As I started up the game I noticed that like the Tiny Tower, Pocket Planes uses an 8-bit style animation. I like this style as it doesn't try to use all of the devices power but keeps it simple and puts the focus on the game play. As I played the game more I noticed that it recreates pop culture characters such as a Storm Trooper from Star Wars known as "Trooper" and even simpler forms as in names, I came across one passenger named L. Armstrong. This was pretty relevant to today as he was in the news a few weeks ago.
When I began to play I was immediately put into a small tutorial which was very basic. I learnt how to load a plane and then send it off to it's destination. After that I was prompted to select a starting city (region) and began my own airline. I decided to set up in Asia and quickly established a line from Sapporo to Hong Kong with airports in between. I did this using the two forms of in-game currency.
Pocket Planes uses a free to play system. It includes two forms of in-game currency know as coins and Bux. Each currency has its own purpose in the game. Coins are used to pay for your planes fuel as well as purchase or upgrade airports to help expand your airline. The premium currency Bux can be purchased using real money to help the player speed up their games process. Bux are used to purchase aircraft, parts for aircraft, and upgrades for them as well. Player however do not need to purchase Bux as opportunities come up to earn them by delivering special cargo/ passengers or placing well in a contest (more on that to come).
When you begin the game you make quick flights, 10 minutes tops. Once your reach higher levels and start expanding your airline you begin making larger and larger flights. You begin to need better aircraft that are faster and can travel longer distances. You can choose to make smaller flights but these are less rewarding financially. This is where layovers can come in to use. If you need to fly in an opposite direction just unload the passenger or cargo for a later flight. Don't worry about leaving them for awhile they will wait forever.
Pocket Planes has a social aspect to it as you can team up with friends and start your own flight crews. Flight crews become important if you want to compete in the events across the world. The most productive flight crews will be rewards Bux and/or parts depending on their performance. The larger your crew the better your chances are of placing high in the standings.
One downside to Pocket Planes was that on the Itouch it can be kind of hard to navigate around the world as destinations are tiny blips on a large map. You can zoom in but this makes scrolling slower. On the Ipad I did not find this to be an issue.
When you start to grow in levels you begin to have more and more downtime in game. This is a different feeling compared to early levels where flights are quicker. If there was something to do while flights were in progress it would keep the player more engaged. But then again its nice to be able to set down your IOS device and still have the game progress.
I found Pocket Planes to be an enjoyable IOS game. At times I couldn't put it down and I wanted to keep growing, expanding and reaching the next level. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who wants something fill time or enjoys the micro-management style of games.
Over all I give this game a 4/5
Cody Anderson
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