Nintendo 3DS: First Impressions

Yes.  I'm a nerd.  Not because I wanted to Nintendo 3DS.  If you're at all into video games, you'd have been a fool not to want to continue to have access to Nintendo's great handheld games.  And with the introduction of Game Boy and GBA games for download, what's not to love?  No, no.  I'm a nerd because I went to get it at midnight on Saturday.  I had it and was back to the car three minutes after it was released.  

It's a pretty little thing, my 3DS.  I got the blue one, and, unlike other systems that are just cast in different plastic, this one has a nice light-to-dark fade on the top screen.  It's actually kind of pretty.  The new thumb stick feels nice, and it even comes with a 2GB SD card for saves and downloads.  Hell, you can put an mp3 on the card and play it on the music channel the system is packaged with.

Speaking of packaged with...the AR (Altered Reality) cards that come with?  Brilliant.  No, really.  Who doesn't want to play mini golf on an altered version of their kitchen table?  It was way neat!  Robb and I stayed up until about 1:30 playing with it.  I wanted to keep it all for myself and just keep playing it, but everything was so amazing to me that I had to keep handing him the system and going, "You have to try this!  This is so amazing!"

I didn't even open the game I bought until yesterday after work, and even then, I played with the system's built-in software for a little bit first.  

Before I get to the giddy glory that is Pilotwings, let me tell you what I'm NOT thrilled about.

This thing doesn't come with the channel to download GB and GBA games.  You can't get it right now, for some reason.  I'm guessing they're still setting it up, but...if it's a major selling point of the system, don't you think they'd have it up at launch?!  Way disappointing.  I wasn't worried about only having one game for it because I could buy and download whatever I wanted to play.  Not so much, apparently.  So...that was a drag.  And I don't know when that service is coming.

And it's hard to show anyone what you're doing, because unless you're front and center, it doesn't look 3D.  Not a spectator system, for sure.  Buy one for your boyfriend, too.

Okay...so there's the negative.  Aside from that, everything is golden.  Except the stylus.  I hate the new telescoping stylus.  When I want to just pull it out and play with it, I don't want to get it all stretched out first.  And in its regular size, it's not big enough to do anything with.  You HAVE TO pull it long first.  And that might be the dirtiest thing I've ever said on my blog.

So...by now you're going, "Who cares about all that.  Tell us about the freaking 3D!"

Have no fears. The 3D is worth it.  Sometimes it's like, "Whoa...it's coming right at us!" and sometimes it's like, "It's like there's a tiny diorama of an island in my 3DS..."  What they say about judging distances is definitely true.  It's WAY easier in 3D.  I didn't think it would be, but it is.  That's what makes Pilotwings so fun.  Flying a plane?  Rocketbelt?  Hang glider?  All three things work just like they did in the N64 days.  This title is seriously taking me way back.  They judge you on time, fuel, accuracy, and objectives, and they judge harshly.  It hasn't gotten any easier.  But, the funny thing is, since I spent hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours playing the 64 version, I didn't feel like the learning curve was too bad, even with a new system to learn.  If you liked that one, this is a must buy.  And don't worry if you think you've seen it all.  It's got some surprises that had me giggling like a school girl in sex ed.

I think it's worth getting for the 3D camera alone.  How amazing!  But...the packaged games and the available titles and the fact that it's a Nintendo handheld are all working together to make this something that any gamer who is serious about keeping with the times needs to get!

That's all I'll say for now.  I gotta get back to perfecting my barrel rolls and thermal updrafts.  Not to mention keeping a small dragon from taking over my kitchen table.  Or desk.  Or floor.  Or boyfriend's prone body.

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