Nintendos latest invention isn't revolutionary to say the least, but it is a solid piece of technology.
PROS: Excellent Build Quality. A lot of Great Features added, like Mii, and eShop. 3D actually works. D-Pad is an imporvement over the DS one. Joystick is comfortable. Backwards Compatible with DS games. Great First-Party titles, if not re-releases.
CONS: Battery Life is atrocious at times. Not Backwards Compatible with GBA games. Mediocre 3rd Party Support.
Now, i know what your thinking.
'Did Nintendo do this before, 10 or 15 years ago?'
Well Yeah, but that failed miserably, just ask any gamer.
The system at first was $250. Then after a total of 6 months, the price dropped to around $170. I've been given some requests to review a Video game system of some kind. I looked at all the systems i've own for the past years. And i thought i should look at something recent. So heres my opinion on the 3DS.
3D or not, it succeeds.
The hardware, and build quality is excellent. When Nintendo builds stuff. They don't make stuff fragile...case in point...the Gamecube, you can drop that down from a window, and it would work. Basically, Nintendo build things to last. And the 3DS is also an excellent example.
Now when open the handheld up. Immediately you see a few new changes and added-ins from the DS. First and obvious, the little Joystick. I'm glad they added that in. The D-Pad on the DS felt ok, but a little stiff when you use it. On the 3DS, the D-pad fells better than before, but not as well as you want it to be. And of course, the 3-D slider.
I'm never was a big fan of 3D, i felt that it felt tacked on at movie theaters, blurry as hell, and unnecessary at times. But on The 3DS, Nintendo actually got a 3D gimmick that...works? Believe it or not, yes it does. Really well. And if you want you can turn off the 3D effect.
Now of course when you turn it on, you'll notice alot of tantalizing features. Just like the DSi, you have a camera. A 3D camera. Its also got an Activity Log, which tracks your gameplay, and how long you play. Mii Making has returned from the Wii to the 3DS which is cool. And its also backwards compatible with DS games. But, unfortunately, the 3DS is not backwards compatible with GBA games. And the eShop, which is lot like Wii Shop Channel or DSiWare.
The biggest negative i have the 3DS is one, and one only. You heard it before, and you'll keep hearing in probably every review, and thats....the Battery Life. Its pretty bad. Depending on the brightness or 3D. The battery life can drain in less than 6 hours. Sometimes its less than that.
Now lets talk about the biggest part of the 3DS, the games. As we know, the 3DS has had a bit of a rocky start, its not really selling well at the moment. And the games though some are awesome, alot of them are re-releases. Example: Star Fox 64 3D! Ocarina of Time 3D! Super Street Fighter 4 3D!
Great games but they're re-releases of older games. True, Mario 64 did that with the DS. But thats just One re-release in 1 year. Here, we have 3!
And some of the games i've seen from 3rd party companies, the games ranged from ok to bad. Not to worry, though. Nintendo's gonna give Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7 the holiday season. And Luigis Mansion 2? Thats gonna be cool. And did you hear the news about a new Smash Bros coming on both 3DS and Wii U? Now that will be awesome.
All i gotta say is that i see a better future for Nintendo and the 3DS. And the upcoming Wii U. Sure, Nintendos latest invention isn't revolutionary to say the least, 3D technology isn't new at at all, but it is a solid piece of technology to fool around with, and to enjoy. I recommend you to try it out.