Feb 4, 2011 8:15 AM

Playground Report on Pilotwings Resort 3DS

As the 3DS gets closer to launch, and in spite of my assertions that I’ll be turning the 3D off for my youngest, I still find myself inundated with questions about the new console most mealtimes. Something about the new handheld from Nintendo has captured my kid’s imagination. The thing is, I’m not exactly sure […]

As the 3DS gets closer to launch, and in spite of my assertions that I'll be turning the 3D off for my youngest, I still find myself inundated with questions about the new console most mealtimes.

Something about the new handheld from Nintendo has captured my kid's imagination. The thing is, I'm not exactly sure how they have found out so much about it. Their overblown expectations and exaggerated claims about the device seem to suggest the playground rumor mill to me.

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As the 3DS gets closer to launch, and in spite of my assertions that I'll be turning the 3D off for my youngest, I still find myself inundated with questions about the new console most mealtimes.

The last few days I've set about getting to the bottom of some of their most pressing questions. This has primarily focused on what games will be available when it launches. I had to break it to them that Super Mario Bros. 3DS was unlikely, even though their friends at school seemed to think it was "going to come free in the box."

We ended up with a couple of games we are all pretty excited about: *Super Street Fighter IV 3DS *and Pilotwings Resort 3DS. While I finish researching Super Street Fighter IV, here's what I've managed to find out about Pilotwings Resort:

Vehicles: *Pilotwings Resort *offers Bi-planes, Jetpacks and Parachutes as it returns us to Wii-Sports Resort's Wuhu island - only now it's in miniature 3D. It merges classic game play from Pilotwings with Wii-Sports Resort flying.
Each vehicle not only looks very different but flies differently too. The Bi-plane for instance is excellent at getting round the island quickly, whereas the Jetpack comes in handy for pinpoint missions requiring vertical take-off.
Day Night Cycles: You can explore the island at different times of day to unlock particular items and locations not available at other times. You choose whether to fly morning, evening, daytime or night before starting, and that time period is then locked in for that session.

__Mii's: __As in Wii-Sports Resort, *Pilotwings Resort *3DS pulls in your Mii characters both to pilot the vehicles and populate the islands urban areas. Then as you fly around you can take pictures of the various characters that popup and share them with friends and family.
__Quests: __Again in similar style to Wii-Sports Resort, mission mode tasks you with a series of 40 fetch quests and exploration tasks that take you to every corner of the island - both above and below ground. Time to practice is provided via the Free Flight mode where you can explore in a less time constrained session.

With a better idea of what Pilotwings Resort will deliver, my kids are just as excited about the launch title as before -hopefully now a little better informed though. Which 3DS games are you most looking forward to?

Pilotwings Resort 3DS will be available from Amazon from March 27th.