NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision review

Testing GeForce 3D Vision  - the subjective experience

So on the next page we'll look into game performance, and admittedly, the performance hit that goes along with this kit, with a decent graphics card you can definitely work miracles. But how about the gaming experience itself?

Well as subjective as that is really, let me talk you through six games I tested.

Call of Duty 4
First off, I am a huge Call of Duty 4 (Modern Warfare) fan. I loved the game ever since the first time I tried it. I played two scenes with the title. The first is Death from Above, it's the level where you are in the helicopter in the dark, protecting ground troops with a threefold of weapons. The experience is downright excellent, you really get a feel of depth, and the sensation is very very good. The 3D experience is hard to explain really. Downright excellent.

The second level I tried is my all-time favorite, the Ghillie suit level. Again the depth experience is stunning, even when sniping using the scope it's very impressive as you get that sense of immersion and profundity. By far one of the best titles to play in 3D stereo.

Call of Duty 5
I took a spin in a tank on the Blood and Iron level, COD 5 is excellent to play in 3D, though it feels it has a few more quirks compared to COD4. Little things like the flamethrower from the tank didn't seem to render 100%, still that is minor stuff and the experience is just real fun. Again that immersive feeling, you'll play the game massively concentrated as you now really are in the game. A very good experience.

HAWX
Much to my surprise the title is stunning in a 3D stereoscopic view, it is nearly scary when you are in your jet high in the air and look at the scenery below. The buildings are rendered properly, the clouds are in 3D, crazy to fly through, in fact I got shot out of the air while being sidetracked with watching the scenery and well... that inbound missile in 3D just looks cool. An absolutely amazing experience. It does have a few quirks here and there, the sun rays are not always positioned properly, but that's it really. I was impressed how well this plays in 3D. Even looking at the internal benchmark in 3D will make you say 'wow, that's cool'.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway.
Here's one title that just does not work well with 3D stereo, a shame really as I really like the game. Facial animations tend to look weird and there are some depth related issues that confuse your brain constantly. This game is rated average at best with GeForce 3D Vision technology and that definitely matches my experience.

Far Cry 2
There's no party like a FC party... again a game that works out really well. Not perfect as the fires are very flat to observe in 3D, but overall a very pleasurable experience with nice deep effects. The environment like grass and trees waving as a result of wind in 3D is really fun to observe as well.

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
The title I tested that really surprised me. I really liked the first installment of World in Conflict and the second one, Soviet Assault... well it's just as good really. WIC also works disgustingly well in 3D stereo. In fact it was one of these titles which once you played it in stereo, you'll want nothing other than that 3D experience. It's deep, immersive, and the depth experience feels so good. You might want to disable shadows here as they are projected a little weird and flat, but really that's it. This title definitely surprised me and if you decide to get this kit, you can pick up WIC really cheap these days, grab it and play it. You'll love it.

Gaming and beyond
Though the 3D Vision kit is obviously very focused at pure hardcore 3D gaming, i did want to make a mention of the fact that NVIDIA is including software for viewing 3D pictures as well. There's an entire world out there with the most beautiful and complex 3D photos and mind fracks.

Next to that the kit is also very capable of watching movies in 3D. Now obviously you'll need specific 3D movies for this to happen and special 3D movie playback software, NVIDIA has an application which is included on the CD (or download it from the website) called NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Player. This player is based off Media Player Classic and after selecting the broadcast format of the movie (left-right etc.) you can enjoy all of that as well. I watched a few movie trailers and I gotta tell you, it's an experience all by itself.

For example I watched a trailer of Polar Express, the scene where the little kid gets on the train is uncanny. Snow drops in 3D, the kid is in the middle of the scene and the train is closing in. Animated films seem to be very well suited to the 3D experience.

But let's have a look at the performance hit the 3D goodness demands from your graphics card. Quite important to observe as well.