Air Attack – Shooting Down Aircraft Retro-Style
by Paul Wilks
Oct 3, 2011 3:30 PM –
Install
Air Attack is a old-school shooter which puts you in control of a little guy as he shoots down aircraft as it flies overhead. It has a kind of thrown-into-the-middle-of-a-conflict theme to it and the skies quickly become busy with aircraft shooting and bombing you. The graphics are very basic and retro but the gameplay is addictive for a while. It might not be the prettiest game, but its compelling- especially for old-school gaming fans.
Price: Free for Ad version, $0.99 for ad-free version
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Addictive gameplay!
- Cool environments that can be destroyed Worms-style!
- Good sound effects!
Cons
- Very basic graphics.
- Controls can be a little frustrating.
- Slow rate of fire.
- Spammy in-game advertising.
Features:
Air Attack is a very retro looking shooting game where you must shoot down aircraft as they fly overhead. You have a bazooka-style launcher and you can run about a 2D environment to dodge bombs and bullets as well as getting a good perspective of the craft you are shooting. There are a variety of airplanes and helicopters to shoot at, and many planes will drop down some cunning parachutists to try and take you out on land.
Given a little bit of time the gameplay becomes really quite addictive in spite of the poor graphics. Levels are dictated as ‘Waves’ in the game and you must survive as many of these waves as possible. You tap the screen to determine the direction of your shots and tap side-to-side to move your character. However, you always feel like you could have done better, so it keeps you coming back for more. While this compulsion doesn’t last very long, it’s a nice time-wasting game that will occupy you for a few days.
The ad version of the game- which you really would need to try out before paying for the full version- has the kind of awfully spammy advertising you see in some of the worst apps in the Market. I don’t think Air Attack belongs in this category but being inundated throughout with dating, high-interest, and quick finance ads are incredibly annoying.
Being killed in the game always feels a little unjust and this can be heightened by the controls which are sometimes feel unresponsive. In the middle of battle, it can be awkward to move your little soldier and this can be frustrating. The rate of fire is incredibly slow and you are well outgunned. There are cool boosts- such as the EMP- which takes out all visible aircraft, but the game is undeniably tough and quite challenging.
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Air Attack – In-game view 1
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Air Attack – In-game view 2
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Air Attack – Retro gaming
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Air Attack – Avoid bombs and paracutists
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Air Attack – The sky gets quite busy with planes
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Air Attack – Game paused
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Air Attack – Menu
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Air Attack – Playing options
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Air Attack – Global leader board
Fun Factor:
The game is fun for a while if you can stomach the intrusive advertising in the Free version. Gameplay is a challenge but good fun nonetheless.
Addictive:
Air Attack is addictive for a while and will keep you returning to the game to try and beat your score. There are global leaderboards you can add your score to if it’s good.
Graphics:
Compared to most games on Android Market, the graphics in Air Attack are rather poor. 
However this increases the retro feel to the game and many gamers like this sort of thing. The gameplay does attempt to make up for this, so don’t let the low-resolution and bitty sprites put you off too much.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is actually quite good. Old-school, the music sounds a little 16-bit but the explosions and fire noises are cool and add atmosphere to the game itself.