Eurogamer 8/10 Pilotwings 3DS Review. Some good points made. Not as shallow as previously thought? We'll see!
Good impressions. Look forward to trying this out on my own to see if the 3D effect is more effective if you can hold it the way it's supposed to be held. Anyway cool that you got to try it. Can't wait to see Pilotwings for myself.
I just want a DS that has more than displays bright colors.
The 3D has been getting widely mixed reviews at gaf. My stupid BB didnt have it in. No clue where to find a BB in Buffalo, but its Buffalo, if I were Nintendo I wouldnt come out here.
Hamburg NY (Store 1131)
3701 Mckinley Pkwy
Buffalo, NY 14219
Phone: 716-824-2670
Great impressions, Leo. I think the thing that keeps me from getting one at the moment is the price point. It's just a bit too pricey for me at the moment. The 3D sounds about like I guessed it would. I bet it gets better the more you play, kinda like how my eyes had to adjust to my HDTV the first day or two.
Your issues with the 3D effect sounds very similar what happened to me when I watched Avatar in 3D. 
Ravenprose said:Your issues with the 3D effect sounds very similar what happened to me when I watched Avatar in 3D.
I love 3D movies so I am very excited for 3DS.
Tried the 3DS today at Best Buy. Thankfully, their display was movable, so I was able to pick it up to play it. I played Pilotwings, and in 2D mode, the game looked exactly like Wii Sports Resort's Airplane game graphically, with nice vivid colors. When I turned on the 3D effect to 25%, there was a slight illusion of depth added with minimal blur. However, as soon as the 3D was turned on, the screen brightness reduced significantly, and the colors became quite dull. At 50%, the 3D effect had a more pronounced illusion of depth, but the screen blur was also more pronounced, making it difficult for me to focus my eyes on the action. With the 3D effect at 75-100%, the game became unplayable with double vision and a very blurry image. I played for about 10 minutes. Afterwards, my eyes were quite tired. In my opinion, Nintendo's 3D is the best example of modern 3D I've seen so far, thanks to the adjustable 3D slider, but I really wasn't impressed. Basically, if I were to buy a 3DS, I would play it exclusively in 2D mode.
How the fuck did I miss this thread?
If the NGP comes out at the same price of the 3DS I'll get the NGP first. I don't really give a shit other than I want to be able to play decent RPG's on either. Given that they are both packing current gen tech, I doubt I'll get what I want (meaning I'll get FF13 type games instead of FF6 type games).
In my wildest dreams I am hoping that the 3D effect looks like what a ViewMaster looks like, but I am concerned about the eye fatigue.
Leo and Raven, thanks for your hand-on impressions.
I moved my initial impressions down here to preserve them and to give top-billing to my actual OWNERSHIP impressions! Let's see how much they contrast in the long-run, shall we?
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...slightly disappointed.
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Here's the deal. I was looking for a reason to get out of the house today, and get out amongst people to get myself ready to get back to work tomorrow. I walked into Best Buy looking for a copy of Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light. They didn't have it out on the normal shelf, so I just strolled around the aisles looking to see if it was on another display anywhere else. Out of the corner of my eye I see a young guy playing a DS and didn't think anything of it for a moment until it registered in my head: "They don't MAKE a DS that shade of Blue!" It took a second to realize what it was and I had to walk a little closer to confirm by seeing if it had the Slide Pad, and sure enough...
I waited patiently for the kid to finish playing. I didn't want to be looking over his shoulder and wanted to have a few minutes with the system all to myself. I tried to recall if they were even scheduled to be in stores yet, but frankly, I don't remember.
Kid leaves...
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Walking up to the 3DS in a fixed position is kinda awkward because it starts out blurry, then snaps (somewhat) into focus as you position yourself in front of the machine. The game that was on display was Pilotwings 3DS. Understand, this thing was BOLTED to a display table. It looked like it had a tether and I tried to lift it, but it was completely secured. First impressions (without even starting the game yet) the Slide Pad is silky-smooth-awesomeness and should be a new standard for portable analog controls (A++)! The buttons look a bit smaller and a bit more raised than on the DS. Yes they are a bit more "clicky" as are the triggers, but the feedback is fine and I have no complaints there (A).
Just below the touchscreen you'll notice the Select, Home and Start "Bar." I say Bar because even though it isn't evident in this picture, the plastic below the touchscreen seems to be a long, horizontal "button." You physically press down where it says Select or Start... and it's a bit weird. I tried pressing the Home button to see the 3DS dashboard, but it seemed to be disabled on this unit (B-).
I like the feel of the system itself. It feels like it is well put-together, although I can't say anything about the weight, the back of it, the cartridge slot, etc for obvious reasons (B+).
Why only a B+ for the feel of the hardware? It has ONE flaw and I am HOPING this was just this particular display system and the retail versions aren't like this --BUT-- the 3D Slider Switch feels cheap, cheesy and easily breakable. Remember the volume switch on the DS Lite? Remember how loose it could feel? Yeah. Like that, but 100 times worse! This isn't a digital kinda of mechanism, I think. It feels almost like the Slider is manually manipulating the inner, top screen. Slide it up and down and you can almost see Vertical Display Columns in the top screen moving. I can be completely WRONG about this. I hope I am (C-)!
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...and now for the actual GamePlay.
The first image that greeted me seemed to be a Golf Course on Wu-Hu island. I thought there was a Golf Game on display at first! The colors were EXTREMELY sharp! Sharper than ANY I've seen on a portable console so far. The Green was vibrant, the Red stood out as a sharp contrast, no color bleeding or anything like that. The character models looked even more sharp than their Wii counterparts. Makes sense. I am assuming the 3DS screen is running in a much higher resolution than a Wii game could. The rings you had to fly through looked round. The baloons you had to pop while using your jetpack rounded and as jaggi-less as you could hope for! I wish Nintendo hadn't used the Mii's though. Quite frankly, I am getting tired of the Weeble-Wobble design of them. Overall though, the graphics quality was niiiice! They do showcase the 3DS capabilities quite well (A).
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...but what about the 3D ? ! ?
Here's the disappointing part: I don't know if it was me. I don't know if it's my vision or my head, but I found it very difficult to focus on the 3D imagery. My eyes were constantly adjusting, going in and out of focus, trying to adjust to the depth in the the screen. The plane would come into focus, then it would go double-vision as I would look ahead into the skies and background. When it was working, it was DAMN impressive. The plane looked as if it was floating just above the touch screen. The objectives are very short, very shallow and very quick in Pilotwings, so by the time I got "used to" viewing the 3D space, I had competed the trial. I tried the plane and I tried the Jet-Pack. The plane and how you approach the floating rings benefits HUGELY from the 3D, but this takes place up in mostly empty sky. The JET-PACK however was VERY cool! You could hover close to the ground and approaching buildings, structures and Trees was nearly unbelievable!
...but the entire time, if my eyes had a voice, they would have been saying to me: "What the HELL are you trying to do to us?!" It felt unnatural. I'm not saying I got an immediate head-ache, but it does mess with your vision and depth-perception and is a tiny bit disorienting. I adjusted the slider, to full, to off, to half... At full I was experiencing a double-vision kind of "Ghosting" of the images. At half, you could still see depth and the ghosting was minimized, but it was still there. I am afraid I would have to give the 3D a (C+).
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...but here's the thing:
There was absolutely NO WAY to get comfortable with this system. You couldn't hold it up to your face, as I believe you are supposed to do. The system was at stomach level and I don't think that's the optimal way to play! It's great to have the systems out there Nintendo, but this could give the WRONG impression!!
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...in conclusion:
I walked away pondering cancelling my pre-orders. Then I thought it through and decided what I wrote above in Red. Even with the 3D turned OFF the system is light-years AHEAD of the DS. I am getting it regardless. Whether this was a bad environment and poor conditions to play, I don't know. Whether it is my vision or my head injury, I don't know. March 27th can't come soon enough now though, so I can get some REAL hands-on, quality time and see if the best selling system of all time has gotten its proper successor, or not!
Leo. Tell me. Have you ever used a Viewmaster? And if so it that what the 3DS effect is like? (like a diarama).
Also, the other thing I want to knwo about is that we were told this was about as powerful as a Wii. But the screens for the system don't look very good at all. 
Do you get a sense of the power of the device from these early games?
Here's where my further impressions begin!
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I don't know how long the novelty will last but everyone, in every way is showing off ridiculously with the 3D! Pop the Super Street Fighter IV card into the system and watch the re-designed Logo float around in 3D space! The Title screen where you see Ryu and Ken clashing now has their arms and bodies intertwined in 3D! The game is impressive. The 3D is sound. The animation, graphics and color intact... How it plays... Well, pretty much as I expected. It's a tad awkward, but it's STILL a great way of showing off the 3D application to a game people already know pretty well!
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Your Mii's pop out at you as you create them; the floating menu icons. Nintendo has some new tech they are totally proud of and they are gonna exploit it 'til your eyes explode!
As for the games, I am not going to be playing too much due to the hour it is, but I have to tell you: The feeling you get, flying the plane in 3D around Wu-Hu for the first time... It's just another one of those MAGICAL, MILESTONE moments brought to you, once again, by Nintendo!
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More in the morning, I think!
aspro said:Leo. Tell me. Have you ever used a Viewmaster? And if so it that what the 3DS effect is like? (like a diarama).
Also, the other thing I want to knwo about is that we were told this was about as powerful as a Wii. But the screens for the system don't look very good at all.
Things float around and move, so it's not just like a diarama... but the depth the ViewMaster creates is what the 3DS does best!
Yes the graphics are Wii quality. Better even because they are high definition. The edges are smoothed, the colors are bright and pop out at you... If this is the power displayed in launch games, I can't WAIT to see where they are going to go with this!
You have to understand the improvement isn't JUST visual. The 3D gives a dimension and realistic perspective to the games that was just NOT possible before!!
You will immediately think back to the conversation Iwata and Miyamoto had at the system's first showing about how games on a 2D screen can't quite do 3D depth and proper 3D spacing and perspective and you will totally understand!
HOLY FAT MANUALS, BATMAN!!
HOW MANY TREES DID NINTENDO SLAUGHTER TO MAKE THESE MONSTROSITIES ? ! ?
The environmental people aren't gonna be happy about this!!
Heh! Fuck 'em! 
I'll be trying out the AR cards and fiddling with the other included apps in the morning!
I will try NOT to have nightmares from Face-Raiders totally wicked sounding 3D maniacal laughter! 
Cool, well that totally reverses what I've heard from the gamespot crowd. They did a special podcast which basically shat all over every aspect of the device, so I was a bit concerned. 8-4 had a podcast on it as well, and they were much more measuered in their evaluation. I can;t wait for more impressions. But for now, I'm going to play some Sonic All-Stars or Re5.
Gentlemen, It's GOOD! It's REALLY, REALLY GOOD!
The feel of the system is metallic and heavy, rather than plasticy and light like the Lite! The buttons have awesome tactile feedback now; they have much better resistance!
The LOOK of the system is SLEEK and GLOSSY. It's both SHINY and finger-print resistant!! The BLACK is dark and sleek. The BLUE is actually a bit green-ish (I think; I am slightly color-blind)... it's NOT the color you THINK it is!
It fits soooo nicely into the cradle. Snaps right in with a satisfying "CLICK!"
When you turn the system on, it leads you through the set-up process, telling you to set the 3D slider to it's highest setting, then 3, 2, 1... 3D!! It does this in front of your eyes and your eyes naturally "follow" the introduction of the depth in the screen. This is the BEST possible way to be introduced to the three-dimensional perspective!! BRILLIANT!!
The system goes through all the typical DS set-up stuff. Time, Date, Region, Internet Connection, etc... There's even a little tutorial dude if you need help setting your connection up! Smart on Nintendo's part!
Another thing that will strike you when you finally reach the home screen is the THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOUND ! ! ! The typical cheery Nintendo music kinda floats around your head...
...just as the icons for whatever menu you are in FLOAT around in 3D on the top-screen. Nintendo is up to their old tricks with their little hidden easter eggs in full force with this system too! Trying making some noise or blowing at the system when there are icons floating on the 3D screen and see what happens!!