My First Week With The 3DS

The 3DS is a hard sell, especially to your "modern" Nintendo fan. You can't show the 3D on TV, it looks exactly the same to the untrained eye as a DSI and as of right now there really isn't a single good game for it... But I bought one anyway.

I've spent this past week with it out and about in the real world and don't regret shelling out the £200 for it one bit, so if you were thinking about getting one, or were thinking about hating it arbitrarily, I've got you covered.

it's a pretty little thing in blue... Mine's blackTHE 3D

The 3D is great, it totally works and totally works without glasses. Granted, there's a definite "sweetspot" for the 3D, you've got to look at the 3DS straight-on and keep it about 30cm away but so far I've had no problem sticking to that when I want the 3D. There are a few people I've shown it to who immediately claim it gives them a headache or that it hurts their eyes but personally, I've experienced no discomfort with it. A rousing success for me.

THE GAMES

Honestly, I can't say a word for the games because I don't have any 3DS games yet (Pokemon: White will keep me busy for a while). While that sounds ridiculous on the surface of it, it actually makes perfect sense. My old DS was pretty much on it's last legs and I was just about to buy a DSi when the 3DS got announced so for me, it was a no-brainer. So while I can't weigh in with my opinions of the launc games, the general consensus has been less-than-great. If you've gotta buy one, it seems like Street Fighter is the one to go for.

Supposedly it's a pretty good version?...BACKWARDS COMPATABILITY

Now this IS something I can talk about. I was pretty nervous at first, given that the original DS's backwards compatability was very limited. Back in the day if you played a GameBoy Advance game on a DS you couldn't play any kind of multiplayer at all, but I'm glad to say there is no such problem with the 3DS. The backwards compatability of the 3DS is fantastic. Essentially when you play an original DS game on the 3DS, it's the same as if you were playing it on a DS. Same wireless connectivity and same trouble getting onto my house Wi-Fi.
Basically it seems like somewhere inside the 3DS is a tiny unborn DS fetus that the 3DS absorbed in utero. Which is awesome. My 3DS connects to my Wi-fi just fine but in order to play online in DS games I need to disable the security on my router. It's a peculiar way of handling the backwards compatability but it works, and there are definitely worse ways they could have gone about it.

3D PHOTOGRAPHS

The 3DS has 2 cameras on the back of it for a reason, so you can take 3D photos. 3D photos! IN 3D!!! Unfortunately the quality of the pictures is pretty terrible, atleast on the regular setting and you can't view them on anything but the 3DS right now but still, I find it to be a nice bit of fun I keep coming back to.

STREET PASS

Street Pass is an awesome idea. Basically you leave your 3DS in sleep mode and walk around, then if you pass somebody your 3DS's will transfer data between them. At it's basic level you trade Miis to strangers but Street Fighter IV shows an early example of the potential of Street Pass, having you build up small teams and battling other 3DS users automaticall simply by walking near them, a feature just crying out for an Animal Crossing or a Pokemon to abuse in amazing ways.

BATTERY LIFE

Ugh. The battery is atrocious. It's fine for keeping your 3DS in sleep mode and Street Passing in your way to and from work, but for extended play you're going to want to bring the battery charger with you most places you go. Which is, admittedly, a massive bummer.

THE OTHER STUFF...

AR Games -The Alternate Reality games are cool, placing objects into the real world as viewed by the 3DS's 3D cameras, but ultimately I haven't found myself coming back to these.
Web Browser - The Web Browser hasn't been released yet but promises full web-browsing mid-game via the 3DS's home button... which I can't wait for.
Friend's List - Everybody gets 1 Friend List that is tied to your 3DS, which means no more having a seperate, game-specific Friend's List. Excellent new addition.

THE FINAL VERDICT

I love my 3DS, and for £200 I'm damn glad I do! It's not perfect, but for my circumstances none of the big problems the system has (lack of games and battery life) really effect me. I play at home mostly anyway and I can play Pokemon until the "must play" games get released. I think the biggest problem the 3DS has is that it's not marketing itself as a brand new system, rather it's presenting itself a new, upgraded DS. Which it isn't. it's a brand-new, more graphically powerful, more versatile, more user-friendly console with 3D. It's definitely worth the investment, but if you're sceptical, maybe wait until the make a 3DSi