AirAttack HD Review

Developer Art in Games tosses its hat into the tried and true top-down shooter genre with AirAttack HD, the iPad version of its recently released iPhone game. This WWII-flavored affair is high on action and graphics, if a bit light on depth.

AirAttack HD puts you in control of a WWI-inspired fighter plane fighting a Nazi-flavored horde across eight different levels. As you go, you’ll face waves of planes, ground assault units, lightning towers, dirigibles, and even enemy UFOs. You also have to bomb ground targets like hangers, bridges, and oil wells.

There’s a lot that goes right with this game. It’s a bolder, faster paced game than many top-down shooters, with plenty of enemies flying at you from all sides. It’s also more chaotic -- no amount of fancy flying is going to prevent you from being shot as enemies appear from all sides firing volleys of bullets, missiles, and even more exotic munitions. That’s okay, though, because your lives are more or less unlimited, although you will occasionally find yourself kicked back to a checkpoint. Said checkpoints are also where you can purchase temporary power-ups, like wingmen and homing missiles.

By default, you control your plane by touching the screen and dragging. This can be awkward on the iPad, but luckily Art in Games has also provided tilt, joypad, and relative touch control options. Of these, I enjoyed the tilt and relative touch controls the most (the joypad is a bit too small and unresponsive). Everyone should be able to find a scheme that works for them.

The whole thing is presented with sharp graphics and animations. Enemies swoop and dive, shadows streak across the ground, and UFOs wobble a bit (as UFOs are wont to do). It all looks really slick, and combined with a driving soundtrack and good game play, you’ll find yourself having a good amount of fun.

My biggest complaint about AirAttack HD is that, while I enjoyed myself when I was playing the game, it was not an experience that lingered. The game is fast and bright and crazy, but shallow enough that I kind of forgot about it after a few days. In other words, it’s not the kind of game that’s going to stick with you when you’re done. And with only 8 levels of play, that time will be over fairly quickly.

So ultimately, AirAttack HD is a fun but somewhat forgettable game. At 99 cents, though, it’s a much better buy than many other games you could score for that price, especially on the iPad. It’s worth checking out.