Overview
Wings 2 is a flight simulator that takes players across pretty landscapes on their own terms. On the “floating” mode, players can just sort of kick back and gently move their phone and enjoy the scenery. For “flying”, physics have more effect and you’ve got to work a little harder to keep yourself flying straight. Either way, crashing is no big deal - you get a cool screen cracking effect and keep flying - though it can be a little jarring if you’re relaxing. There’s certainly not a lot of depth to this game, but for what it is, it’s pretty nice.
Features
From almost zero difficulty to a harrowing speed run through some canyons, Wings 2 has you covered. While there are only two modes, the ability to shift your speed make it possible to crawl along, giving yourself plenty of time to react or zip across the map with nothing but instinct keeping you from crashing and burning.
Though you have to dig a little to find them, there are options for changing the default tilt angle and the draw distance. Word to the wise: keep it at short range. Mountains being constantly drawn as you watch is annoying, but a slow framerate is worse.
There are four worlds, each with its own theme, to explore and enjoy. There are rocky mountainous terrains, snow-covered mountains, Spring-like meadows and plains, and a world with tons of water and islands. Each theme felt fairly distinct from the others, not just a re-skinning of the same terrain.
Breakdown
The Good:
Some reviews and the App Store blurb itself talk about how good Wings is for chilling out and relaxing, so I decided to try it out. I sat down propped up against a wall and leaned back, just breathing and playing the game at medium speed on easy. To my surprise, there was a zen-like peace to the experience. The visuals of just floating around were calming and served as a good ‘blank canvas’ to focus on instead of my wandering thoughts.
Hippie-ness aside, Wings delivers what it says it does - the feeling of flying - on the cheap. It allows you to customize the experience enough that you can likely get what you want out of it. If you want a HUD and high speeds, you’re set. Just want to cruise with nothing stopping you from enjoying the view? You’re good. If you’re at all interested in the idea of zooming or cruising above the world without the danger, the investment here isn’t huge.
The Bad:
There are framerate issues when you set the game to Long Range. Medium Range isn’t as bad, and Short Range is nice n’ smooth. This is kind of a bummer, because when I first started the game I was hankering for more visibility, since the terrain was drawing itself in pretty constantly as I flew around. Also, when getting in super close to the terrain, some low-res textures were noticeable. The best way to get the most realism out of the experience, I found, was to stick with Short Range and keep my altitude high. These limitations didn’t break the experience - they were a very mild annoyance.
Verdict
I would go ahead and buy this one. The minor technical limitations are there, but they’re not enough to kill the fun. This would be especially good for people with young kids or those who are easily entertained. Also good for impressing friends, family, and innocent bystanders. It’s on the far casual end of the spectrum and won’t provide lasting hours of entertainment for most people, but it’s one of those extremely “neat” games that only the iPhone can deliver.
