Bumping this instead of the other negative topic because yesterday I got to actually the play the 3DS at an event here in NYC (there are also events in Chicago, LA and San Francisco, in addition to demo units in Best Buys and some other retail stores
for those interested)
First things first: I played all games with the 3D on MAX. All of their effects worked like they were supposed to, possibly except Pliotwings Resort, which was a case of sometimes seeing doubles because not knowing what to focus my vision on, so I had to turn it down a little. Other than that, I think I was there playing the games for almost an hour? And there was no eyestrain, no headaches, nothing. But I'll add here that I'm particularly receptive to 3D, and most people with good vision should also be. =p
Also, the 3D in most of the games was depth-based and "seeing forever" instead of WHOA THOSE ________ ARE TOTALLY POPPING OUT AT ME DOOD. For example, imagine being on top of a tall building or a mountain looking at the surrounding areas below. Now imagine it, except it's through the 3DS' screen. Yeah.
Anyway, the games I played other than Pilotwings (which was good aside from me sucking at it) were:
Steel Diver. Sub mode starts off kinda slow, but it's kinda par for the course for a semi realistic sub game. Periscope shootan mode was good fun though (I played "in a storm" and Underwater variants for a challenge.) 3D effects are like looking into an aquarium as said by Nintendo. I liked it but will acknowledge it won't be everyone's cup of tea.
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition. Bar none the best game with the best graphics out of all the games there. It was a demo in which you play 2 matches with your chosen character, with normal view or the new behind shoulder mode made for 3D (playing the mode in 2D is harder because you can't judge distance between you and your opp. as well) I played 4 matches, 2 with normal view (chose Ken and Guy) and 2 with behind shoulder view (chose Guile and Bison). It really is a 1:1 port of the console versions bar some graphical background details that nobody should care about, and some slowdown during some Ultras if you're playing in 3D. And thank god there's an option to play people without those touchscreen macros; When playing Guile I managed to spam Sonic Booms and Flash Kicks without the charging by touching the appropriate button. Other than those, this was pretty fantastic. Capcom has my cash (again) for this game. Hell, I could see this being very useful for the EVO player waiting for the match.
Madden Football. It's Madden. Sim football. Not much else to say but it plays nice, has announcers, and does have a 5 on 5 mode. It has the best use of 3D out of all the games I've played, too: It's seriously like you're staring into the football field. I'm watching how sports games are on the 3DS because of sheer immersion alone.
Asphalt 3D: Possibly the worst looking game there, and I really have no thoughts about this game one way or another. We all know there will be better racers, and unless you have a fetish for those very commonly seen Midway arcade racers from the mid to late 90s and Burnout-ish (note the -ish) elements I'd say go with Ridge Racer.
Lego Star Wars III: which I found fun, but really depends on how much you like those games.
And the built in to 3DS AR Games and Face Raiders which are nice (especially the latter, a shooter.) There was also Nintendogs+cats but I had no interest seeing as I have an actual dog and cat.
There was also some booths in the back where you can make your own Mii and have the QR code sent to your email for scanning when you get a 3DS. I was going to have mine done but there was a wi-fi problem so I couldn't have it sent.
The slide pad felt really smooth and just right, especially with SSF4. I don't know if it's the second coming of the supposedly super comfortable NGPC's analog solution (don't have one to compare) but it certainly kicks the shit out of the PSP's horribly placed and odd analog nub. The screen isn't as small or low as I thought it would be, either.
The only problem I had with the 3DS was it's camera. For as improved as the 3DS' screen is now, it still only takes pictures (and later, will record video) at 640x480, which is terrible. Even my older phone had a 3MP camera. The sweet spot on the screen for receiving 3D is a bit limited too, but that's not too bad.
All in all, I walked away pretty impressed and the stuff I've seen basically solidifies my wanting to purchase one as soon as I have cash (which won't be at launch due to lolnojob, but maybe some time in April, May, or June at the latest.)
Also pretty cool was getting interviewed by another college student who was doing a report on the 3DS and the surrounding new handheld generation. When asked if I was worried about the NGP or iWhatever, I simply stated "all three will be (or in the case of Apple's stuff, are) successful for different reasons".
