Nonplussed by the PS3's Gran Turismo in 3D and sort of blown away by Super Stardust HD 3D, I was split on 3D gaming when it came time to check out Capcom's upcoming Dark Void.
Where Gran Turismo's 3D seemed to add very little to the experience, giving you a slight sense of depth but little more while driving, and Super Stardust HD blew me away with its attention to 3D detail, Dark Void was somewhere in the middle.
Flying through through the canyons of one level in 3D added a nice bit of perspective to the segment, but it was the firefights where the 3D best delivered. The images popped with the sort of crisp, in-your-face graphics that you'd want from a fast-paced title. Instead of using the tech to make the interface, like life and the weapon selected, float above the screen, the 3D helped give the world more depth.
One thing I would have liked to see were things shooting out at me as I played, the sort of effects that in a movie make you want to duck. Instead it was more about lending the structures, enemies and your character more visual substance.
The bigger issue is that the tech still feels like a gimmick applied last-minute to a game. As a big fan of first-person and third-person shooters, a game like Dark Void represents the sort of title I'd hope would use 3D to enhance the experience and not just the visuals.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It was an impressive example of how adding Nvidia's 3D Vision to a game can give it a bit more sizzle. But it didn't do enhance the experience enough to outweigh the discomfort of having to wear glasses and deal with possible, for me inevitable, headaches from lengthy gameplay sessions.