It was also the perfect chance to fiddle with the slider switch, which enables you to adjust the level of the console's 3D. Slide it all the way down, and you can switch it off completely. Find that your eyes are going a bit weird? Nudge the slider down slightly, and you can make the effect more subtle and less-pronounced. And of course, you can tailor the setting on the fly to suit your eyes by fiddling with the little silver slider to your heart's content. We personally found leaving the slider at just above halfway to be preferable. Keep the slider at maximum level however, and you'll experience the full impact of 3D, with the flying mud splatter from the jungle floor in MGS to the subtleties of a leaf caught on a breeze. Things might not necessarily leap from the screen, but that's not the idea. 3DS manages to create an unprecedented sense of depth, which on its three and a half-inch screen is no mean feat.

Games like PilotWings Resort and Kid Icarus: Uprising reinforce just how much potential the 3DS has, with the latter briefly showing soaring flight through canyons and across picturesque landscapes, while the former let us get hands-on with a couple of short mini-games - Plane Ring Flight and Rocket Belt Balloon Flight. There was too little of Kid Icarus on show, but the largely on-rails seems to lend itself perfectly to 3D. PilotWings meanwhile, looks charming and it's verdant green vistas pop in 3D, whether you're flying through checkpoints in a seaplane, or bursting bright orange balloons with the aid of a jetpack.

Last, but not least was Nintendogs + Cats, whose felines were absent from this particular demo, but still featured a trio of doggy breeds. While not exactly the same sort of flashy showcase as the other 3DS titles on display, Nintendogs + Cats' Golden Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier and Beagle benefit from a 3D makeover, with the visual upgrade making the sweet little canines even more endearing. Essentially, it's the old favourite in 3D, but stroking your canine buddy with the stylus, throwing a ball around and dressing it in daft clothes like sunglasses and an Elvis pompadour haircut is still as strangely addictive as ever, for reasons we can't quite comprehend. Keep playing the game, and it'll even recognise your face, which means your pet will eventually bound towards you and lick the screen when you get up close.

We're almost entirely sold on the 3DS then, and checking out a trailer of forthcoming CGI movie, Legend of the Guardians - The Owls of Ga'Hoole truly indicates the quality of the new screen, which does a great job of replicating the sharpness and clarity of the display. A series of interactive videos showing static sculptures of Link, Samus Aran, Mario, Luigi and Bowser and things like popping champagne corks, party popper streamers, water droplets and a time lapse of a flower shoot blooming through soil is further evidence of this, again showcasing the 3DS and the level of increased depth it will bring to a game's visuals.

Add a 3D photo function that makes use of two cameras on the top of the 3DS to layer two images and form a 3D picture out of anything you snap with the device, and you have a worthwhile evolution of Nintendo's wildly successful handheld console. If you want, you can continue playing your Pub Games, Sudoku or Brain Training if you must, rather than getting lost in Metal Gear's jungle or Kid Icarus's beautiful blue skies. But for the more discerning gamer out there, there's a lot to be said for the 3DS and the innovation of its new screen. Perhaps, most surprising of all though, is Nintendo's willingness to let you turn off its 3D completely, giving you total control over the screen's output. It's a bold move, but it's one that will undoubtedly pay off.

Nintendo 3DS is set to be priced on September 29th, 2010 and will likely be available in Q1 2011.

By Richard Walker