As soon as I saw Air Attack HD, I bought it without hesitation, because it reminded me of a game that I selflessly played as a child, when Dendy consoles ruled the world, and Steve Jobs had not yet returned to Apple. The main thing that has changed in the game over the years is its adaptation to the touch interface, and it has greatly benefited from this, who would have thought 15 years ago that a TV with a set-top box would replace something similar to an iPad.
If you remember what Dendy is, then you can not read on, but just go to the App Store and buy the game, and if you did not find this miracle of technology, then the review is for you.
As you can guess from the name, Air Attack HD is a flight simulator. You will have to participate in the Second World War on the side of the United States and, accordingly, fight against Germany and Japan, which will be represented not only by the equipment of those times, but also by various secret developments, for example, flying saucers of the Third Reich :)
The game is an adaptation of the game of the same name for the iPhone, almost everything is the same, except that the graphics are redesigned to appear in the best light on the big screen of the iPad. But, despite the almost complete identity, the Air Attack on the iPad is revealed in a new light, as it has become much more convenient to control, and due to the screen there is more room for maneuver.
As for the management, everyone can customize it for themselves, depending on their preferences:
Touch — just drag the plane across the screen with your finger;
Relative touch — we move the screen anywhere, the plane repeats the movements;
Tilt — by turning the iPad left/right — up/down;
Joypad — a virtual joystick appears in the left corner.
Personally, I liked the first method the most, it is the most intuitive and allows you to better keep up with bullets and missiles of opponents, but it also has a drawback — when additional weapons or capabilities appear, there is a chance of accidentally pressing their activation buttons.
After launching the game, we immediately plunge headlong into an unequal battle with Nazi troops, who attack our lonely plane from the air, land and water with all available means. Here it is necessary, firstly, to kill the enemies as quickly as possible, and secondly, to dodge the shelling in full.
Among the weapons, a regular cannon is initially available, which always shoots automatically, and bombs that are launched by double-clicking on the plane, and over time you can buy additional weapons: lightning and homing missiles.
In order to have something to improve your plane or buy new weapons for, you need to collect coins that appear on the battlefield after the destruction of enemy equipment and buildings, the latter need to be destroyed with bombs.
From time to time, checkpoints with shops will appear, having flown into which you can stock up.
The assortment includes: improvement of the main cannon and bombs, automatic missiles and an additional cannon (shoot by themselves for a while), allied planes flying on the sides, extra life, time dilation, lightning, shield and super missiles (the last four items are activated during the game using special buttons, the number of uses is limited and it can be replenished in the store or with the help of bonuses during the battle).
There are eight different levels in the game, during which you will have to fight in the mountains, in the desert and at sea. At the end of each level there will be leaders, where without them. The leaders like to shoot from several weapons at once, so it's not always easy to bend, but it's possible. Various flying objects and buildings can act as ringleaders.
… or ships.
My advice is to save various additional opportunities just for the leaders, it makes life much easier, rather it even helps to save it.
And finally, the same flying saucer of the Third Reich, which I spoke about at the very beginning.
In general, I liked the game, partly due to pleasant memories of childhood and endless hours spent at the console. But there are, of course, advantages in it that everyone will appreciate, for example, attention to detail: the plane does not just move across the screen, but does various aerobatics like a dead loop or a barrel, opponents not only stick in the forehead, but can also suddenly appear from behind or from the side, return to the second circle if do not kill immediately, almost all objects on the ground can be blown up, planes do not just explode, but the damaged ones fall down, etc.
Of the unpleasant moments, it is worth noting that the transience of the game is too short, and not too difficult, especially at easy levels. If not for this, she would have received a solid five, and so half of the score had to be removed.
