by Cynthia Heard

Created on: April 24, 2008   Last Updated: April 27, 2008

When you think of the word airport,' what comes to mind? Chaos? Long lines? Being forced to strip down to your underwear to get past security? I'll bet "fun" is not one of the words you'd normally associate with an airport, but playing Airport Mania just might change that.

The concept behind Airport Mania is pretty unique. You (the player) are an air traffic controller. Your job is to call the planes in to land, send them to a gate for unloading and reloading, and then clear them for take-off. You'll also have to repair and refuel them as needed.

Nobody likes delays, so you'll need to get the planes in and out of the airport as quickly as possible. Planes can arrive and depart early, on time, or late. Keep your airplanes happy by helping them stay ahead of schedule, and you'll be rewarded with high scores. Make them late, and you'll suffer the consequences.

Airport Mania's game play is very straightforward; you click on the airplanes and then you click on where you want them to go. Pretty simple, right? The challenge (and the fun) in this game comes from coordinating the tasks so that everything runs smoothly. The planes come in several sizes, colors, and temperaments (Some are more patient than others.), so you'll have to form combos in order to keep them all content. This can become difficult early on if you don't know what you're doing, so I recommend attending the air traffic academy (a clever name for the in-game tutorial) before starting normal game play.

I really liked the graphics and sounds in Airport Mania. No, you will not get the sensation of a 747 landing in your house, but that's okay. Airport Mania is not meant to be realistic; it's purely for fun. The game has a definite cartoony' feel. The airplanes have human features (eyes, mouths) and do human things (sing, smile, frown, etc.). The graphics are clear, crisp, and colorful, and the sounds give the game personality. These factors help make Airport Mania super cute and fun to play.

As much as I like Airport Mania, it does have one crucial drawback. When air traffic is heavy and the airport is crowded, sometimes it's hard to select a plane and/or the place where you want a plane to go. Clicking on the wrong things not only breaks your combos, but it also slows you down. Speed is crucial in this game, so too many mis-clicks can really mess things up.

Overall, I give Airport Mania a 4/5. It's a fun, challenging, cute game that the whole family can enjoy. It has many nice features (eight airports, 84 levels, two modes of play, and more) which make it highly playable (and re-playable). If you've got $19.99 to spend, Airport Mania is definitely worth buying. It'll provide you with hours of fun, and it may even give you a more positive perspective on your next airport visit.

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