A New Dimension To Gaming

 

Nintendo is a name that is almost synonymous with handheld gaming around the world, and with the 3DS, it has taken gaming to a whole new level. Till now, gaming was the same across the plethora of platforms available (personal computers, consoles, handhelds etc.) – it was all in 2D. With the arrival of the 3DS, the gamer gets the opportunity to not just play games, but experience them in a whole different way, since this piece of tech doesn’t require glasses for the 3D experience.

The device, like the previous versions, offers two screens - a widescreen display on the top with an 800x240 pixel resolution (400 pixels for each eye combine to form the 3D effect) and LCD touchscreen at the bottom with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. Both screens boast a capacity of displaying more than 16 million colours.

The stereoscopic 3D upper screen renders objects inside the game world a feeling of depth that reaches into the screen. Positioning of characters and obstacles in the game becomes simpler, making the gaming experience a more intuitive one. The 3D depth slider allows you to adjust the intensity of the 3D settings to your comfort. It can be turned down altogether, transforming the applications into 2D, but they still look and feel better than any of the Nintendo’s ancestors. It also comes with backwards compatibility allowing seamless processing of games made for the previous versions of the device.

Motion and Gyro sensors enable the user to twist and turn their way through the games, as it responds instantly to the movements of the device in space. The Circle Pad, located above the + Control Pad, enhances the experience of the user offering full analog control. Combine this with all the traditional buttons, camera and mic input, and you’re in for a treat to the senses.

The camera on this device is also 3D! How you may ask? Since there are two cameras which see the world in 3D, combining images – exactly like the eye and the brain combines to enable you to see. With the help of this particular feature, it’s even possible to click photos in 3D.

It comes with an adjustable stylus – adjustable standing for the take-out-and-adjust-length-according-to-comfort-before-using feature on offer. If you didn’t understand that, simply put, with a simple push or pull, the length of the stylus can be adjusted as you deem fit. With this, it really does stretch the imagination on how one could possibly have made the 3DS any more visceral for the average gamer.

The 3DS is packed with a 2GB SD Memory Card, which can be used to store your 3D photos and sound recordings created on the Nintendo 3DS system. Oh, it’s also compatible with MP3 and AAC file formats, so you don’t need to be surprised when it plays your favourite songs too! The Nintendo eShop lets you browse and shop for games, which can be stored on the memory card. If you’re not satisfied with a meagre 2GB of memory, you can always upgrade your storage space thanks to SDHC card compatibility on the 3DS.

With the release of the 3DS, Nintendo has wired it like no other system before as StreetPass allows fellow players to play together in brilliant news ways. You can carry it wherever you go to exchange characters, high scores etc. with other users you pass on the street. The data exchange, too, is in your hands completely.

Another feature called the SpotPass, lets the device detect wireless HotSpots or wireless LAN access points and obtain all sorts of information and date, even when the system is in sleep mode.

It comes in 3 shades – aqua blue, cosmo black and flame red. Priced at $169 in the US, the price in India is a little bit of a bummer – Rs. 20,689. The games are on the expensive side too, as you have to shell out close to Rs. 2900 for a 3DS game.

Excellent build quality with ease of handling and comfortable controls, tremendously path-breaking new technologies and a plethora of built-in features make the Nintendo 3DS a device worth having. If all of this sounds way too much to be packed into a single gaming device, see it, play it, feel it to believe it.