E3 2010: 3DS Impressions 2! With a Geek!

Aside from the booth babes and the infinitely hot Milynn Sarley, the Nintendo 3DS was one of the highlights of my E3 adventures.  After attending the Nintendo Conference and being teased with the possibilities of receiving one, but instead getting some random demo where hotties with bodies had 3DS's attached to their chest, I didn't really feel like playing.  I just felt like I needed to spend a couple minutes in the bathroom.  To pee.  Because the conference took a long time and I drank a lot of coffee.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

On the last day of the convention, after finishing our last press meeting, I decided it was about time to try out the hardware that had stolen the 2010 show.  While the idea of 3D without glasses is cool, I was still skeptical of the technology and thought it would be a gimmick.  Earlier that day I'd gotten a chance to play Final Fantasy XIV on a 3D television and couldn't really see how the 3DS could top that.  After standing in line, I stood corrected.  On top of being presented to us by pretty ladies, the 3DS did a surprisingly good job at presenting the 3D.  While I'm not exactly aware of how it works, the system allows images to pop out, giving the games and screen a new depth.

Immediately after seeing the new DS system, one will notice the difference between the 3DS and its predecessor.  Aside from the screen of which it's name is derived, the 3DS has an analog stick above the D-pad.  Although there weren't a whole lot of chances to use it, in the Starfox 64 demo, I was able to play using the analog stick to maneuver Fox as I would have in the original N64 version.  Why it wasn't included in previous iterations of the system is unknown to me, but it's certainly a welcome addition.  The 3DS also sports three cameras, one on the inside and two on the outside, of which can be used to shoot 3D photos.  I didn't get to use it, but Sanni was able to and wrote that the pictures were fuzzy, but was otherwise very cool.

By far the most impressive demo of the 3DS was a game that implemented the camera and a card.  Similar to the Eye of Judgement game, the 3DS used the outer cameras to create an image with the card on the table.  But instead of simple animations that don't really involve any gameplay, the camera created a mini-game that wanted the player to shoot at random target surrounding the card on the table.  After destroying them, a dragon burst out of the ground and you had to arrow it down until it fell.  Needless to say, it was completely brain-breaking and definitely shows off the 3DS's camera and 3D screen.

But the 3D tech isn't all rainbows and unicorns; the trailer for Resident Evil Revelations, a title being launched for the system at a later date, looked terrible using the new screen, though Matt would argue otherwise.  All in all, the system looks like a powerful addition to Nintendo's lineup, but the 3D could easily become a gimmick as the Wii and Kinect seem to be.  If it's implemented well, the 3DS will revolutionize the industry.  But it could easily end up another piece of technology used to capture a casual audience who is mesmerized by the shininess, while hardcore players sit and watch as it goes to waste.  At the very least, Nintendogs + Cats will be ridiculously adorable.