After seeing the promotional video of the 3DS during E3 I had presumed that it would be the kind of 3D whereby items are made to appear as if they are coming toward you but instead it is used, quite successfully, for a sense of depth. There were a few things which appeared to 'pop out' a bit, such as leaves falling from trees, blossom in the wind and such, but for the most part it just gave a clearer sense of something actually being in front of you. The first thing I saw on the 3DS was Mario Kart, which was unfortunately a rolling demo rather than something you could actually play, and several people I spoke to commented on how it was so fast that they had to turn the 3D down or even off to cope with it, and I would agree. It may be different if you were actually in control of the action but that remains to be seen and it will be interesting to see how well the 3DS does cope with high speed gaming.

There were numerous rolling demos. I hopped between them and checked out the trailer for 'The Legend of the Guardians', which I had seen attached to Toy Story 3 when I went to see it in IMAX. While the screen size was obviously significantly smaller the impact was not lessened, it really was surprisingly good. There was also a video demo that showed off the 3D effects with images of flowers, popping champagne corks, smashing glass etc. At the end of this were a series of 3D images based around Nintendo games (Mario, Pikmin, Zelda) that you could rotate around using the analogue slider. This camera control worked quite well and across the board it was used either for controlling (in Pilotwings Resort for example) or moving the camera (typically for video presentations).

The system itself was around the size of the DSi and very similar in terms of overall looks. The only version on show was the all black one and personally I prefer this one to the two-toned variety, which to me looks awkward. While many people have commented on the fact that the top screen is bigger than the bottom it is barely noticeable while using the 3DS, particularly when you are immersed in the console itself. The 3D camera was also demoed and produced some fascinating results that let you align the multiple images to ensure the depth is perfect, although when unaligned it was very unsettling on the eyes.

The other games and demos on show certainly showed off the system's capabilities well. Hollywood 61 was perhaps the biggest surprise because I was unenthusiastic about it before trying it but it turned out to be interesting and used the camera function well - I won't say how exactly in case it makes it into the final game. Metal Gear Solid made good use of the depth and while I only briefly watched it in 3D it was certainly a visual feast.

Unfortunately the only games that were playable were Nintendogs and Cats and Pilotwings Resorts so the event seemed to be focused on showing off what the system can do in theory, rather than in practice. However, it certainly did raise my interest and hopefully when release details are announced Nintendo will then do a similar event, or public shows, to showcase just what the 3DS is capable of.

- Ashley Jones