Casual appeal and touch-screen controls have made Nintendo's recent handheld systems a perfect fit for digital collections of traditional games and puzzles, and that's the niche in which the rather generically named 3D Game Collection sits comfortably. With 25 games from Backgammon to Battleship, Solitaire to slide puzzles, there's plenty to keep fans of truly old-school gaming occupied, but inconsistent execution, a few duds, and an uninspired presentation keep this compilation from being as classic as the games it's based on.
After creating a user profile in one of the four available slots, 3D Game Collection drops you at a theme selection screen where you can choose between three environments to play in: outer space, a pirate ship-strewn Caribbean ocean, and a field of flowers. Each area has between 15 and 20 games, for a grand total of 55, though game types repeat across and even within the themes - there are two floral Jigsaws and two space-age Spot the Difference puzzles, for instance.
There's a good variety of game types among the 25 included in the collection, with the majority leaning towards the simple board game side of the spectrum. Versions of Connect 4, Backgammon, Ludo/Parcheesi, Checkers (both unadorned and of the Chinese variety), Mastermind, Nine Men's Morris, Battleship, and Dominoes are all here, and playing against the AI provides the simple fun you'd expect. Solo games include both Card and Peg Solitaire, Jigsaws, a card-matching memory game, MahJong, Sliding Puzzles, Spot the Difference, a Bingo variant called "Beano", and five-dice throw. There's a nod to pen-and-pencil puzzles with Sudoku and the closely-related Kakuro, and computer-inspired games with clones of Minesweeper and Bejeweled, a pipe-matching game, and the basic but engaging box-pushing puzzler Chest Mover Mania.
For the most part, these games are true enough to their source material to be dependably enjoyable. Being able to play a quick game of Ludo on the go is a wonderful thing, the match-three puzzle action is as enthralling as ever, and steadfast Solitaire is a perennial favourite for a reason. 3D Game Collection's implementation of the Spot the Difference game even succeeds where many similar efforts fail; by penalizing wrong guessing, it prevents the puzzles from becoming mindless tap-athons.
Unfortunately, as is often the case with collections, the standard of quality is uneven across the entire package, and a few games are brought down by design quirks. The Jigsaws leave no room for pieces other than on the board itself, meaning that a significant amount of the challenge comes from trying to organize a jumbled mess of pieces half-covering your picture. The Dominoes game, while fun, suffers from an unwieldy interface that requires sliding back and forth between your hand and the edges of the playing field. There are also a few total whiffs: the dice-throwing game Dice Five loses an awful lot in the transition to the digital realm, while the mind-numbing Beano proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that any fun to be had with Bingo stems from door prizes and pleasant company, and definitely not from the act of locating numbers on a card.
Another issue is that any sunk ships, cracked codes, or captured checker-pieces will belong to the computer, as there's no multiplayer support in 3D Game Collection. Some of these classic games are begging to be played with friends, and the ability to pass-and-play would definitely liven things up. It's also a noticeable omission because the AI can sometimes be infuriating, and lacks the good graces to refrain from routinely wiping the floor with you in solved games like Nine Men's Morris or 4 In a Row. Whether this is a deal-breaker for these games depends on the player: those in the know will relish the chance to force the computer's hand, while beginners will likely end up frustrated.
Help screens are on hand for each game type to bring new players up to speed on the rules, and every game has bronze, silver, and gold trophies to earn depending on your score. Some of the gold trophies have impressive conditions, and these will definitely extend the game's replay value for high-score hunters.
The "3D" in the the title speaks more to 3D Game Collection's platform than anything else, as nearly all the action takes place in two dimensions on the non-stereoscopic touch screen. Everything is controlled with the touch screen, and in most game types the top screen simply displays a scene from the chosen theme with a few game pieces in front. The exception to this is the Spot the Difference puzzles, where one picture is displayed on the top screen and the other on the touch screen. This looks nice, but actually creates a few problems, as the added depth in the top picture causes objects to appear in slightly different positions, and the wider field of vision leaves excess art on either side that can be distracting while you're perusing paintings for minutia.
Graphically, 3D Game Collection passes muster without really impressing. The game's three themes are represented well, and each of the three animated 3D scenes look nice, but the lack of visual variety among the space-, ocean-, and flower-themed games contributes to a feeling of repetition in the game. There's also only one musical track for each theme, and while the short loops are pleasant enough, they all wear out their welcomes relatively quickly. The sound effects are tastefully low-key, and help give games like Jigsaw a more tactile feel.
Conclusion
3D Game Collection isn't the type of game you'd rush out to buy, or even rush home to play. Rather, it's a straightforward pack of digital diversions meant to be broken out while in-between engagements, or curled up on a rainy day. Certain games fare better than others, and the high and low points even out to create an experience that's almost exceptionally average. For better or for worse, 3D Game Collection won't surprise anyone, and it's even less likely to excite, but players looking for a predictable, on-the-go fix of classic board game archetypes should have some fun with this collection.
Comments 26
not really into puzzles....not gonna pick it up. I donwant to see if UFO's latest did good. (better not keep my hopes up for that one though).
I am hoping Nintendo makes a Clubhouse Games for the 3DS.
More expensive but more fun just to get the board games themselves and a pack or two of playing cards. Multiplayer and no cheating AI.
I picked this up and played a bit. The review is Right on. There is some fun to be had but if your not into board games you probably shouldnt bother.
@LinktotheFuture Sega made Clubhouse games and yes that would be perfect for 3ds and bring back the online play. there are still a ton of people playing worldwide on clubhouse games. You can always hookup a game of bowling with about 4 players. Sega should really consider an updated version for the 3DS as it was one of the best DS titles
Seriously though I don't think Nintendo has dedicated themselves to online play yet. If they did they would have made NintendoLand with online multiplayer. The reason I didn't pick up the Wii-U immediately. I'm going to sit back and wait to see where Nintendo goes with Online games. I hate to admit how much I spend on gaming over the last 30+ years but its alot and they have lost a great customer for the time being anyway. I will probably get a Wii-U at some point
In response to my previous post LOL Nintendo has not lost a customer really. I am still picking up 3DS games like Crazy. It's the system I play most these days. I love the portability
How many rehashes of these types of games do we truly need??? Another one for the bandwagon...
No multiplayer is a deal-breaker for me. The best fun with the old DS Clubhouse Games is when I play it with the kids and grandchildren (we're commonly playing 3 and 4 player games), so I'll stick with that.
@Windy Nintendo made Clubhouse Games, it is a part of the Touch Generations series.
@LinkoftheFuture Your right. Now I wish Nintendo would do it for 3DS with online play. I don't know why I thought sega made that game.
@LinktotheFuture You and me both
Does anyone know it the kakuro are randomly generated or if there is a set number of puzzles? Also, are there different sizes for kakuro and sudoku?
@eks I got the game yesterday I will look into that for you tonight when I get in from work
@ Windy no worries. I had to double check myself.
@eks I believe they're randomly generated - at least, you get a new one each time you select Sudoko or Kakuro (or even hit "Restart") and I haven't noticed getting the same one twice! The Kakuros are in a 6x5 outer grid and the Sudoku is all 9x9.
Edit: Woops - I didn't mean to steal your thunder @Windy! I love how helpful the NL community is!
great review, i agree with the score as well, some good, some bad. i should have waited for the review first tho before i bought it v_0
Ah, I was expecting or hoping I guess this would be good. I'm glad with the other jillions of puzzle games I have to play, anyways. Puzzler World XL and Crosswords Plus is still keeping me busy!
This was released some time ago in Australia via retail at the low, low price of $30. o.O
From my understanding, there is no difference between the US eShop version and the Australian retail version as the Aussie version doesn't include multiplayer either.
@sillygostly Same in Europe. Why are NL only just reviewing this now? I guess they didn't get their hands on a review copy.
On another note, it's irritating to me that so many EU retail 3DS games are being released as 3DSWare in US: Real Heroes - Firefighter 3D, Gardenscapes, Murder on the Titanic, 3D Mahjongg, Mahjong 3D - Warriors of the Empire, That Hunting Game by Teyon that Was Surprisingly Good, Order Up!!, This Game. I'm sure the list goes on.
Some of those games were also released in Australia via retail. We do share the same region coding, after all, and the European and Australian eShops are more or less the same, though we do tend to miss out on a lot of titles due to our smaller market.
It doesn't bother me though, as most of these games look like absolute rubbish.
@C-Olimar Well, only 2 of those games seem to be worth a damn (although I haven't tried Gardenscapes or Murder on the Titanic) so it's not a big loss anyways, is it?
Sure you may be screwed over in pricing, but for the most part you wouldn't want to touch that crap anyways. And what do Order Up and Outdoors Unleashed average in price on Amazon or other cheap stores?
This is actually a REALLY GOOD game. I bought it and have played it a lot. It has a strong AI for 2 player games, and a good challenge for the 1 player games. The graphics are awesome, and the variety of games is fantastic for the low price. It's absolutely worth every penny.
Ok, broke down and bought this game, mainly because it was on sale for a little over $4 in the eshop. I also love collections of games, etc. This game? So far, it's ok. Just as the review says, nothing earth-shattering, nothing stands out, it's good though for $4, I think, for the variety of gameplay, especially for those of you who don't have alot on your 3DS, I would def grab this. I give it a 6/10.
@C-Olimar those games all sound and look terrible, at least not good enough to sell in a north american market
@SirQuincealot North America is a big market, and are you seriously suggesting North Americans don't buy bad games?
Just bought it for £2. It's ok. I wish the e shop had an option for returning games within 24hrs and you could get a refund or the cost credited to your e shop account. A system similar to Amazons Kindle, If you download a book and don't like it you can return it and get a refund.
@Kiyata_Hamasaki Hi, since you have the game can you answer a question for me? Does the game let you save midway, such as Parcheesi/Ludo? I want to get the game specifically for that. I have another game collection on the PSP/Vita, with some of the same games from here, but sadly there's some bug in Parcheesi where if you save and load the game back later, all the rules you've selected gets reverted to the default rules and messes up the game. Been looking for another game collection with Parcheesi since.
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