If you like flight simulators, especially those of the more arcade variety, the Sky Gamblers series is a great place to start.
Originally published by Namco Bandai Games, the last couple of installments have come directly from California-based developer Atypical Games. Sky Gamblers: Cold War is, appropriately enough, set in the 1980s with all the weaponry and aircraft that implies. Your task will be to learn how to fly a Cold War-era fighter plane, head out on covert and not-so-covert ops, and blow stuff up. Sounds fun, right?
The visuals and controls are what set games in this series apart, and Sky Gamblers: Cold War looks to be no different. There are two different types of control schemes, with a casual setup as well as a more simulation-like advanced control scheme for you hardcore flight sim folks. There are a bunch of single-player missions and modes, including Dogfight, Survival, Free for All, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Defend the Base. You’ll be able to connect with friends for cooperative as well as competitive multiplayer versions of these same modes, along with Free Flight and Game Center duel modes for fun.
What’s really slick about Sky Gamblers: Cold War, though, is the ability to play, via Game Center, with others on the Mac. So, regardless of your platform–iPad, iPhone, or Mac–you’ll be able to play with each other across the internet. I can imagine sitting upstairs on my Mac Mini while my kids sit downstairs with an iPad and an iPhone, letting us all fly the not-so-friendly skies, cooperating or competing in air-based missions.
If that’s not enough, you can also use AirPlay to send your iOS device screen up to your Apple TV-connected HDTV, letting the whole family watch as you explode enemy bases and blow your enemies out of the sky.
Sky Gamblers: Cold War is available for iOS as a universal app, as well as on the Mac App Store, each at a nice low $4.99 price point.
Source: App Store
