CDS's blog

As soon as the 3DS came out the box, I was impressed. Sleek and stylish, I opened it up and turned it on. Part of the set-up procedure requires you to see the 3D in proper to set your preference. Impressed again. Then I started on the Mii Maker. More options there are this time around and more things to do. Once I had two Mii’s up and running, I headed for the AR games. After spending quite a long time on there, I then picked up Super Monkey Ball 3D and started to play. After a bit, the battery was low. Turns out it was only a quarter charged when I picked it up from Toys R Us, but I had still managed to get roughly 2 hours of play. A few guides here to maximise play and also the stuff to do.

Maximise Battery Power.
First off, I would like to say about this is to switch the 3D effect off when on menus, or when the 3D effect isn’t really needed [like on Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars]. The 3D effect, depending on how high you have it, drains power. Also, turn the wireless off unless playing multiplayer, or if the console is in sleep mode. The wireless effects the battery power as the console is always trying to connect to other 3DS’. Factory standard for brightness setting is 5. A 2 or 3 should be adequate enough to be able to see the screens, and conserve battery power. The option of power saving is also there.

AR Games
First off, only Star Pics and shooting are available. Complete Shooting and Mii Pics and AR Shot become available. Complete AR Shot and Graffiti and Fishing become available. From that short description, you probably don’t know what I am on about. So here is a basic outline of each game.
Star Pics – Using the six AR Cards available, you can summon Mario, Kirby, Samus, Toon Link, three Pikmin, and the Living Box, pose them how you want, even move them around, and then [so long as the respective AR Card is still in sight] take a photo.
Shooting – Targets appear around a square and you have to move around that square to target them. After shooting a wave, more will appear. The boss is a dragon and once defeated, you will have a time of completion.
Mii Pics – Just like Star Pics, except you are using the Mii’s you have created. Choose however many Mii’s you want, then, just like Star Pics, change the size, position and pose of each character, and a Mii Pics exclusive, the expression.
AR Shot – The immediate area your 3DS can see morphs into golf stages. Aiming by moving your 3DS, the tactical side comes in the fact you can only get a hole in one to complete a stage. Just as with Shooting, the boss is a Dragon, and you get a time at the end.
Graffiti – Draw what you want and take a photo, with a selection of other things to do, including placing stamps, tracing templates and adding special effects. Just like Mii and Star Pics, you can move what you draw around and also make it jump.

All AR Games interact with the environment around you. Once you complete fishing, you can buy more AR Games and applications by using the Play Coins you collect through walking.

Games and Face Raiders
Face Raiders is a pre-installed software game that incorporates your face and turns it into a flying creature. Your environment then becomes the battlefield as you twist and turn to shoot down your own face and those of your friends when you take their pictures. This takes full 3D on a crash course as the faces come out at you. The games on offer now have a range of fun activities and also show the 3D effects off quite nicely.

3DS Camera and 3DS Sound
3DS Camera allows you to take photos using a range of tools including making the photo look like a 20’s photograph and also over expose the photo. The 3DS Sound app means you can record sound and also listen to your music. You can also change speed and tempo of the music playing. There are also music styles to use, like making the tune sound like an 18-bit game music, and echoing the song.

Although I haven’t tried any online capabilities [no wireless hook-up] what is on offer without the online modes is quite an achievement. I haven’t even tried the Streetpass mode. Everything I have tried is perfect and is impressive. The only flaws I can really find are the 3D effects not always lining up properly and the low battery consumption, although as I mentioned near the top, there are ways around that.