Tuesday, April 5, 2011

3DS, RRoD, and Kinect GET!!

Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of The Doctor's Prognosis!

I was going to write about movies but I was able to get my hands on a brand new 3DS! Actually, it belongs to my brother. But that didn't stop me from buying a few games and putting it to the test.

Also, my XBox died when some friends came over to play some games and hang out. It just froze suddenly during Dead Rising 2. When my brother restarted the system, it gave us the dreaded Red Ring of Death! Forced to buy a new one, we decided to go all out and buy one with a Kinect and Dance Central. Here are some impressions!

Dance Central



So far, the game has been very enjoyable. Which almost made me forget about the expense of buying a whole new XBox. Almost.

Now I admit to being skeptical about the Kinect but Dance Central is a lot of fun. I had some friends come over to try it out with me. Some were more rhythmically inclined than others. Fortunately, there is a "Break It Down" mode to teach you the moves before attempting the song. But most important of all, they all had fun. In other words, I found a new party game!

Dance Central can be as easy as you want, or extremely difficult. Harder songs have more complex moves, while selecting harder difficulties on the same song will change the routine up more often, with a wider variety of moves added to the routine. Generally, choosing a harder difficulty is more fun since it will be less repetitive, and a better a workout. But it might be a good idea to practice before tackling the harder songs. If more games like Dance Central come out for Kinect, we'll be in for a good ride.

The only downside I've noticed? I now have this song stuck in my head....


Prognosis: Dance Central is great but I don't see much more I want to play in the horizon. There is definitely potential there but hopefully some clever developers outside of Harmonix can come up with some good applications. But with the fun I'm having, Dance Central may be worth the price of admission alone. At least you know Harmonix will always keep their game updated with new content before releasing a Dance Central 2.

Nintendo 3DS



The first game I purchased was Super Street Fighter IV. The controls aren't too bad. What helps is that the touch screen has large pseudo buttons to perform a couple special moves along with a super move and your selected ultra. This was much appreciated considering how hard it is to press all punch or kick buttons at the same time. Don't get me started on double fireball or 360 motions.



Another really cool feature is an over-the-shoulder perspective called "Dynamic Mode." Although it does not sound like it would be intuitive, it works quite well and makes the 3D look even better. You might not want to switch back to normal view once you try it. The online mode also works really well whether playing with friends or battling random people online.

The graphics look amazing as well. Backgrounds are static now but still 3D. Character models look great. Especially in Dynamic Mode. Overall, it's a great port. SSF4 is worth checking out even if you already own the console version.



Pilot Wings Resort, while not as good a game as SSF4, is still a fun little diversion. It's easy to get into for the casual gamer. The 3D actually makes the game easier thanks to the depth perception. This makes it easier to judge how to adjust in midair as you play such as when flying your biplane through rings. Worth checking out for more casual gamers. And it helps that it shows off the 3D quite well.



Every 3DS comes with AR Cards to use for some simple games. I played one where you shoot arrows at targets followed by a large dragon-like boss. It is a simple but fun game where you must lay the AR card down on a flat, well-lit surface so the 3DS camera recognizes it, and move around the card to get a good shot at your targets. The 3D effects and warping of reality in the game comes off quite well. It's basically a fun little tech demo. There is definitely potential there.



Another great built-in tech demo game was Face Raiders. You use the built-in 3D camera to take your friend's picture to put them in the game. Similar to the AR Cards, the game uses the camera to warp reality as you turn and shoot your friend's face. Except this time, you're more stationary and just need to turn while you are surrounded by faces. The game will definitely make you laugh since it will warp your friend's face, making him or her laugh or putting disguises. I found this one very enjoyable. I hope to see more games using this kind of technology to enhance play.

Prognosis: I really liked the 3DS. There is a lot of potential I didn't see until I got my hands on it and began playing with it. I'm also happy to see that it is compatible with WPA routers as opposed to the WEP-only DS I own. The downside is that my eyes did start to bother me after a half hour of use. There is a handy slider on the side of the unit to minimize the depth of the 3D or just turn it off. I can't wait to play more games on it. I plan to buy my own eventually but buying a new 360 with Kinect puts that off a little longer. Hopefully, once I do get it, there will be a more steady flow of games coming out. In the meantime, I'll just borrow my brother's 3DS. :D

I hope you all enjoyed my prognosis on the Kinect and 3DS. Let me know your thoughts on the Kinect and 3DS too!

See you next time!