Then i say you should've gone to specsavers. That sounds like a nasty eye disease you have there.
Personally, when I view the 3d, it's like someone removes the glass/plastic/lcd screen from in front of the image, which has the effect of making everything looker clearer, sharper and bolder. I shall test whether there is any change with one eye closed. (i.e. Not seeing the 3D). Later.
In other news, i checked in 5 entertainment stores for starfox (game,game, gamestation, hmv and cex). And only found one copy of it, and that was second hand. So the remake was either wildly popular (moreso than mario and zelda) or, more likely given the amazon price, didn't sell all that well. Which bodes ill for both a new sf game and a majoras mask remake. So boo.
In 3D mode, you're looking at two 400x240 images, vs the single 800x240 image in 2D mode. The resulting effect is that both eyes are seeing a lower res image, even though the number of pixels is the same, which causes the "decreased antialiasing" effect (also known as "lower resolution").
I'd have presumed that the 800x240 resolution was 3D only, hence the jump in clarity and battery consumption, also considering that the bottom screen is 320x240 and gives images of a very similiar fidelity, hence why I assumed it was 400x240 in 2D mode.
I may have of course presumed wrong, a quick google provided nothing concrete other than 400 pixels per eye in 3D mode.
Ocarina sold over 1 million in its first month. I don't think we have to worry about Majora's Mask.
Its whether or not Nintendo want to do it is all we have to worry about.
I suspect if they do, they will save the release for a slow month, since it will sell with enthusiasts very well.
(And prepare a 3DS Zelda to release at the end of a year)
Its whether or not Nintendo want to do it is all we have to worry about.
I suspect if they do, they will save the release for a slow month, since it will sell with enthusiasts very well.
(And prepare a 3DS Zelda to release at the end of a year)
Aonuma has gone on record stating that if there was enough fan demand, then it might see the light of day. Hence Operation Moonfall.
I actually died several times on the demo. I needed nearly every item I found to survive the final monster.
Was the final monster just before you meet up with the dude?
Then I managed to get through it on the first try.
Didn't find it particularily hard at all.
I ran out of ammo, but I always tried to make each shot count, and use my knife as often as I could get away with.
I was taking my time though, so I may just do a quick run through again to see how far I can get.
I didn't figure out I could quick reload until the final playthrough, and I missed a lot of healing items the first few times. I also couldn't figure out how to use hand grenades til then.
So I played the demo again and managed to clear it a little over 5 minutes.
Normal mode, definately isn't that hard, and the game controls are spot-on for me!
(And I'm going to get the Circle Pad Pro bundle version as well, so it will be even better! )
Just have "Hell" mode to try now, and hopefully it will make things interesting, though I may just wait 5 days, and just play the full version.
(On Normal)
Definately the best 3DS game graphically. Shows the capabilites of the device well.
(Imagine what the games will look like a few years down the line! )
Not a big Resident Evil fan, never played them before, but I have to say, this demo is pretty darn neat. And I agree that it's the best looking game on the system.
Question to those who have played the Revelations demo and the Mercenaries game, do they play similarly?
Not a big Resident Evil fan, never played them before, but I have to say, this demo is pretty darn neat. And I agree that it's the best looking game on the system.
Question to those who have played the Revelations demo and the Mercenaries game, do they play similarly?
Yeah, same mechanics. Mercenaries really isn't worth your money though unless you have someone to co-op with, and even then it gets old fast.
I never expected me to like Cooking Mama 4 more than Resident Evil: Revelations. Not that Resident Evil: Revelations is a bad game, but it's just not a game for me.
And would I need to have played the previous games in the series to understand Revelations?
It's not a linear story or anything, you just have to clear certain areas of zombies within a time limit, there's a good few stages but very few can be played in co-op. In the end it plays nice, but gets old.
I know Resident Evil 4 was really popular.. but that is when the franchise lost me as a fan.
Probably because that's the same time the games lost all the aspects they previously shared with adventure games.
The older RE games were like action/adventure hybrids and while the adventure game aspects weren't particularly strong they really balanced out the experience. Though I suppose games like that are a harder sell for the Halo generation and the franchise had to "evolve" accordingly.
I personally like the new style as well as the old style. RE5 was amazing fun as long as you have a friend to play it with. I with they'd remake some of the older ones though, like RE2 and RE3. My only access to them is those lazy ports on the CGN.
So I've just recieved my Zavvi exclusive version of Resident Evil Revelations, (which was £30 for me as I pre-ordered it months ago, but its now £40), which includes the Circle Pad Plus.
So I've been playing the game for a little while with the accessory and I'm going to give a few first impressions.
So the Circle Pad Plus.
Its a bizarre peice of kit.
The first unusual thing is the battery. Unlike what I was expecting, the battery slot was under where the 3ds would sit rather then the typical bottom-loaded deal, which is pretty good.
What is particularily unusual however, is that the cover is not a plastic hinge opener, but is actually a screw cover.
A big, chunky screw that I had to go and open with the end of a pair of scissors so I could open it. Definately can't be tampered with and is pretty secure so its a plus.
I can see the design reasoning behind it. The device is powered by a single AAA battery, (which fortunately the device comes with one! ) and its supposed to last a long time without switching so thats good, no issues there.
The next part I'll talk about is how it sets up.
What really clever about it is that unlike some accessories, this doesn't "clip-in", and it doesn't need anything to plug into the device itself either.
You simple push the 3DS into the device, (which is then held in by rubber pads, hence why you need to squeeze it in), good design there.
Its run by the 3DS's infra-red port (the square thing on the back), at least I think its infra-red, I'm not certain.
So you stick it in and it works.
Setting it up with Resident Evil:Revelations is good too.
You just boot the game, stick it in, and it auto detects it and changes the control settings to it.
Now I'll cover how it handles.
It has 3 buttons on the back.
R, ZR, and ZL (it uses the L button of the 3DS).
Its kind of unusual that it wouldn't include its own L button, but again the design reasoning is sound.
If it had a L button, then you could not access the volume slider (since it would cover it up).
Why it could also include its own volume slider is beyond me though, since it kind of feels weird at first to use the L button, (but smartly enough the games I should imagine will design themselves around avoiding the L button as much as possible (like the N64! XD).
The R button is ok, but not really all that much better than the regular 3DS R button.
The emphasis on this device are the ZL, ZR, and the circle pad.
And the ZL and ZR buttons are great. Trigger-designed for certain. A bit odd using both at the same time, but that might be my hands.
Definately better than the first gen PS3 controllers trigger buttons which were just uncomfortable and silly.
Now onto the important part, the circle pad.
Its... kind of oversensitive and takes some getting used to.
Its has much less resistance than the regular circle pad on the 3DS, and definately needs a couple attempts at calibrating to feel right.
(You definately have to follow the exact motions depicted in the tutorial else it will become over/under sensitive)
The accessory definately adds to the bulk of the unit overall, making it feel a bit heavy, though nowhere near as heavy as an original Xbox controller!
Also, it takes a while to get used to the hand placements as well,
(though that may be due to my large hands in my case), but is not as cramped as a Dreamcast controller, so its pretty comfortable for an hours session to say the least.
Is is necessary?
No, not exactly, but I can see some games with more advanced control schemes being able to take good advantage of it, like say Ninja Gaiden, Monster Hunter, and Metal Gear Solid, and in this game at least it allows you to aim and move, (though you still have to stop to shoot something! XD), but you can get by alright without it.
Now for Resident Evil: Revelations
I've only played one "episode" so far, and I can say its probably the best 3DS game so far, and probably the best Resident Evil game in a while.
It looks great, it plays well, its not too hard and encourages exploration, and though the story is that typical Resident Evil cheese, the delivery is solid.
It has had great atmosphere so far, which is something Resident Evil 4 and 5 lacked.
That sense of tension and vulnerability, (which I'll admit isn't quite there yet, since the game is easy at the moment, but from the demo it was showing good signs of that).
I'll give a better analysis when I've played it some more, but first impressions are definately positive.
(I hear Revelations is a mix of old Resi and new Resi, so die hard fans of the older stuff may not like it when the game switches to the new action-orientated style)
Also the game is orientated to episodic play.
(As the game is divided into "episodes" which follow different characters. And it gives a TV-style plot synopsis of what happened previously at the start of each "episode")
EDIT: I also want to play multiplayer at some point too.
I'm bumping this thread because I finally caved and got one myself after playing Mario on a demo machine. It was fun, unlike that pilotwings junk they demoed everywhere earlier.
I love it so far. The free 3D pokedex app is especially nifty; hopefully the next-gen pokemon game will look like that. (Yeah I've heard of Rumble, I mean a proper one.)
If anyone wants to exchange friend codes, mine is 5284-1418-3404.
Pushmo and Sakura Samurai are awesome memorable new franchises, and I hope they continue. They remind me of the NES days when Nintendo was making lasting new franchises out of simplistic games.
So I got Rumble a while ago... It's pretty bad, I don't recommend it. There's nothing seriously wrong with the game, but it's extremely monotonous. The combat boils down to mashing A and B with no strategy whatsoever.
I actually saw one of these for the first time today in a demo station. I now know they actually exist, and aren't a big conspiracy put on by the press, advertisers, and various forum-goers! It was even running Super Mario 3D Land!
....I didn't see anything in 3D and couldn't find the 3D slider, thought it might be under the big hefty demo unit thing they have locked around the unit.
I actually saw one of these for the first time today in a demo station. I now know they actually exist, and aren't a big conspiracy put on by the press, advertisers, and various forum-goers! It was even running Super Mario 3D Land!
....I didn't see anything in 3D and couldn't find the 3D slider, thought it might be under the big hefty demo unit thing they have locked around the unit.
That isn't very bright planning when it comes to demo units.
No it's not. My time with it was spent wondering if I didn't see 3D because the scene didn't contain any 3D elements, the 3D slider was turned all the way down, or my vision issues kept me from seeing the 3D effect.
Best way to check whether the 3D is on/working is to move around a bit and see if the picture blurs. The 3D switch is at the right hand edge of the top screen, with glowing green 3D letters next to it.
What I've found with the 3DS (and with a friends 3D phone) is that I seem to have grown an immunity to the 3D effect. The 3D picture is always better (sharper, clearer etc.), but at most I might see things in layers, pop-up book style, rather than actual 3D. Nothing ever pops out the screen. Maybe that's just the games I play though.
Perhaps. Keep in mind that 3DS rarely makes anything pop out, as that gets gimmicky and glitch-prone; instead, it will have apparent depth 'inside'.
Dashing, I'll point out for future reference that the 3D slider is on the right side of the top screen. And there's an indicator light next to it that lights up when the 3D is in use so you don't have to have doubts there.
Perhaps. Keep in mind that 3DS rarely makes anything pop out, as that gets gimmicky and glitch-prone; instead, it will have apparent depth 'inside'.
Dashing, I'll point out for future reference that the 3D slider is on the right side of the top screen. And there's an indicator light next to it that lights up when the 3D is in use so you don't have to have doubts there.
In that case, yes, it was hidden inside the massive metalic shell that covered large portions of the device's bezel.
(I thought I would post this in here as well, since it might be helpful to someone! )
Looks like I got a use for one of those 32gb Micro SD cards already!
Okay, so I'll put it in a SD adapter and stick it in the...
3DS!!
Well, my 3DS already has a pretty decent 4gb SD.
BUT! I just found out that you can watch videos and listen to music on the 3DS.
Its a bit hacky, but it works pretty well.
For MP3's its simple. You just make a folder called "music" in your DCIM folder on your SD card then just copy whatever you want on there.
(If the MP3 doesn't work, it needs to be opened up in Audacity and resaved as a MP3. (need to make sure the kbps needs to be the set to the same as the MP3 file in prefernces, else you'll lose quality. Also may need to redo the tags, since I converted some songs and their titles have turned into hashes... )
For video, you need a converter called 3DS Video v1.32
It can convert 2D and 3D videos to be played as 3DS video AVI files.
Unfortunately the only problem is that the 3DS stupidly limits video files to about 10mins in length, so the final files will be split into 10 minute segments.
Also there is no way to sort the files, (apart from editing their date), so when you stick them in the 3DS SD card, (in the DCIM directory, in one of the subfolders), they won't be sorted and will likely be jumbled up.
But setting the quality slider to about 10, produces a very nice video file at the end, which looks great on the 3DS.
(Family Guy in particular looks fantastic on it. Shame the video timer won't go away though... )
I hope Nintendo give us proper media playback eventually though. Since the PSP and probably the Vita as well had very good playback, and Nintendo need to stop living in the past...
EDIT: You can get rid of the playback timer in options. Thats slightly better now.
Time to watch Ah! My Goddess.
Comments
Personally, when I view the 3d, it's like someone removes the glass/plastic/lcd screen from in front of the image, which has the effect of making everything looker clearer, sharper and bolder. I shall test whether there is any change with one eye closed. (i.e. Not seeing the 3D). Later.
In other news, i checked in 5 entertainment stores for starfox (game,game, gamestation, hmv and cex). And only found one copy of it, and that was second hand. So the remake was either wildly popular (moreso than mario and zelda) or, more likely given the amazon price, didn't sell all that well. Which bodes ill for both a new sf game and a majoras mask remake. So boo.
I'd have presumed that the 800x240 resolution was 3D only, hence the jump in clarity and battery consumption, also considering that the bottom screen is 320x240 and gives images of a very similiar fidelity, hence why I assumed it was 400x240 in 2D mode.
I may have of course presumed wrong, a quick google provided nothing concrete other than 400 pixels per eye in 3D mode.
Ocarina sold over 1 million in its first month. I don't think we have to worry about Majora's Mask.
Its whether or not Nintendo want to do it is all we have to worry about.
I suspect if they do, they will save the release for a slow month, since it will sell with enthusiasts very well.
(And prepare a 3DS Zelda to release at the end of a year)
Aonuma has gone on record stating that if there was enough fan demand, then it might see the light of day. Hence Operation Moonfall.
Yes! Resident Evil Revelations' demo has been released to the store today.
In the UK, we also get Cooking Mama 4 demo.
And Prince of Persia for the Gameboy color. (£4.50)
I personally hate Prince of Persia, so I won't be getting this sadly.
(I don't hate the Sands trilogy, just the 2D ones)
Was the final monster just before you meet up with the dude?
Then I managed to get through it on the first try.
Didn't find it particularily hard at all.
I ran out of ammo, but I always tried to make each shot count, and use my knife as often as I could get away with.
I was taking my time though, so I may just do a quick run through again to see how far I can get.
Normal mode, definately isn't that hard, and the game controls are spot-on for me!
(And I'm going to get the Circle Pad Pro bundle version as well, so it will be even better!
Just have "Hell" mode to try now, and hopefully it will make things interesting, though I may just wait 5 days, and just play the full version.
(On Normal)
Definately the best 3DS game graphically. Shows the capabilites of the device well.
(Imagine what the games will look like a few years down the line!
Question to those who have played the Revelations demo and the Mercenaries game, do they play similarly?
Yeah, same mechanics. Mercenaries really isn't worth your money though unless you have someone to co-op with, and even then it gets old fast.
How so?
And would I need to have played the previous games in the series to understand Revelations?
Still not getting either.
It's not a linear story or anything, you just have to clear certain areas of zombies within a time limit, there's a good few stages but very few can be played in co-op. In the end it plays nice, but gets old.
Probably because that's the same time the games lost all the aspects they previously shared with adventure games.
The older RE games were like action/adventure hybrids and while the adventure game aspects weren't particularly strong they really balanced out the experience. Though I suppose games like that are a harder sell for the Halo generation and the franchise had to "evolve" accordingly.
I personally like the new style as well as the old style. RE5 was amazing fun as long as you have a friend to play it with. I with they'd remake some of the older ones though, like RE2 and RE3. My only access to them is those lazy ports on the CGN.
They play similarly, but Mercenaries has no depth gameplay wise. I traded mine in pretty quickly.
So I've been playing the game for a little while with the accessory and I'm going to give a few first impressions.
So the Circle Pad Plus.
Its a bizarre peice of kit.
The first unusual thing is the battery. Unlike what I was expecting, the battery slot was under where the 3ds would sit rather then the typical bottom-loaded deal, which is pretty good.
What is particularily unusual however, is that the cover is not a plastic hinge opener, but is actually a screw cover.
A big, chunky screw that I had to go and open with the end of a pair of scissors so I could open it. Definately can't be tampered with and is pretty secure so its a plus.
I can see the design reasoning behind it. The device is powered by a single AAA battery, (which fortunately the device comes with one!
The next part I'll talk about is how it sets up.
What really clever about it is that unlike some accessories, this doesn't "clip-in", and it doesn't need anything to plug into the device itself either.
You simple push the 3DS into the device, (which is then held in by rubber pads, hence why you need to squeeze it in), good design there.
Its run by the 3DS's infra-red port (the square thing on the back), at least I think its infra-red, I'm not certain.
So you stick it in and it works.
Setting it up with Resident Evil:Revelations is good too.
You just boot the game, stick it in, and it auto detects it and changes the control settings to it.
Now I'll cover how it handles.
It has 3 buttons on the back.
R, ZR, and ZL (it uses the L button of the 3DS).
Its kind of unusual that it wouldn't include its own L button, but again the design reasoning is sound.
If it had a L button, then you could not access the volume slider (since it would cover it up).
Why it could also include its own volume slider is beyond me though, since it kind of feels weird at first to use the L button, (but smartly enough the games I should imagine will design themselves around avoiding the L button as much as possible (like the N64! XD).
The R button is ok, but not really all that much better than the regular 3DS R button.
The emphasis on this device are the ZL, ZR, and the circle pad.
And the ZL and ZR buttons are great. Trigger-designed for certain. A bit odd using both at the same time, but that might be my hands.
Definately better than the first gen PS3 controllers trigger buttons which were just uncomfortable and silly.
Now onto the important part, the circle pad.
Its... kind of oversensitive and takes some getting used to.
Its has much less resistance than the regular circle pad on the 3DS, and definately needs a couple attempts at calibrating to feel right.
(You definately have to follow the exact motions depicted in the tutorial else it will become over/under sensitive)
The accessory definately adds to the bulk of the unit overall, making it feel a bit heavy, though nowhere near as heavy as an original Xbox controller!
Also, it takes a while to get used to the hand placements as well,
(though that may be due to my large hands in my case), but is not as cramped as a Dreamcast controller, so its pretty comfortable for an hours session to say the least.
Is is necessary?
No, not exactly, but I can see some games with more advanced control schemes being able to take good advantage of it, like say Ninja Gaiden, Monster Hunter, and Metal Gear Solid, and in this game at least it allows you to aim and move, (though you still have to stop to shoot something! XD), but you can get by alright without it.
Now for Resident Evil: Revelations
I've only played one "episode" so far, and I can say its probably the best 3DS game so far, and probably the best Resident Evil game in a while.
It looks great, it plays well, its not too hard and encourages exploration, and though the story is that typical Resident Evil cheese, the delivery is solid.
It has had great atmosphere so far, which is something Resident Evil 4 and 5 lacked.
That sense of tension and vulnerability, (which I'll admit isn't quite there yet, since the game is easy at the moment, but from the demo it was showing good signs of that).
I'll give a better analysis when I've played it some more, but first impressions are definately positive.
(I hear Revelations is a mix of old Resi and new Resi, so die hard fans of the older stuff may not like it when the game switches to the new action-orientated style)
Also the game is orientated to episodic play.
(As the game is divided into "episodes" which follow different characters. And it gives a TV-style plot synopsis of what happened previously at the start of each "episode")
EDIT: I also want to play multiplayer at some point too.
I love it so far. The free 3D pokedex app is especially nifty; hopefully the next-gen pokemon game will look like that. (Yeah I've heard of Rumble, I mean a proper one.)
If anyone wants to exchange friend codes, mine is 5284-1418-3404.
....I didn't see anything in 3D and couldn't find the 3D slider, thought it might be under the big hefty demo unit thing they have locked around the unit.
That isn't very bright planning when it comes to demo units.
What I've found with the 3DS (and with a friends 3D phone) is that I seem to have grown an immunity to the 3D effect. The 3D picture is always better (sharper, clearer etc.), but at most I might see things in layers, pop-up book style, rather than actual 3D. Nothing ever pops out the screen. Maybe that's just the games I play though.
Dashing, I'll point out for future reference that the 3D slider is on the right side of the top screen. And there's an indicator light next to it that lights up when the 3D is in use so you don't have to have doubts there.
Well, that's deserving of a facepalm.
Looks like I got a use for one of those 32gb Micro SD cards already!
Okay, so I'll put it in a SD adapter and stick it in the...
3DS!!
Well, my 3DS already has a pretty decent 4gb SD.
BUT! I just found out that you can watch videos and listen to music on the 3DS.
Its a bit hacky, but it works pretty well.
For MP3's its simple. You just make a folder called "music" in your DCIM folder on your SD card then just copy whatever you want on there.
(If the MP3 doesn't work, it needs to be opened up in Audacity and resaved as a MP3. (need to make sure the kbps needs to be the set to the same as the MP3 file in prefernces, else you'll lose quality. Also may need to redo the tags, since I converted some songs and their titles have turned into hashes...
For video, you need a converter called 3DS Video v1.32
It can convert 2D and 3D videos to be played as 3DS video AVI files.
Unfortunately the only problem is that the 3DS stupidly limits video files to about 10mins in length, so the final files will be split into 10 minute segments.
Also there is no way to sort the files, (apart from editing their date), so when you stick them in the 3DS SD card, (in the DCIM directory, in one of the subfolders), they won't be sorted and will likely be jumbled up.
But setting the quality slider to about 10, produces a very nice video file at the end, which looks great on the 3DS.
(Family Guy in particular looks fantastic on it. Shame the video timer won't go away though... )
I hope Nintendo give us proper media playback eventually though. Since the PSP and probably the Vita as well had very good playback, and Nintendo need to stop living in the past...
EDIT: You can get rid of the playback timer in options. Thats slightly better now.
Time to watch Ah! My Goddess.
Kid Icarus: Uprising!!
Man I've had a quick go and I think this game could be better than Star Fox 64.
Gameplay wise its kind of similar to it and Sin and Punishment.
Even though I have a circle pad plus I was able to finish the first level fairly competently with the default setup, even though I am left handed.
And the AR cards are just beautiful!
Stand's not so so bad either. Could see myself using it.
(Its very compact and holds the 3DS very well)
Rhythm Thief demo is great too.
Hopefully Sega has made a great game all around.
Very tempted to buy the full version when its out!