From the Doctor's Office: Learn To Fly

It feels like it's been ages since I've reviewed anything. Sure, it's been a rough week for me and all that rot. Work's been busy, people have been throwing garbage at me, and the name calling from random hoboes has really gone up. So when I come home and sit my world weary brow behind the computer, I load up a cute little game like this. Learn to Fly (By Light_Bringer and Max Games) is a game that we can all enjoy. Penguins are nature's little troopers. Had James Bond waddled instaead of sauntered, we'd be calling Penguins "Double O Sevens" undoubtedly. Though, I watched all the movies and he never seemed to have an ambition to take flight. Perhaps this particular penguin longed to 1 up Mr. Bond. Anyways, I'll bite my tongue (Er... Fingers) before I go off on a tangent about Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery and and that guy in the new 007 movies whose name eludes me. 

Gameplay: 4/5 Learn to Fly is simple for anyone to pick up and play. You've got a ramp, a glider, rockets and hope. Simplistic controls (Right arrow to pitch down, left to pitch up and spacebar to boost) makes for a smooth flying experience. At the end of each day, you'll earn money based on performance (Height, distance and flight duration) which you can then spend on upgrades. As your glider improves, you'll get a better spedometer. This is something I really appreciated, though I would've loved to see how far and high I was going during flight with the lesser models. Since you can spend your money how you choose (I.e: Forsaking air resistance for acceleration) the game has a decent replay value. Of course, you'll end up with everything fully upgraded and cut off at 6000 feet on the final ramp. One thing I would've liked to see, though, would be obstacles. Your only goal here is to fly as far or as high as possible, but what if there was a polar bear to twart you? It would've spiced the game up a bit, but it was still reasonably fun without enemies or obstacles.

Visual: 3/5 Not too much to see here, to be honest. Your penguin is stocky and adorable, and your gliders and rockets look... well... gliders and rockets. One thing that is to be noted is the clouds. They all have different facial expressions. Not that you can see them when you're flying by at 150 mph, but I could appreciate them when I was flying slowly. This game does however have very good cutscenes. The opening and ending were very well done, especially the scene where the penguin was flying into the sunset. In game, some iceburgs in the water or some floating buoy distance markers would've been greatly appreciated. Just because you're in a desolate icy wasteland doesn't mean it can't look good. 

Audio: 2.5/5 Drumbeats. That's what you have here, nothing more. Learn to Fly has next to no sound effects either. I was really let down by this. This game could've had different music after a set amount of days. Getting creative with the audio is a necessity for me to give a good rating. What's even worse about this is that you have no mute option. For those who want their own music, you'll have to mute your computer as a whole and get out a CD player.  The upside to this is that the Audio is the only issue I had with the game. 

Difficulty 4/5 Learn to Fly has a good pace too it. I finished at 28 days, which I'm sure is average. The game has no time limit, so you're free to play at your own pace. Want to get as far and high as possible every time? Go for it. Challenge yourself to finish faster and faster each time. Care to dive bomb your penguin until you have enough money for the one upgrade? All the more fun. Take your time. This game is meant to be fun, obviously, so enjoy the ride. It's also fun to see how far you can get with only one stat upgraded or with a poor glider. 

Overall: 4/5 Learn to Fly is a game to ben enjoyed and I did just that. You'll find yourself wanting to fly just like the unsung hero of this game. I can't wait to see the kids on the playground, jumping off the slide with an Estes strapped to their back. 

Well, that'll do it for now. Remember, everyone: Life is what you make of it. So soar and stuff. Just don't crash into any glaciers. Until we meet again, KCG, this has been DoctorAutopsy with another review.

~Doc

Kong Score: 4.46

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