Don’t listen to any of these fools. Civ Rev DS is actually my favorite iteration. I know it’s not a common sentiment, but nothing wrong with a stripped down Civ you can play in a couple hours. I think if you’re looking for a real challenge, the AI may not hold up, but it has never bothered me because I’m a lightweight.
Also, the Anno games have versions on DS that I thought were pretty darn good.
Yeah, I saw there was a Dawn of Discovery that I totally added to my list.
Is that a “new” 3DS, with the extra analogue nub, better cpu, face tracking etc?
As I hope you remembered to buy the charger as well! You can get really cheap 3DS USB charge cables off ebay.
It looks like a first gen to me. I thought the new version had “new” pasted all over the box.
Yeah, that’s just a standard XL.
FYI, there was a jagged alliance port for ds as well, but I could never get a straight answer on if it was any good, so I never bought it.
It’s the regular 3DS XL. Both my friend and the guy at the store were adamant that I didn’t need to spend another $40 on the new one, which is fine by me. So far I’ve been playing Age of Kings and Shiren the Wanderer, and I am really digging it. Netflix works well too, though it looks better on the Vita.
Didn’t the “new” 3DS ditch DS compatibility?
No, the New 3DS is perfectly capable of playing DS games.
Good good. Then I personally would have recommended dropping the extra $40 - it sounds like there’s $40 worth of improvements from what I’ve heard. Just not, y’know, replace your existing 3DS worth.
I think the biggest improvements for me with the new 3DS is the face tracking camera for the 3D effect. Given the fact that Brian seems pretty much sold on playing regular DS games for the time being, I don’t think that’s a problem. There is so far only one game that requires the new 3DS, and I doubt it will be all that common for more games released in future to require the added processing power that the New3DS has. Thinking of Xenoblade Chronicles, the analogue nub is a godsend in that game. I’ve yet to try it in Majora’s Mask or Smash Bros, but the positioning of the nub is convenient. Heck, it even feels good, the right sort of resistance where I’m not spinning a camera around horribly, or too slowly, yet sensitive to the direction I push it.
One of the better features though of the New3DS is the positioning of the volume control. Now I no longer accidentally bump up the volume when playing, considering I play wearing a pair of headphones because I don’t really think much of the speakers on the 3DS/New3DS. For anyone who hasn’t played the DS with a decent set of headphones, I recommend trying it.
My only two gripes with the new 3DS is the location of the microSD card, and the wireless toggle. The microSD card is now positioned behind the backplate, so not too convenient to switch out. I simply put in a 32GB card, and that should keep me going for a while anyway. I think the biggest game I’ve downloaded on there is about 2GB in size. The other gripe is the wifi toggle, where I have to go back to the homescreen to turn the wifi on or off. And with those being my only two complaints, I think I can safely say that the New3DS is worth the extra money. But more than anything, I really, really hope Brian is happy with his purchase.
One problem I have is buying the DS/3DS games when they are available, even if I don’t have time to play them because I regret never buying Chrono Trigger for the DS at the time, with the bonus stuff that I never got to see when playing the SNES version. And with DS games being pretty rare these days, it is pretty hard to find a copy. Fingers crossed it makes its way to the Wii U virtual console thing. I wish the DS games were also being put onto the 3DS store. It seems a bit odd to play a game like Megaman Battlenetwork on the Wii U.
Nonsense! The face tracking for stable 3D alone is worth it! :) Also Monster Hunter is more painful without the camera control on the analogue nub (or the add-on pad thing).
How is the battery life on the new 3DS (relative to the basic 3DS,not the XL). I hear it’s better, but is it approaching DS Lite levels or are we talking an extra hour?
I assume you mean the New 3DS XL compared to the old regular 3DS? Because there is no New 3DS version. At least, not in the US.
There is a regular New 3DS version, just not released in the US. But the other major regions get a choice.
Edit: As for comparison on battery, I don’t really know. That said, I went from an XL to the New XL, which isn’t fitting your criteria Ginger Yellow. Few variables anyway such as being better at turning off the wireless and typically playing in shorter bursts, so I never really keep track of time.
Didn’t they just announce a new 3ds is coming to the US
If I’m not mistaken, the New 3DS is only coming to the US as the XL version. There will be no “normal sized” New 3DS in the US.
Which is 100% fine with me, because the XL is, in my opinion, the proper form factor for the thing anyways. More readable screen, less hand cramping, longer battery life. I can’t see any reason to buy a non-XL version. (Maybe for kids, but in that case, the 2DS should have them covered).
Ugh, I hope not. I mean, yes, that’s actually good, but I’ll be sad I already got the New 3DSXL.
The only news article I could find was headlined by a question and I think Betteridge’s Law of Headlines handles that pretty well.
