Nintendo 3DS

From IGN:

Though Japanese 3DS owners have been able to download playable game demos for about a month, Nintendo has confirmed that North American gamers will be getting the same treatment. The free eShop demos will begin arriving tomorrow, starting with Resident Evil Revelations.

Nintendo outlined plans for a few more demos as well. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games will arrive on January 26. Rayman Origins and Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D are also scheduled to come to the eShop, though no dates have been set. Nintendo said it plans to update the eShop with more demos "periodically."

Been waiting on that damn RE demo... about time.
 
Here's the game that's gonna make me buy a 3DS (It's either that or F-Zero) : Solatorobo 2 announced (somewhere during Winter 2012) on 3DS by Nobuteru Yûki himself. From what Yûki said, CyberConnect2 will present the game at E3.

What did you think of the first one ?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Death May Die said:
Old news, and it's already been acknowledged and corrected by Capcom.

Ryouma said:
Here's the game that's gonna make me buy a 3DS (It's either that or F-Zero) : Solatorobo 2 announced
...
What did you think of the first one ?
I didn't play the first one, but the gameplay vids I saw of it looked very underwhelming. Despite that, the visuals were impressive, and I genuinely liked their art style. It's just, when it came to the actual gameplay, it just looked rather childish for my tastes.
 
Walter said:
It's just, when it came to the actual gameplay, it just looked rather childish for my tastes.

Solatorobo deserves much better than obscurity. This is an original adventure-RPG that's clearly a labour of love as well as a fine piece of craftsmanship. It's built around a snappy real-time combat system and a quick-fire quest structure that pings Red around the world, breezily throwing new ideas to the fore before abandoning them just as quickly. And it has that magpie quality all great games have: the eye for something shiny that worked elsewhere, appropriated and slotted in without a second thought.

But for everything this game could have done better, there's far more that's done just right. The combat may lack depth, but its knockabout crashes and bangs never get boring. The story's simple (and there's a great twist) but Red and the rest of the cast are charming characters and the witty translation does wonders. You should try it.

As you said, the visual are pretty impressive and poetic. There's a nostalgic feeling. Actually, it remind me a lot of Skies of Arcadia and Sherlock Hounds. That's magic. Also, it's the spiritual sequel to Tail Concerto (Yuki was also the chara designer) on Playstation.

large.jpg
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
snakeeater1989ij7.jpg


eShop. Now.

Update: Maybe its my memory, or I'm just being unreasonable and taking this port for granted, but it sure doesn't look or feel as good as I remember, especially competing with Revelations (though like Revelations, it's clearly pushing the system's limits, especially during cutscenes). Draw distance for foliage is right in front of Snake sometimes, and the textures are too bright somehow and maybe not as detailed, especially on certain objects. Gators, green face paint, and the ugly, for the wrong reasons, building come to mind. Let's just say the grass feels a lot more like AstroTurf this time and they've had to hollow things out a bit to make it work.

An interesting note before I transition to controls, but the 3D goes away when you aim in first person. I was hoping they'd take advantage of something like this later in the game, but not sure why it's happening already. Is he closing one eye while aiming (I don't remember completely losing my sense of depth when looking through a sight), or is it purely to help the player aim? Kind of the opposite of brilliantly incorporating/validating the 3D. Anyway, clever use of the buttons standing in for a second circle pad, but it's four directions and awkward as Hell; can't be helped without a circle pad pro. Without it I can't fairly judge the rest of the present controls other than to say it's certainly busy, plenty of stuff happened I didn't want to ("why's my silencer off... again?"), and it felt like the camera was pointing in the wrong direction half the time (note: I've previously beaten this game on extreme difficulty).

This all sounds pretty negative, but we know the game is great already so I'm applying a critical eye to the potential compromises based on my memory of the original (tell me if I'm way off about that). My impression is this certainly doesn't feel like this is an improved version of the game like OoT 3D, but an impressive port. Impressive because the struggle to port it is evident.


P.S. They also updated SMB to more true virtual console status, first of its NES kind on the 3DS, fittingly. Check out it's 3D icon now. :guts:
 
Griffith said:
Update: Maybe its my memory, or I'm just being unreasonable and taking this port for granted, but it sure doesn't look or feel as good as I remember, especially competing with Revelations (though like Revelations, it's clearly pushing the system's limits, especially during cutscenes). Draw distance for foliage is right in front of Snake sometimes, and the textures are too bright somehow and maybe not as detailed, especially on certain objects. Gators, green face paint, and the ugly, for the wrong reasons, building come to mind. Let's just say the grass feels a lot more like AstroTurf this time and they've had to hollow things out a bit to make it work.

That was similar to my first impression as well. Textures and edges on a lot of objects were really rough. The jaggies really take away from the game for me. Snakes face was blurry during some of the cutscenes?? Also some frame dips during the cutscenes. Controls are pretty cluttered without circle pad.

I read that this was an earlier build of the demo from e3 or something and was not true of the final build. Hopefully thats the case. I'm waiting to see more on the retail version before I decide between this and the HD collection.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
frankencowx said:
I read that this was an earlier build of the demo from e3 or something and was not true of the final build. Hopefully thats the case.

Bullshit. On principle I'm always dubious of such assertions. If that were the case they wouldn't have released this in the first place, but something representative of the final build. Anyway, it won't be a big issue for me personally, but it'll certainly hurt the 3DS' cred for some.

frankencowx said:
I'm waiting to see more on the retail version before I decide between this and the HD collection.

That's no choice at all: get the HD collection. Pretty simple math, you get two other games and this one too, for cheaper.


Update: Replayed the demo more methodically, mastered the controls, went over everything, got the sniper rifle, etc. Messed with guys. Had fun. Was a much better experience, and lo and behold the graphics were fine this time. =)
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I played the MGS3D demo and whew... I thought it was quite bad. Controls are awkward, graphics are muddled. Overall it's just not a good port of the game. I'll give it some more time and maybe my opinion will change, but right now I am not happy with what Konami's done to this great game.

Griffith said:
Update: Maybe its my memory, or I'm just being unreasonable and taking this port for granted, but it sure doesn't look or feel as good as I remember, especially competing with Revelations (though like Revelations, it's clearly pushing the system's limits, especially during cutscenes).
It's more like with any new hardware, they aren't sure how best to take advantage of it. Not necessarily testing the true limitations of the hardware, just their understanding of how best to approach it. But I agree it doesn't look great.

Anyway, clever use of the buttons standing in for a second circle pad, but it's four directions and awkward as Hell; can't be helped without a circle pad pro.
I think it's a terrible idea. Awkward as hell indeed. The camera being on face buttons sacrifices a lot of the functionality while adding a camera that i never really need anyway. Obviously having the circle pad pro would help a lot for this game, but it almost hamstrings players who don't own one.
 
Griffith said:
That's no choice at all: get the HD collection. Pretty simple math, you get two other games and this one too, for cheaper.

Well for total value yeah HD is the better deal no brainer. I was basing it on Snake Eater HD vs Snake Eater 3DS alone. Right now it looks like too much visual quality and performance were sacrificed for portabilities sake. I was hoping it would be relatively close to the HD collection in terms of no jaggies and no frame rate issues, albeit at a lower resolution. I've also heard that a lot of the voiced codec chats were cut (the random ones with paramedic etc) as well as the nightmare sequence and several options to kill
the end
are no longer available. If thats true it would be total suck.

edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUbZ_Xf_Wz4

looks like this guy has the retail copy of the game. obvious single digit frame rate scenes, particularly when the plane lands and
snake engages the boss

interesting stuff from Vyse the Legend at NeoGAF:

I played through the demo again to find some of the more "problematic" cutscenes and gameplay spots, sections where the frame rate noticeably dipped.

Then, I played through the same sections on the final game.

End result: little-to-no difference. Same frame rate hiccups. General gameplay seemed pretty solid, but the demo and final build chugged in the same spots to the same degree.

Disappointing, especially since the game DOES look inexplicably better in quite a few spots. For example, the opening sequence, specifically once
Snake gets up to do the HALO jump
, looks amazing in 2D and, definitely, in 3D. The added shaders and particle effects are very nice, and they're not present in the HD master or original (Edit: just rewatched the same part in the HD master, and yeah, 3D one definitely pops more. It could be the 3D effects, but still the 60fps is still awesome.)

Also, start menu is just New Game, so this isn't really Subsistence, unless everything unlocks later.

Also:

Other thoughts:

-Played through Virtuous Mission.
-I'm very susceptible to 3D, and the effect is impressive here.
-You can store 12 photo camos. The game accesses your 3DS photo gallery and uses the pictures from there.
-Game tracks all your stats in real time, which is a huge difference from the original. I remember thinking I had 0 alerts back in the game, only to complete the game and find out the game recorded 1 at some point.
-Game also tracks your stats across all play troughs.
-Extreme difficulty = game ends when spotted.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Any idea what the significance of the "What's your favorite MGS game?" question at the beginning is? Does it affect the substance of the play experience in any way?
 

Viral Harvest

Every Knee Bent Too Shall Break
Griffith said:
Any idea what the significance of the "What's your favorite MGS game?" question at the beginning is? Does it affect the substance of the play experience in any way?

I vaguely remember in the PS2 version that if you chose "MGS2", Naked Snake would first appear in a Raiden mask, and then takes it off after landing the HALO jump. Not really sure what other effects the other choices have though.
 
Griffith said:
Any idea what the significance of the "What's your favorite MGS game?" question at the beginning is? Does it affect the substance of the play experience in any way?

I think each option gives you a unique camo. You should get the Raiden mask with every option though. Other than that I don't know.

edit:

Some research yielded:

-"I'm playing MGS for the first time!" prevents you from choosing Extreme Difficulty and gives you Mummy Camo.
-"I like MGS1!" gives you AUSCAM Camo.
-"I like MGS2!" alters the opening cutscene so Snake is wearing the Mask, adds an extra opening cutscene of Snake taking off the Mask, adds an extra radio conversation with Zero and gives you Desert Tiger Camo.
-"I like MGS3!" gives you Flecktarn Camo, Green, and Brown facepaint.
-"I like MGS4!" gives you DPM Camo.
-"I like MGS PEACE WALKER!" gives you Banana Camo.
-"I like all the MGS games!" gives you Grenade Camo.

Mummy camo makes you less resistant to injuries apparently and grenade camo is infinite grenades.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Great intel, thanks guys. I'll have to think carefully about my answers. :ganishka:

frankencowx said:
Mummy camo makes you less resistant to injuries apparently

You mean more resistant, or less damage? Do they actually give something to beginners that hurts them?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
For info, I tried the Snake Eater demo again with the Circle Pad Pro and unsurprisingly it was a lot more enjoyable that way. :guts:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
For info, I tried the Snake Eater demo again with the Circle Pad Pro and unsurprisingly it was a lot more enjoyable that way. :guts:

I still haven't been able to conveniently pick one up, and part of me is considering doing without it just for spite. Still, I have a perverse desire to physically reshape my 3DS into a Game Gear, so...
 
Kid Icarus for 3DS.... controls schematics are bleh. They developed a game for a mobile handheld device that requires you to be sessile. Really kills the game.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
frankencowx said:
Kid Icarus for 3DS.... controls schematics are bleh. They developed a game for a mobile handheld device that requires you to be sessile. Really kills the game.

That bad? Wasn't very interested in it, but that's still sad to hear.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm actually really enjoying Kid Icarus. Dare I say ... more than any 3DS game? I don't want to give it too high of praise since I just started, but I think it's fantastic so far. Combat is fun, particularly when you're in the air. Ground combat isn't quite as fluid as it often requires you to turn your perspective, which can be awkward. There's quite a bit to do between each level. Nintendo clearly showered this game with love. There's a lot of polish and attention to detail here that was missing from some of the earlier first-party games (I'm looking at you, Zelda and Starfox).
 
Walter said:
I'm actually really enjoying Kid Icarus. Dare I say ... more than any 3DS game? I don't want to give it too high of praise since I just started, but I think it's fantastic so far. Combat is fun, particularly when you're in the air. Ground combat isn't quite as fluid as it often requires you to turn your perspective, which can be awkward. There's quite a bit to do between each level. Nintendo clearly showered this game with love. There's a lot of polish and attention to detail here that was missing from some of the earlier first-party games (I'm looking at you, Zelda and Starfox).

That would be because the games been in development for far longer than any 3DS title, with multiple release delays. The details and sheer amount of content is great, but the controls really botch it for me, and the constant bantering is really distracting for those of us with... more focused attention spans. Do you play with the stand? 3D on/off?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
frankencowx said:
That would be because the games been in development for far longer than any 3DS title, with multiple release delays. The details and sheer amount of content is great, but the controls really botch it for me, and the constant bantering is really distracting for those of us with... more focused attention spans. Do you play with the stand? 3D on/off?
I kind of like the banter. Palutena is great, funny and well voiced. Pit mostly ruins it though. He's not very funny and his voice actor is ridiculous.

I play with 3D on and with the stand. Tried playing without stand and my right hand went numb within a half level. I find the stand useful, if a little awkward.
 
Walter said:
I kind of like the banter. Palutena is great, funny and well voiced. Pit mostly ruins it though. He's not very funny and his voice actor is ridiculous.

I play with 3D on and with the stand. Tried playing without stand and my right hand went numb within a half level. I find the stand useful, if a little awkward.

Yeah Pit is terrible. And I really want to be able to lie down while playing this game... but alas I can't :judo:
 
Picked up Snake Eater this last weekend. My Best Buy had it on sale for $19.99. Highly suggest everyone who is interested go out and get it for that price. The game looks/plays/feels/runs identical to the demo. After playing with it for several hours, the controls actually felt more comfortable and natural than the playstation controls.. Frame rate issues cause
the final chase sequence
to be nigh unplayable, but other than that the game is just as good as ever. Snake Eater to me, has become a timeless game that I will play every remake/remaster/port/re-remake of that comes out, as made evident by the 3DS release.
 
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