Airport Mania: First Flight
Platform: Mac, Windows
Airport Mania from South Winds Games is a time management sim that drops all the trite settings and food-related themes we've grown tired of in the genre. Instead of serving cake or pizza or sandwiches, your job is to direct airplanes, load passengers, and make sure everything runs smoothly. All of this is accomplished with a simple interface and airplanes that are too cute for their own good. And unlike real airports, you can actually have flights arrive on time or even early!
Planes appear at the top of the screen, flying back and forth until you tell them which runway to land on. After touching down, direct planes to an empty gate where passengers are unloaded and new passengers boarded. Then it's back to the runway to take off once again. Sometimes a plane will need to re-fuel between groups of passengers, in which case you simply direct it to the repair station.
The basic structure of the game is simple and only a few events come along to change things around. Sometimes a plane will be carrying urgent cargo and must take priority over other flights, while other times weather conditions will alter your plans. Between each of the game's 84 levels you'll visit the store where you can buy new structures for your airport or upgrade existing ones to be faster/better.
Once you gain the ability to paint planes, a new level of complexity opens up. Each gate has a color, each plane has a color. Match like-colored crafts to gates and you'll earn a bonus. Painting allows you to change the color, forcing you to decide if a pit-stop is worth the matching bonus or if being on time is a better reward.
Analysis: The most immediate draw to Airport Mania is its visual style. Is "cute" a strong enough word? Not sugary sweet cute, but airplanes with big eyes and goofy smiles certainly qualifies as adorable. They even hum while waiting for passengers. AWWW!!!
Fuzzy wuzzy planes aside, Airport Mania is built around a very simple time management construct and rarely strays from that premise. The shop introduces a few upgrades, but these don't change the experience very dramatically. It's almost as if the game was afraid to veer too far from its established (but highly entertaining) core idea. With a solid interface, excellent visual style, and unique setting, I think the game could have afforded to take a few chances here and there. There's also a low and slow progression of difficulty, allowing you to master the game quickly but offering less challenge until later.
Airport Mania is a breath of fresh air in many ways. The only drawbacks to the experience are minor, and it's an excellent resource management sim that'll capture your afternoon with ease.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
How to get all the medals:
Air Traffic Controller Academy Diploma:
Complete the tutorial levels.
All the awards in the table:
When you land these planes for the first time you will receive this award.
Baby Delivery Assistance Medal:
Just land a plane with a woman who was in labor
Exceptional Service Medal:
You had a perfect score in every level of a stage.
Flying Time Award:
This award is given for having reached the goal some seconds after time ran out.
Friendly Skies Medal:
No planes were lost on any level of a stage.
Game Finished:
When you finish the game you'll receive this award.
Heavenly Assistance Award:
Reach a perfect score in all levels.
Hot Air Balloon Medal:
You receive this award for keeping the hot air balloon on the screen until the end of the level.
Led Zeppelin Medal:
You receive this award for keeping the zeppelin on the screen until the end of the level.
Master Matcher Medal:
You receive this award for ending a level with ALL of your gates with 4x multipliers, the highest possible!
Medical Association Medal:
Land a plane with organs for transplant
Million Points Award:
When you make one million points,you'll receive this award.
Piggy bank award:
Don't buy anything at all for the first or second stage.
Presidential Distinguished Service Medal:
Land the plane of the president
Rockin' Repair Shop Medal:
You receive this award for repairing a certain number of planes. Bronze = 50 planes, Silver = 150 planes, Gold = 250 planes
Smiling Happy People Medal:
All your planes were in the green when they arrived and departed.
South Winds Surfer Medal:
You receive this award for keeping the sailboat on the screen until the end of the level.
Stingy Maniac Award:
Don't spend your money in nothing for all the stage.
Super Runway Coordinator Medal:
You receive this award for setting a new world record for the highest number of consecutive take-offs or landings.
Switch-a-roo Medal:
You receive this award by having planes switch places.
Posted by: jackson | February 25, 2010 5:54 PM
Balloons
can be found on the following levels:
1-6, 2-2, 2-5, 2-8, 3-3, 3-6, 3-9, 4-1, 4-4, 4-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-9
Sailboats
can be found on the following levels:
5-2, 5-5, 5-8, 5-11
Zeppelins
can be found on the following levels:
7-2, 7-5, 7-8, 7-11, 8-3, 8-6, 8-9, 8-12
You must land 8 planes with women in labor to receive a gold medal. In my game they were on levels:
2-6, 3-2, 4-3, 4-7, 5-9, 6-4, 7-5, 8-7
You must land 8 planes with medical emergencies/organ donors to receive the gold medal. In my game they were on levels:
1-6, 2-2, 3-8, 4-5, 5-2, 6-9, 7-1, 8-6
You must land the President's plane 7 times to receive a gold medal. In my game that occurred on levels:
5-6, 6-1, 6-10, 7-3, 7-12, 8-4, 8-11
Posted by: samiriver3
|
March 25, 2012 7:54 PM