Handheld Addict

PS Vita • PSP • PSPgo • Wii • 3DS • DS Lite • Xbox • Game Boy Micro • mp3 players • Mobile • Gadgets • general

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

3DS firmware update freezes Ridge Racer 3D


Nobody seems to be reporting this except a few aussie blogs, but Nintendo has warned that the latest 3DS update could cause issues with playing Ridge Racer 3D.

Here is the page from the Nintendo site:

Important Notice Concerning Ridge Racer 3D

Accompanying the system update available on June 6, it has been confirmed that under certain circumstances when making a selection before the race starts in "Grand Prix" in "Single Play" mode of the Ridge Racer 3D game, the screen sometimes freezes. If you do not install the system update at this time, the symptom will not occur.

We apologize for any inconvenience. We will have a system update in mid-June that should take care of this matter.

In Ridge Racer 3D, pressing the B Button to return from Race Selection or Machine Selection may cause the screen to freeze. If the screen does freeze, please press and hold the Power button and turn the system off then retry. There should be no impact to the save data.

Nintendo


Man... I really want the 3DS update... it adds the web browser but more important, there's a free game, Excite Bike! But I love playing Ridge Racer 3D so I have to wait. I hope they get this stupid update patched soon since Excite Bike is only free until July 7.



later
don
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , ,

Wii 2 is Wii U



So... the "Wii HD" or "Wii 2" has finally been revealed & named... Wii U.

Wii U? Like Wii University?? At this point, I don't even ask anymore. "Playstation Vita"? "Wii U"? Ok whatever, know what I'm saying? I guess they're just names.

I'm still trying to get up to speed on the details, but Engadget has a nice hands-on with the Wii U Controller, and Gamespot has a word-heavy but concise quick overview of the Wii U console. Not a lot of real info about the console at this time, looks like they will save that for the Tokyo Game Show.

The controller is very strange & interesting. It looks huge! Like a tablet but with traditional dual-stick controls. Isn't that what all of us who've had to make do with touchscreen d-pads always complained about-- lack of physical controls? But this is not the perfect solution to that problem as it may look.

The Wii U controller doesn't operate independently of the console. It doesn't have its own GPU and doesn't look like it has any onboard storage. Rather, it streams content from the console, and the touchscreen can display gaming while your main TV is occupied with showing Chuck or whatever. That's actually a nice feature for me; I like to play games during commercial breaks while watching TV so I'll switch back & forth. So something like this appeals to my ADD/short attention span & constant need to be fed interactive media...

But I'm not completely sold on it. It looks odd to have this huge tablet controller with basically a dualshock/Xbox controller crammed into it-- WITHOUT the curved, hand-fitting ergonomics of the Xbox controller S-- also, the analogue sticks are "slide pads" or analogue nubs, much like the 3DS/PSP. That's ok for a handheld gaming console but we kinda expect full analogue sticks on our home consoles, don't we? Even the NGP/PSVita looks to have full analogue sticks on it. And the touchscreen is a resistive one, complete with a DS-styled stylus that tucks into the back. I am not a fan of resistive touch screens, and I'm a bit disappointed with the touchscreen on the 3DS.

So the 2 analogue "sticks" and traditional control layout looks like it's meant to lure the "hardcore gamer" back to Nintendo... but will the awkwardness of holding a huge rectangle with analogue nubs really appeal to gamers used to using molded controllers like the Xbox controller? And it's so big that it looks rather child "unfriendly", unlike the Wii remote and nunchuck. But those controls are backwards-compatible... though I can't see most Wii U games being tailored for them. So who is this new Wii U controller really going to satisfy? Maybe my doubts are a failure of my imagination; when the Wii remote/nunchuck was first revealed I was like, "Huh??" but then I saw a lot of potential in them. Right now I'm not sure how the Wii U controller will really improve gameplay in a significant way.

But there's also that the expectations this time 'round are different. Like I said, I saw a huge potential in the motion controls of the Wii remote/nunchuck... but a lot of that potential *still* hasn't been realized. Since 2006 I've seen the balance board come & go, WiiSpeak fail miserably, the Wii Zapper & Wii Wheel make a small splash on the scene & sink like a blip on a lake.... no wonder I am a bit wary of yet ANOTHER Nintendo experiment tossed out into the world.

Timing is everything, and with the 3DS just out (yes, another Nintendo experiment whose long-term outlook is not looking good right now), Playstation Vita & Wii U coming, at this point I'd rather put my $$$ towards the new Playstation handheld. But Wii U might not come out until late 2012 so a lot of things could change by then.



later
don
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Xperia Play brief hands on

So I got a chance to try out the Sony Xperia Play phone last Thursday, the day it came out. I happened to be walking by a Sony Style store and remembered, "Hey, isn't the Xperia Play released in Canada today? (April 28)" so I went in and was looking over the dummy model on display when one of the sales guys asked if I wanted to play with an actual unit. Of course I would!

The phone is chubby, but not as bad as I thought... once I had it in my hands it seemed fairly compact.

There have been a bunch of reviews of the phone, most of the points have been covered. But a few things I noticed:

When the phone is slid out (extended) the hinge seems very secure. I tried to jiggle the top panel a little bit but other than the slide up/down there was NO looseness when it's fully extended.

HOWEVER.....

When the phone is in its compact phone form with the top panel covering the PS controls, the top panel *DOES* feel loose-- when I used the touchscreen and was scrolling and tapping through menus, I could feel the top panel pressing down every time I tapped. And I wasn't tapping hard.

So that is a major annoyance to me.

Another big problem - the analogue pad sliders. I tried out Star Battalion which is a spaceship flying game specifically to test the analogue touch pads. They don't seem all that responsive.... I guess what I find baffling is that Sony Ericsson made a huge deal about the Xperia Play having physical buttons-- then they go and put touchpad controls for the analogue nubs?? It was a SERIOUS MISTAKE to not use physical analogue nubs like the PSP/PSPgo.

The phone is a major fingerprint magnet, there was already a bunch of greasy prints all over it by the time I tried it out (ewww). And the plastic construction isn't the best-- though not the worst either.

The shoulder buttons-- called flippers-- have been talked about in other reviews, about how unresponsive they are. I did have some problems with them, they are very thin & recessed buttons. But I noticed with Star Battalion that I had to hold both flippers down for a second for it to register a barrel-roll command, and if I simply pressed both it wouldn't always register-- which may be what reviewers were complaining about.

The screen seemed nice like the PSP screen fidelity, but I suspect in natural light (also like the PSP) it will wash right out. Brightness is another huge issue.

There are a few games preloaded, then another few that look like they're on the phone but you have to either sign into a Google account or Rogers or something to actually play them. I think you need to download/activate them before they're playable.

The D-pad & face buttons seem solid & feel like PlayStation "quality". There wasn't much content loaded so I didn't get to try out the movie playback too much, I imagine that stuff is fairly standard.

The Android experience is pretty much there, so if you're familiar with the OS, you'll know what to expect.

One thing no big-name site will talk about with the Xperia Play is the possibility of using emulators on it. But I'd say that's the key reason to get this phone. I've groused so much about the annoyance of playing GBA games on a touchscreen so I'd love to be able to play my Game Boy Advance games using these PS buttons. Not to mention PS1 emulator games....

I wouldn't count on lots of optimized games coming specifically for this phone. If you like what's already on it (Bruce Lee game, Asphalt pretty cool) then great. But I still contend that there will be little/no PSP game ports for it.

Right now the phone is $100.00 with a 3 year contract-- that contract is pretty much $50.00-$60.00 a month. So you're looking at around $2000.00 + $100.00 for the phone over 3 years. Or it can be purchased outright for $550.00.

With its issues and the pricetag, I can't see it being worth it just to have a really great GBA emulator. If Sony Ericsson comes out with an updated version with improvements, that'd be worth looking forward to.



later
don
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , ,

3DS titles dropping like flies

I'm getting pretty choked by the growing list of canceled 3DS titles.

Almost 1 year ago, back at E3 2010, when a bunch of 3DS games were announced I posted "Right now I'm psyched for a new Ridge Racer, Resident Evil(!), Kororinpa, BloodRayne, Saints Row..."

Ridge Racer - came out at launch. It's great, but it's Ridge Racer.

Resident Evil - "The Mercenaries" game doesn't sound all that good, it sounds very shallow & light on content. And too early/not enough info on the other Resident Evil 3DS game to tell at this point.

Kororinpa, BloodRayne, and now Saints Row are all canceled?!? Sonnuva.

All anyone seems to be excited for is that bloody Zelda REMAKE game. One game, and I didn't play it 10 years ago, I'm not a Zelda fanboy so I don't know what all the fuss is about. What about the rest of us, isn't there anything for people who aren't into Zelda?

This is starting to piss me off.



later
don
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Nintendo and their user training

So it's almost 3 weeks in for my 3DS ownership.... and about the 3D..... since I first saw it (which was only when I got the system) I've liked it. I have not experienced eye-strain or tired eyes or any of those symptoms that many complain about from the 3D. In fact, the 3D for the most part is comfortable with the exception of one 3D picture I took where I did a close-up of my action figures and really played around with the adjustable 3D camera setting-- I shifted it all the way to the right I think-- way beyond what was recommended... anyway, for some reason when I first look at that one pic, it HURTS my eyes, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. That's the only picture that affects my eyes in that way.

BUT... what I'm finding very vexing about the 3D is the EXTREMELY NARROW viewing angle of it. I'd heard a lot about that so I was prepared, but it is *extremely* narrow: With full 3D on, once you're in the sweet spot... if you move your head only ONE INCH to either side, it destroys the 3D effect. There is no middle ground, either the 3D effect is perfect or double images.

So the 3DS demands that you play it completely rigid with no movement of your head or the console itself. It's a big demand on the player.

I think back about the Wii, and how the Wii remote makes demands of gamers and developers. Wii owners have to accept that aiming in first-person shooters isn't going to be as sharp/quick as using an analogue stick to control camera movement. The Wii controls in general are not as fast as a Xbox or PS3 type of controller.

Nintendo is really re-training owners to adapt to the specific limitations of their systems. And with the 3DS viewing angle, it really gets me down sometimes. THAT is what gets me tired out, not the 3D itself but that it has to be perfectly still to work at all.

Although all 3DS games have the limited viewing angle, some games are worse than others. Pilot Wings Resort looks awesome in 3D, but the viewing angle is noticeably worse than my other games Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ridge Racer 3D. I don't know why. It's honestly very frustrating.

My previous handheld systems have all had pretty good viewing angles, and I never really had to think about the micro-movements I made while playing them.

That kind of ease of play is gone with the 3DS, just as the ease of play that gamers used to using a dualshock or Controller S disappeared when handed a Wii remote. The limited 3D viewing angle really sets up a barrier to enjoyment of the system.

I think about the problems that new forms of control or user interface present; like touchscreens such as on the iDevices or my phone. Before getting my phone in Dec 2010 I had previous experience with resistive (ugh) touchscreens but not much with capacitive (awesome) ones. But I found learning to use/navigate my phone via the touchscreen to be a very smooth & intuitive experience. So I don't think that it's simply a new form of interface which is Nintendo's problem. The 3D is just more difficult.

The bottom line is that this form of no-glasses 3D is very "prototype-y". I don't know how to improve the 3D but it seems like it needs very badly to have an improved viewing angle. I'm sure Nintendo is working on their next iteration of the 3DS already... if there is a way to improve it I guess they will. If so, I imagine this current 3DS will end up as obsolete as the original DS.


later
don
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Nintendo 3DS creaky Dpad

So....my Nintendo 3DS D-pad is getting creaky.

At first touch it seems better than the DS Lite's D-pad: that one has a more of a mushy feel to it. Even the Game Boy Micro's D-pad is tighter. But the 3DS D-pad is lower set than the DS Lite, tighter and more clicky. It actually felt really good at first.

But now when I press right direction on it, it's getting squeaky. Much like how the PSP-1000/2000 and PSPgo have squeaky D-pads. It's too bad, I wonder why this is so common?


UPDATE: I noticed there was some white dust/dirt/schmuckus of some sort in between the edge of the upper right side of the Dpad... I pulled it out and the squeaking disappeared! So that seems to have been the problem. Odd.



Reviews seem to largely ignore the 3DS D-pad, and a lot of the launch titles surprisingly seem to favour the circle pad... it's like Nintendo doesn't want people to use the D-pad or something... but I've been using it a fair amount like for racing games like the mini-game kart mode in Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ridge Racer 3D, and I have to say, the low placement of it is cramping up my thumb a bit. it's the same complaint people make about the low analogue nub placement on the PSP... but with a D-pad I think it's worse. I think I may have preferred that Nintendo had switched the circle pad & D-pad placement.



In other news, I took some pics comparing the 3DS analogue nub circle pad to the various PSP analogue nubs...



I was surprised that the circle pad is not much bigger than the PSP-2000 analogue nub. Basically, the PSP-2000 analogue nub is the same size as the inner circle part of the 3DS circle pad.



Of course the PSPgo analogue nub looks TINY compared to the 3DS...









The biggest differences between the Circle Pad & Analogue Nub...

Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad:
  • concave design
  • smooth but rubberized for grip
  • softer push but farther travel

Sony PSP Analogue Nub:
  • convex design
  • hard plastic but has little squarish textures to give it grip
  • takes a bit more effort to push it but has shorter travel


I don't know why everyone is saying the 3DS circle pad is better than the PSP analogue nub. Sure, a lot of launch games like Pilot Wings Resort and Super Monkey Ball 3D use the circle pad, but the problem is there aren't any third/first person shooters or action games to *really* test the mettle of the 3DS circle pad. I've been playing a DS game, MechAssault Phantom War on my 3DS and that's basically a third-person-shooter.... the circle pad handles it ok. I wouldn't say it's better than the PSP... just different, really.

And once NGP comes out with its actual analogue STICKS-- not just nubs but actual sticks that pivot, not slide-- that should blow away both of these controls... maybe? We'll see.



later
don
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , ,

Monday, April 4, 2011

Face Raiders and the 3DS hinge problem

One of the games built-in to the 3DS is Face Raiders. In theory, it is a very fun idea but in reality, while it is fun, it also unfortunately showcases the some of the weaknesses of the 3DS design.

The biggest problem: the 3DS hinge. There is a little bit of jiggle. Which would be ok when playing the 3DS traditionally and not moving it around... as is how its played for most games. But Face Raiders *demands* that you physically move the 3DS around, that's how you aim at the faces. So you're holding the 3DS vertically the entire time AND swinging it around in the air. Knowing that a game they bundled inside the system *needs* this much movement to play, Nintendo should have heavily reinforced the hinge so that it's tight tight TIGHT. Also, they KNOW they included tilt/gryro controls into the thing... again, for these reasons why did they not spend extra time with the hinge area? If the 3DS was a one-piece unit like my HTC Legend phone or the PSP, then this wouldn't be an issue.

In fact, I have a pre-loaded marble tilt game on my HTC Legend and it plays great. In contrast, I just bought Super Monkey Ball 3D for the 3DS and the tilt controls are ok, but the loose hinge does cause a bit of annoyance.

As for Face Raiders, it's a great idea which actually works very well at capturing faces using the 3DS camera. As long as you line up the eyes and mouth markers correctly with the face, it will be able to effectively manipulate the face image's expression; making it evil or happy, etc. It's very cool to look at. Even if the face has a completely neutral expression-- in fact it works better if it does.

But... I honestly can't tell how the HELL to play this game. Sure, I know all you have to do is shoot the faces projected onto the background but there's certain things you have to do that I have no idea how to progress beyond. I'm on level 3, and the hint they give to defeating the boss is: "deflect the faces back at him". Ok....... so I shoot the faces, they turn upside down and a chime sounds, and the chime goes higher pitched (think Do Re Me La Fa Ti Do) if I'm somehow making progress.... but it's all so chaotic I have no idea what's going on.

Face Raiders reminds me of when I was a little kid and I'd come across an arcade game that I had no idea how to play but it was flashy & fun-looking so I'd pop a quarter into it and just press all the buttons like crazy until it said GAME OVER (and maybe even that wouldn't stop me from continuing/pretending to play it) yes Face Raiders is fun... I just wish it wasn't so random.



later
don
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)