Anyway, first I'll talk about my first impressions and Pilotwings Resort. When I first ran up to the demo kiosk, I was so excited. I had just gotten out of the hospital, too, so this was real treat for me. And then I picked up the system. It was like magic, like looking into a little window. The sense of depth is just amazing. I could tell exactly where everything in the game world was, exactly how far it was from me. It was crazy.
I had no problems seeing the 3D, either. Well, after a moment, that is. When I first looked into the top screen with the 3D turn up to the max, it made my eyes feel kinda weird. It's like it was forcing my eyes to go cross-eyed. Actually, it was. I could see the 3D just fine, but my eyes needed time to adjust to the autostereoscopic 3D. But, rest assured, after a few minutes, my eyes adjusted and I had no further problems. I did lose the 3D effect by moving out of the sweet spot a few times, but the system being secured to the kiosk was to blame for that. Once I figured out that I could pick it up off the kiosk, though, I had no problems losing the sweet spot while holding it correctly.
As for the graphics, they were extremely crisp and sharp, especially with the 3D turned on. Pilotwings Resort looked on par with many Wii games. The 3D effect was mostly window-like depth in Pilotwings Resort, but the system is definitely capable of pop-out 3D as well. It seems that window-like 3D will be more prominent than pop-out 3D in most games, and for good reason. It works very well, and gives you a perfect sense of depth. Pop-out 3D is more for fancy effects and such, which is what most people are used to from 3D movies, so the 3D of the 3DS will definitely seem different than what you're used to.
The system itself was very nice. And the Circle Pad... It felt perfect in my thumb. It's probably the best analog stick I've ever used (even though it's technically not an analog "stick", lol). The buttons had a great feel to them, as well. The Start and Select buttons were a bit awkward to press, but they're really not that bad, especially considering that they're so rarely used. The telescopic stylus was neat, and it felt good in my hands, though it was hard to use because it was tied to the system.
The color of the system was...interesting. It was an Aqua Blue model, and that's just what it looked like; very aqua-y. It's hard to explain the color, as it looks different depending on the lighting. It looks a lot like sparkly blue car paint. Kinda metallic, kinda glittery. I like it. Don't know if I'll like it more than the Cosmo Black one or not, though. The three layer design also looks really good, and the color tones blend nicely.
As for the game itself, it was pretty neat. Not much to it, but it's a demo after all. Reviews have stated that there is much more content in the full version, so I wasn't worried about that. Anyway, there were two modes you could play; Mission and Free Play. Each mode had you choose a guest Mii and one of three aircrafts; a plane, a jetpack, or a hang glider. Mission Mode had you flying on a set course through rings, while the other mode let you fly freely around Wuhu Island for a set time. The gameplay, while simple, was actually quite fun. The best part was seeing the environment around you in 3D, and feeling the depth. It's just something that you have to experience for yourself...it's amazing!
Like I said, on the first two visits I only played Pilotwings Resort. On my third visit, however, I was able to access the built-in features of the system. After checking out the Home Menu (which is really cool, everything is in 3D), I immediately launched AR Games. I had a picture of an AR Card ready on my iPhone and set it down on the kiosk, and the cameras detected the image with no problem! I played a little bit of Target Shooting and it was a blast! Even with the system tied down, I didn't have much trouble playing the game.
After AR Target Shooting, I went to Mii Maker and started to make a Mii. I used the face recognition feature, and...well, let's just say that I didn't keep the results, lol. That's not to say that the face recognition is bad, it's actually pretty accurate... But some Mii parts just don't go well together. XD
Anyway, after giving up on the Mii, I played a little bit of Face Raiders. I took a picture of my face before the game started, and my face popped out of the picture, donned a samurai helmet, and gave me an evil grin and flew off! Then I had to shoot down hoards of Tye faces that were coming out of the kiosk display as if it were liquid! And then they started shattering out of the display! Basically, it was really, really fun, lol.
After that I messed around with the 3DS Camera. First I merged my face with my boyfriend's face using the inner and outer cameras, and the result was...shocking. XD But the effect was done extremely well! It honestly looked like he and I merged, not just a bad Photoshop job. I was surprised that the 3DS's low resolution cameras could produce such a nice image. And then I took some 3D pictures, and I was wowed even more! Despite the low resolution, the 3DS pictures look very nice when viewed on the system, especially in 3D.
After that, some other people wanted to try it out, so I left it at that. I gotta say, though, I'm super excited for the day when I get to take home my own 3DS! It's truly an amazing system, and has tons of potential. If you're skeptical about it at all, go try it out for yourself! Seeing really is believing. If you want to try one out right now, many Best Buy locations already have demo units. And as the launch day approaches, GameStop should be getting their demos as well. I know that Toys "R" Us is expected to receive demo units on or after launch, too. If you don't think the 3DS is worth it, I highly recommend you try it out for yourself first. You may come back with a very different opinion.
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