PilotWings Resort

We’re still in the phase of assessing the 3DS’s capabilities through its launch titles and PilotWings Resort is one of the best ways to do that. It makes some of the best use of 3D of all the currently available games and that facet actually brings something quantifiable to the gameplay. It’s a simple enough premise but don’t mistake this title for a collection of minigames because despite being broken up into missions and goals it’s very much a fully fledged adventure.


You fly a plane around and in Mission Flight mode have to complete some task such as flying through a number of rings and you’ll be graded out of three stars at the end. Within that basic premise though is a multitude of variety and options. You can choose between a number of aircraft including a plane, hand-glider and a rocket-belt. You’ll gain more powerful versions of these later and on one occasion get to try out a flying squirrel suit. Although the feel of each vehicle and it’s handing are wildly different from one another and some are more suited to certain tasks than others the controls remain pretty much the same for each so they’re all pretty intuitive to use and easy to master. The missions though are another matter. While the training and bronze missions are easy to the point of boring the difficulty ramps up through silver and gold. By the time you undertake the the gold and platinum missions, making  your way through the last of the 40 levels, being awarded all three stars becomes a bit of a pipe dream.

It’s in getting to grips with the required precision once the game becomes more demanding that the 3D element really comes into play. It’s hard to imagine that playing with the plane popped out a bit on your screen can really make any difference but it really does. Your ability to judge your distance, speed and angle are just so much more precise and perceivable with that extra depth of field in play. It makes you more aware of how limiting 2D gaming is in terms of spacial awareness in games. It’s not quite the difference between Space Invaders  and Halo but you can begin to see the potential for a leap of epic proportions in how games are played in the future.

Free Flight Mode has more to it than you might imagine. You get to explore Wuhu Island, which some of you will recognise from Wii Sports Resort, but the aim is to collect various well hidden items such as rings, trophies and balloons. You’re on a short leash with a timer spurring you onwards but once you’ve collected a number of balloons that timer will extend so you can keep exploring. It’s incredibly addictive and the Island has plenty of interesting landmarks and nooks and crannies for you to explore. it’s a shame that there isn’t a wider choice of locations though. PilotWings 64 had plenty of different places to fly around. Also I get that it’s a resort and it’s bright and sunny look is a part of the charm of but we’d have liked to have seen some different weather systems though the game. The main omission here is multiplayer. Playing with a friend would have worked brilliantly in this game and with the 3DS connectivity being a major feature it seems like something that this Nintendo title should have been pushing to show off the systems features, beyond the 3D. Given the game’s simplicity though there really is a ton of content and a good sense of progression especially considering that the game could easily be played i very short bursts whilst on a commute.


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