Nintendo 3DS: Totally Legit or Money Suck ?

Tonight I witnessed and took part in an unsettling unboxing of the new Nintendo 3DS. After watching my boyfriend play with animated creatures projected on his chest, I was ready to dive into the hand-held for myself. Here's what I found.

Let's start with the positives of the system. The additional dimension is crisp and clean. Graphics show through in both 2 and 3D very solid and fluid. Internet connectivity is ready almost immediately out of the box. There are also additional features that allow you to unlock new games based on Mii friends collected. You can leave it on standby and keep it on your person to use it as a pedometer. This will help you unlock even more features. Netflix and music videos will be available when Wifi is accessible. I'm actually pretty excited about that because I would much rather watch episodes of Dexter at work than, ya know, do work.

So, unfortunately, that's about it for the positives. The 3D feature is really fussy when it comes to angle. Even the slightest adjustment to angle outside of head-on will result in an unplayable distortion in viewing. The 3D itself can be turned on and off, but also increase and decreasese intensity. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes before you can find a comfortable level. Once I finally found a setting that didn't stress my eyes, my brain was so strained that I had to shut the game off. I also found that switching from one game to other had me changing the intensity and therefore finding balance all over again.

After having played these two games, I don't think the 3D feature really isn't anything valuable. Sure its kitschy, but it definitely didn't add anything to the games. Changing from 2D to 3D didn't dramatically change the value of the gameplay or my life. The launch titles aren't very strong and don't utilize the new dimension well. The mini-games that come pre-installed on the system are mediocre at best. Using the camera and the 3D allow moderate fun for a small amount of time. Maybe a small child or an absolute tard would like it for longer ? Just guessing.

I was so desperate for a fun new system. I haven't had a hand-held console in years. But I can't help but dish out a big ol' glass of haterade for this fairly useless system. Fingers crossed that Nintendo pulls out some amazing titles to repay the consumers for spending their hard earned dollars.