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Flight! (iOS) Review

James Ku / Aug 15th, 2012 No Comments

Flight! is Armor Games’ latest action game for the iOS platform. Originally submitted as a Flash game on the Armor Games website by a user known as Krin, Flight! for the iOS contains new features that are sure to keep fans of the original coming back for more. While “launch some dubiously flight-capable object as far as you can” games are nothing new (Hedgehog Launch and Kitten Cannonare some other examples of this fairly popular action game sub-“genre”), Flight! aims to build off of its web-based predecessor to bring a new wave of object-flinging fun to mobile users everywhere.

Get cash for collecting stars? Seems legit.

Flight! starts off with a lightly animated cutscene introducing a young girl named Sandy whose sole wish for Christmas is to see her mom. She writes a letter to Santa informing him of her wish, folds it into an airplane, and sends it off toward the stars. After this short intro sequence, the player is instructed to “1. Pick up the plane” and “2. Throw it!” Following these instructions results in the plane being launched into the air (as one might predict it to) and enables it to pick up various objects rather mystifyingly placed in front of the planes path. These objects can include stars (which give cash), cranes (temporarily multiply the amount of cash collected from stars), and windmills (which give an extra boost), among a few other objects that aid the plane on its journey. Once the plane lands on the ground and is therefore no longer able to continue its flight (in most cases), a screen detailing distance covered, stars collected, and maximum altitude reached appears. The player is awarded cash based on these three factors, and the game then returns to a menu where plane upgrades can be purchased. These upgrades can include increased plane speed, increased launch speed, and a booster engine, among others. As the player throws the plane he/she will inch closer towards a goal distance; once this goal distance is achieved, the player unlocks the next stage to play in. Stages from London, Paris, Kenya, India, and Japan are featured in Flight!, keeping the atmosphere fresh as well as introducing new challenges with each location.

Ahh yes… Catching rainbow-farting dice, I remember doing that back in the day…

While Flight!’s storyline might come off as cheesy to some, this reviewer found it to be rather heartwarming, especially when the ending cutscene connected all the previous happenings together. A cartoon-y, Dora The Explorer-inspired art style (I didn’t watch many cartoons as a kid, so that’s the best comparison I could come up with, okay?) fits in well with the story presented by the cutscenes and provides a crisp, clean style for the rest of the game’s graphics as well. While none of the graphics in Flight! are particularly fancy, bold black outlines and simple, clear colors help provide that extra bit of polish to make Flight! a sharp-looking game. Sounds in Flight! likewise help establish the atmosphere of the game. Music during flights is appropriately fast-paced and conveys feelings of marathon running, making it an appropriate choice for the “fly as far as you can” goal that drives Flight!’s gameplay. Picking up stars and cranes is accompanied by sound effects similar to coin sound effects found in Mario games, evoking a familiar sense of positive feedback appropriate to the context and overall art direction of Flight!.

Is that so…? Only one way to find out…

Flight!’s plethora of upgrades and achievement-inspired challenges keep the game fun for the long haul. While the basic “throw something and watch it fly” mechanics aren’t hugely different from many other games out there, little additions like the ability to use fuel to alter the plane’s flight help establish Flight! as a true refinement to the “launch something” sub-genre. A lot of the game is luck-based as it’s really not possible to plan out the most efficient route before the player launches the plane, but where the game excels is in its encouragement of experimentation and the fact that each flight is never the same, leading to a “just one more time” feeling every time a flight ends.

FLIGHT! (IOS) REVIEW

Gaming Illustrated RATING

Overall77%

GAMEPLAY7.5

While not impressively unique, Flight! takes a few nice steps forward for the genre.

GRAPHICS8

Nothing too fancy, but they do add a nice bit of polish to the overall game.

SOUND7.5

Nice background score and cheery sound effects fit in well with the game's art direction.

PRESENTATION8

Flight! does a commendable job of conveying the story and keeping menus simple.

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James Ku

Contributor at Gaming Illustrated

James Ku has never been particularly skilled at any video game (except Dance Dance Revolution, to which he attributes his preferred username as well as his somewhat respectable legs), a quirk that has nevertheless failed to quell his passion for games of every creed (yes, he loves Assassin's Creed) and race (Need for Speed Underground 2 is his personal favorite). He is currently studying Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma.

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tags: ios , review