So many possibilities”¦

I’ll try to keep this post from turning into a nauseating flood of gushing praise; after all, nothing’s perfect and the 3DS has some problems we’re all aware of’some temporary, some probably permanent.

In the past week, however, I’ve experienced more wonderment and surprise from this little handheld than I’ve ever gotten from my first days with any other gaming device.  In addition, The Mii Beatles paid a visit and my dog thinks I’ve lost my mind.

It’s not like being enthralled by a cohesive fantasy world such as Mario 64 or a new Zelda. And it’s not the purely tech-based thrill the iPhone brought to the table. It’s more like entering a Nintendo science playground where creativity runs wild and new technology exists for one purpose: Fun. The 3DS has personality, charm and humor’lots of humor. Navigating its home screen is like opening a box of Wonka and Honeydukes candies. With a few taps, magic portals open in your coffee table, music visualizers get zapped by starships and helpful tips are delivered by a talking parakeet.

Now we see how a handheld home environment looks and plays when designed by Nintendo’Awesome. I wish Nintendo could work their magic everywhere; imagine a Nintendo-designed PC. I want Shigeru Miyamoto to design my next car’s dashboard.

At this point, I think it’s safe to say the built-ins make the 3DS worth its price. You don’t need to buy a game to have a great time. I went overboard at launch and bought all 3 first-party titles plus Street Fighter. As good as those four cartridge games are, 90% of my playing time has focused on the amazing AR games (Archery 2”¦Holy cow!!!), Face Raiders, Mii Maker, 3DS Sound, and’most of all’the fun offered by the 3D camera.

Around the internet, people are already using 3DS as a new toolbox for creativity and posting the results”¦and it’s just getting started.

I don’t know if 3DS can beat the original DS line’s lifetime sales figures. But I do believe it’s already earning its place as the friendliest, funniest, most entertaining gaming device to hit the market.

Okay, gush over. The battery still sucks.