Nintendo 3DS (Cosmo Black)

Pros: Glasses free 3D that actually works! You can even adjust it on the fly at any time that you are using a game or feature that supports it!
Camera that takes 3D photos! Will take regular photos too.
Thumb stick! More comfortable than the ones on the PSP to

Cons: Built in speakers not as loud as I'd like.
Shiny, sparkly cover shows fingerprints too much. Gets slippery if your hands get sweaty. Will need a cover of some type for it. Be sure to put a lanyard in the lanyard loop.
Moved the buttons and slots around f

Summary: I've been a fan of the Nintendo systems for years ever since I played Legend of Zelda on the NES. I especially love their portable systems. I've had or at least played every system they've made. I especially like their out-of-the box thinking when it comes to portables. The DS series was and still is unique in gaming and keeps getting better. I think that the DSi XL was a bit of a misstep in that it is too big to be truly portable, but other than that, they've been great systems.

This latest system is no exception. Now they've added glasses-free 3D graphics, motion control, 3D cameras and Augmented Reality games to the already impressive list of innovations. The graphics, which have been much maligned by some reviewers of previous systems, are quite impressive. Even if you shut off the 3D setting, they look better than ever. Part of this has to do with developers finally figuring out how to make games that play to the DS's strengths rather than trying to shoe-horn ports from other systems, but also the processor and screens are upgraded from previous DS systems.

One of the most impressive demos of what is possible on this system is the AR Games which comes preloaded with the system. This game uses the 3D cameras to view physical playing cards (did you know Nintendo got their start making playing cards?). When you point the cameras at one of the cards that comes with the system, it shows you a 3D image and sound effects that relate to the card. The one with the yellow box with the ? on it has interactive games. What's wild is that it distorts and changes the surroundings around the card and makes it part of the game too. I placed the ? box card on my wood-grain coffee table and at one point it looked like the top of the table was swelling and heaving up and down while monsters came out of it. It could even tell if you were looking at the card from different angles and adjusted the graphics of the game accordingly.

Another cool pack in game is Face Raiders. It takes a picture of your face and maps it on floating monster heads. Then the monster heads start flying around the very room that you are in as it mixes the graphics with what the 3D cameras are seeing. As you move around the room and turn around you see different monsters attacking you. It even looks like the monsters are crashing through the fabric of our plane of existance or something leaving holes behind!

I also got Super Monkey Ball when I bought the game to try it out. The motion controls worked really well with it. It even gives you the option of using the thumbstick if you'd rather. I tried both and did pretty well with either one. The thumbstick worked great for driving the go kart around and for steering the monkey ball. The motion controls took a bit of practice but in a few minutes, I was controlling the monkey ball by tilting the 3DS pretty well. It's like having a Wii controller built into the DS.

While the 3DS might not be for everyone and it might not be perfect, it is certainly a great example of what is now possible with portable gaming. We've come a long way from the old Gameboy with it's black and white, non-backlit graphics and a chassis almost bigger than the DS :) Yeah you can tilt your IPod touch and it's got a touch screen, but it only has one screen and it doesn't have 3D!