AR Games: Shooting (Nintendo 3DS) Review

One such card features a traditional Question Mark Block from the Mushroom Kingdom, and it can be used to access a mini-game called Shooting. Now, whilst the humble container that generally appears in the various Super Mario Bros. platform romps holds support items, like Mushrooms or Fire Flowers, and golden coins for Mario and Luigi to collect, when viewed through the dual external cameras of the Nintendo 3DS it becomes an entirely different beast - literally.

Those completely unaware of what to expect from any of the Augmented Reality cards will be in for quite the shock. Once the card has been placed on a flat surface, such as a regular desk or table, the next step is to view it through the screens of the Nintendo 3DS and, thanks to the trickery of the cameras, a whole slew of three-dimensional fun pours forth from the card. It is advisable to attempt to maintain a distance of around 35 centimetres between the card and the 3DS system in order for the cameras to obtain a clear view of the card so that they can work their magic, with the system held at a rough angle of 30 degrees. These specifications are shown on the lower screen, whilst the main action takes place on the top of the 3DS.

Within seconds of staring at a card on a table, AR Games: Shooting has several tiny boxes pop up, all with cute little eyes. When the one with a target is hit, it is swallowed by a larger box that then re-opens to reveal a tree with numerous targets placed around it. The objective is to physically move the 3DS unit around, all the while keeping the specified distance away, aiming at the targets and destroying them by positioning the reticule as required, then shooting as accurately as possible with the ‘A’ button.

There is a handy on-screen counter that informs players of how many targets remain, and once everything has been cleared a hole appears in front of the large tree, which contains one last board to blast that requires positioning of the 3DS right over the Question Mark Block card. This process continues in different forms, throwing different 3D effects at the player, and this is where the full 3D effect is definitely the most impressive, showing off the full extent of the depth feature. It also adds somewhat of a puzzle element since the counter will state there are a certain number of targets remaining, yet they cannot be discovered or reached until some searching around the area has been carried out, which requires careful manoeuvring of the 3DS.

The next stage of AR Games: Shooting is a ‘boss battle,’ with a gruesome-looking snake-dragon creature with sharp teeth emerging and proceeding to attack, which basically works in the same way, except that the player has to dodge the oncoming assault faster than when moving around the hit the targets previously. The whole process may well be over after about ten or so minutes, yet for a free game to mess around with, it not only is a fun experience, but also goes a long way to showing off the 3D abilities.