Game by
Gabob

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 8.5
Appeal: 9

Final: 85%

Grade: B

The game encompasses some elements to that of Theme Park. You’re able to purchase new objects to place in your terminal to entertain your passengers prior to departure. Soda machines, hot dog stands, plants and arcades just to name a few. More are available later in the game as you find yourself managing larger terminals. This is merely to aid you in your quest though and this is where the game differs from that of our usual management game. You are to manage departures and arrivals.

You begin the game with three destinations. A tutorial, aided by your staff at the airport will teach you the ropes (quickly and effectively I might add). Your Atlanta terminal is visible in the top right of the screen with a map of the possible destinations on the left. The games levels are split up into working months. You have a certain amount of time to make as much money in that month as you can. As passengers begin to arrive in your Atlanta terminal, you have to entertain them until a plane becomes available and you can put them on board and send them on their way. Making them wait will ensure their immediate rage and eventually will cause them to “freak out”. Three freak outs will cause you to lose and you’ll have to restart that month again. It all sounds very easy I’m sure, but when you push further into the game and have 40 passengers all wanting to head to different areas of Europe at the same time and only a certain number of planes in which to juggle them, you end up being the one to start freaking out.

The pressure is immense, as is the satisfaction of successfully completing a financial month without any freak outs or failures. Aside from terminal attractions, you also can purchase new planes that can hold more passengers, hire staff to help you speed up the process’ that make the game challenging later on and also unlock new destinations that increase the influx of passengers and therefore increase your net profit margins.

Take charge and get the airport running smoothly

Each financial month is finalized with a run down of statistics that leave you either satisfied with your performance or mortified at the amount of people that gave you an F rating for your service. You’ll find yourself shouting “How dare you!” at your screens. Or perhaps a more violent variation.
As you progress further through the game you’re given more independence on your staff hiring. You have quite a range of candidates to choose from and you have to decide which ones you want and what department they should work in based on their short bio. Candidates with experience will be on a higher pay scale. Do we hire the experienced, pricey, safe choice or the young, hopeful student full of enthusiasm?! Choice! How we love choice.

The game has a fantastic atmosphere. A selection of smooth jazz tunes running throughout the game leave your feet tapping whilst you play and add to the 60′s style feel that you get from the game in general. Although charming, the graphics are very basic. 2D and no real movement aside from the passengers walking around (without legs) and the planes sliding across to their various destinations. This is ground for improvement, but as it stands the game looks pretty and the non realistic cartoon like characters really just improve gaming experience, implementing color coded game play and simplicity over the need for 3D. The sound effects are similar in this manner. Very simple, but they really don’t need to be anything more. Sounds are used when they need to be to make sure you know when planes are arriving and departing with a healthy “vroooooom” and the familiar “ding dong” for when your plane’s docked and awaiting passengers.

The game’s fairly long. The episodes don’t take too long to complete if you really concentrate on fulfilling your list of tasks as soon as you can, but I personally found it more fun to create a super successful airport first. You can make the game even more detailed by turning on “advanced routing” which basically means you have to pay more attention to whom your planes are picking up, but if managed well your airport will be far more efficient. You end up finding a great sense of pride in what you’ve managed
to do by the end of an episode.

To top it off, the game has two unlockable modes for replay value. A free play mode that you can either use to play a relaxing, no score based game or a challenging, competitive game in which you play for a high score year by year in which each year grows more difficult. Secondly, you have survival mode which is a continuous run until too many passengers freak out and you fail. Clear your schedule. This one will take up your hours rapidly.

On a slightly lesser note the game can get repetitive fairly quickly as most casual games do. It’s similar to playing a game of Tetris. A simple concept that increases in speed and difficulty, but it doesn’t quite have that grasp that it needs. You’ll find yourself needing breaks quite regularly. Providing you understand that before purchasing it then I really don’t think you’ll find yourself disappointed.