The following is a piece i wrote for the ONM Forums a few days ago:
"So guys, I've now had my 3DS for half a year (6 months and 12 days to be precise) and i thought i'd give my tuppence on my experiences and thoughts of the system and the games I've played and am anticipating.
Release and First Impressions
I was one of those who refused to have a go on demo units and instead opt to discover it straight out of the box. After college that March afternoon, I opened it up, booted the system up and turned the depth slider up. I was blown away from that first glance - nothing more than a menu screen, yet even here you could see the clarity and depth of the 3D. Most exciting to me was knowing that if the menu screens were mind-blowing, the games must look even more so.
So I worked my way through the in-built software, and was impressed with the depth of entertainment one could get without even owning a 3DS game. Face Raiders was hilarious and is still great in short bursts, the AR games were on a par with the 3D effect for their initial "wow factor" and i garnered a lot of joy from getting my friends to make a mii, and seeing the look on their faces when i turned the slider up.
The first games
I got my system with Samurai Warriors: Chronicles, which I had decided to purchase long in advance after seeing the impressive graphics and having enjoyed the few fleeting glimpses I had had of playing Dynasty Warriors. Again, the 3D effect was mindblowing, not least the first time I saw the expanses of the battlefield stretch out with such depth - to me, a moment comparable to the first time one runs out onto hyrule field in a new Zelda game. The cut scenes were graphically superb, great for silencing the 3DS' detractors, though admittedly they got dull after a while. However, overall the game was a decent starting title and one I reccomend if you can find it for £20.
I had soon bought Pilotwings Resort and Street Fighter too. While many slated the shortness of the former, I truly fell in love with it from the first play, and it is another title I come back to whenever I want to chill out. Street Fighter was snapped up to have a go online, but I found myself frustrated by too much spamming, and so it probably ranks as my least favourite 3DS title.
eShop, New Channels and Zelda
Once the eShop became available, it finally felt like the system was becoming a complete entertainment experience. A criticism of nintendo was that they had rushed the system out - pretty much true, but now we could download all manner of games and channels at will. Excitebike 3D was a great blast of nostalgia, and the introduction of a save feature (one that works, that is) for custom tracks was most welcome! I downloaded some Gameboy games, and was soon playing 3DS in some way or another for many hours a day.
Here was where I thought it would be neccessary to look into the complaints about battery life. The reports were that the system could only bottle 3 hours of juice in it's normal running state, so I thought I'd have a go at proving the critics wrong. My results spawned the "3DS Battery Marathon Thread" and I managed to squeeze 7 hours out of my console before the red light came on - not bad at all to be honest, and way better than a lot of tech on the market now - my HTC phone needs charging every day for crying out loud!
Then I got Ocarina Of Time. It was very good. Though I still hate Jabu Jabu's belly. Stupid Ruto...
A quiet summer...
To be honest, i didn't play my 3DS much during summer at all. I was too busy doing other things - namely, getting out and about and, when at home, playing the Gamecube version of Animal Crossing like a wired up heroin addict. The times that i did play were largely characterised by a few weeks spent playing Photo Dojo at parties, and rolling around laughing at the stupid recordings my friends had made. Nintendo Video came, and i got some joy out of it, but wasn't too fussed. The OK GO videos were a refreshing break from crap magic tricks and Oscars Oasis, though.
The Ambassador Program got me back into playing my 3DS in a big way - now that I have 10 NES games sitting on my menu, i've got plenty of content to keep me occupied. Once again, I found myself playing it every day, and still i'm in awe when I turn the slider up.
Current impressions and the future...
The 3DS has been Jekyll and Hyde for me so far. I've had moments of pure joy, yet other features have left me underwhelmed. The library of 3DS physical software so far has been very limited, but the games I have bought have been very good. Add to this a great selection of downloadable games, most of which I didn't have to pay for, and I'm pretty content for now.
It is in these next few months that I really picture things picking up for the 3DS. I for one am most psyched about Animal Crossing, but that isn't out until next spring. Not that it's a problem - before then we're expecting plenty of good games. With christmas season coming, I firmly believe sales will increase. I'm looking forward to 2012 now - despite the launch of the Vita, it'll be the 3DS i'll be playing for many seasons to come."
eShop, New Channels and Zelda
Once the eShop became available, it finally felt like the system was becoming a complete entertainment experience. A criticism of nintendo was that they had rushed the system out - pretty much true, but now we could download all manner of games and channels at will. Excitebike 3D was a great blast of nostalgia, and the introduction of a save feature (one that works, that is) for custom tracks was most welcome! I downloaded some Gameboy games, and was soon playing 3DS in some way or another for many hours a day.
Here was where I thought it would be neccessary to look into the complaints about battery life. The reports were that the system could only bottle 3 hours of juice in it's normal running state, so I thought I'd have a go at proving the critics wrong. My results spawned the "3DS Battery Marathon Thread" and I managed to squeeze 7 hours out of my console before the red light came on - not bad at all to be honest, and way better than a lot of tech on the market now - my HTC phone needs charging every day for crying out loud!
Then I got Ocarina Of Time. It was very good. Though I still hate Jabu Jabu's belly. Stupid Ruto...
A quiet summer...
To be honest, i didn't play my 3DS much during summer at all. I was too busy doing other things - namely, getting out and about and, when at home, playing the Gamecube version of Animal Crossing like a wired up heroin addict. The times that i did play were largely characterised by a few weeks spent playing Photo Dojo at parties, and rolling around laughing at the stupid recordings my friends had made. Nintendo Video came, and i got some joy out of it, but wasn't too fussed. The OK GO videos were a refreshing break from crap magic tricks and Oscars Oasis, though.
The Ambassador Program got me back into playing my 3DS in a big way - now that I have 10 NES games sitting on my menu, i've got plenty of content to keep me occupied. Once again, I found myself playing it every day, and still i'm in awe when I turn the slider up.
Current impressions and the future...
The 3DS has been Jekyll and Hyde for me so far. I've had moments of pure joy, yet other features have left me underwhelmed. The library of 3DS physical software so far has been very limited, but the games I have bought have been very good. Add to this a great selection of downloadable games, most of which I didn't have to pay for, and I'm pretty content for now.
It is in these next few months that I really picture things picking up for the 3DS. I for one am most psyched about Animal Crossing, but that isn't out until next spring. Not that it's a problem - before then we're expecting plenty of good games. With christmas season coming, I firmly believe sales will increase. I'm looking forward to 2012 now - despite the launch of the Vita, it'll be the 3DS i'll be playing for many seasons to come."
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