Reviews
App Review: Air Hockey
February 23, 2009 | by Andrew Kameka
Android App Reviews, Android Apps, Android Games, Reviews
Air Hockey is a timeless American pastime, right up there with stickball and freeze tag. JJC Games has managed to port that classic table hockey experience to Android in its new game Air Hockey.
Like its non-virtual counterpart, Air Hockey is all about angles and reflexes. In order to succeed, gamers have to develop an eagle eye for spotting when their opponent has opened himself up for a goal. A split second recognition of a favorable angle can lead to a flick of the thumb and a subsequent goal. Likewise, players will have to safeguard themselves from becoming vulnerable to a quick strike. Air Hockey runs smoothly and manages to capture this quick action nature.
There are several Match Types available in the game:
- Single Game
- Best of Three (3), Best of five (5), or Best of seven (7)
- Two player game
The level of difficulty increases as a gamer becomes more successful. The more wins players earn, the more skilled the computer becomes in order to provide a more challenging match. When players grow tired of pummeling Air Hockey’s AI, they can match their skills against someone in person. In two player mode, each player defends opposite sides of the screen as they try to best their opponent. Only one player is allowed to touch the screen at a time, so this set-up may prove annoying at first. After a bit of a learning curve, this shortcoming (a fault of the G1 lacking native multitouch) becomes less of a factor.
Air Hockey is one of the first paid games that I’ve tested and I was pleased with the results. Puck speed and difficulty change to prevent the game from becoming too easy too quickly. For anyone who enjoys mobile games, table hockey, or a vertical pong like game, Air Hockey is worth a purchase.
App: Air Hockey
Price: $0.99 USD
Web: www.jjcgames.com
If you like tower defense-type games, I implore you to try out Plox. It was the first high-quality game for Android that I’d ever tried, and was very pleased with the results. The trial version came out a day or two before the paid apps started showing up, and is still available, though I suppose now you could download the full game, play it, and return it.
Definitely give it a shot, though!
My other favorite games: Picacross Pro, and Trap! (which is a free game that’s been on the market for months!)