Bought my first handheld games machine in almost 10 years today.

[Kitty Hello]

you can resist to try it and have a cup of tea before? That's tough.

[Ian Price]

I can even come back to the forum Gernot!

It's a nice machine - heavier than I was expecting. But it's comfortable, with nice controls. unlike other DS units, it takes a few seconds to turn on/boot up. Setting up Wi-Fi i(and all other options) s a breeze. No problems here.
I only need the 3D slider just above totally OFF to see the effect - over half and my eyes bleed! On 2D everything looks exactly the same, but a tiny bit flatter.

The 3D is more subtle and less pronounced than I was expecting (in some games). In fact the 3D is much better on 2D images (like menus etc.) than the 3D. Playing Ridge Racer the effect is OK, but easily lost, as you move the console while pressing buttons and the controller. That could just be Ridge Racer though, as it's pretty obvious that it's a rush-job.

PilotWings Resort however is absolutely fantastic where the 3D is concerned - especially with the jetpack. Nintendo once again show how it should be done. Shame the game appears to be so very small though.

The camera is pretty poor compared to those on other devices, but it does it's job. The AR cards are pretty much use once or twice and then forget about.

So a nice machine with plenty of potential. Now bring on some good games!

[Wampus]

Curious. So would you say that the 3D works better on static and slower moving screens that it does faster action-orientated screens?

[Ian Price]

Curious. So would you say that the 3D works better on static and slower moving screens that it does faster action-orientated screens?

Definitely (from what I've seen so far).

[Hark0]

I tried the machine on a store for 20 minutes... sorry Nintento, this version of DS no it's for me...

(at the moment  )


IMO the 3D effect are very .... hmmmm..... flickered?

[Ian Price]

Maybe you had the 3D slider up too high, as the 3D definitely doesn't flicker. I find around the 40% mark is best for me.

[Hatonastick]

Re: arcade games: I honestly think some of the best 2D games (not the best maybe, but pretty high up the list) ever made were arcade games -- although not necessarily their computer conversions.

For me games like Bubble Bobble still rate extremely highly even after all these years.  My 8 year old nephew and 5 year old niece recently discovered the NES version of Bubble Bobble on my Wii and played it for ages.  They thought it was brilliant.  My nephew (who plays a lot of Wii, PC, 360 and DSi games) asked why weren't there more games like this around?  I both laughed and cried a bit on the inside at that.

Re: 3DS:  Sounds as if, as per usual, the games that are out for it were mostly rush jobs so will have to wait a little while before you get games that really use its 3D feature as well as it should be used.  Can't think of many consoles or game machines where that hasn't been the case.  Anyway the slider sounds interesting.  Being able to adjust the effect to suit your own eyes (or is it brain? as things like this are about how the brain interprets what it information it is fed) is a great idea.  Hope to get to play with one soon for myself.

BTW what software do they come with built-in?  Same as DSi, or all new?  I'm still waiting for one to come with basic diary/address book style things built in.  Well... I can dream can't I? 

[erico]

Like I said before I still have a running atary linx, but the first handheld I got was an octopuss mini-game...
check this out:
http://www.pica-pic.com/#

I tried the DS at a store too, running some mario-lemmings kind of stuff, wasn't quite impressed at it.
The controls though were excellent and smooth.

I guess it will all depend on the software that gets into it after all the rush.
I like the collection available on GBA, lots of great titles.
I also enjoy snk capcon card fighter on the neo geo pocket...

[Hatonastick]

Yeah those old hand held games were cool.  I had some combination calculator/medieval or fantasy combat game.  My sister had a three screen one that involved getting some treasure and getting off an island (I loved that one).  She also had one about a cat catching mice which had the most annoying sound effects I've ever heard in any handheld game.  I also had one called Invader 1000 which I still have in its original box and which still works.  I had hoped that Wario DIY (I should have done my research) was a little less limited than it is.  Didn't realise you could only make games that last a few seconds, otherwise my plan was to start making those sorts of games on my DSi -- instead I think I'll end up using the music composition part of it more than anything.  I think you can buy a lot of the Nintendo ones like the old Donkey Kong Jr handheld etc. (but for the DS) on their online shop anyway...

[Ian Price]

BTW what software do they come with built-in?

I never had a DSi (just the original phat DS and the DS Lite), so can't comment on that.

The 3DS comes with a couple of games built in - Face Raiders (you take a photo of your fizzog and then shoot balls at it in 3D) and Augmented Reality (althoug this needs cards, 6 of which come with the machine). Neither of which you'll play more than a few times and only for a maximum of minutes each. They both show the potential though, which i suppose is exactly why they were created.

I haven't looked at the other software on the machine tbh, but I know there's a sound/music player which you can add effects and stuff to. There's the camera software for taking 2D and 3D photos. Mii Maker, Mii Plaza, Internet browser, and a couple of other things that I can't remember right now.

[Hatonastick]

Yes Augmented Reality interests me greatly.  I've been following the development of that 'fad' for a while now as it can have a lot of uses.  One of the best examples I've seen is a museum that uses it to help kids learn about history, they have cards near exhibits that they scan in with the portable device with the AR software on it and then read and play games.  If I'd known the 3DS had such a system built-in, and that there was the possibility we could see it used, I'd have bought a 3DS for sure.  In fact there's a few things about the 3DS that interest me more than the actual 3D.

I've had an idea for my own AR game for a while, but it would have had to have been developed for smart phones I think.  Ones with camera, GPS and internet connection.

Anyway the DSi comes with: DSi Camera, DSi Sound, DSi Shop, Download Play (which according to my nephew he's never seen a game use -- wouldn't be surprised if it's only official Nintendo gear that uses that), PictoChat, Internet Browser, Flipnote Studio.  So really sounds as if the 3DS does come with more, while a few remain the same (albeit updated).

[Ian Price]

TBH I didn't buy the 3DS for the 3D - that's just a bonus. I've been a fan of Nintendo games and consoles since the NES (including multiple units of some - including 3 SNESs, 2 N64s, GameCube, 2 Wiis, 1 GameBoy Color, 1 GameBoy Advance, 2 GBA SP's, 2 DS phats, 1 DS Lite), so it was inevitable that I'd get whatever Nintendo released next.

And despite a lot of negativity (from those that probably haven't even seen a 3DS, let alone played one for an extended period of time), the 3D is generally very good. I definitely wouldn't recommend a 3DS purely for the 3D though - it's what will come in the future that will make the investment worthwhile.

Plus it plays original DS software too, so that's a massive library of excellent games right here right now.

The only problem is that battery sucks big time. 3 hours for a handheld device is pretty poor in this day and age. Only 1300Mah is ludicrous. I expect a larger capaci ty battery to hit the market at some point though (either official or 3rd party).

[Hatonastick]

C'mon.  Admit it.  You did really buy it for the 3D, didn't you.  It's ok mate, you can admit it here.  No-one will know.  Well, sort of.  That's ok, we can all keep a secret. 

Yeah I'm thinking of trading my DSi in already, as there are deals to upgrade to the 3DS.  It will cost me more than if I'd bought one outright but I can't really justify keeping this and buying a 3DS as well.  Not in my financial situation at least.

3 hours battery time though, that's not much.  To be honest, is that really much more than the DSi because I'm not sure my DSi lasts much longer than that...  Hmm didn't know you could buy more powerful batteries for them though.  Will have to look into that.

[erico]

if it runs all gba stuff than that is the deal!
battery wise someone in china will come up with a solution, I also believe nintendo will do too, just a matter of time.

I remember lynx could run on AA batteries (6 :puke)  for aaaalmooost 2 hours...
quite absurd as games like xenophobe can easily take more than that in a speed run...

anyway, wish you good times with the handheld, I might get one myself later on if my gold coins permit...