3D Games!

When I first heard about the new wave of 3D games I couldn’t help but think about the “3D” games of the past. I remember playing an arcade version of Wolfenstein 3D that was the old PC game played on a sit down arcade cabinet with a pair of “3D” goggles. All it was was the 2D game in goggles nothing special. Another time the arcade near me had these two virtual reality pods you stood in and again wore goggles but it was in somewhat 3D view. It was okay but nothing great to play. I know the Virtua Boy was suppose to be some kind of 3D thing but I never played one because 3D or not it looked stupid and I was never interested. So besides a few small experiences with 3D in gaming I never gave it much thought.

I guess it started last year I started to hear about the new wave of 3D. It started in movies and or course it’s flowed into gaming. Sony just gave the PS3 it’s 3D update in Japan along with new 3D updates for a few games. Nintendo has the 3DS coming out sometime in the future, so I figure Microsoft will follow along and all three consoles will be in 3D. 3D is the new hotness in gaming, motion controls didn’t exactly set the world on fire and for some reason Sony and MS are diving into the world of motion control to grab the Wii market and I think it’s a little to late because that ship has sailed.

Now back to 3D, the other day I was able to try out one of Nvidia’s 3D setups in a Fry’s store. Before seeing this I was 100 percent against 3D in games. While I enjoy a game that really lets you loose yourself in it’s world I still like to feel the disconnect from it. I don’t want to be completely lost in it. But I saw this setup from Nvidia and I admit it looks really cool. It wasn’t anything playable but the field of depth from the 3D just worked. While it looks neat I don’t think I would want to play all my games like that. First off on the PC I saw you had to wear glasses which were tinted and made the whole game seem darker. I don’t know if this was because of the lighting in the store and they did it like that to make the 3D better or not but at the time I didn’t like it. I’ve never been motion sick in real life or while playing a game but I could see this giving me a headache after awhile which would lead to vomit. So for just looking at it for a few minutes it looks cool in the long run probably not for me.

Then you have the 3DS which will not need glasses to give a 3D effect. Right out of the gate Nintendo was saying you don’t have to play the games in 3D which led me to believe it won’t work. Much like how I think Nintendo letting you control their games now with a Wii Mote waggle or with another method usually a classic controller is kind of like them saying okay yeah this motion control stuff didn’t work as planned. Anyway I have not seen a 3DS in person but everything I’ve read from E3 says it’s works and looks awesome. I think it was Warren Spector who said it changed his life to see it in action. I have heard it must be held at a certain angle to get the best picture but that’s expected in the first 3D hand held we see. Maybe when Nintendo puts out the 3DS Lite or something they’ll get it with a wider viewing angle. But if they have this working as advertised without glasses I think it will be pretty freaking awesome. Again I think this could cause headaches so I’m glad the option to play in 2D is there. The gamer should always be given that choice and having that choice makes me interested in the system. I know Nintendo has always been the best at making games on their new “innovation” and I hope they have some killer stuff lined up for this besides all the old game redone in 3D. Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 643D, and I’m sure we’ll see a ton of other games being re-released in 3D on this thing and I do not like that. How about a new Star Fox? I know they have that new Zelda on the Wii coming out but how about a new Zelda on the 3DS?

I wonder how long until we hear about a PSP3D or a MS 3D add on for the 360 or a whole new Xbox? the Xbox 3D! It only uses Natal (Kinect is a stupid name) and comes with Halo 3D not to be confused with Halo 3 3D which would be downloadable.

But 3D isn’t even hear yet and personally while I think it might not be for me I think it has the potential to be really awesome unless some one (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft) really screw the pooch on it and make crap games that use it in crap ways.