First impressions: 3D PC gaming with the Acer Helios 3D 15 laptop

A few months ago, I wrote a little love letter to the Nintendo 3DS and expressed a wish to see more games embrace glasses-free 3D technology. Then, in April, Acer announced the Helios 3D 15 laptop which uses SpatialLabs stereoscopic 3D technology to deliver a glasses-free 3D gaming experience on a laptop. This thrilled me and Acer was kind enough to lend me a sample of the laptop and wanted to share my experience with it.

First, I have to mention that I wasn’t allowed to compare anything, so don’t expect those numbers. Secondly, this car is a beast. The laptop weighs 6lbs 8oz and the charger was another 2lbs 12oz! That means you’re lugging more than 9 pounds when you go to move it. That kept it from being a daily driver for me and it’s a laptop attached to a desk in my opinion. That said, the ventilation seemed adequate to keep everything running smoothly.

Now the part you’ve been waiting for: How do 3D games work on a laptop? There are a few things to discuss in general before we can go into all the details. First, there are two types of 3D technology through SpatialLabs: 3D+ and 3D Ultra. The latter is newer and generally works better than the former. To take advantage of 3D games, only select games will work, so be sure to check the official list. The only problem I encountered was that for whatever reason I couldn’t play Psychonauts 2 with 3D Ultra, only 3D+. The games I used to experiment with 3D were Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 with 3D+, Psychonauts 2 with 3D+, Force Horizon 5 with 3D+, God of War with 3D Ultra and The shadow of Tomb Raider with 3D Ultra.

Overall, 3D worked very well with 3D objects in games. I didn’t really notice any difference between 3D+ and 3D Ultra, but I probably should have run for that God of War in both. Much like the 3DS, the 3D on the Helios was a subtle effect that’s noticeable but feels normal after a few minutes, and you might start to wonder if it’s actually doing anything. I would class it entirely as a luxury and it is quite cool. I still want this stereoscopic 3D technology to be developed and improved.

I mentioned earlier that it worked well with 3D objects. I specified this because anything that wasn’t 3D, like text, was such a mess. Most of the text was unreadable, the menus were difficult to navigate, and even when button tips appeared it was hard to discern which button it was. Thankfully, most games made it easy to turn the 3D effect on and off, which was a godsend for menus.

Another interesting aspect is that only of the five games that I tried The shadow of Tomb Raider it had in-game 3D controls that allowed for in-depth tweaks. The others had some general 3D settings that I could adjust thanks to SpatialLabs and I personally thought that was the best approach. When I played The shadow of Tomb Raider, I kept having issues with the 3D image not working as it should and so I’d adjust it and then two minutes later I felt like I had to adjust it again. Maybe it was the lighting in my room at the time. Perhaps it’s the problem with the in-game, in-depth controls for 3D. I’m not sure, but the 3D experience was better in the other titles where I had a much more minimal level of control.

Now we come to what I see as the bigger problem. I could only play in 3D for so long before I got a headache and started feeling sick. This will vary from person to person, but keep in mind that it’s a possibility. My wife struggles with the 3DS for this very reason. I’m fine with the 3DS, but for some reason it really bums me out with the Helios. I’m not sure if it’s the bigger screen, a difference in technology, the higher resolution, or what. I just know that I can only play it for short periods.

I have just a few final notes for the Helios. The screen is very sharp, but when you go to play in 3D, it becomes less sharp and has a filter similar to 3DS due to the 3D technology. That said, when you play, it looks really sharp. It’s more only when loading games and in menus that it’s noticeable. I’m also not a fan of the trackpad at all. It navigates well, but isn’t great at clicking. It seemed to be having difficulty registering clicks. The speakers face upwards, which I like, but as you’d expect there’s no bass, so everything sounds a bit tinny.

Overall, the Helios is a beast and I’m not sure I would recommend it unless you really want 3D. I still want 3D gaming technology to be developed and used. I think it holds a lot of promise, but this seems to be an awkward pre-teen phase that he needs to get over. I would like to know what caused the headache so I can better help you know if it will be a problem. I think I’ve also learned that the less controls in regards to 3D is the better. The 3DS has just the slider and it’s the best stereoscopic 3D gaming experience I’ve ever had The shadow of Tomb Raider it was probably the worst experience while having the most control of it.