Elvis0fTheDead Invades E3: The Awesome 3DS Lineup

by Jose Martinez

As I traversed the massive E3 floors, I kept coming back to the 3DS to try all that was coming for this relatively unsupported console.  What I found was a plethora of amazing first party titles making their way to this hungry system, each more impressive than the last.  Here are my hands-on first impressions for the upcoming 3DS lineup:

POKEDEX 3D

I can't lie, anytime Gamefreak throws more Pokemon at me, I bite.  While this is not a full fledged game, it's a very cool way to see your Pokemon from the Black and White versions in full 3D.  You can rotate them a full 360 degrees, zoom, and watch them do their moves.  You can use AR cards to view the Pokemon come alive in the room which makes for great photo ops with your favorite friends.  I'm sure I'll be hooked once again filling this 150 Pokemon strong collection.  As a free download from the Nintendo E-Shop, this is a must have for any fan of the series young and old.  Here are all the AR cards given at E3:

MARIO KART 3D

Here is one of Mario's finest franchises.  Mario Kart raises fun to all new levels.  So how is his jump into the Stereoscopic sphere?  As I put my hands around the 3DS I was filled with dread from bad memories from his Virtual Boy outing.  From the start you are greeted with gorgeous, eye popping 3D graphics and something new.  Not only do you select your racer and kart, but also wheel mods and a performance mod.  For the purpose of this demo, I only had the choice of a hang-glider attachment.

I begin a set of three tracks, and fall right back into the fun and simple gameplay.  The controls feel nice and tight as I power turn, turbo and power-up my way into first place!  The moment I hit my first jump, I immediately love the new gameplay as I control my glide trough a series of twisting pipes all while collecting coins in midair.  There are also some cool underwater sections that add another twist.  

The three tracks are clever and well designed and boast the treacherous yet rewarding shortcuts that make the series great.  There was no multiplayer versus other players available, but the final version should feature this option via Nintendo WFC.  This is one of the killer first party games your 3DS has been waiting for.

LUIGI'S MANSION 2

The spooky launch  classic for the Gamecube finally gets a sequel.  This game pits a quivering Luigi and a mansion filled with prankster ghosts.  Armed only with a flash light and a vacuum cleaner, it is your job to rid this house of the pesky spooks.  The demo featured some very gorgeous and well rendered visuals that pop even more due to the 3D effect.  The gameplay for this title is quite a bit slower paced than your usual Mario Bros. fare as Luigi doesn't possess the ability to jump, and his running is comical and clumsy.

The music is perfect whimsical spooky and the different colored ghosts offer variety as their attacks are all varied.  They attack sometimes surrounding you and disappearing into the ether.  As Luigi you must charge your beam of light and then flash in their direction to stun them where they stand.  At that point, they are vulnerable to the suction power of your Pultergust 3000.  As you suck them into the machine, they struggle as a timer ticks down.  When it hits zero, they are yours.  The gameplay is slightly repetitive, but well executed.  If you loved the Gamecube original as I did, this is a must have title in your collection.

KID ICARUS: UPRISING

This is a title that I've been waiting for since the launch of the 3DS!  This was one of my favorite and most frustrating games of the NES era.  The wait has been long, so is the next adventure in Pit's soaring tale a worthy entry into the hallowed series, or should he have remained a fighter on Smash Bros.?

The gorgeous visuals grab you from the start.  A giant Medusa threatens to destroy the world, and Pit is tasked with taking her down.  Pit is highly detailed and the environment flows around him smoothly as he soars through the clouds.  The 3D effect is jaw dropping.  As you get instructions from a female voice, the enemies start appearing before you.  You fly on a rail, and the gameplay is slightly reminiscent of Galaga or Space invaders.  After a bit of button mashing while flying around shooting enemies and dodging bullets, the demons take the fight to a city.  As they torch the town and destroy it's temples, Pit shoots down through the clouds to take the fight to the ground.  This changes things up as you can add hand to hand combat to the rail shooting action.  The demo ends with a boss fight inside a Colosseum structure against a giant, flaming Cerberus.  After taking him down, Pit threatens the giant Medusa as she looms over the horizon and leaves you salivating for more.  This game also features a robust multiplayer through Nintendo WFC, and promises future AR card support for 3D battles in your room.  A solid game that seems to maintain Nintendo's high standards for first party games.

SUPER MARIO

This is the return of the king.  He doesn't need a lot of pomp and circumstance.  No long titles with endless subtitles and enumerations.  This is Mario, and he is Super and all fans of the series need to know is that the Tanooki suit is back.  The Nintendo booth girl recommended the switch level as it would prove the most different and challenging.  She was not joking.  As I use my leaf power-up to facilitate jumping and flight, I jump onto switch platforms that activate green tiles that disappear after a few seconds. This starts off simply enough, until they throw in multiple switches that open several paths that must be timed correctly to set up the correct platforms.  Then, there are the bees and the challenge ramps up.  

Nintendo somehow manages to always balance difficulty and fun so that you continue to try again and again without ever getting frustrating.  The controls are tight and very reminiscent of the classic Super Mario 64 and the game itself offers variety through side scrolling and fully three dimensional stages all in stunning 3D.  If you're waiting to be told if a Mario game is good, then you've never played Mario.  This will be a system seller along with this next entry...

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME 3D

You hear the familiar music, see the familiar logo and jump into a familiar tale which has been given a visual twist.  This is a remake of the beloved Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in full 3D glory.  Playing this demo brought back a rush of memories and made me wish I could play long enough to ride Epona and begin killing the Gold Skulltula to rescue the cursed family.  Young Link controls exactly as he did in his Nintendo 64 adventure as I traverse the Kokiri town with Navy on my way to commencing a quest larger than could have ever been imagined as Link fights the eternal battle against Ganondorf for Princess Zelda and the Triforce throughout Hyrule and time itself.

If you are too young to have played this, you are missing out on one of the more classic chapters in gaming history.  If you have played it before, it's worth a trip down memory lane as you adventure anywhere with remastered 3D graffics.  As an added bonus, this title also includes a Master Quest Mode and Boss Challenge.

STAR FOX 64 3D

Fox McCloud invades the small screen with his crew in Star Fox.  This is another 3D remake of a Nintendo 64 favorite.  You play as space hero Fox McCloud as he and your wingmen Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and Falco Lombardy fight the evil and powerful Andross in your Arwing ships.  I got to try an excellent multi-player mode which featured fast dogfighting action against three other pilots via Nintendo WFC.

The action felt fast and locking onto one of your adversaries and shotting them down is satisfying.  More so because you can see their face above their ship.  The 3DS makes clever use of the front facing camera by recording your face and displaying it as a marker above your Arwing for a bit of gloating or crying, depending on how you are holding up.  The tilt controls felt smooth, although not the best idea when 3D is enabled as you must be holding the 3DS directly in front of you to get the effect without blurring.

This should prove to be another first party hit among the Nintendo faithful.  I can't wait to try it myself as I never got around to playing the original.

MARIO & SONIC: LONDON 2012

I was surprised by the playability of this tittle.  It's a fun collection of mini games which are great for play on the go.  You will have a team that is comprised of different characters from the Sonic and Mario franchises and will compete in a variety of sporting events.  The gameplay will switch from using the stylus, to using tilt control, or the face buttons which gives the game quite a bit of variety in play styles.
I played through a set of events that included floor gymnastics, the horse and track and field events.  The games remind me a bit of the WarioWare games, which after a little trial and error, are easy and fun to master.  The 3D looks nice on this title, although it doesn't add to the experience.  This seems like a fun diversion for the casual gamers but doesn't seem to have much content for the hardcore.

And now for some great third party offerings:

HEROES OF RUIN

This game was a total surprise from SquareEnix, and a pleasant one at that.  A gorgeously rendered isometric dungeon crawler, this game features multiple playable classes, gorgeous combat effects and more loot than you can shake a stick at.  For the demo, I chose a warrior class character and set off to crush a variety of different fantasy enemies as I looted their bodies for gold and new, more powerful gear.  The game is made complete with drop in/drop out co-op via Nintendo WFC and the ability to swap gear on the fly with other gamers via Street Pass.  SquareEnix also promised a vast amount of DLC for the game, including new maps and items.

The game controlled smoothly and the combat was spot on.  It's a classic dungeon crawler, so don't expect much innovation outside of the 3D graffics.  With this being a SquareEnix title, however, one can probably expect a solid story to go with your hacking and looting.

RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS

Resident Evil is back, and as scary as ever in stunning 3D.  Capcom continues the story of the apocalypse brought to you by Umbrella Corporation in this chapter which takes place between Resident Evil 4 and 5.  The demo opens with the camera panning up a waking Jill Valentine laying in a bed in full gear.  As you wake, the game wastes no time in throwing the first B.O.W. at you.  They are done with tutorials, apparently.

The game controls exactly like Resident Evil 4, with the camera positioned above Jill's shoulder and the aiming being done by a laser sight attached to your weapon.  The graffics are very clean and reminiscent of the Gamecube remake of the original title.  You explore a mansion, although it's unclear from this demo if its the same one as the one in Racoon City, finding the usual green herbs and ammo.  If you are a fan of the series, this will be a great addition as you find what took place to Chris and Jill before the fifth entry.  What kind of evil has Umbrella been up to?  How was the B.S.A.A. formed?  Stay tuned to find out.

Here are some of the other amazing 3DS highlights that I either never got around to playing, or were not available to play during the show:

ANIMAL CROSSING

This trailer showcased classic AC gameplay in a stunning 3D world with a few twists.  A link theme, complete with outfit and Master Sword and the ability to swim around and dive for items.

PAPER MARIO

The classic Mario Action/RPG is back with some new moves such as scissors that cut appart all your paper enemies and a giant fan that can blow them all away.

METAL GEAR SOLID: SNAKE EATER 3D

Solid Snake is back in the remake of the Playstation 2 favorite Snake Eater.  This 3D remake has a few tricks up it's sleeve such as the ability to create camo by snapping a picture, motion and touch controls and perhaps a quirky surprise or two.  Never put it past Kojima to be weird.