Wing Island has the foundation and premise to be a great first-generation Wii game, as well as one that could potentially set the standard for all future flight games on the system. However, the game falls dangerously short of reaching such lofty goals, instead delivering a game that is both limited and difficult to enjoy.
You take on the role of Sparrow Jr., a real sparrow who makes his living flying and repairing planes. The idea of animals doing anything, especially flying planes, always has the potential to be fun. It worked for Snoopy, so why not here? The problem with Sparrow Jr. is that he lacks the flying beagle’s charm and the idea of birds flying planes just feels outright odd.
Sparrow’s adventures play out in as a series of unrelated missions that take place across the island. In one mission, he may be searching for missing animals (just don’t ask…) while in another he may be delivering cargo or helping to put out forest fires. There are attempts to try and bring everything together with a story, though it is unnecessary and forgettable in the long run.
Completing missions earns you money to spent on upgrading your planes. How much you get per mission depends on how well you fly; which usually isn’t much thanks to the controls. Too many things factor into your rating for a mission and, even when you think you’re doing a pretty good job, you can end up only receiving a low score. The odd thing is that there doesn’t seem to be much consistency, since I would fly the same in two missions and might get some money from one yet nothing from the other. There’s nothing more frustrating to a player than to complete a mission and have nothing to show for it.
What little money you earn can be used to upgrade aspects of your plane, including handling and speed. Each aspect can be upgraded a total of five times. You’ll also have to spend your money on repairs for damage you take during missions – so you end up taking a monetary hit two ways.
Wing Island also includes a two-player Multiplayer Mode. A number of gameplay types are available, many of which involve popping balloons. One of the more surprising and unique multiplayer features is that only one Wii-mote is needed to play. One player uses the Wii-mote to control his plane with the other uses the Nunchuck. As novel an idea as this is, it isn’t recommended.
