I enjoyed this 3DS XL unboxing video a lot more than I should've

With the launch of the 3DS XL/LL just a few weeks away for those living in Europe and Japan--the rest of us schmucks won't be able to get our hands on this humungous handheld until Aug. 19--I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to hear that Nintendo's already sending them to game journalists in the aforementioned territories.

Also not surprising: A number of said journalists are filming and sharing "unboxing videos" of their shiny new systems.

The one below (and here), made by someone at CVG, caught my attention due, in large part, to its "Quiet Storm" soundtrack.



Two thoughts that came to mind while I watched the video above: 1) Man, that box is small! 2) Man, that manual is huge! Oh, and one more: Man, if someone makes a similar video of the all-white Japanese 3DS LL, I may just faint. (Just in case any of you are wondering: No, I don't actually say or think "man" as often as the sentences above suggest.)

Should CVG's sexy unboxing video not satisfy your need for 3DS XL/LL news, maybe Eurogamer's first impressions of the soon-to-be-released system will do the trick?

My favorite line of the above-mentioned write-up, surprisingly enough: "I always felt the original 3DS hinge was a little wobbly, see, so I was pleased to discover that the XL's hinge has a lot less give to it. You can click the screen into a few positions, and whatever angle you choose, it's much harder to accidentally shake it out of position."

Acquisition #132: Engacho! (WonderSwan)

Just over a month ago, I mentioned in this post that I recently developed a bit of an obsession with the Bandai WonderSwan. I also mentioned that I've already picked up a few games for this Japan-only handheld, which was first released in 1999.

One of those games, as I'm sure you surmised after reading the headline above, is the WonderSwan version of NAC Geographic Products' amusingly gross puzzler, Engacho!



I've owned the PlayStation version of this title, which tasks players with leading a frightened boy through tile-based stages while avoiding the putrid characters that can be seen on the box above, for some time now (read a brief review of it here) and I've enjoyed what I've played of it, so when I saw this portable port pop up on eBay I couldn't help but pick it up.

I haven't played it yet--I'm still waiting for the perfect SwanCrystal to appear on eBay--but I like what I've seen of its black-and-white graphics so I'm looking forward to doing so soon.

In the meantime, I'll just stare at the game's packaging, which is pretty swell, don't you think?



I also quite like the little cartridges (above) on which WonderSwan games appear, and the plastic sleeves that protect them. The cartridges are about the size of GameBoy Advance cartridges, by the way--in case any of you were wondering.

To see a few more snapshots of this particular pick-up, check out my Flickr photostream.

See also: previous 'Acquisition #123' posts