What fun then, lay in wait for this intrepid gamer in a mood lit basement in Manchester?

The first thing which struck me about the hand candy? It’s weight. Or to be more precise the lack of it. Lighter than a DS but no less robust, this is a device that will happily slip into a day bag or large pocket with little heft and still be in one piece by sundown.

Buttons gave good feedback yet retained the just too cramped (for my fun-size Snickers thumbs) arrangement of previous Nintendo systems. This is not the rock upon which my return to Street Fighter competence will be built.

Contemporary 3D is something I’ve found hit or miss for eyes. Avatar? Great. Harry Potter and Coraline? The Suck. So I turned the Depth Slider up to 11 with some apprehension that this was crunch time for me and 3D gaming…

It works. 

That’s really high praise from this gamer though honestly all games can be played in 2D and the 800x240 display (400x240 per eyeball) is gorgeous enough to give a great experience here too.

I started the gaming goodness with Project Sora’s Kid Icarus: Uprising. Thrown straight into a Panzer Dragoon style aerial shooting gallery, 3D objects were hurtling towards me instantly. I was quickly blasting flying eyeballs away with the shoulder button and feasting on rich, crisp colours. This was followed by a cut scene also looking good in 3D before Icarus dropped from the sky for a decidedly more God of War change of pace. While fun, I was hampered by a resistance either of the analog stick to respond or my brain to comprehend circle strafing in 3D which only a longer play-through would reveal.

Time was short so I jumped on to Zelda and if this was anything to go by, all your classic Nintendo franchises will be just as enjoyable on 3DS with added cute. It played and looked just as you would expect Link in a tree dungeon to. Controls here felt more refined. A better gradient on analog movement had me duelling with spiders more satisfyingly than in Icarus.

A brief flirtation with Pro Evolution Soccer (nothing to see here) led into a few laps of Ridge Racer 3D. Disappointingly Namco Bandai seem to have produced a title which does exactly what it says on the box. The supposed hooks here are the games particle effects - flames and dirt flying towards you. Pretty, but not enough to immerse me to the tune of the 229 notes the 3DS will go on sale for on March 25th. All that remains is the same boost/drift chase against dubious A.I you know and loathe from previous outings.

The evening was rounded out with a look at some of the more casual, pre-installed content and non playable demos. Face Raiders was a surprisingly enjoyable augmented reality shooter that began to hint at the hijinks possible with 3D cameras built into the console’s lid. First you take a picture of a friend (or better enemy) which is mapped to a series of 3D balls you proceed to blast with impunity until a giant boss face appears to suffer a similar and no less satisfying fate.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater made a fitting appearance as a drool worthy video before it was time to say goodbye to Nintendo’s new baby and venture out into the damp streets of the city.

Would I buy one? No. First impressions suggest handheld gamers have another great experience to excite them this March yet there is one great gaming barrier even glasses free 3D cannot solve. Time. My commute is short and between Xbox and PS3 it’s nice to fill that time with some low tech reading or, dare I say it, looking at reality, which I hear is also now available in multiple dimensions.