To many gamers, 3DO is game-speak for "What the hell is this thing?!". Well, here's the story...
The 3DO, conceived by EA Founder Trip Hawkins, was a CD Based Game Console with impressive processing power and a host of cutting edge technologies. Mr. Hawkins had high hopes for this thing...
...So what went wrong, I hear you ask...Well, for starters, the thing was released with a price point of 700 US Dollars, which even the PS3 couldn't match. (599 US Dollars). It also, as quoted from a GT Countdown Video, squandered it's impressive processing power on playing horrible Full Motion Video. In my opinion, it wasn't really horrible. Just really cheesy. Me, I like FMV Games. Trip also refused to reduce it's price until near the end of it's life.
So, is there anything cool about this thing? Hell yes! It has no copy protection or regional lockout! It also features some great games that weren't available for any other console. One such game is Slayer, a First Person RPG, which takes place in the Dungeons and Dragons Universe.
There are also three different models of it. (At least in America. There are more in Asia.) First up is the FZ-1, which was the first model released. Second is the Goldstar, pictured above, which I own. I would NOT recommend it to anyone, as it's picky with some games, and is the least reliable of all the models. The last one released in America was the FZ-10, which, unlike the FZ-1 and the Goldstar, was a Top Loading Model.
Anyway, that's it for this short entry. If you'd like more 3DO Information, PM me. I'm always happy to talk about this stuff.
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I still remember checking these out in the local electronics store on launch. I actually had a friend that owned one, and we played it quite a bit. I remember Immercenary being a really weird game that didn't make any sense what so ever. I have a couple 3DO games, but no console yet. One of these days...
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[Blog title] 3DO Madness![/Blog title]
Aaaand the obligatory 300 reference will commence in 4... 3... 2... 1...
Anyhoo: I'd definitely give the 3DO a shot if I were to obtain one at a cheap price.
It's only a question of whether or not I'd keep it.
Considering my track record with obtaining various consoles that were commercial failures, I'll likely be leaning toward the "keep" side...
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I really wanted the system when it first came out, but $700 was more than even the most spoiled of friends (or their parents) would splurge, and I was in high school so was only making about $130 a paycheck at a part time job.
I finally bought the FZ-10 just recently, then a short time later couldn't resist the original FZ-1 since it came with a stack of CIB games for $35. The drive to acquire a Goldstar version is nil, although my first CD player was a Goldstar brand and worked great for years. Overall, I really enjoy many of the games, however I am not too impressed with the controller for games like Street Fighter II Turbo. That could be due to being so used to the SNES and Genesis versions.
The video cut scenes for many of the games (like Jurassic Park) make for a really good laugh. Overall, the system does what a video game console should do. It entertains. Finally, I would be hard pressed to pick a better "looking" console than the 3DO FZ1.
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I got a 3DO several months ago as a part of my $40 score (see [url]http://www.rfgeneration.com/blogs/necrom99/My-Best-Score-Ever-1666.php[/url]. Many of the games are kind of hoakey and the video cut scenes can be a bit lame, but they really help set the system apart from others and give it its charm.
I really enjoy playing Gex and Cowboy Casino.
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Its been a while since I've picked up any new games for mine, and surprisingly havnt had to go online for any 3DO stuff yet. I'll probably research the library some day when I'm bored and hunt down a couple interesting sounding games online.
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I remember playing the hell out of Crash N Burn and Road Rash at the demo kiosk at Best Buy. I seem to remember there being some sort of problem with the original controllers... something about diagonals on the D pad.
Anyways, good writeup. We don't get enough 3DO stuff, in my opinion.
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