Pilot Wings Resort (3DS)

Pilot Wings resort is a game for the 3DS. The 3D really adds to the fun of this short but engaging title.

The goal of the game is to go through levels, sort of like obstacle courses in order to get points. The more points you get, the more likely you are to obtain a star. You can generally obtain points by, making it through the level quickly, landing on targets well, shooting targets, making it through hoops, and some levels have special requirements to get points. Even if you make it through the level, you may not get any stars. A decent job will net you one star, a good job will net you two, and an excellent or close to perfect job will get you the maximum, which is three stars.

The levels are divided into different sections, like the "Bronze" "Silver" and "Gold" sections. In order to proceed to the next section you need to obtain a certain number of stars.

Each level gives you one of three forms of transportation in order to obtain points with.

One is an airplane. As you'd expect, it is constantly moving forward, but you can slow down by breaking, speed up with a short boost that recharges after several seconds, perform tricks, and later on in the game, shoot pellets.



The second form of transportation is a jetpack. This allows you a little more control than the plane, since you can easily go backwards and forwards.

The game frequently takes advantage of this, by having you land on small targets in order to get points.

There are a few drawbacks however. For one, as you're going forward or backwards, you tend to descend, so you have to alternate between propelling yourself up and forwards. Also, the Jetpack has a limited amount of fuel. Though I find this actually helps add to the challenge of the levels, as it wouldn't be as exciting to just hover in mid air the entire time.




The last form of transportation is the glider. This is a little more challenging than the other two, because you are consistently descending and going slower while using it.

You can go up a little, more so if you're already going fast, but it will slow you down. Eventually grinding you to a haunt where you can no longer go any higher. You can speed up by diving down, though of course, you have to beware of hitting the ground.

There are tornadoes placed in convenient locations throughout most levels that require the use of the glider, that help you go back up.

With all three forms of transportation, there is a lot of going through hoops. Similar to Superman 64, though if you miss a hoop in this, you can simply skip it and miss the points. You lose points for crashing, though there isn't that harsh of a penalty (Only around five points, when one target is 10 points, and most levels have a few hundred points total), so you don't usually have to restart the level just because of a few crashes.

Though the game isn't without it's flaws. The most glaring one is the lack of levels, or re playability. While a lot of the levels are unique and exciting, I feel some are a little redundant. In addition to that, the levels are very short. Which makes it easier to get high scores since there are less opportunities to mess up, but I felt it really detracted from the length of the game. Compound that with the relatively small amount of levels, and you have an experience that feels very lacking and leaves you wanting more.

In addition to that, the game lacks any real depth or story.

Overall, the game is a fun experience while it lasts, and a good showcase of the 3DS's 3D capabilities, but the lack of replayability and depth make me advice against paying the full $40 price tag for this game.