Pilotwings Resort - DS

What We Already Know:

A Pilotwings sequel has been a long time coming, rumored a number of times but never coming to fruition. Nintendo has many dormant franchises, but the company’s embracing of motion control made a Wii-enhanced Pilotwings seem a near certainty. Well, that’s not happening. We’re actually getting something a little more interesting: Pilotwings Resort for Nintendo 3DS.

 What We’re Seeing Now:

Pilotwings Resort was one of the few interactive demonstrations of 3DS here at E3 2010. There were two playable sections, each taking a cue from previous Pilotwings games, each taking under just a minute to complete. The first had me maneuvering a plane through a series of rings. No big deal.

The other demo was a little tougher, tasking me with popping balloons using a tiny man equipped with a rocket pack. By alternating between moving up and forward, I made my way towards the balloons. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Again, simple – but it was simple for a reason, as it was clear Nintendo wanted users to experience the 3D capabilities in a variety of forms very quickly here at E3 2010.

Of the many demos I tried, Pilotwings Resort was perhaps the most effective use of 3DS’s extra visual cues, with the colorful Wii Sports Resort-influenced world really popping in front of my eyes. It did cause them to tear up a tiny bit, but the sensation passed after a few moments, and more importantly, there was no eye strain.