The official release of Nintendo’s 3Ds hardware is still a few weeks away, but I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one earlier today. I cannot stress enough how much I tend to dislike Nintendo, their consoles, their games, etc. They’re honestly just not for me. They’re often childish, and honestly, way too bland for my liking.
With that being said….
Playing the 3DS was one of the coolest experiences of my life. For anyone who is completely unfamiliar with this new hand-held system, it is about the size of Nintendo DSi, and plays games very similar to those on the DSi. The catch? IT’S ALL IN 3D.
I always was, and probably always will be, that guy who wanted 3D to fail. I hate seeing the “In IMAX 3D” tag line on the bottom of movie posters. I hate the glasses they make you wear in the theater, and most of all, I hate the overpriced glasses that they force you to buy with your new big-screen, 3D television.
Despite my 3D hatred, I had an absolute blast with the 3Ds. The only game I got the chance to play was Pilotwings, and it was great. Graphically, don’t expect anything superior to the Wii, or even the PSP for that matter. Picture a Nintendo 64/Gamecube hybrid. The 3D graphics more than make up for it, though, as I have never felt the type of thrill that I did after putting the game down. Seeing my plane soar through the skies as the clouds, buildings, and bridges came to life off of the screen was nothing short of breathtaking.
The system includes 2 cameras, one in the front and one in the rear. I’m not too sure of the actual specs, but they seemed to take decent pictures. Additionally, the front-facing camera can be used to create a Mii that looks like you. That’s right, Miis exist in the 3Ds world! Me and a few workers used the camera feature to create our characters, however most of them turned out looking very similar and generic. Luckily, there are a wide variety of character-customization options to be found within.
Fortunately, with Nintendo’s new system, there are no glasses required. The 3D images appear directly on the screen without any type of third-party equipment needed. This fact brings me to my only concern about the system. After playing for a maximum of 2 minutes, my eyes were in an unusual amount of pain. Not just dizziness (though there was a decent amount of that, as well), but actual pain. After looking away from the screen, my vision blurred and my head began to slightly spin. And this was after a mere 2 minutes, not 2 hours; which is the minimum that most children spend playing games.
Aside from this problem, I have nothing but good things to say about Nintendo’s new gem. I must admit, though, that the pain and dizziness is more than enough to cause concern amongst parents and children alike. I guess we will discover how their heads feel when the console launches in a few weeks.
