Wing Island (Wii)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.7 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Tom Magrino
• Reviewed on: 03/23/2007
• Released on: 03/20/2007
• Originally published on GameSpot: Wing Island (Wii) Review

Casual games are big business, and they're certainly an area Nintendo is looking to expand into with its made-for-everyone Wii. Developed by Hudson, best known for its Bomberman and Mario Party line of games, Wing Island has that crowd in its crosshairs. Unfortunately, it forgot to put ammunition in its guns and equip the guns to the plane, which itself is too slow to make a difference anyway. Really, it seems like Wing Island is just pointing a crosshair, hoping its target will come crashing into it.

For a game in which human-sized sparrows spurn their natural wings for mechanical ones, Wing Island comes up empty on the charm. You play as Junior, a young sparrow pilot, and after your gramps' gypsy blood gets the better of him, you're left in charge of the family handyman business. Assisting you is your longtime friend and mechanical ace Puffin, who isn't unlike a female Slippy Toad of Star Fox fame, which is to say she's painfully annoying. Each mission is prefaced with Puffin coming to you in a huff, relating the desperate situation that requires your immediate attention. Playful banter or ridiculous situations that could have been incorporated to liven things up are nowhere to be found, so you're relegated to canvassing the island for a little kid's lost cows or aiding Fireman Gull in putting out forest fires. It's all pretty rote, and it would quite possibly be one of the worst conceits for a game in recent history if it weren't for the Wii's magical motion-sensing remote.

The crux of the Wing Island experience rests with the Wii Remote. Rather than mimicking a yoke or flight stick, you'll simply hold the Wii Remote like a regular TV remote and then guide your plane in as straightforward of a way as possible. If you move the remote up, you go up; down down; left left; and right right. Swiping the remote in one direction or another results in a hairpin turn, thrusting forward gives you a speed boost, and tugging backward activates the air brakes. Occasionally, a hairpin turn will be confused for a thrust, and for whatever reason, your plane will frequently throttle down. This forces you to constantly press up on the D pad, but for the most part, the basics are sound, if a bit unimaginative.

Unfortunately, during two-thirds to three-quarters of the game you're flying in a squadron, and this is where the formula breaks down. There are three different formations: a balanced flying V, a speedy straight line, and a maneuverable iron cross. You'll frequently need to switch between these formations to maximize your time or effectiveness in the missions. The problem is that the motion required for switching these formations is too similar to the motions for turning, speeding up, and slowing down. So you'll frequently be at war with the controls to get your lineup in the proper formation and moving in the proper direction. The situation improves once you figure out that you can double-tap the A button to cycle through the formations, but even then, it still feels like you're controlling the planes with marionette wires rather than from the cockpit.

For being an uneducated farmhand or a Podunk fireman, denizens of Shell Island certainly pay well for your services. But before they fork over the money, they're going to request the job be done--and done well. Missions are timed, and how much time remains, as well as how efficiently you hit your marks, factors in heavily to your overall grade. Even after you've come to terms with the clunky and unsatisfying control scheme, you'll have to perform near flawlessly to see any money. It's quite common to finish a mission with 30 seconds out of three minutes remaining and for whatever reason be awarded only five out of 100 points, which nets you nothing other than opening up the next mission. The mundane mission designs are more of an exercise in patience than flight skill and will have you inadvertently, then purposefully, throttling into the mountains or nose-diving into farmhouses. For the record, birds can't get caught in your propellers, and any other destructive urges that may arise within you will have little effect on the environment.

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