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Nintendo, a world known Japanese gaming company, is on the verge of releasing the second version of its flagship portable gaming platform, the Nintendo 3DS XL. This version promises 90% larger screens with less screen glare (the reflection of sunlight off its screen) than the original 3DS, more comfortable buttons and a much wider "sweet spot" for the 3D effect. Wait, whats a 3DS? Sigh. Its Nintendos latest portable dedicated gaming device, the successor of the Nintendo DS and DSi which were the successors of the Nintendo Gameboy Advance. Here we�ll try and highlight the features of the 3DS and why it�s worth spending Thirty Thousand Naira (N30,000) to buy one when you can already play games on your Smartphone.

The 3DS is primarily a gaming device, meaning that even though it can play music, take photos and run a few none gaming apps, what it does best is offer unique gaming experiences. The two screens are not just gimmicks either. The bottom screen is a touch screen while the top screen is a 3D screen that requires no 3D glasses! Remember the last time you were at the cinema and a 3D movie cost about three times as much as a regular one, and you HAD to wear special glasses just to be able to watch.

The 3D effect itself is usually better than those of many movies Ive seen, and trust me, Ive seen a lot of movies in 3D. Of course, different games will use the 3D with varying degrees of success, but if you turn the 3D all the way up to the top in most games, youre likely to get the type of 3D effect you only experience in movies like Hugo, or in those show-off videos displayed on TVs at the mall to entice you to buy a 3DTV. Honestly, apart from Hugo, the 3DTV I have at home never shows 3D that looks as nice as those show-off videos. The downside to the 3DSs parallax technology (that allows glasses-free 3D) is that there is a poor viewing angle to the thing. You have to hold the 3DS at certain distances and angles from your face (usually, the normal distance and angle you would hold your phone) in order to enjoy the 3D effect. This means that if someone beside you tried to see what you were playing, he would see overlapping images, not 3D. If you brought the game too close to your face, or tilted the device too much to an angle, you would see blurry, overlapping images.

In terms of aesthetics, the 3DS has a glossy finish and sleek design, but it is a gaming device, not a tablet or a smart phone, so it has buttons scattered all over the place and just wont look as good as those devices. The battery life is only about 5 hours maximum, but I found that this wasnt as much of a problem as I had thought it would be. This is because unlike a smart phone, which is likely to be used almost all the time all day long, this is a gaming device designed to be picked up, played in short bursts and dropped. I hardly ever use my 3DS for up to 5 hours in a single day. Closing the device at any time, no matter what you were doing on it, pauses or hibernates the system which will resume whenever you open it, so its easy to play a game for ten minutes while waiting for my food at a school cafeteria, close it, eat, and then play another ten minutes while waiting for my meal to settle. Then I may switch it off and maybe play another 45 minutes in the evening when resting from work, and occasionally, I might take a few 3D pictures (more on that in the built-in apps section), but generally, my battery lasts for three or four days on a single charge.

Finally, the last thing in this section is the specs. If I know Nigerians, you want high end graphics on your games. The top display features a resolution of 800x240 on 3D mode while the bottom is 320x240. Making comparisons with a system many of you will know, the 3DS has much better graphics than most handheld gaming devices popular in the Nigerian market, but is not High Definition. That means you wont see games with visuals as sharp as the PlayStation Vita (successor to the PSP). You will however see better graphics than any phone or tablet (better graphics, not resolution) and you will always have the magic of 3D to keep you awestruck. Also, games load very fast because they are played from cartridge, which are solid state unlike discs. 

I do have some problems with the device though. First, since the top screen is slightly wider than the bottom screen, the edge of the bottom screen leaves marks on the top screen which you have to wipe off before using the device if it has been left shut for a while. Second, and more annoying, is the sound output for the device. The maximum volume is too low, and I dont think its the speakers because even if you used headphones, the maximum volume is still annoyingly low. You better get a pair of really loud earphones for your 3DS if you plan on buying one.

Tolu Olowofoyeku