Console Review: Nintendo 3DS XL

Type: Hand-held

Price: £174.99- £178.99

Special Features: 90% larger screens, home button, no charger included.

Design:

So it's finally here, Nintendo's upgrade to it's recently successful 3DS console. The 3DS XL is essentially what it says on the tin, a bigger version of the previous console, with 90% larger screens which makes playing games much more enjoyable, it also has a new 'home' button which enables you to successfully quit a game and exit to the home screen without turning the console off and then on again. It also boasts a larger 4GB SD card instead of the 2GB one from the previous version. The only downside to the package is that it doesn't have a charger included with it which seems a bit cheap of Nintendo, this means that users that are moving up from a normal DS system will have to buy a new charger for at least £6 or twelve dollars for the american readers (WARNING IF YOU PREVIOUSLY OWNED A DSI OR 3DS SYSTEM YOU WILL NOT NEED TO BUY A NEW CHARGER, ONLY IF YOU PREVIOUSLY HAD A NINTENDO DS SYSTEM.)

Presentation:

The new larger screen does improve games greatly and the graphics look fantastic especially when you compare it to the previous versions of this console, the 3D cameras aren't brilliant and to be fair they don't really live up to all the hype that Nintendo has graced it with. The 3D effect is slightly better than the other consoles but to sensitive users it can still make them feel slightly sick however it does genuinely depend on the user in question. The bottom screen also shouldn't go unmentioned it too is much larger and clearer. For players that are moving up from the normal DS then this system also has an internet browser however it does not support flash player but visiting sites such as Facebook and Twitter aren't a problem for this brilliant little machine and it's certainly handy if you aren't within distance of a PC. The sound is a little lacking when it comes to playing videos and the microphone doesn't pick up sounds very well when recording videos but these are problems that can be easily overlooked when playing games.

Gameplaying:

Basically it plays games fantastically, I've been playing games on it thoroughly for the past week or so and haven't encountered any freezing or bugs so far, that isn't to say that there aren't any at all but it does mean that Nintendo has covered itself very well in this department and has really done well to enhance what was a pretty decent console to begin with. Just a warning for Nintendo DS players this console does not have a Gameboy Advance game cartridge slot however you can play DS and 3DS games on this console.

Summary:

So overall it really is a great console with an all around ability to capture just about every user, I can't really say much more than positive things about this console apart from the fact that there is no charger included which puts DS users at an instant disadvantage and that at times the top screen can become blurry when playing games but apart from these two easily overlooked details it really does improve the previous versions.

Ratings:

Design: 8.9

Presentation: 9.1

Gameplaying: 8.7

Overall: 8.9