Pilotwings Resort (Hands-On) (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

There has been constant speculation about what was happening with the Pilotwings series, following the success of both the SNES original and Pilotwings 64. Despite both proving to be so popular around the world, a third game has simply not materialised. Thankfully, though, after the SNES edition had a strong showing on the Virtual Console and requests from gamers for a new one continue to pour in on a regular basis, Nintendo has now seen fit to resurrect the Pilotwings name. Rather than merely port across a spruced up version of the N64 game, as the company is doing with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, for Pilotwings Resort the development team is taking key elements from the past two titles and mixing the flying action with an ample dose of the location setting from the MotionPlus-enabled Wii Sports Resort for Wii in order to appeal even more to the masses and help what was previously a niche release become widely accepted by a far larger audience.

Previously it had been thought that Factor 5 was working to bring Pilotwings to the Wii, but any hope for an ultra-realistic version was dashed when the development outfit went bust. Step up Pilotwings Resort with its cheery nature and bright blue skies, allowing gamers to fly around WuHu Island (from Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit. The demo on offer had two elements to it, the first putting people in control of a small plane, trying to navigate your way through a succession of rings, with a new one appearing once one has been passed through. The latter had a little character with a jet pack strapped to his back, and the task was to burst a set number of balloons before the timer ran out. Both made great use of the flattened analogue, with the control setup working far more smoothly than the nub of the PlayStation Portable, providing perfectly accurate movement throughout, whilst the 3D effect added great depth to the world you were flying around in, even if it did take some people a while to fully adjust to the three-dimensions, having to tweak the 3D slider to prevent headaches!

Extra Thoughts

For me, Pilotwings, along with the technology demo reel prepared by Nintendo, represented the best use of 3DS’ fancy new visual techniques. Whether you took to the jet pack or the plane, the distance sinking back into the screen was fantastic. I found that it really helped in judging my movement speed so that I did not overshoot targets or crash.

I spent the majority of my time on the plane stage of the demo (mainly because I crashed too much with the jet pack...), gently gliding through hoops around Wuhu Island. The analogue slider was perfectly suited for this, and I had no issue with it whatsoever; it’s a great, responsive alternative to an analogue stick, possibly the best thing I’ve used other than a stick for analogue movement. The plane demo also showed off the 3D a little better, as it affected the aircraft itself. The nose of the plane seemed to stretch deeper into the screen, the tail pushing closer to the ‘surface’ of it. Tiny touches like this do not seem much when first thought about, but they really do add something.

Pilotwings Resort, or whatever its final name will be, is a well-deserved return for the series and could make up for its over-long hiatus. Hopefully there will be more locations to zoom around than just the Wii Sports island in the final product, though.
- Mike Mason, Reviews Editor.