GDC 2011: Hands on with the 3ds

I think that the best part of GDC 2011 was having a chance to get a hands on with the 3DS, Nintendo's new challenger(and possible dominator) of the new generation of handheld gaming.  The entire Nintendo booth was dedicated to showcasing the system to curious attendees, with a pretty impressive spread of games.  I had the chance to get my hands on 3 games our of the 8 or so, and was allowed to film 2 of the games.  Check out our video previews and thoughts about the system after the jump!

Anyways, before anything, the system:

• The 3D was surprisingly easy on the eyes, and not as strict on you viewing it from a very specific angle.  This was a relief.  Didn't notice any strain on my eyes from extended play.
• I loved the depth slider on the right side of the top screen, which allowed you to adjust the amount of 3D depth on the go.  Turning it up all the way made me cross eyed, which made me realize why the feature was added.
• The analog stick was well designed, with an indented nub which felt very natural for my thumb.
• The new pen had a metallic shaft that after a week of con goer fondling, had turned into a horrifically greasy instrument.  This didn't seem very well thought out.

Super Street Fighter IV 3D:
The first game I had a chance to play was Super Street Fighter IV.  I got pitted against another player on a 3DS across the room and finished him off using an Ultra as Bison.  The controls, which were my biggest concern going in were spot on, with a responsive Dpad and fluid analog nub allowing me to pull off all the moves effortlessly.

The holographic cover that will be released in the first print of SSF4 3DS.

Arcade perfect much?  They did an amazing job translating the game to the 3DS, with the full cast of 35 characters playable.  Pretty much a straight port of the console version with a minor downgrade of the graphics and a few bells and whistles.  The dumbed down 'easy moves' shortcuts on the bottom screen were a letdown initially, but after talking to a Capcom rep I was informed that in online play you'd be able to filter out those players.  YES!

Kid Icarus Uprising:
Honestly, this was kind of a letdown.  From the demo I noticed two major problems, first of all being the seemingly very shallow gameplay.  The game plays like a shallow Space Harrier/Panzer Dragoon which did not sit well with me.  The game starts you off by letting you choose one of 3 weapons before sending you out on an on rails sky battle, till you land in the city and continue on foot.  It was an incredibly linear, clunky game with no ability to backtrack.  An arcade style game for a series' return after this many years?  Disappointing.

By the end of this playthrough my hands were so cramped I had to take a 10-minute break.  The awkward control scheme just doesn't work for this game, forcing you to hold up the 3DS, move and shoot with one hand while the other hand was on stylus/aiming duty.



Resident Evil: Mercenaries:
Pretty much a tweaked port of the minigame from RE5.  The game looked amazing, but where is our straight game port?

Pilotwings Resort:
Due to the Nintendo rep being insanely sensitive to us filming this, all I can say about this game is that it was an absolute bore.  I played Pilotwings 64, why not change the gameplay a little bit?

Ocarina Of Time: 
A facelifted port of the original, but it was still exciting to see the game on a portable screen.  For anyone who played the original on the 64, this is a must have.

Overall, Nintendo had a strong showing at GDC, offering a full spread of titles for people to try and play.