Overall its hard not to be impressed with the Nintendo 3DS. The 3D effects are striking and add to the immersion, the sound quality is top notch, and the addition of the analog stick makes gaming more enjoyable. Nintendo managed to package a lot of neat little distractions into the core OS to keep you busy.
All that said, there's definitely some drawbacks of the system. Battery life is unacceptable and Nintendo's "solution" of including a quick cradle to dock your system in isn't much of a solution at all. The price, $250, seems a bit steep as well - especially considering you can get an Xbox 360 for less than that. Finally it just seems like Nintendo wasn't ready for launch - while there are several decent launch titles, overall the line-up is fairly lackluster. We're disappointed with the complete lack of any co-op titles at launch. This is a portable system that's geared towards very social experiences, to us, that's simply unacceptable.
Combine those faults with the fact that several OS features are "disabled" like the web browser and online store - and its quite obvious the 3DS could have used a few more months to cook.
So while its hard to recommend running out to buy a 3DS right now, we think its going to be a solid system in the days to come. The foundation and technology are both there and there's no doubt that Nintendo will deliver.
The Good:
+ 3D is incredibly impressive
+ Sound quality
+ Universal Friends Codes
+ Street Pass is strangely addictive
+ Build quality, analog stick
The Bad:
- Battery Life is short
- 3D isn't for everyone
- Not all OS features are enabled