Can you handle the challenge of Air Traffic Control?

I’m a big fan of flight simulators so it takes a lot to convince me that anything other than being behind the cockpit makes a good flying game.

Airport Mania: First Flight sees you play the role of Air Traffic Controller in a cute game that’s not exactly real-world stuff but still challenging and fun to play. Everything is done in cartoon style graphics as you select a series of towns to perform ATC over. To get you accustomed to how to play, you can select to go to ATC school on your first play although you don’t really need this – the game prompts you throughout about what you need to do.

The first town you select is relatively easy to manage. Click on the planes as they descend, click on the runway you want them to land on and then click on the terminal you want them to disembark the passengers. The more safe landings and passengers delivered home, the more points you get. Sounds pretty easy but of course, the flights come in thick and fast and before long, you’ve got runway pileups, midair collisions and blocked terminals. And no, you can’t guide any of them down into The Hudson river as a last resort

The graphics and sound are excellent although the soundtrack is a bit out of place – it sounds like something from a somber major Hollywood motion picture and you could be forgiven for thinking you were playing Saving Private Ryan if you had your eyes closed (which I don’t recommend for an Air Traffic Controller).

Airport Mania: First Flight is a fun game – for a while at least – and gives you some measure of the kind of pressure Air Traffic Controllers are under every day. Thank God in the real world it doesn’t always end up like in the game though.