3D games, sights for sore eyes?

Digital 3D has injected new life into cinema, and high-definition consoles are next to ride the wave with James Cameron ahead of the pack.

Digital 3D will bring more excitement to gaming, but we shouldn't look to this movie-oriented gimmick to change the way we play. The latest movie industry stunt to encourage bums on seats in cinema is proving itself as a valuable addition to a powerful cinematic experience. Pixar's latest flick, "Up", is widely regarded as a milestone for the technology inspiring genuine awe. This is because Pixar has realised that less can be more when literally directing our attention.

However the thing people often forget about videogames is they are usually fast-paced interactive events in which adding 3D values to objects could make navigation more confusing although no doubt impressive. Nintendo Wii is successful because it makes the hands-on experience much easier while simplifying what you see on the screen. On the other hand rich digital 3D game worlds could be intimidating at best.

Avatar: The Videogame, developed by Ubisoft under supervision of movie director James Cameron, is the first known title to take advantage of digital 3D. Because Avatar: The Videogame is a game of exploration featuring strategic style combat scenarios, the 3D effect should not interfere with our actions as gamers. The action is viewed from afar, as opposed to through the eyes of the hero, so observing in 3D can be fascinating as early demonstrations have proved.

Our reservations then are for First Person Shooters, driving games, or indeed anything else where judging distance at speed becomes an issue. Because what people quite often forget with videogames is that to interact with them and not get a headache, it all needs to be crystal clear. High definition is terrific because of what it says on the tin, pretty much. You see things easier because it is clearer defined. The last thing you need when navigating unfamiliar areas, or swerving between obstacles in a car, is to be cursing ambiguous 3D. We pity the play-testers already.

Also, and this is another factor contributing to the success of Nintendo Wii, the new-fangled 3D imagery requires a high-definition TV supporting 1080p resolution. Plus, of course, a console that's capable of projecting such a display. From a developer's point of view, the additional expense and gameplay considerations may not be worth the effort. All this is a far cry from the early days of PlayStation or even PS2 and Xbox where game publishers knew that we all had compatible, even basic, TVs.

This week we have Disney's G-Force to review on Xbox 360, which uses old-school (red and blue tinted lenses) 3D to give an impression of depth. It works pretty well, but the colour palette is of course ruined in the process. It is uncomfortable though, and this will still be the case for the latest 3D technology for as long as special glasses are required. For a true ‘autostereo' display, that projects 3D without the need for glasses, even the most optimistic movie moguls (e.g. Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg) are pointing to a handful of years in the future.

Somehow we can't see 3D significantly changing our viewpoint in videogames for quite some time. That said we look forward to eating our words.