Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Sam C Gittins.

When the Virtual Console was first announced everyone already had in their minds which titles they'd want to download when they eventually came about; for many this would have been such rarities such as Super Mario RPG or Sin and Punishment but for others it's merely the chance to play some of the more underrated classics which they may have not got to play back in the day.

This timely release I believe falls into the latter category for many especially and with the recent release of Wii Sports Resort which has a whole section that's very reminiscent of the game in question, it clearly couldn't be any more at the forefront of many gamers minds; however now that wait is over. Anyway enough from me and on with the erm... game!

Available for download this week we have...

• Pilotwings

Points: 800
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1993
System: SNES

Throughout the golden age of gaming Nintendo would always find new ways to push their 16-bit hardware to the limits and thanks to Mode-7 technology which rotated and scaled textures to give a reasonably accurate and impressive representation of 3D, the company were able to break boundaries once again. Of course this technique had been used before in F-zero and Mario Kart but never before in a flight simulation; so in swoops Pilotwings descending majestically upon unsuspecting SNES owners the world over.

Firstly you'll notice that this is one nicely presented game indeed, from the rotating text title screen to the detailed mission overview screens right through of course to the main island itself where your attempts at aerial acrobatics take place. Everything looks surprisingly realistic for what is basically still a mere 16-bit title and it's a wonder to look at even today despite the fact that things have moved on tenfold technically since its release.

When you get to the actual main game you are instructed on what you need to do by an on-screen avatar in the mission briefing; essentially this boils down to scoring a certain cumulative amount of points in order to progress. You then pick from either Parachuting or Flying and can opt to view how your chosen aerial activity is scored plus the controls, you may from glancing at these pieces of info that it's gonna be a piece of cake but that is not so.

Beginning with the plane you start off in the air and need to pass through two rings which isn't too bad but then you are asked to land and this is where most will either crash into the runway or even into the ocean due to either accelerating too fast or clipping the wings of the plane as you get closer to ground / sea level.

Parachuting is entirely different however and starts off with your skydiver holding onto a rope ladder attached to a helicopter which then ascends a few thousand feet before you let go and free-fall downward as you navigate through the rings on the way before opening your parachute and attempting to land in the target area. Alternatively you can opt to not deploy your parachute resulting in your on-screen character plummeting to their cartoon-like demise leaving a person-shaped hole in the ground and - amusingly - an angry instructor who merely responds with... "You did that on purpose didn't you?" damn right I did.

Using both the Rocketbelt and Hang-glider is a satisfying experience as their control schemes feel extremely well tuned and very believable indeed even if on the later more difficult missions piloting them well may take more than a few tries, of course though if you really can't be bothered with a particular mission you can always cheat and obtain the relevant password to input on the title screen.

Indeed all of these missions are really just a warm up for the 'beast' that you get to fly near the end of the game which is an Attack Helicopter loaded with missiles as you set off on a daring rescue mission to save your captured instructors; of course one hit and it's game over though so both caution and a quick trigger-finger are necessary here to succeed.

The only area in which the game is let down slightly is in the music department, while the sound effects are spot-on the actual background music serves its purpose but isn't exactly amazing; but for the amount of things that this title gets right, this small niggle really doesn't matter as much as you might think and won't ruin your enjoyment of what is otherwise a genuinely captivating title.

Of course this title has since been bettered by its N64 sequel - which we will hopefully get released soon on the VC - but the original Pilotwings is more worthy of praise for what it achieved on the 16-bit hardware that it was created on. A technical achievement plus an original title that is a huge amount of fun to play and it's to its credit that such a game can still provide an experience that's more engaging than many modern day titles, if you haven't played this yet then please do as it's a truly unique title.

Verdict : Practically perfect piloting simulation.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
[email protected]

Looking for reviews on other Virtual Console games? Or a full list of games available on the system? Then Check out our Virtual Console Index Page.