Namco Bandai Exploring 3D Glasses For 2.5D Games

You can’t tell from a screenshot, but Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao is a 3D game. Not just polygons instead of pixels 3D game, it’s Rad Racer 3D. When I played the game I was given a pair of glasses to put on. A few moments after putting them on the screen changed from a headache inducing blurry mess to Han Tao leaping towards me to grab a vine.

When wearing the glasses the Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao stands out from being just another kung fu themed beat em up. The catch is you need the right gear. I played the game on a 3D enabled TV and with special glasses — better than the red and blue ones packaged with 3D World Runner. You can turn off the 3D filter at anytime, but the faux holographic feel of Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao is what really made the downloadable PlayStation Network / Xbox Live Arcade game different.

However, 3D enabled TVs and glasses aren’t common equipment. A Namco Bandai representative explained they are trying to get the 3D effect to work with as many TVs and for as many users as possible. I asked about bundling a download code with a pair of 3D glasses and selling Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao in stores. They aren’t sure if they can do that.

It would be a bummer if there wasn’t a simple way for the average gamer to play Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao in real 3D. Perhaps, resorting to the classic red and blue glasses would work? This is a neat trick for a downloadable game and since Blitz Games developed the technology they can also use it in the future too, that is if the Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao is successful.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/06...for-25d-games/