Nintendo 3DS Discussion Thread

I thought, when combined with the depth of field created with the 3D settings turned all the way up, that it delivered a fairly impressive overall experience. High-end graphics is not what Nintendo does best. Quirky, outside of the box thinking it what Nintendo does best. They aren't going to pour their resources into graphical beast hardware. They are going to strive to defy conventions artistically. Nintendo is not my favorite company, so I'm not going to argue that there model of doing business is philosophically the best. Bottom line, I'm not sure the 3DS is capable of much more. Capcom likely pushed this thing to the limits. I still play NDS FPS games. Call of Duty. Goldeneye. I'm far from a graphics whore anyway.

Apple has put a lot of power underneath of hood of these newest iDevices, but so few games take full advantage of the iPad 2's capability anyway. What's the point of cutting-edge hardware if the software created for said hardware isn't going to maximize the hardware's potential? Apple isn't going to stop creating more and more powerful devices, but software development is going to be able to keep up.

Survival Horror isn't my thing anyway. I've never particularly cared for Resident Evil. But I can tell you that the latest incarnations of Resident Evil are more action oriented then survival horror based. That sort of explains the atmosphere. Survival horror does not tend to sell well on a grand, mainstream, commercial level, hence Resident Evil changed its genre. We all gotta pay the bills.

 

I doubt what we saw earlier from this game, with previous screen shots and what not, was actually running on a physical 3DS. The game has improved since the Mercinaries 3D demo. Those crazy graphics that had everyone salivating. That was probably running off a computer.

 

As seen on Twitter:



I'm going to assume Capcom didn't spend that extra $10 on proofreading.

 

Wasn't planning on getting resident evil first day but now I really want that misspelled case cause its a collectors item!

 

Capcom have just announced that the game will now launch at $39.99, if that makes the deal any sweeter?

http://www.capcom-unity.com/brelston/blog/2012/01/27/resident_evil_revelations_price_update:_now_$39.99!

 

Well, if that is what Nintendo was selling, there's no way I would've ever believed it. Anyone who ever believes for one second that a gaming device created by Nintendo is going to be created with it's graphical prowless in mind, doesn't have a true understanding of what Nintendo is. I had no misconceptions about what I was getting myself into from the first day I bought that system. Graphics are taking a backseat to innovation.

I don't think the 3DS, to me, was anything more than a seat-warmer for the PS-Vita anyway. I don't like Nintendo. I understand what they are, and to the degree in which I accept them, I accept them for what they are, but I don't like this company much.

If anyone over-promised, it was Capcom, not Nintendo, but one way or another, I would've never bought the hype.

And if Nintendo does try to hype the graphical capabilities of their new console system, rest assured, they're full of it.

 

It's supposed to be short. It's main focus is replayability... You'll see! star fox is addicting!

 

My Resident Evil: Revelations/Circle Pad Pro bundle arrived this morning. And just for clarification, there is no typo on the European box art.

 

Mind giving some impressions on the game for us Americans who have to wait a week?

 

Yeah sure. I haven't beaten the game yet but I've just completed chapter 7 and so far I've clocked up 6 1/2 hours playtime, so it's not too short which is good.

In general I'm REALLY impressed with the game, it really does feel like a console RE title squeezed onto a portable. Capcom have clearly tried to incorporate the old and the new into this game which is why the main story is split into two types... action and exploration.

The main bulk of the story you'll be playing as Jill Valentine as you explore the abandoned cruise liner. It's very much a trip back to the older Resi titles as it feels very claustrophobic and requires plenty of exploring and some back tracking. Although you are on your own on a couple of instances, you'll mostly have Parker following you around. This did worry me at first because I never liked having Sheva follow me in RE5, but thankfully Parker keeps out of your way for the most part and doesn't consume resources. He's also quite helpful with enemies for the most part but there have been a couple of instances where he's just stood and watched me struggle to get out of a corner. Ammo and health are pretty scarce which is nice (unless you play on Casual difficulty) and thankfully the weapon upgrade isn't too out of place, it's simply a case of attaching 'perks' to your weapons which can be found in Weapon Parts cases (the better perks are found in Illegal Weapon Parts cases which are more rare). The scanner which can be used to hunt out hidden items is actually a nice touch and also a god send if you're out of herbs as scanning enough enemies will reward you with a herb. The overall atmosphere is really creepy. Sure, it's not quite Dead Space creepy, but there are notable instances where certain sound and light cues really ramp up the tension... something that wasn't really present in either of the Revelations demo's.

The 'action' parts of the game are much shorter and tend to take place at the beginning or end of each chapter. In these section you will take control of Chris, Parker and Grinder. They're clearly aimed at the more recent Resi title as they're pretty much run and gun segments. There's plenty of enemies to gun down (mainly Hunters) and lots of ammo to see you through. They do serve as further insight into the story but they seem more like fillers than anything else. They're pretty straight forward and thankfully their short length means they never really over stay their welcome. In all honesty though, I would have personally rather had the entire game just stay on the ship.

From a visual stand point the game looks great! The character models are very detailed and the lighting really coming into play as you progress. Some of the more grand locations on the ship such as the main hall, casino and promenade look excellent. There are however some serious frame rate drops when in an elevator. Naturally, the game doesn't go back to the old 'door opening' sequence to hide loading times, they're all done on the fly. They almost always take place in an elevator but the frame rate does stutter quite a bit as its loading the next section of the ship. You're in a confined area only a few feet wide so there's no need to be moving whilst you wait anyway, but just so you know.

In terms of control, if you're just playing on the 3DS unit then the standard Resi controls apply. Anyone familiar with the series will know what to expect. Newcomers hate it, seasoned vets con tolerate it. Using the Circle Pad Pro though is a far better option in my opinion. Having that extra analogue sticks really gives the controls a more 'natural' feel. Also, most of the actions are switched to the four shoulder buttons meaning you only really need to use one of the face buttons (the B button) for reloading. The Circle Pad Pro itself is a nice device actually. Sure, it adds bulk to the device and it does feel a little unnatural at first but after about 10mins of playing, it was like second nature. It also feels a lot more comfortable than it looks.

My only negatives are that the story is a bit of a mess. Resi titles by tradition have pretty uninspiring stories, but despite starting out quite strong, it's not too long before it begins to feel like something of an after thought. Also, a lot of the characters aren't particularly likeable. Sure, Chris and Jill put in a good show and Parker is a surprisingly strong addition, but the likes of Jessica, Grinder and Jackass (yes, that's his name) are just plain annoying. Jackass inparticular gets a special mention for being to Resident Evil what Jar Jar Binks was to Star Wars.

Overall I'm REALLY happy with what Capcom have achieved here. It's looks great, plays great and, for the most part, is the strongest Resi title I've played for a while. If you're even slightly on the fence with this one, I strongly recommend picking it up, it's well worth the investment. My interest in iOS gaming has been fading away as of this past year and it's games like this that show me why. As long as companies like Capcom continue to put out games of this quality then I can't really see why some people think dedicated gaming devices such as the 3DS and Vita are doomed.

If you have any specific questions then just let me know, I'll be happy to answer them.

EDIT: Just beat the game, what an awesome ride! Took me exactly 09:50'59". Now to tackle Raid Mode before starting New Game+

 

Was not expecting the wall of text, but that was even better. Really appreciate you taking the time to do that. How's Raid Mode?

 

Raid mode is actually very solid. It's a much more indepth, lengthy and overall fun mode than Mercenaries... which being a bonus mode, further proves that Mercenaries 3D should've been the same.

You unlock Raid Mode by beating the main game and then once in Raid Mode you have several options. Stages lets you select the stage you want to play. The stages are split into what I think may be two difficulties (Chasm and Trench) but so far I've yet to unlock the Trench stages so I can't confirm that yet. There are a total of 21 stages that all take place in locations from the main game. Unlike Mercenaries 3D which mainly just had you gun down as many enemies as possible in the time limit, there's more variety in Raid Mode. Sure, some stages simply require you to eliminate every enemy, but other task you with objective beyond simply killing. An example would be that you need to find the exit but a lot of doors have padlocks on them and the keys can only be obtained from killing certain enemies and the key for the exit door is hidden somewhere in tge level. Unlike Mercenaries who's stages were fairly short, Raid Mode's stages can sometimes go on for a decent amount of time.
The enemies themselves are handled defferently in Raid Mode too. Each enemy now has a life bar above their head and each short drain a certain amount of that life bar. Hitting the enemy in different areas cause different levels of damage indicated by a bunch of numbers that appear every time you hit them (like in old school RPG's), so a head shit will, not surprisingly, score you more damage. The enemies themselves not only come in different sizes in Raid Mode (some really tall that move slower and some almost child like that move faster), but they also come attached with perks such as greater defense, strength and speed which are indicated by a little symbol next to their health bar.

Beating a stage the scores you on your performance in area such as accyracy, speed, damage caused etc and these are are tallied into BP points that can be used to purchase things from the store. Which now brings me to the store section. To start out with, you will have only really basic items available for purchase, but by beating stages you'll unlock better items and equipment. These can range from items such as herbs and Ammo Bags (which are specific to certain weapons and allow you to carry more ammo for said weapon) to lots of diffent perks you can attach to your weapons such as more power, bigger magazines and more RPG like Enrage, Blind, Stagger etc. Some of the things in the shop can be purchased with Play Coins too.
One nice feature is the levelling up system. Obviously you start at Level 1 and the better you play, the higher your level will increase. Well, as you beat stages you'll unlock better, more powerful versions of your standard weapons. However, these weapons come with level requirement so although you can purchase a Level 7 Shotgun as soon as you've unlocked it, you can't actually equip it until you reach that level.

Beyond the Store and Stages tabs, there is also a Weapons section which is simply where you'll find all your purchased weapons and you can upgrade (attach perks) and select which ones you wish to equip (you can only carry three weapons at any one time).

Lastly there is the Character section where you can select who yiy wish to play as. At first, Jill, Chris, Parker and Keith (Grinder) are playable but there are six more spaces for other characters to be unlocked. You can also select different costumes (which are unlocked through Mission Mode) as well as select any unlocked level for your character and the option to view a very detailed 3D model of the characters too.

You can play Raid Mode either Solo, Local Play or Online Play. So far I've only tried Solo but I'll definitely give Online a go when I get time.

Lastly, there is one other 'mode' which is tied into both Raid Mode and the Campaign which is called Missions. Now Missions isn't an actual 'mode' that you can play, it acts more as an achievement system. Performing certains things during the Campaign or Raid Mode will award you with an achievement which pops up in the top corner of the screen (much like Xbox Live's Achievements and PSN's Trophies) and receiving these achievements unlocks certain things such as more powerful weapons to use in Campaign Mode. Each Achievement has its own name (tag line) as well as whats required to achieve it and what your reward is for doing so. There are 50 missions/achievements in total and they can be obtained in game or via Streetpass if you pass someone who gas already achieved a mission you've yet to receive.

I think that's about it, but like before, any questions and I'll be happy to answer.

EDIT: Turns out that Chasm and Trench are different difficulties. In Chasm, the enemies go from Level 1 up to level 20, whereas in Trench they start at level 17 and increase to about level 35. There is also a third difficulty called Abyss, that have enemies go from level 37 to level 50

 

Dang. Well it at least sounds like you get your money's worth.

 

Yeah, definitely. The Campaign mode itself is long enough but all the extra content on offer really makes for a worthy package.