A WEEK WITH THE 3DS

Well after a week of playing with the 3DS I think it is safe to say that once again Nintendo have knocked the ball out of the park.

When it comes to hand held gaming devices it is fair to say that Nintendo have it down to a fine art.  Sony may have suffered some unworthy negative press with the PSP, but Nintendo do deserve the plaudits that they get.

The 3DS works so well.  The 3D is fantastic and it really works as well.  It is not gimmicky or cheap but proper 3D.  The fact that you don't need to wear glasses to experience it only adds to a great job Nintendo have done with this.  The 3D is also scalable thanks to a slider next to the screen which allows you to adjust the 3D effect to suit your eyes or you can turn it off fully.

At the moment I have four games.  Ghost Recon, Ridge Racer, Pilot Wings and Pro Evolution Soccer.  All of them a great games and are perfect for the platform.  What I mean by that is that they are not trying to ape their big brother console counterparts.  They have been designed with a hand held in mind.  Ghost Recon for example is a turn based shooter using an isometric view as opposed to a 3rd person shooter and it really works.

Also bundled with the 3DS are AR cards.  I don't want to spoil it for you, but honestly, what they do is fantastic.

With regards to the possibility of side effects from playing the 3DS, I cannot comment because I have been lucky enough not to suffer from any.  I am also not going to patronise people by saying that they should simple adjust the slider or not play it for so long as it is down to the individual as to how they are affected by it.  All I can suggest is that you try it before you buy it and see how you go.

With the prospect of a couple of cracking looking Resident Evil games on the horizon as well as reboots of Zelda and Mario Kart I am really glad I invested in this.  I have not nearly covered what it does in any type of depth but rather what I have been playing with so far.  It's a belting console and well worth investing in if you are looking for a hand held gaming device.