Can the creators of Tiny Tower do it again? Nimblebit unlike most mobile game makers out there takes time between games to actually make them different. So they have moved from the ground to the sky in Pocket Planes, but does this take off or crash and burn? Read on to find out.
In Pocket Planes you not only own aircrafts but airports as well. You start the game with a few airports and one whole plane. As you gain money and levels you can buy more airports and planes. To gain money you do what airlines do, overcharge people to fly them to different destinations. You can only fly to destinations you own and of course only to destinations that your airplanes can reach. So far not that exciting? Well certain planes can only carry people while some can only carry cargo and some can take a little bit of both. You start off the game with really basic planes that can only carry one person or one cargo. As you level up (done so by gaining money) you unlock more planes and aircrafts (even balloons). To get new crafts you need Bux; for those that played Tiny Tower you’ll know what those are, for those new to Nimblebit games Bux are the currency used that you can buy by spending real world money. But fear not, Nimblebit doesn’t want all your money or make it completely necessary to play their game. Some passengers don’t pay you in money, but in Bux which makes the game completely playable without ever spending a cent, which in my case makes me spend money to support these kinds of games.
With Bux you can buy pieces of a plane (engine, controls, and body) and then build it or you can buy the plane outright. Buying the plane usually costs more but you get what you want when you want, but if you’re into saving Bux then you can slowly build up the pieces and build the plane. To get new planes you need to have space in your fleet though and that’ll cost you in game money, but usually it seems to scale so you always feel like you’re buying things in the right amount of time. To get new airports you also need to spend in game money, but you can only get new airports when you gain levels. So far I’ve only been able to unlock one new airport per level and I’m still waiting to see if that changes as the game progresses.
One last things, that I’d like to mention, is Flight Crews. Flight Crews are groups of people that try to complete objectives and earn prizes (airplane parts and bux). To join a Flight Crew all you have to do is enter the name of the Flight Crew you wish to join and you’re in, that simple. And the Flight Crews cross between Android and iOS so you can be in the same Flight Crew as your pals even if they have a different phone than you. Or you can do what I did and find the Flight Crew of a group that you’re a fan of; in my case I watch enough Loading Ready Run stuff to know that their Flight Crew is “Sky Chairs” and so I hopped on board as soon as Pocket Planes was available on the Android device. I’m still too low a level to help with any of the objectives, but one day I’ll be able to play for those prizes and Bux.
As a student this game is perfect, you set up your flights and put the game down for a bit. It’s not something you have to worry about on a constant basis. (It’s fun for other people too of course). Also an advantage to all is the game is free! So go check it out on a mobile device near you!
