cool.

Xander
I like the look of it, and like Hooty, I like the feel of it, but I’m not too sure about the angle, because it is 3D, I feel like there should be some sort of screen rotation system so that you can view it from different angles.  For something that provides that 3D aspect, you should be able to view it from all angles, I think shoulder-surfing is important; showing the console off doesn’t really work, but the console does look nice and I want one in red.