Flight Control

Summary
An early line-drawing game for the touchscreen generation that has become a best-selling classic. In the early days it had somewhat of a cult following, with celebrity addicts tweeting their high scores, and its appeal remains today.

[image1 Ready to start flying!]

Type: Simulation
Platform: iOS, DSiWare, WiiWare, PlayStation Network, Windows Phone, OS X, Steam, iPad, Android
Players: 1-2
Age: 5
Game Time: Minutes
Developer: Firemint
Publisher: Namco



Pros

Cons



Review
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an air traffic controller? In you take on this role, guiding an ever-increasing amount of planes, helicopters, jets, and rockets that you guide in to land on a variety of different air fields by drawing a path for each on the screen.



The game was released with one air field in 2009, and has had successive updates and improvements since then. The basic premise is entertaining, and quite addictive. It’s easy to get sucked in to a routine of trying to beat your highest score. There are also occasional achievements awarded, like having 30 planes in the air at once, which further keep you hooked in to the game.

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The graphics are distinctive and characterful, and they are even better quality since the game was given an HD makeover. The comments when a plane successfully touches down are different on each map, from Australia to Hawaii, g'day to aloha.

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The additional maps have added extras to the gameplay, for example, the Aussie map has planes landing from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, with unchangeable flight paths that you have to work around. Some upgrades add to the likelihood of a crash, like the multiple asteroid hazards crossing the space field, or the changeable wind field where you have to switch runways mid flight as the wind sock shifts.

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There are a few different modes: single player, and two cooperative options. One can be played with a friend on the same screen, and the other can be played with local devices, or online. This one is sometimes quite slow to connect, but they are both fun and extend the game's life. There's also a fun 3D map, if you have glasses, give if a shot.

Playing the game is great fun, and it’s easy to see how this became one of the top apps in 2009 when it was released. It has continued to fly out of the App Store with over 3 million downloads so far, and looks set to keep going, with new maps being released every now and then.

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Categories
#line_drawing
#casual
#simulation
#1_player
#2_players
#online_cooperative
#split_screen_cooperative

%giventogaming