E3 2011

PilotWings Resort Hands-On

Giancarlo Varanini
By Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor

Get your pilot's license ready for a new PilotWings game on the Nintendo 3DS.

Oh, PilotWings. It has been far too long. Tucked away in its Nintendo 3DS area, Nintendo had a short demo of a brand-new game in the flight series called PilotWings Resort. As you can probably gather from the name, PilotWings Resort is set on Wuhu Island--the very same island found in Nintendo's Wii Sports Resort. The demo included two different events, one for the jetpack and one for the biplane.

In the jetpack segment, we were required to pop a specific number of balloons within a given time limit. The controls (which make extensive use of the 3DS analog stick) felt just like previous versions of the jetpack in the PilotWings series. We were gently navigating the terrain and skies of the tropical paradise within a matter of seconds. As for the biplane, once again we were greeted with a familiar objective to guide the plane through a series of hoops scattered over a section of the island. Much like in previous PilotWings games, we were able to adjust the speed of the plane to make maneuvering a bit easier.

From a visual standpoint, the game looks quite similar to Wii Sports Resort in general style, down to the Miis piloting the various aircraft in the demo. The 3D effect also does a really nice job of adding depth to the world. Still, it's a bit disappointing that the game doesn't take place in a caricatured version of real-world locations, like Pilot Wings 64 does, but the overall game still looks great, and we can't wait to try some of the other events.

Giancarlo Varanini
By Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor

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8 Comments

  • AvatarMan96

    Posted Jul 13, 2010 1:51 pm GMT

    Both the missions are timed, correct? Are there or will there be any modes where you can just fly around with no time limit and no goals? If not, I might skip this game. I want to be relaxed when I fly over Wuhu Island, not rushed in a 5 minute time limit.

  • GCwasthebestsys

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 10:59 pm GMT

    when the heck are they gonna release pilotwings64 for virtual console? I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER. SNES PILOTWINGS DOESN'T CUT IT

  • GunBladeHero Site Greeter

    Posted Jun 24, 2010 4:53 am GMT

    Looks cool but I don`t know if I have the patience to play Pilotwings like I did in the N64, and it is really dissapointing that it will not be in places around the World.

  • pleasureinevil

    Posted Jun 20, 2010 7:04 am GMT

    Oh man Nintendo makes a Pilotwings game after an eternity and then I discover it is a Pilotwings game only in name

    I am disappoint

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jun 19, 2010 2:25 am GMT

    So the reality is that it is not Pilotwings, it is Wii Sports Resort with the games from Pilotwings added to it.

  • Witchsight

    Posted Jun 18, 2010 5:40 am GMT

    Tell me it has skydiving and youve got a buyer.

  • Heshertonfist

    Posted Jun 18, 2010 4:22 am GMT

    Pilotwings?! I just might get a 3DS now.

  • PJGut

    Posted Jun 18, 2010 1:13 am GMT

    I'm liking the fact that Nintendo is bringing back PilotWings !