Air Wings
Voice chat makes paper airplane combat game iffy for kids.
Parents say
Based on 1 review
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Air Wings
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Air Wings is an air combat game that uses paper airplanes instead of replications of real planes. The combat can be intense, but rather than using bullets and bombs, players attempt to defeat each other with pencils and wadded up paper, which lessens the violent impact. There are in-app purchases to watch out for, but the real concern is the voice chat, which is turned on by default and allows players to eavesdrop on other households -- and be exposed to potentially inappropriate language.
Community Reviews
Great fun!
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What’s It About?
Players fly an onscreen paper airplane by tilting their iDevice left and right, dodging solid objects (like bookshelves and cinder blocks) as well as incoming fire from other players. At the same time, they'll need to reload their ammunition by flying through flashlight beams and gather coins, which are close to the ground. The game is multiplayer focused and (aside from a tutorial) has no single player mode.
Is It Any Good?
AIR WINGS is a game that could be a lot of fun if it had tried a bit harder. Instead, it feels like something released too soon. The game has a minimal set of features and lacks that addictive quality that top iOS games have.
Worse, some design decisions, like defaulting to audio on at all times without a clear signal that you're transmitting, leads to a lot of confusion -- and many players are unlikely to realize they're doing so. (We had one player talking with his wife as he played us and heard another parent coaching a child in how to play.) Even on a great game, these privacy issues would overshadow everything else. And on one that's only so-so, they dominate it.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Science: momentum
- Skills: Creativity: imagination, Responsibility & Ethics: making wise decisions, respect for others
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: March 18, 2012
- Category: Arcade Games
- Publisher: Pangea Software, Inc.
- Version: 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 5.0 or later
- Last updated: August 19, 2016
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