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Nintendo 3DS event Amsterdam - First impressions
As we've been invited to one of Nintendo's 3DS events, we might as well share a few of our findings on the various games from the launch line-up.
As time is short, wse have to choose a few titles to explore. In this article we'll try to give you a brief impression of each of the titles we got our hands on tonight.
Rabbids 3D First up, we got a chance on plkaying through a one-level demo of Ubisoft's Rabbids 3D. As far as we could find out, Rabbids is regular a 2D platformer in a 3D coating. Players get to jump, throw and kick themselves around to get to the end of the level. On your way, you can collect some unlockable costumes for your Rabbid to wear. As for the 3D effect of the game, the demo didn't really speak out. Sure, the visuals get a nice touch by the 3D effect, but it doesn't add much to the gaming fun. Perhaps the usage of 3D effects in some of the later levels and/or minigames will add value to the game.
PES 2011 3D One of the launch titles available from the first day on is Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D. Where previous soccer titles on a handheld had the problem of not seeing depth, PES 2011 3D does just that. The 3D effect really adds value by giving you more insight on the playing field. Nonetheless, the constant turning of the camera made it hard for us to actually keep track of which way we were supposed to head to...
James Noir's Hollywood Crimes After a long(!) intro on Ubisoft's James Noir's Hollywood Crime, we got our hands on a few puzzles. To give you an idea on what to expect, we can explain two of the puzzles to you:
- The first puzzle involves a vase filled with flowers of two different colors. Using the D-pad you can turn the vase around. What we're looking for is an angle in which we get to see a number written in flowers of one color.
- The second puzzle involves a 2-sided clock in which you get to turn the handles so, that both clocks are pointing at the same symbols
AR Games The AR games are the minigames that come free with the Nintendo 3DS. By placing a specially designed card on the table and pointing the 3DS's front camera's towards the card, a minigame will unfold. In our case, only the currently known minigame (fighting a 3D dragon) was available, while the other 5 games still remain unknown. Nonetheless, the nice female supplying us with some gaming time promised us that the other games are even better. The AR game involves shooting various targets that appear on screen. By tilting the 3DS you can take another angle on the targets. Tilting is mandatory to play the game, as some of the targets may be hidden behind a box or even in a deep shaft in the table (where you just put your card). Although the augmented reality was impressive to say the least, we did experience a little lag while playing. Removing the card from the table or pointing your 3DS away from it is noticed pretty quickly, but in the heat of the battle taking a little angle at the dragon resulted in choppy graphics and a little lag. We're sure this minor problem will be brushed away before the 3DS will hit the stores.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D I have to admit this first: Resident Evil games on a console or handheld are not my speciality. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is no exception to that. Although yours truly lacks skill to play this kind of game, the 3D action visible on the screen is impressive. No lag, fluent 3D zombies coming at you and an wide city to explore. If only we could get the controls under control...
Kid Icarus Now here's one a lot of people were waiting for: Kid Icarus on Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately, the reaction of a lot of people on the event floor were that the game was more awkward to control than expected. Some even suggested the re-use of the Nintendo DS' thumbstrap... Basically, the Kid Icarus demo consisted out of two levels. The first level was your average Magic Carpet (PC, 1994) flying-and-shooting: Pit is lfying towards his destination (shown from behind) while enemies enter the stage in different formations. It's up to you to shoot them all. Controlling this type of game wasn't too hard at all. Move Pit using the D-pad, shoot with the various buttons. The second level however was the well-known 3D environment in which Pit gets to walk around. In our case, Pit was running throuigh an ancient Greek city, tryuing to fight his way through to the Colosseum. Moving around in this setting was a bit harder: move Pit using the D-pad (no problems here), shoot with the various buttons (nothing special here either) but aim and turn using the touchscreen. Now I, as most people, only have two hands: one to move Pit and one to use the various weapons Pit has available. For that reason alone, controlling the game was harder than expected. Some suggested using the thumbstrap as was used with Metroid Prime: Hunters might be a solution here (although we can all remember the criticism on that). Aside from the controlling issues, Kid Icarus is a nice game to view on your Nintendo 3DS. The 3D effects of the top screen weren't really noticable, that is: the 3D is more or less "blended in".
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Jame's Noir is a Launch Window title so you won't have long to wait for it as it'll be out by June at least. And there should be plenty of stuff to fill the gap, at least third party wise (seeing as Nintendo seem to be slowly moving most of their big releases to post E3).
Shame its not going to come out until later in the year. Rabbids is a launch game here and I'm getting a copy of it.
If you were into Hotel Dusk: yes. If you like puzzles in general: also yes :) The 3D-effects really suited the visual style. The two puzzles weren't that hard though, but neither were Layton's (and I had a LOT of fun with those)
I was interested in that title- if not only for a "CiNG style replacement title". Do you think it its worth jumping on if I find it cheap at launch?
I loved the James Noir's Hollywood Crimes. Very stylish.
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