Quick Review: Flight Commander (updated)
It's been no secret that Microsoft has been trying to get iPhone developers to hop on board the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and we're starting to see some very similar apps emerge.
After the break, we take a look at Flight Commander for Windows Mobile (available for $6.99 in the Marketplace), along with video of the gameplay.
Update: In the course of this review we'd contacted Firemint, maker of the iPhone Flight Control app (see more of that after the break) to see if they'd developed Flight Commander under a different name. Looks like we've poked the bear, as Firemint has replied and says it has nothing to do with this app and "will be investigating further and taking all appropriate actions."
First things first: Flight Commander, for all intents and purposes, is exactly like Flight Control on the iPhone (iTunes link). Well, OK. That's not entirely true. The Windows Mobile version has a slightly, er, upgraded start screen. (We can't help but wonder if the prudish dictators reviewers in Apple's App Store would allow the Windows Mobile pic.)
Anyhoo, on to the part that actually matters: The game itself. As we said, this is the same as on the iPhone. You click on a plane, and drag it to a runway to land it, taking care in drawing the flight path so that planes and helicopters don't collide. The app itself is quick enough on a Tilt 2, and the graphics are fine.
The one glaring negative actually has nothing to do with Flight Commander itself. Dragging your finger on a plastic, resistive touchscreen is not fun. It's not easy. And it's got to go. (The good news is that we're moving away from them, but that's still going to take time.) Maneuvering planes is a lot more fluid on the iPhone's glass capacitive screen. There's no argument there. See for yourself:
