Flight! Review
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Flight! Review

Our Review by Jennifer Allen on August 2nd, 2012
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: SIMPLY ADDICTIVE
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A paper-plane-based game that will make time practically fly away.

Developer: Armor Games
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar


Five minutes into playing Flight! and you'd be forgiven for wondering why on earth I'm about to rave about how wonderful it is. I played those first five minutes and I never would have expected to love it so. Having never played the Flash game of the same name, the concept of throwing paper planes as far as possible sounded weak. How wrong I was.

The early days of throwing paper planes is quite unexciting. No matter how hard you try, odds are it won't actually fly particularly far. Stars are scattered around the screen, begging to be collected, but there's no way to change direction or keep flying for any longer than gravity allows. That's where the power-up system comes into things. Scrape around for stars and eventually, you'll have enough money to buy items.

These items go a long way. Some might lower the weight of the plane, making it easier for it to float around. Others might affect the strength in which the plane can be thrown. One bonus makes it possible to affect the trajectory of the plane by tilting the iOS device accordingly. Be careful though as, despite being made out of paper, the plane can stall and crash. Most useful of all is the ability to keep flying by tapping the screen repeatedly. It's not fool proof though as the paper plane has a limited supply of fuel (!) which again can lead to falling out of the sky fast.

It's all so simple yet wonderfully addictive. Like any Endless Runner, much of the satisfaction comes from beating a previous high score. This time round, there are three types of scores to beat - acquisition of stars, altitude and distance. Each as satisfying to conquer as the last. A form of levelling up and experiencing different landscapes adds to the feeling of achievement as well as bonus golden stars and windmills that encourage progress. The gradual trickle of unlockables that can be purchased through repeated plays just keeps things all the more enjoyable. There's no sense of grinding out success at all.

Sure, it's possible to skip ahead and buy these upgrades and coins with real money, but there's really no need to. Instead, it'd ruin the fun of succeeding for one's self. I'd have liked to have seen more obvious challenges, like the ones set out in Tiny Wings, but other than that, it's tough to criticize Flight!. It's pitched just right at the casual market and is a great game to dive into. Who'd have thought something so simple could be so much fun?

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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