Fly With Me Review

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away....

In an age where birds rule the mobile gaming space, EA Mobile have unleashed Fly With Me, a simplistic yet challenging game starring a charismatic bird and a set of intriguing levels. Can this latest entry stand up to the dominance of Tiny Wings or Angry Birds? Let's take a look.

What Fly With Me Got Right

Pick up and play - Keeping in line with other games that star successful birds, Fly With Me keeps things simple, which works for the product. With a simple control scheme that involves only one finger, the developer has provided an experience that can be enjoyed by a gamer of any skill. Hardcore gamers, young children, parents and grandparents will be able to pickup the game and have some form of success. The goal is simple; get to the end of the stage without dying. Players have a stamina bar at the top. and each tap of the screen will make your bird flap their wings to get height and pace. Each flap decreases the bar, however it can be recharged by eating bees. Thus the player must avoid a bevy of enemies and obstacles, and strike a firm balance between conserving energy and replenishing energy. It's simple, it's effective yet it offers a challenge in the later levels of the game.

Great pacing - Fly With Me kicks players right into the action, and slowly introduces new mechanics, enemies and obstacles at a fantastic pace. This keeps the player engaged in the action at all times, always having the chance to notice something new and exciting, and to devise ways to survive that challenge.

Variety is the spice of life - For a contained adventure, Fly With Me displays a great variety of enemies, obstacles and locations for the player to explore. There are three environments available throughout the game, with a hidden gear to find in each level. Players are given a star rating, with a certain amount of stars required to unlock further levels. On top of all that content, there are three challenge areas that run in a never ending loop as you chase that high score. Each level is expertly balanced, and the variety on offer is what makes the game such a joy to play.

What Fly With Me Got Wrong

In-app purchases are like a used-car salesman - iOS gamers have accepted that in-app purchases are going to be thrown at them from time to time, but Fly With Me is about as persistent as a used-car salesman on a Sunday afternoon. Each and every time you die, the player is offered a chance to buy their way out of trouble, while later levels are all but impossible to complete without a helping hand. That's not a good thing, in fact that is bad game design. There's a way to do in-app purchases with some tact, but the developers have certainly overstepped the line.

Frame rate stutters - It's not a constant issue, but it happens often enough to cause some concern. Second long frame rate hiccups are annoying at the best of times, but are particularly debilitating when you hit the more challenging levels of the game. It's not so bad that it breaks the game, but it can cause some unneeded frustration.

The Final Verdict

Fly With Me is a simple and effective game that will challenge everyone who installs it on their iOS device. The simplistic control scheme opens up the gameplay to people of all skills, while those who like a challenge will also find what they are looking for. If you can deal with the persistent in-app purchase pushing, and your iOS device survives fits of rage due to slight frame rate issues, you'll find a competent game for the asking price.

By Stephen Heller