3DO Worth Collecting?

[Tempest]

What is everyones opinion of the 3DO system? The 3DO and CD-i are the only two non-modern game systems that I currently don't own (well the Amiga 32CD and CDTV as well, but my Amiga 1200 pretty much covers that library of games). I'm honestly not very familiar with the 3DO library other than most of the games seem to be cruddy FMV titles or games that appeared on other systems. Is the system worth collecting for? The games don't seem to be too expensive, but I've been waiting for a large lot to show up on ebay rather than trying to pick them up one at a time.

 

On the plus side, the large boxes look like they'd display nicely on a shelf...

 

Tempest

[Dusk2600]

3DO- not worth your time.

[Lemmi]

the 3DO is worth the time, the CD-i on the other hand isnt, but i still have a big collection for it also

 

its worth it if you just want the good games, unlike me i went and bought every US released games for the 3do (182 games). the 3do was my first CD based system i bought in 1997. i still havent played all the games yet

 

while im not sure what games were released on other systems (computers and other junk i dont own) there are many good games along with the best versions of The Need for Speed and Road Rash (with soundgarden music)

 

 

oh and you can play cdr 3do games as well on it

heres some pics, this is every game released except for Mazer which i just got this week

[christianscott27]

That is a mighty-fine looking 3DO collection! Its not a satisfying system really, most games will be familiar to you from the saturn or PC line ups of the time and those that arent wont blow you away. It suffers from the curse of the recent-classic systems, the games are close enough to the current gen to remind you of how badly they've aged. The thing about collecting from a physical stand point is the long box, easily half of the 3DO stuff I've found has been jewel case only but for a purist its long box or imcomplete. On the other hand you can burn games for the system and the unsusual hardware side adds a layer of novelty to the collecting. I sorta love collecting for this and the CD-i because when I make a score in the thrifts its like "I bet this crap sat here for weeks and nobody knew what it was for" as oppossed to atari and nintendo stuff that flys off the shelf.

[jbanes]

Super Wing Commander is fun to play on the 3DO. I've also been told that Daedalus Encounter is fun. Shockwave is okay, if you're into a 2.5D shooter.

 

Super Wing Commander was released on the Mac platform, so it can be played there if you have the Classic system installed.

 

Daedalus Encounter and Shockwave were both re-released on the PC.

 

Just about everything else sucks or is a port of a PC game.

[Dusk2600]

wooo 3DO porn is HOT! lol

 

that is a nice collection, i take back what i said, if i had some of those games, id prolly have kept the system, i stand corrected.

[2600Lives]

I love my 3DO. Guardian Wars is a great little RPG, very unlike most you have played. Foes Of Ali is a kick ASS boxing game. I believe it is the only system with a port of HELL on it, and of course, Super SF2 is just plain amazing...IF you have the 6 button controller that is. All in all it's a great system, and easy to collect for.

[sega saturn x]

"I bet this crap sat here for weeks and nobody knew what it was for"

Try months or hell years, at the shop I work at I can't recall ever selling any games for the 3DO or CD-i. A system here and there but nobody has ever actually purchased games by themselves.

[Lord Thag]

The 3DO is certainly not my top pic for best system of all time, but it does have some decent games. Top of the list is Star Control 2, which is a much better port of the PC game, and one of my top five games of all time. There are several other decent games, but they really just boil down to early playstation type games. IMO, the early 3D games are not much fun, mainly because we are still playing the exact same types of games now, only much better.

 

The system is worth getting and *cough* burning a few good games for. Don't break the bank, though.

[number six]

The 3DO is certainly not my top pic for best system of all time, but it does have some decent games. Top of the list is Star Control 2, which is a much better port of the PC game, and one of my top five games of all time. There are several other decent games, but they really just boil down to early playstation type games. IMO, the early 3D games are not much fun, mainly because we are still playing the exact same types of games now, only much better.

 

Star Control II is probably the best game on the system. Its a port and available elsewhere, but the 3DO version is the best.

 

The Wing Commander games are good, Super Wing Commander is a port of I believe a Mac game which was like a 'special edition' of the original game. I also had a hell of a time getting WC3 to run properly on my 486/66 back in the day, so the 3DO version was much easier to deal with (even if it lacked the land missions).

 

Problem with the 3DO is it was one of the 'tweener' systems. It had a CD drive, but didn't have the 3d capabilities of the later systems such as the PSX and Saturn. So basically you've got SegaCD type games only in higher resolution. This was obviously back when everyone still thought FMV was a good idea so there's a lot of that as well.

 

Another spot the 3DO is pretty good for though, is the American Lasergame 'gun' games. Sure the CD-i versions were MPEG1 and technically better, but the 3DO is more common and if memory serves got more ports. The only caveat there is you will need the 3DO Light Gun for the games to be playable and those go for a decent amount ($40-$60) well, last time I checked anyway.

[jbanes]

The Wing Commander games are good, Super Wing Commander is a port of I believe a Mac game which was like a 'special edition' of the original game.

Other way around. Super Wing Commander was made specifically for the 3DO, then ported to the Mac. (Figuring that they could pick up some of the Mac market that they had never pursued.)

[Flojomojo]

On the plus side, the large boxes look like they'd display nicely on a shelf...

Ugh, paper. I guess if you have the space, display boxes are always nicer than a binder full of discs, but ...

The system is worth getting and *cough* burning a few good games for. Don't break the bank, though.

Agreed. I'm not sure why, but there's an abundance of torrent files with 3DO games on the web now, as well as a binaries newsgroup. Could be because of the FreeDO emulator, could be copies of the same big collection being passed around. While technically a copyright violation, such distribution probably doesn't hurt anyone since the 3DO company is long gone. I plan on snagging that EA Replay collection when it comes out so I feel justified in playing 3DO Wing Commander and Syndicate whenever I like.

The Wing Commander games are good, Super Wing Commander is a port of I believe a Mac game which was like a 'special edition' of the original game.

Other way around. Super Wing Commander was made specifically for the 3DO, then ported to the Mac. (Figuring that they could pick up some of the Mac market that they had never pursued.)

This is correct. The 3DO had similar hardware to the Macs of the day, and a Macintosh Quadra was the development platform. Super Wing Commander is kind of a remix of the first Wing Commander games, with new graphics. It's still really old-looking but I think it's easier on the eyes. Wing Commander 3 appeared on the Mac shortly afterwards, but it's more like the PC version than the 3DO or Playstation version.

 

The 3DO edition of Wing Commander 3 is a GREAT version IMHO. Loading time is almost NOTHING and the graphics are fast and smooth. It flows much better than even a modern game in the same genre because of this. I miss the 3D space shooters and wish there more of them today.

 

Also 3DO related: I enjoy this guy's blog: the 3DO Kid. It's a modern view of all the old 3DO games. Constantly updated.

[jesusc]

taken with a grain of salt the 3DO is ok. Certainly better than some other "next gen-but not really" systems that were released in the same time frame. (hmmm, is that an elephant behind that tree?)

But you do have the problem of there being very few games that haven't been done better elsewhere. MY recommednations would be:

1.Star Control -this is the Tempest 2000 of the 3DO for me, meaning the only game I actually go back and play on the system

 

2. Bladeforce-really hard on the eyes, but a standout game for the system

 

3. Gex-done elsewhere, but relatively common and therefore cheap. Worth picking up if you are into platformers.

 

4.Starfighter-fly around and blow stuff up. It's commonly argued that although it was released on playstation, the 3DO rev is better.

 

5. Alone in the Dark 1 &2- if you are a fan of resident evil, but thought it had too much action, these are worth checking out. Good puzzles to solve, but if memory serves, not the best in the control department.

 

6&7. Samurai Showdown & Super Street Fighter II Turbo- Very (very, very in SSF2T's case) respectable fighters. Offbrand controllers or the Snes controller convertors are a must.

 

8.Guardian Wars- crappy looking (nowadays) Shining Force kind of deal. But still fun.

 

9.Battlesport- kind of an updated Ballblazer. Was ported to Saturn, but not sure how well

 

10.Trip'd-Puzzle game. Good way to waste ten minutes.

 

11.D-Everyone should know this game. Was a personal favorite for years (would always play it on Halloween). Was ported to Saturn and PSX, with differing degrees of success depending on who you talk to

 

12.The Horde- Great game imho. Ported to Saturn and PSX. Build up farm land and kill the invading creatures before they can tear down/eat all of your hard work.

 

13.Return Fire- Capture the flag more or less. Classical soundtrack fits the game perfect. Somewhat visually upgraded for PSX, but this is the one I come back to when in the mood.

 

 

If you are into sports, Madden was cool and Fifa was outstanding (for the time). I was never into First person shooters, which i guess was a good thing because most of the 3DO ones were framey messes. I did like Quarantine a lot though. Various games like Syndicate, Panzer General, and Theme Park were released, but you can play all of those in newer/better forms. Overall I'd say the 3DO had more mediocre games than truly horrible, though it does have a few of those (shadow, mazer, Seal of the Pharoah).

 

If anyone suggests Way of the Warrior, don't listen to them.

[Lemmi]

ive always liked Captain Quazar

 

region locks suck thats why i thought the 3do/cdi was cool

 

STAY way from Way of the Warrior, i dont know how that game got past the testing phase (i bet it wasnt even tested before going out)

 

my favs are that arent mentioned already:

 

Battle Chess (i learned how to play chess with this game)

Cannon Fodder (my jag versionis still sealed)

Crime Patrol

Dragon Lore

Incredible Machine

Need for Speed

Off World Interceptor

PO'ed

Psychic Detective

Road Rash -w/Music CD

Shockwave (all 3 of them)

Twisted: the game show (good for 4 players)

Wing Commander III (with mark hamil)

FIFA Soccer (the best CD version of the time)

 

 

what would someone pay for this set up? its for sale and Tempest could pick it up himself

 

3do FZ-1 with hardcase - game gun - 3 controllers one is a wireless - Starter kit (missing the 6 button controller, but has the controller extenstion cord/CD lens cleaner and CD holder)

Battle Chess

PGA Tour 96

Pebble Beach Golf

Road Rash

Need for Speed

Dragon Lore

Rise of the Robots

CD samplers 1 (needed to access the memory of the system) and 2

Soccer Kid

 

the only thing wrong with the hardcase is someone cut the foam in the front and back alittle bit but the system still sits snug in it

[Tempest]

What is the going price of a 3DO these days? I think I saw one on ebay with 12 or so boxed games for around $60. It doesn't seem to command a high price, but I suppose it all depends on the games/accesories).

 

Tempest

[jesusc]

always wanted to like Shockwave, but found it very hard. Even with cheat codes it was hard getting through.

Though graphically Road Rash was great, I actually prefer the Sega CD version. It was the only rev to play the real bands music while racing. Other versions just had the cheesy game music.

Off World Interceptor was good for a laugh at the cut scenes. Gameplay itself not so much.

[Lemmi]

What is the going price of a 3DO these days? I think I saw one on ebay with 12 or so boxed games for around $60. It doesn't seem to command a high price, but I suppose it all depends on the games/accesories).

 

Tempest

 

$60 is the average for systems with 4 to 15 games

Goldstar systems seem to be alittle cheaper, as do the FZ10 units (the top loader)

 

the last system with a hardcase sold for $126

the guns are expensive also, i payed $100 for the 2player gun boxed way back

 

im not sure if this will work but i did a search on completed systems check it out

3do systems

 

 

jesusc

thats why i liked Shockwave because Off World Interceptor was way to easy

so the sega CD version has the band music playing in the background also?

[jesusc]

yeah, during the actual race, not just in the menus like the other versions.

[Flojomojo]

I'd love a portable 3DO emulator. Maybe the next iteration of GP2X would have enough horsepower to do run compressed ISO games from the flash card.

[Bill Brasky]

3DO has one of the strangest games ever, P'taank, a pinball game where you're the ball.

[Video]

Pretty much any system will have some games worth haveing. But over all, the 3D0's probably not worth your time, unless your just collecting for the sake of collecting. It's fairly cheap to collect for.

[Murph74]

Had a 3DO and still have a quite a CD-i colletion... On the 3DO, we played quite a bit of Twisted and every now and then would try something else. Also, not sure why, but I enjoyed Daedalus Encounter. It was a puzzle game with FMV cut scenes with Tia Carrera, but still good puzzles at least I thought!

 

On the shooters (Mad Dog McRee, etc)-- I still prefer the CD-i versions and the CD-i gun. The major difference between the 2 IIRC, the 3DO uses optical screen technology where the CD-I uses 'air mouse' technology (air mouse uses a small box that sits on top of your TV). Someday I'm gonna rig the CDi airmouse gun up to the 10' projection screen. Right now, cords are too short.

 

Murph

[Ghost Soldier]

I believe the 3do had alot of good going for it once it got over its 799 price tag crap. On the other hand by the time that happened the newer more powerful systems came out. I still break my 3do out and play a good game of immercenary, or killing time. If FMV is your thing it has the best version of Night Trap the ooo so controversial game. Too bad dana plato commited suicide. I think she would have a small cult following in the form of night trap lovers everywhere.