Mafro

So I’ve had my 3DS for just over a week now. Here’s some brief impressions

Positives:

• The size of the unit is just right. It’s deceptively smaller than it looks in promo shots, around the same size as the DSi.
• The glossy black finish looks better in the flesh and isn’t as much of a fingerprint magnet as I was expecting. There’s also a nice gradient effect on the lid of the unit. It doesn’t look as sexy as the matte black DSi, but it’s still pretty damn good.
• The big, sharp 3D upper screen, and the improved resolution of that and the bottom screen.
• Including a slider to alter the intensity of the 3D effect. For the first few days I kept this at around 50% since anything higher felt a bit too much (especially Pilotwings), but now I’ve gotten used to it I have it turned up full for every game.
• The new operating system. It’s similar to the one seen on the DSi, but much more fleshed out. The most notable new feature is that pressing the home button pauses the current game/application and it can then be resumed at any time.
• The analogue circle pad. It’s much, much better than the PSP’s analogue slider, feels more smooth and natural.
• Unified friend code, so no more pissing about with a different one for every game. There’s also a very basic friend list which allows you to view when friends are online, their favourite game and what they are playing.
• Improved speakers leading to a big improvement in sound quality. There’s even some sort of weird surround sound thing going on.
• The included software such as Face Raiders (shoot ‘em up using the gyroscope and both cameras), the AR cards, StreetPass Quest (a very basic turn-based RPG) and the Mii Plaza (similar to the one on Wii).
• Built-in music player and the various visualisers including Excitebike and a nice little Rhythm Tengoku easter egg.
• The built-in pedometer. Your steps are converted into coins which you can spend on various things in the included software, such as hiring new adventurers in StreetPass Quest.
• LEDs. From the pulsing blue light when the unit is in sleep mode, to the flashing orange one that notifies when a friend has come online. A nice little touch reminiscent of the flashing light on a BlackBerry smartphone.

Negatives:

• The aforementioned friend list, it’s very basic. Your friends are listed in the order you added them, no alphabetical order or the ability to sort between who is on and offline.
• Currently there’s no way to send messages to friends, only a “status update” with a small character limit and an orange ball appearing above their Mii. Hopefully this and the friend list sorting will be improved with future firmware updates.
• The battery life, which is somewhere between 3-5 hours. Fine if, like me, you do a lot of handheld gaming at home, but
• Mii data can be converted into QR codes, but it would be handy if these also carried that person’s friend code and could added by scanning the QR code, rather than typing it in.
• The placement and size of the d-pad. It’s too low down on the unit, and a little on the small side for serious use in games like Super Street Fighter IV.
• The over-reliance on StreetPass (local wireless communication between two 3DSs) for unlocking new content. If you don’t live in a heavily populated area where other people are likely to be carrying their 3DS too, then some of the games become a bit of a chore - case in point is StreetPass Quest. You can collect other peoples Miis via StreetPass to help in the game, but if you don’t have that option then you have to spend the coins converted from the pedometer to hire new adventurers. Stupidly, the amount of coins is limited to only ten per day and it costs two coins per adventurer.