Review: Biiplane - Flying Game
by Jeff Noble
November 26, 2008
Overview
Soaring through the air with the greatest of ease in an old biplane... with nothing but your iPhone to steer you. The new app Biiplane - Flying Game will have you flying in circles in no time. It's a fun, moment-occupier kind of game.
Gameplay
Biiplane has you steering around a circular canyon to begin with, but the levels and navigation get harder as you go. There are starred boxes that you must collect that are hanging from balloons. Collect the boxes by flying over them, but if you hit the balloon or rope, the boxes will fall to the ground, and you'll have to fly low to pick them up on the next pass.
By flying through hovering rings, you are given extra abilities to either spin your biplane around and head in the reverse direction or to rotate your biplane in a 360 spin to enable you to collect a box better. You navigate by tilting your iPhone.
Gameplay is smooth, and I encountered no problems whatsoever, advancing forward into several levels without incident. I never really saw the need for a 360 spin (which is accomplished by a vertical swipe on the iPhone screen). However, the reverse direction move is very useful (swiping horizontally on the screen). Rather than having to fly around the circle again, you can simply turn around and get it.
Review
Biiplane is really a soaring good time. It's simplistic objective makes it fun and easy for any age, and you'll find yourself playing more levels than you anticipate if you're not careful. Because of it's repetitiveness, it lends itself more to being a time-occupier game rather than a game you turn to when you're ready to really enjoy gaming.
I wish it had a speed control, and at times, it was hard to steer unless you were looking down on the phone. Holding the phone up (while lying on the couch) was a real challenge and almost made me give up because of the biplane's unresponsiveness.
You'll definitely want to adjust the volume (slider on the left) because the constant plane sound gets a little monotonous after a while. I'm sure the Red Baron would have loved having a volume control. Fortunately, we do.
Summary
For only $0.99, this game is real winner. The colors are bright and vivid, and after you position your iPhone correctly, the plane is easy to navigate. It won't satisfy more demanding iPhone gamers because of its repetitiveness, but kids and bored folks will absolutely love it. It's one of those fun games that you can turn to while waiting at the doctor's office or during a dull moment.
