mallet refectory: Nintendo Slide Pad for 3DS review

First impressions stay with you. Take our first look at the Nintendo 3DS, for example. Our first thought? "Hey, where's the second analog stick?" Given all the gaming genres that benefit from it, it's almost unthinkable for a major portable console to launch without an extra analog stick. It's like Mario without the mustache, Charlie Sheen without the tiger blood or Donald Trump without the dead marsupial or whatever the heck that thing is on top of his head. Unfortunately, Nintendo decided to release the 3DS without that second analog. So folks who want to get their dual stick groove on right out of the box can only hope the Big N has a change of heart when it eventually releases the 3DSi Lite XL Advance. (We're just kidding about the name, of course, but you never know...) In the meantime, Nintendo's got a peace offering of sorts to tide by 3DS owners: the Circle Pad Pro. Slated for a February 2012 release in the US, we got our grubby hands on its Japanese equivalent, the "Slide Pad" during a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. So is it worth the $20 price of admission? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Nintendo Slide Pad for 3DS review