Just came back from a presentation event near Paris, and I managed to play some games I couldn't play the first time at the Louvre's event :
James Noir's Hollywood Crimes: (First time I heard about the game, and it was playable) This is a puzzle solving game set in the 60's, and it's could be an interesting diversion while waiting for the next Layton. The story is told with 3D videos and actors, the backgrounds & the characters are treated like paper cut outs and the presentation is nice. The game is more colorful than it may seem in the
trailer and it reminded me of the FMV games of the 90's, and notably
Psychic Detective which I absolutely loved at the time.
Kid icarus : I liked the graphics and the flying sections reminded me of space harrier (one of my favorite arcade game as a kid), but the first hands-on was a bit confusing ( I tried to tap the screen to shoot before finding the L button did that ). Even if I'm left-handed, I managed to play through the two demo levels, but I was never comfortable. I Tried to play with my right thumb and it was much better than the stylus, but sometimes it was imprecise. I think the best option for lefties will be to use a thumbpad like the one on the first DS... The full 3D effect is a bit distracting at times so I toned it down a little. Like the plane/jetpack in Pilotwings I didn't like when Icarus was popping out of the screen, but the canyon sequence in the 2nd level was fun in 3D. The "on-foot" sections were better than I thought from the videos, aside from the left-handed problems.
Ridge racer : Even if the graphics are disappointing, I really loved the gameplay and enjoyed the demo. This is the only demo I tried twice because I didn't get first place on the first time. I'm not an hardcore Ridge racer fan (the last one I played was RR4 and Rage Racer is my favorite) but it remembered me why I loved RR although I usually hate racing games. In first person view, the 3D effect is very cool even at max intensity (for all the other games I toned it down) The loading was not really annoying or particularly long either... If I get a 3DS later this year, I think I'll buy it.
Zelda : It's been a very long time since I played OOT, so I could see myself playing this port/remake. The inventory on the bottom screen is cool and it was nice to see the kokiri village with new textures and exploring the houses which are in full 3d instead of a flat image.
I wanted to try creating a Mii and playing with the menus, but it wasn't possible...
I also played another round of Street fighter (still quite good) and Nintendogs and cats are definitely really cute and fluffy in 3D... While scratching the back of the cat near the tail, he raised his butt to the camera with the tail up in the air like a real one would, and the animation is really perfect (I giggled like a schoolgirl). Also I loved the side scrolling level of Steel Diver, although I didn't really care for the torpedo / augmented-reality one.