3DS Demo Pods Wash Up in Santa Monica
In major cities across the country, Nintendo has set up 3DS demo pods to give the public the chance to try out the new system in the DS family. From March 7th to April 3rd, the system is available to try at most of the locations. Hearing the news, I took a break from flailing my Wiimote and headed to Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade to see if the 3D had any depth.
Steel Diver:
The first of the three Nintendo titles launching with the new handheld, Steel Diver puts you in control of an underwater submarine. The 3D effect was nice, but unnecessary since not only did it not add anything to the game, but the game itself looked like it could have worked on the regular DS. The entire game was controlled by the touch screen, so shooting, steering and plugging leaks is all done on the bottom screen while somehow trying to control your submarine through a 2D environment. The 1st person scope sections work better, but after getting over the steep learning curve, it was a bit easier to get through.
Nintendogs + Cats:
For the heartless souls who have something against real pets, Nintendogs looks to recreate the popularity it enjoyed a few years back on the new 3D handheld. It looks like they succeeded a little too well, because besides the addition of the cat that wanders in the background, the game feels almost identical based on the demo. The only big changed I noticed was that walking the dog is behind the back instead of side scrolling, so steering the dog away from trash is required instead of damn near choking it to death with the leash. Oh, and Mii’s replace regular people. Ugh… Mii’s.
Pilotwings Resort:
One of Nintendo’s seemingly forgotten franchises, the stunt vehicle title is still as fun as it was on the N64 and SNES. Making it into a hybrid of Pilotwings and the recent Wii Sports titles, Mii’s complete challenges using hang gliders, jet packs and planes to rack up the most points. This title was one of the two retina burning games on display, because this game and Madden both gave me double vision while playing with the slider all the way up. And by the way, if I’m going to burn my eyes out playing, I’m hoping there’s more than just three vehicles in the final version.
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition:
If the title didn’t give it away, the game is Super Street Fighter IV with 3D effects. Frame rate drops notwithstanding, the game plays just like its big brother on the home consoles. Maybe due to the lack of additional shoulder buttons or to give newcomers a fighting chance, super moves are mapped on the touch screen and can be activated with a simple tap. To get the most out of the 3D effects, the new “Dynamic” camera angle puts the view behind your fighter so the fireballs can really come at you. The fast, fighting action was fully intact and was one of the more impressive games on display.
Asphalt 3D:
Imagine Burnout with 3D effects. Now, imagine having the awesome ability to crash through cop cars, drive through chunks of the environment and having a city that builds itself as you speed down the highway. Wait, that’s not supposed to happen? Oh, well in that case, Asphalt managed to provide a fun race that rewards you for near crashes and forcing the cops that chase you to wipe out, but there were so many technical and graphical problems that this will likely be seen as one of the weaker launch games unless there’s a big turnaround between the demo and release.
Madden Football:
I’d like to say that Madden was revolutionized with the new system, but let’s be honest: Madden is what it is, so what is there to expect? The 3D effect caused double vision like I mentioned, so that was turned off quick. Otherwise, it was just calling plays and running them through. Nothing bad here, but nothing special either.
Lego Star Wars 3:
Much like Street Fighter, besides the frame rate dip due to the added 3D effects, the game played just like the console versions. Hacking away at droids, building platforms out of Legos, collecting studs for future upgrades… Yep, it’s a Lego game. But it plays well on the 3DS, so handheld gamers just might have a viable version to take with them if they can’t get enough Lego destruction.
AR Games:
One of the new, yet somewhat neglected features of the 3DS are the augmented reality cards, or AR for short. The system comes with a set of cards that activate mini games when scanned by the system’s 3D camera. The card on display activated a few games, such as archery and fishing. Both used the tilt sensors in the system to position yourself at the fish or target in the real world. It’s hard to explain, but really needs to be seen… especially when a dragon popped out of the screen and I was forced to slay it. And what kind of thanks did I get? Lots of confused looks by beach goers who saw me spinning around with the game in my hand. Appreciation is overrated anyway…
Face Raiders:
Another AR game that was pre loaded on the system’s memory. The premise is pretty simple: take a picture of someone’s face, which is then plastered on space ships that surround your DS. You shoot the faces down until there are no more. It sounds shallow, but I imagine it could be a great stress reliever. Had a bad day at work? Shoot your boss into oblivion. Had a bad break up? Slide his or her face into the game and blast them away. Who knows? Maybe the world will be a better place after giving us such a great way to channel our hate. Thank you, Nintendo.
So that’s all there was to play in the demo pod. None of the games at this stage blew me away to the point where I felt that I needed to rush out and buy one of these things, but some of the technology was exciting, (but PLEASE fix the start, select and home buttons. I need something to actually press!) I’m hoping the tilt and AR technology shown in the cards will be implemented in some of the full games, (Zelda and Animal Crossing come to mind,) and the use of the 3D camera to instantly create Mii’s saves a lot of hassle. The newest console in the Nintendo family is showing lots of promise, and I can’t wait to find out if it meets expectations when I’m able to get the full versions in my hands.
