The Nintendo 3DS: When is it coming?

For those of you that have lived under a rock for the past couple of months, Nintendo announced their next generation of portable hardware known of the Nintendo 3DS.  Like every Nintendo portable that came out before this, these consoles are usually one generation behind the current generation of home consoles.  The 3DS is really no exception, since it is more or less a portable Gamecube.  The irony behind this is that the Wii decided to go with the generation lag (as I call it) and the 3DS is probably nearly as powerful as the Wii. That aside, let's talk about the Nintendo 3DS.

First and foremost, the Nintendo 3DS is obviously a 3D gaming console.  But wait, consoles aren't just 3D anymore, they are also 3D.  This means it not only has 3D graphics, but also 3D effects that make the image appear that it's popping out of the screen.  I'm sure you're all familiar of the recent craze (or gimmick) of movies being 3D.  It's just as stupid as the movies that were popular two decades ago when people thought the old red & blue glasses were cool.  The biggest gimmick about the 3DS this time around is the new 3D screen.  It does not require glasses, which is a overall plus because watching Avatar in 3D for two hours gave me a headache.  If the 3D image still bothers you, Nintendo added a 3D slider so that you adjust it's... um.. 3D-ness.  You can even play a game with no 3D at all if you please.

The 3DS's design is almost the same as the current Nintendo DSi with some tweaks here and there.  The most obvious addition is the top screen is now a 16x9 wide screen, which is also the screen that will be generating the 3D images.  The 2nd biggest addition is the joy stick, or as Nintendo calls it: "The Slider".  A lot of people are already generating negative comments about this because the Playstation Portable (PSP) had the same "slider" or as Sony called it, the analog nub, because there is only one stick as opposed to the usual two sticks that people have grown so used to with home consoles.  Lastly, the 3rd addition is the new "3D" cameras on the back (as opposed to the former one camera) that will be able to take 3D pictures.

The design out of the way, the current list of games to be released sound pretty promising.  Remakes of Starfox 64 & Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time are expected to be out at or around launch, along with the long awaited return of Kid Icarus, plus a new Mario Kart is expected to come for the system soon as well  3rd party games have also been shown to the public such as Metal Gear Solid 3 & Dead or Alive.  Nintendo also claims that even older games will be re-released with 3D effects, but will be not be updated graphically like Starfox & Zelda will be.

So the release date?  Nobody knows yet!  This is actually what made me revive my old blog here is because Nintendo is being really tight lipped about the release of the 3DS in not only America, but also in Japan & Europe.  At the beginning of the month, Nintendo of America (or NOA) recently made a universal price drop on both the Nintendo DSi & Nintendo DSi XL systems.  A few sources are claiming the release date will be from November of this year to the Spring of 2011. 

In 2004, Nintendo released the first Nintendo DS in America in November, and then released it worldwide two weeks later.  Let's just hope that we can all get out hands on this exciting new console before 2011 and I'll be a happy man. Nintendo will be having a press conference on Wednesday which will finally put all of these rumors to rest, so until Wednesday, have a good one!

Gaming with the iPod Touch

All this week I will be fairly busy, but I figured that I will bring up a topic that I run into all the time.  Why do you have a iPod?  If you know me, I have a very weird taste in music.  First of all, I think most music today is just garbage.  I do like most kinds of Rock, but I usually listen to video game tunes & silly jpop/jrock songs.  Therefore, you won't ever see me talking about latest 50 cent album or some crap.  That aside, I purchased a iPod Touch for one reason - the games!

Believe it or not, Apple somehow snuck into the portable gaming market back when the first generation iPhone & iPod Touch were released.  Originally, I think games from the app store weren't meant to be treated as games for like the DS or PSP, but it later did, and exploded a year later with the 2nd gen release of the iPhone. 

Without getting into it's technical specifications, the iPod Touch is basically as powerful as a PSP.  That's right, that tiny thing just as powerful as a PSP.  Nowadays, this isn't very impressive for most home consoles, but for a portable console, it's bound to raise a few eyebrows.  This can lead to some very graphically intense games, however, the better the game (graphically) the more it will drain on the iPod's battery.  So if you want to play Assassin's Creed or Resident Evil 4, you better have a PC or a charger nearby, or else you won't be playing for very long.

The best thing about the iPod Touch is buying games for it.  Like all iPods, they use flash memory, therefore, you don't have worry about popping in sd cards, hard drives, memory sticks, and whatnot.  All you have do is buy a game, download it, install it, and you're ready to play.  Best of all, most add ons & firmware updates for all games are free.  With the release of 3rd gen iPod Touch (or mainly just it's firmware), games can now have downloadable content (like in DDR or Rock Band, you can download more songs).  Lastly, most games for the iPod are within $1-15.  Compare that other portable games on the market that retail for about $30-40 new.  Not to mention, you have go out to a store or order it online to get it (unless you are buying games digitally).

As for most games, how do they work?  If you don't know the iPod Touch to well, then you are in for a bit of a surprise - it has no buttons.  This makes certain games for the iPod almost impossible to make.  Mainly platforming games.  As for any other game, it usually works pretty well.  I've seen that Puzzle & RPG games work very well on the iPod, but platforming & shooters usually don't work as well (but they can!)  A lot of shooters or platforming games are forced to use digital (or "touch") buttons or joysticks.  I'll tell you right now that playing Sonic or Mega Man is nearly impossible on the iPod.  Do not buy them.  As for everything else, it will/probably work.

The iPod's gaming capabilities asides, what are some good games on the app store?  Every day, I'm still trying to figure what's good and what's not.  But here's what I can tell from what I have now.

Tetris - It's Tetris.  Believe it or not, Tetris on a touch screen is amazing.  It takes some time to get used to, but it works.  Buy it.

Monopoly - I've played a lot of Monopoly video games in my time, and I have to say that this has to be the best one out now.  I've never played any of the newer PC versions of it, but the iPod version is awesome. I like how you can play wirelessly between other iPods, or just locally between you and a friend.  It saves time & the mess from playing the actual game.  I'm personally a big fan of old board games such as Sorry! and Stratego, so the more board games on the app store, the merrier.

 

Doom/Wolfenstein 3D - I'm putting these together because they are basically ports of the PC versions that id software both developed.  Doom & Wolfenstein work very well on the iPod.  The controls work, and the games are still as fun as ever.  It's totally worth it.

Terminator Salvation - Now, this was a risky purchase for me, because most movie games just suck.  However, Terminator Salvation was done really well.  If you love 3rd person shooters, then the Terminator is the best game to go to.  I think I enjoyed it more than RE4 on the iPod.

Doom Resurrection - Lame name aside, DR is a iPod exclusive.  It's a on rails game, this means it will play exactly like most old arcade shooters such as House of the Dead or Time Crisis.  The game offers a wide variety of weapons, and has really good graphics for a iPod game.  Some bosses are insanely difficult, but in the end, I'd say that the game is worth it.

Rock Band - I admit, I hate Guitar Hero & Rock Band.  I can't stand them anymore because they are forced out to the market each year with a new game.  I'm referring more to GH, but the whole playing music with plastic instruments thing has gotten a bit old.  It's still fun, but I can't play either play as much as I used to, but what about playing with your fingers?  It actually isn't that bad.  Weak soundtrack aside, the iPod version of Rock Band works.  The only big negative is that if you don't have a iPhone, then you'll need to buy a headset or a microphone in order to sing songs in the game.

Wolfenstein RPG - I have to say that this game is actually really good.  If you ever played Orcs & Elves on a cell phone or for DS, then it's exactly like Wolfenstein RPG.  The game is basically a 3D RPG shooter.  It means every turn, you either move 1 space, or you attack.  It's a lot easier than it sounds, trust me.

Resident Evil 4 - It's basically RE4 with sightly inferior graphics and no cut scenes.  If you liked RE4, buy it.  If you never played RE4, buy the console versions instead.

LightBike Free - It's kind of hard to explain, but it's basically a four player game where you and 3 other AI players race around a 3D board.  Whoever doesn't die, wins.  It's free, so it's awesome.

Dungeon Hunter - Do you like Diablo?  Then this is your game!  It's basically a Diablo style point and click game.  It looks and plays very well.  Probably one of the best games on the iPod.

Metal Gear Solid Touch -  If you ever wanted to play MGS style Duck Hunt, then this is your game.  Not very impressive at all.

DDR S - It's DDR with your fingers.  The plus version has DLC content, but it's the same game.

The Sims 3 - Despite trying to be like it's PC counterpart, I wasn't very impressed with this game.  The graphics were good, but the control & gameplay are awful. 

Oregon Trail - Basically, it's a updated version of the Apple II classic. It's short, and it doesn't have much replay value in it either. 

Sonic the Hedgehog - It's Sonic 1 for Genesis ported to iPod with awful controls.  Getting past the second level is almost impossible.

If I ever get a hold of any cooler games for the iPod in the future, I'll let you all know.

Oh, and I just got my second badge in Pokemon SoulSliver.  I know I'm taking forever to get through the game, but I never have much time to play it.  I'm in Goldenrod City now.

And that's it!  See you all later!