by Brian Duncan

Created on: April 22, 2008   Last Updated: April 27, 2008

Airport Mania - 4/5 for being an all around fun game.

Hasn't it always been your life long wish to be an air traffic controller? Well, even if the answer is no you'll get your chance in Reflexive Games' Airport Mania. Honestly I was skeptical when starting this game (its cartoon planes and happy go lucky music could make anyone skeptical), to my surprise the game turned out to be an addictive challenge for the mouse/eye coordination.

The download opens a separate window that displays all of the recent games for trial and is just long enough to have you looking through them. The trial that downloads is one hour long, allowing you enough time to finish the whole first stage and be well into the second before you are cut off. The whole version will run you twenty dollars if you want to make it all the way through.

There isn't much of a story to Airport Mania, just a quick tutorial to get your "degree" then you're set out into the world to land planes, reload them and set them on their way (with the occasional stop for fuel and repairs). The planes are color coded, urging you to match the plane's color to the terminal's for maximum points which you use later to buy other terminals, terminal upgrades and new planes.

The game's graphics are amazing as first displayed in the opening ad for Reflexive Games. All in all the appearance of the game is incredible. 3D animation makes it a pleasure to watch while you are playing and there are even Easter eggs hidden in the background of each level. The music manages to stay upbeat without being annoying.

The game play is point and click. Click on an airplane to select it, click on its destination and click again to send it off. The farther you get in the game the more planes that come in looking to drop off passengers, pick them up, refuel or get repairs. All in all you are going to have to move your mouse pretty quick to master Airport Mania so it isn't suggested for most laptops.

There are eight levels with up to fourteen stages in each level - not including the tutorial which is easy to find and understand. This is great since many downloadable games either hide their instructions or simply forget to put them in.

The main drawback to Airport Mania is that while the game is fun and wont have you yelling at the screen whenever you miss a plane, it is essentially repetitive. Except for the increasing speed you have to move to keep your passengers happy the game pretty much plays the same over and over. You could test your skill on the higher levels with larger airports and new planes or you could be just as content with what you have achieved in one hour.

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