Don't know about you, but I was hoping the conclusion of Lost would turn out to be more interesting and intelligent than it was. Let's not spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it (the scriptwriters have already done that anyway). Suffice to say it wouldn't have taken a lot.
It would even have been better if a load of balloon-headed, ball-fisted characters had popped up and revealed the passengers of Oceanic 815 actually crash-landed on Wuhu Island. That would have made more sense, and at least we might have gotten to see grumpy old serious face Jack doing some hula hooping.
Sadly that wasn't to be, but we will get to revisit Wuhu with forthcoming 3DS title PilotWings Resort. The demo playable at Nintendo's Amsterdam showcase revealed it hasn't changed much - just like in Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort, the island is all blue skies, green hills, yellow sands and golden sunsets. And not a cloud of stupid clanky black smoke in sight.
This must be what RAF basic training is like.
Nor are there any hula hoops, basketball courts, bowling alleys or the like to be seen. Seeing as this is a PilotWings game, there are of course a variety of aerial pursuits to enjoy instead.
Only three of these were available to try out in Holland - hang gliding, biplane piloting and rocket belt, er, hovering. The demo offered a freeplay mode which allows you to explore Wuhu plus attempt few challenges. These included flying through the old rings, negotiating a runway in the middle of the sea and landing safely in the middle of a bullseye target.
So far, so PilotWings. But this being a 3DS game, you now get to see those blue skies and that yellow hang glider in three dimensions. Depth of field comes into play when navigating through rings and distant objects in the landscape really do look far away. Not just small, Dougal.
However, the real star of the demo is the 3DS's new analog controller - or Circle Pad, as Nintendo is calling it. It makes pulling off the gentle twists and turns required much easier than if you were using the D-pad.
Plus it just feels nicer. With its soft-touch covering and gently concave shape, the Circle Pad is a tactile little dimple of an analog controller. The PSP's rough-surfaced nubbin feels stiff and old fashioned by comparison. It's as if one was inspired by what it feels like to stroke a bunny, while the other was based on a sandpapered nipple.
Cruising through rings and pulling off neat landings was a breeze while playing the demo, and it didn't prove too hard to rack up high scores. However, this was probably at least as much to do with the fact that we were playing on Easy as it was to do with the precision control offered by the Circle Pad.
None of the higher levels were unlocked in the demo we played, so it wasn't clear how steeply the difficulty curve will ramp up. Here's hoping the finished game will present the same kind of nail-biting challenges offered by the original titles.
As for whether the PilotWings experienced will be significantly improved by the addition of 3D - well, it's hard to argue this new feature makes PWR that much more immersive than its predecessors.
The fact is, you're still flying an animated character around a cartoon landscape using a jetpack. Being conscious of a bit of depth of field doesn't make you feel like you're really there, any more than watching Avatar in 3D makes you believe that somewhere there really is a planet populated by giant blue people who ride flying horsebirds and speak entirely in hideous clichés.
Look out for PilotWings: Branson edition, which costs £5 million and crashes every six minutes.
Which brings us to the bigger question still hanging over 3DS - will that fancy stereoscopic screen truly enhance the games, or is it just a gimmick? It's too soon to know the answer to that one, but it seems unlikely PilotWings Resort will be used as evidence for the former argument.
That said, there's no doubt 3D adds a fun new element to negotiating those floating rings. And if Nintendo manages to recapture the gameplay magic of the old games in this new one, veterans of the series will be happy regardless of what it looks like. After all, no one cared that the original PilotWings appeared to have been made out of old bits of Ceefax, or that presenter Shirley had overdone the botox so much she couldn't move her entire face. Here's hoping.
