Opinion of the 3DO

[GKC]

Yeah, the NFS is without a doubt a showcase title. It doesn't have much replay value today for me (it's an extremely short game with little reason to play it multiple times), but I can definitely picture it being downright amazing back in the day.

 

How does the Saturn version compare with the 3do version of NFS Austin? If you have played the Saturn version that is.

[+wood_jl]

The Saturn version of Need For Speed is excellent! It is - pretty much - just like the Playstation version. This was in a day when most games that came out on PS and Saturn were inferior on the Saturn, 3-D games in particular. I was astonished at how the Saturn version looked and played exactly like the PS.

 

I have heard people say that the 3DO version is a little different - and more toward "sim" than arcade-style - than the PS/Saturn version. Can't say. Didn't have $700 in the early 90s, so I've never played the 3DO version. However, the PS/Saturn version is EXCELLENT. I'd be interested in seeing the 3DO version, but since the PS/Saturn version is so good, I doubt it's additionally superior to justify another Rubbermaid tub of game consoles for me. I have too many, and there are new systems always coming out.

[ATARI7800fan]

The Main reason I am looking at it is for the games that were only on the system like Wing commander III(love that series) too bad they have not made a modern one yet.

[Austin]

Yeah, the NFS is without a doubt a showcase title. It doesn't have much replay value today for me (it's an extremely short game with little reason to play it multiple times), but I can definitely picture it being downright amazing back in the day.

 

How does the Saturn version compare with the 3do version of NFS Austin? If you have played the Saturn version that is.

 

Honestly, I haven't played the Saturn (or PlayStation) versions of the game. I actually had the Saturn one, but traded it before I got a chance to try it.. All I can really go by is what I hear the 3DO fans say about them. Supposedly the non-3DO/PC versions are more arcade-like, and they even have two-player modes (3DO version is single-player only). They typically prefer the more sim-like aspects of the 3DO game. Me, can't come to a conclusion as I've only played the 3DO one, and it certainly feels like a sim to me. The best I can describe it is it being reminiscent of the old Test Drive games. It's about getting to the end while avoiding any sort of collision on the way (you *will* wreck if you run into something).

[+wood_jl]

That reminds me.... The 2-player mode is damn excellent fun, on the PS1.

 

What is a uniquely-fun experience is:

 

Take the "Coastal" run, in 2-player. There is oncoming traffic, and in a very fun and challenging way. I haven't seen the oncoming traffic done so well, and I'm a fan of many, many racing games. Chances are, someone's going to get ahead, but they're going to wreck and the other will catch up, so there's a lot of trading places which makes it competitive and fun. (This is a shitty cam capture but all I could find quickly). I like how the camera pulls back to show the wrecks.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxCPAXVJIVw

 

The game pre-dates the dualshock controller, so for excellent analog control on this (and many other early games) the Ultra Racer for PS1 is the hot setup.

 

Here.....

 

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&icep_uq=ps1+ultra+racer&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

 

.....you can see they're like $5 on Ebay. Hell, there's a new in box one currently for 50-cents as I type this.

 

A couple of those and a PS1 make for some excellent Need For Speed Racing, as described above. Link mode (2 consoles, etc) is HUGE fun.

 

This particular race always reminds me of the race scene in "Against All Odds" between Woods in the Ferarri and Bridges in the Porsche.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElVLfd9rapE

[Gabriel]

Honestly, I haven't played the Saturn (or PlayStation) versions of the game. I actually had the Saturn one, but traded it before I got a chance to try it.. All I can really go by is what I hear the 3DO fans say about them. Supposedly the non-3DO/PC versions are more arcade-like, and they even have two-player modes (3DO version is single-player only). They typically prefer the more sim-like aspects of the 3DO game. Me, can't come to a conclusion as I've only played the 3DO one, and it certainly feels like a sim to me. The best I can describe it is it being reminiscent of the old Test Drive games. It's about getting to the end while avoiding any sort of collision on the way (you *will* wreck if you run into something).

 

This.

 

I haven't played the Saturn version. However, I have played the 3DO and PS1 versions. I can't imagine that the Saturn version would be too much different from the PS1 version.

 

The PS1 version has extra features and is much faster. It also has some more tracks, but these extras are all closed tracks instead of the open road which made Need for Speed so neat to begin with.

 

Basically, the PS1 version is definitely much more arcadey. The 3DO version has a more "open highway" feel. The 3DO is slower paced, but it's just a different feel rather than a flaw.

 

I believe the PS1 version omits the performances of the opposing racer. After each race section your opponent would appear and either gloat or congratulate you. Many reviewers of the 3DO version found it irritating. I have to admit that I liked it, and it was a fun feature. The other guy was such a dork that it was fun making him eat dust.

 

I think both the 3DO version and PS1 version are excellent games which stand up to this day. In fact, I played both versions recently after the demo of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on the 360 had left a nasty taste in my mouth. These old games may not look as good as a modern racer, but I feel they played much, much better.

 

Edit: Incidentally, Need for Speed was my favorite 3DO game. I spent many hours driving through the city, along the coastal roads, and in the Alpines. I preferred to play the Lamborghini. It drove like a brick, but it was oh so satisfying to hit max speed.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Gabriel

[Underball]

I really liked the 3Do when I had it, and wish it had done better. It was a great idea, but just lacked the support that Sony and Sega and Nintendo had at the time.

 

Particularly, the 3Do versions of:

 

Return Fire

Gex

PO'ed

NFS

Road Rash

Slayer

Space Hulk

Wing Commander III

 

and a few others just overall look better and played nicer than their PSX counterparts. I never had a Saturn, so I can't really say how it compares.

 

I'm actually getting back in the market for a 3Do now, since I recently found out about the ability to play games downloaded.

[atarilovesyou]

When I first saw the 3D0 way back when, it was the most jaw dropping piece of gear we had ever seen! And the price was simply astronomical...after about a year, I borrowed my buds system and it had a bunch of great games, at least games I thought were great at the time! FMV was the thing back then, and I was really impressed with Cliffhanger for the Sega CD...and the 3D0 blew that away. The only other system to compare it to was the SNES, so it made it all the more impressive.

 

I recall a game show game, maybe it was called Twisted, something like that...we all thought that was awesome.

 

My faves were Dragons Lair (finally being able to play it home was pure awesome), I still have more fun with that title on that system than any other. I'm not sure why, but the controls seemed to 'make sense'...you could actually play it with some sense of certainty (it's a timing thing, I can't explain it), not like the DVD versions of today.

 

Some zombie shooter game was fun, but repetitive. Wing Commander was awesome, if only for Ginger Lynn and Mark Hamill...the game was still not that great, but it was ambitious.

 

The crowning jewel for me was the original Need for Speed. The game was clunky, you never really felt in control of the car (mainly due to the sim-like atmosphere), it was hard, but the immersive quality was undeniable! And dude, you had to be GOOD to get those props from the 'game host' guy...and when you got a new one you hadn't seen before, it was AWESOME...here's a youtube:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWetdn9egeM&feature=related

 

It was also the first time since Hard Drivin that a replay was used..and somehow, the computer could always tell when something extrememly cool happened. One in particular, I'll never forget...I somehow got into a fishtail (easy, considering the controls) and maanged to loop around at the exact second a cop came zooming behind me...I slipped between to cars, but the cop, no such luck! He flipped over the vehicles, and the replay nailed the moment exactly...I mean, the margin of error was extremely small, I was so lucky, lol!

 

I'd track down an old system just to play that game. Oh, and that cool army game where you can be a tank, chopper or something else..a capture the flag game, that was tons of fun.

 

If the system didn't cost so much, it might have made more impact but it was truly a rich-kid system, at least in the beginning. And eventually the Playstation came out and did many of the 3D0 games much better...but not on Need for Speed, IMO. The only driving game that rivaled it for me was Gran Turismo. Mind you, I like the sim style driving games.

 

Much of the appeal had to be the FMV...and they milked it all the way. But you can't have an entire system built on a gimmick, and by the time the PS came out, the 3D0 seemed to be a clunky piece of garbage. Their version of Doom was particularly horrible.

 

Good memories, though! It was the beginning of the 32 bit wave, in my mind.

[user42]

I recall a game show game, maybe it was called Twisted, something like that...we all thought that was awesome.

 

Twisted was a great party game. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it till now.

 

I think my favorite game BITD was Road Rash. I spent many hours playing that....

 

 

[Rex Dart]

Yeah, I agree that if they'd just sucked up the losses on the hardware, they could've made a bigger living-room impact with it. Great system for the time period it was released in; it could've been ALL FMV games but it had some real games too.

[kid_vidiot]

I plan on getting a 3D0 in the near future. While most of the good games were eventually ported to the psx, there are still a bunch of titles I've been wanting to play, including Daedalus Encounter, the two D&D games, and Lucienne's Quest.

[Rex Dart]

^ It's been my experience that most games appearing on the PS1 and the 3DO were better on the 3DO.

[Underball]

^ It's been my experience that most games appearing on the PS1 and the 3DO were better on the 3DO.

In lots of cases, yes. The 3DO does a much better job with 2D graphics and FMV/Cutscenes, and the games were overall more polished.

[Hatta]

 

I'm actually getting back in the market for a 3Do now, since I recently found out about the ability to play games downloaded.

 

Avoid the Goldstar model in that case. Many people have had problems running CDRs on that unit, though YMMV.

[user42]

I'm actually getting back in the market for a 3Do now, since I recently found out about the ability to play games downloaded.

 

Avoid the Goldstar model in that case. Many people have had problems running CDRs on that unit, though YMMV.

I never had trouble playing CD-R on my Glodstar. That is until I wore out the laser and now it won't read anything..

 

 

 

[keilbaca]

I would say, Saturn over 3DO for the shoot em ups, but if you really like FMV games, 3DO is the way to go.

 

I love my 3DO, Dragon's Lair is so much fun

 

Also, much love for Sewer Shark. That game just has a charm to it like no other FMV game...

[+thegoldenband]

I was doing some pricing research tonight, using old message board posts as a guide. I couldn't help but smile when I saw this pair of posts, one from this thread and one from a much older one:

Ive been playing the 3DO game Dragon Lore mainly on and off for the past few weeks, i am determined to finish that game

Dragon Lore - took something like 9 years to finish. i took a long break between playing

A man of his word!

[Lost Dragon]

Probably been mentioned elsewhere but a good few games i loved on PS1 started life on 3DO:

Metal Gear Solid, Blood Omen:Legacy Of Kain and Soviet Strike.

Would have loved to have seen them running on 3DO, if only to compare to the PS1 versions.

[zetastrike]

I love the 3DO. I've been enjoying my FZ-1 ever since I got it. It's one of those consoles that has a style and feel all its own, like the Saturn or PCE.

[+chicgamer]

I really like my 3DO, though it is currently boxed and stored at the moment. It's the system on which I played through Gex and Alone in the Dark. One of the games that really drew me to the system was Guardian War, which I don't believe has ever been released on another system. I really liked the visual style of that game.

 

I've been debating whether or not to send my system to StoneAgeGamer to install the USB mod (I would not attempt that myself). I just can't justify the price at the moment.

[Tenorman]

I've had an FZ-10 for a few years now. I like it well enough, though I admit I don't play it as often as a lot of my other systems. A lot of the games have kind of a "Sega CD on steroids" thing going on, and I don't mean that as a put down. It has better versions of Sewer Shark, Corpse Killer, Night Trap, Dragon's Lair, etc. Once you get away from the FMV games, there are some good ports of 2D fighting games such as Samurai Showdown and Street Fighter. There is also a very good port of Wolfenstein 3D.

[Austin]

I've been debating whether or not to send my system to StoneAgeGamer to install the USB mod (I would not attempt that myself). I just can't justify the price at the moment.

I'd like to eventually have this done as well, but you are right, it is tough to justify. If one is already considering taking this route, then it's obvious they won't be averse to burning CDs, which is a pretty fast and painless process these days. You really are paying for the convenience factor with the USB or HD mod.

[+chicgamer]

I'm just concerned about the laser eventually dying. I've only had that happen on one system so far (my Turbo CD), but I think it's not a matter of if but when for my 3DO.

 

Hopefully, we'll eventually have drive replacement options for all of the old systems. I recently ordered the GDEMU (have yet to receive it), and I'm looking forward to the Saturn drive replacement that he's working on.

[BillyHW]

3DO was just too expensive back in the day to be successful. My understanding is that the business model didn't allow for the hardware to be subsidized by the software sales, and it's not like the software was much cheaper as a result either.

 

Just about every 3rd party developer signed up as a "supporter" but then never made any actual games for it.

 

Now why would you buy a 3DO when you could get a Neo Geo for the same price (back then)?

 

The 3DO and Jaguar also came out at pretty bad times. The Super NES and Genesis were peaking in popularity and just as people were getting tired of those 16-bit systems, the superior Saturn and Playstation were coming out, along with Nintendo's "Project Reality" hype machine.

 

Also, back then, if you wanted to play games with graphics even better than 3DO could produce, you could just go to the arcade and put in a quarter. 3D games like Wolfenstein were also better on the PC which most people had access to in some way or another.

[dashv]

I plan on picking up a 3DO sometime in the next 2 months.

 

Mainly for the games mentioned in this thread.