"An In Flight RPG; A Decent Enough Game But Suffers From A Serious Lack Of Imagination"

I didn't really know what to expect when I received this, it didn't look all that bad, dog fighting combined with RPG elements. I tried to give it a go, but unfortunately, it seemed more like a chore to play this game, and just when I was finally getting into it and felt I was getting somewhere, the game was over. There's a level cap at about 45 (can't remember since I traded it in a while back), which is annoying as I finished the game at level 29, which for most console games is the level where you're just about in the middle of the game. Thus I expected a lot more than I actually got, and in fact the game can last such a short amount of time, it feels more like a demo.

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Storyline (4/10)
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Extremely simplistic is how I'd say the story is best described for this game, absolutely everything is spelt out for you, except one thing; what you're supposed to do. Basically, you're a pilot, new to the job but are surrounded by clairvoyants who seem to be able to foresee the little kid in front of them becoming the best pilot in the world… a lot sooner than they'd expect. The game's world consists of a lot of islands, thus the need for airplanes, although they do use boats, you can't play using one. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pirates who have a habit of occupying airports and landing strips, who are completely incapable of looking after themselves. From what I remember (I could be wrong in this) they have this old guy follow you around who you have to save numerous times, and at the end of the game it turns out you know him... what an imaginative plot twist. As I said, it may occur slightly different to that, especially since I'm trying to write it in a way that doesn't give a spoiler, but it really is quite dire. You fly around from port to port and while you do have an objective; go liberate the port, it never feels like you really have a reason for doing it other than you're trying to be all nice-nice. An option to join the pirates would have really improved this game, and in fact if done well could have elevated the game into the 7/8 mark range.

It does get the job done and provides a reason for you to be playing the game, but the script of the game is extremely irritating. Everything is spelt out for you so much that there's no depth to the game, and there's only ever one thing to do, you rescue a new landing strip and you're just told to travel miles away and rescue another. You meet a few people over and over, but most don't really add anything to the game, and some are only there to give you a bit of money after you save them a few times.

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Gameplay (6/10)
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Hard to rate, since you can leave the game in automatic, which means that when an enemy plane comes in range you can use the touch screen to select a specific plane to attack. The game will then proceed to attempt to destroy the planes you select, however, you can choose manual controls and attack the planes yourself. The problem is the controls handle so badly that it's almost impossible to shoot them let alone beat them. Thus, in automatic, it's boring because the DS is handling everything for you, but in manual more often than not you end up dead.

You can upgrade your plane with stronger weapons, armour and engines in order to improve the plane's stats. This is pretty necessary since one their own, the enemies are useless, but when there's a few then it can get stupidly hard. However, the price of said upgrades is stupid, you're given very little money in comparison to how much everything costs. It adds the concept of having to decide which parts to upgrade first, but it gets annoying in the long run since you almost always don't have enough money. There are also some hidden planes you can get hold of, but for the most part they're useless since when you've finished the game, there's no extra mode, you just start again with your current stock. Thus there's no point in trying to upgrade any other than the default plane you start with.

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Graphics (7/10)
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Not completely impressive, since there is obvious use of the same small textures over and over. However, the 3D map is quite large and pretty good in comparison to the current stock of DS games. The town graphics are a bit bland, as are the menus, but the character portraits are quite awful, fortunately, you don't seem them very often.

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Sounds (6/10)
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I can't really recall anything of interest in terms of sounds but nor can I think of anything that irritated me while playing. The in flight effects are pretty good from the sounds of the guns to the landing, although the crashing/explosion effect is a bit rubbish.

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Lifespan (5/10)
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First play though can last a few hours, unfortunately, pretty much all of it is spent doing the exact same thing, since the objective of the game never changes. Despite the enemies getting stronger by the time they do, you're pretty much the same level thus it being the same on level 20 as on level 4. It does involve some thinking to succeed, but in the end the game is the same all the way through. Once you've finished there is no reason to play it through again especially since there's no change whatsoever.

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Summary (6/10)
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Not a bad idea, and the execution isn't all that bad, but there is so much more they could have done with it, and for some reason didn't. There's enough to keep people occupied but not for very long and that's only if you don't get bored. Some relatively minor changes could have lifted this game into pretty good standing amongst other DS games. It certainly has the edge over other DS games in that there isn't (currently) another game like it available for the DS. Overall, it provides some entertainment, but the price of admission is a bit steep considering how short the experience is.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/07