One of the challenges of games on Windows Mobile devices is being able to develop a rich, detailed environment with a storyline.  With the coming of larger storage cards and VGA devices, the demand for such games has increased.  Like many aspects of Window Mobile, users expect more than simple, redundant games. 

Enter Spb AirIslands from Spb Software House.  Spb AirIslands is a strategy and role playing game where you have to build resources, population and buildings to return your planet back to its former orb self instead of the islands floating in the air that exist now.  AirIslands is the same genre as Age of Empires® but with an interesting twist:  You play mini games to collect resources.  These mini games can be played at any time and the resources you collect can be used when you play AirIslands itself.  It is a brilliant concept that allows you to play the game virtually at anytime while still working toward the winning goal.  The mini games and the supple VGA environment of AirIslands makes the game fun to play, challenging and a visual treat. 

AirIslands is installed via ActiveSync and occupies a whopping 27MB of storage space for the VGA version of the game.  The QVGA version will require nearly 19MB of storage.  The game can be installed into your devices’ Main Memory but it is recommended it be installed on a Storage Card.  Once the game is installed, you will have the AirIslands shortcut in your Programs menu as well as the three mini games, Arkaball II, Bubbles and Xonix II.  Additionally, the VGA version has a VGA Options shortcut as well.  If you consider that you are essentially getting four games in one, the storage space required should not cause too much heartburn. 

Within the AirIslands game itself, you begin the game as an owner of one of the floating islands that now exist after the breakup of the world.  The object is to populate and build your island so that you can obtain the Gravator, the object which will return the islands back to the old world form.  While your island dominates the user interface, the menu bar below provides you the options of what to build, what natural items to plant and so forth to allow your island to grow.  The game is measured in days and can be accelerated with a small double-arrow icon next to the clock.  As night comes to your island, the display dims, lights come on your houses and stars appear in the sky.  There are even cricket sounds!  The attention to detail in the game is outstanding. 

As you build and populate your island, you gain material resources to further build your island.  The four key elements are water, bricks, wood and gold.  Each structure or natural elements (such as trees) have a defined cost of these resources.  If you do not have enough of a resource to build something, you are not allowed to do so.  Resources are collected by playing the three mini games of AirIslands while Gold is earned by the population of your island.

At the end of each day, you receive an email indicating how much in resources you collected, how much you spent and the general health of your island such as your population report and their “happiness” being on your island.  You will also receive emails related to the living conditions on the island.  For example, your population will email you to let you know if house repairs need to be made.  By making these repairs, the happiness of your population is increased and more productive.  The challenge is collecting enough resources to build the items needed by the population.

The mini games included in Spb AirIslands are for you to collect specific resources that your island needs to grow and survive.  To collect water, you play Spb Bubble; for Bricks you play Spb Arkaball II; for wood you play Spb Xonix II.  The three games are basic in nature and in themselves are quite fun to play.  All of them come with a basic menu of options as well as helpful instructions.  To start the games, you can either choose them from the Start>Programs>Game menu or while play playing AirIslands, can choose to “earn” when you attempt to build a structure and do not have enough of an item to do it. 

Spb Bubbles is a shooting game where you shoot colored balls of water at like color balls hanging from between the trees in the game field.  When you combine three or more balls of the same color, they pop, dropping the water in them to the water trough below.  The object is to clear the playing field but trying to do so after collecting water.  It is a game of challenge and patience!  Some of the water balls you shoot have special abilities such as an aiming guide or “nuclear” where it clears all the balls it touches.

Spb Arkaball II is based on the classic Breakout ® game of old but with a few twists!  The object is to eliminate the bricks in the playing field, earning you brick resources that can be used in AirIslands.  The twist of the game is that some bricks are made of steel meaning you have to hit them multiple times before they are destroyed.  Still other bricks explode when you hit them, clearing large areas of the field!  Some bricks contain helps such as multiple balls or a larger paddle that drop down for you to catch as you are playing.  Be warned, not all are good!

Spb Xonix II is probably the most challenge of the mini games.  The object is to guide the laser using your stylus to cut the wood into sections. Each level of the game has a required number of cuts that must be made in order to advance.  The challenge is that there are nails and balls rolling on the wood and if your laser touches them, you loose a laser “life”.  The game is fast moving and challenging!

The real genius in these games is how they interact with AirIslands.  After you play any of the games and you start AirIslands again, you will receive an email indicating your new total available resources.  That’s it!  There is nothing to do from a user perspective.  All of the adding of resources is done automatically for you.  By integrating the games like this, Spb has made AirIslands a joy to play without requiring you to do any extra work other than concentrating on building your island. 

You will note though that there is no game for earning gold.  The only way that you can earn gold is by increasing the population of your island. At first, this is very challenging!  After all, you need gold to build houses which builds population.  However it does get a bit easier once you have two or three houses built.

On the island itself, there are several structures that you can build as well as natural elements that can be added.  Each of these are listed on the bottom of the AirIslands display and can be created simply by tapping them.  To alternate between structures and natural elements, tap the tree icon or the house icon at the left of the menu display.  You will also notice a Repair option.  Like structures in the real world, the AirIslands structures deteriorate with time.  Houses, sheds and natural resources have to be repaired and replenished for your island to survive.  There are some of the structures and natural resources that you cannot build until you have reached a certain level in the game.  You can always check your islands status, the population and the economy by tapping the book-like icon below the email icon on the game screen.

Another key feature of AirIslands is the ability to stop and start the game whenever you want.  You do not have to complete the game in sitting – I would suggest it is not possible to do so!  Rather you plan when you can.  You can play any of the mini games in the same fashion, knowing that whatever resources you earned in those games will be available to you when you play AirIslands again.  Further, you do not have to save the game.  It is done for you automatically! 

In addition to sitting and playing the game, you can also configure AirIslands to be your screensaver.  This will allow the game to play by itself while your device is sitting idle and, if configured, collect gold and other resources.  You have to be careful though because your structures do deteriorate while in screensaver mode, just like they do when you are playing the game.

The game play of AirIslands is exceptional.  Not only is it challenging, it is addictive and great fun.  The graphics are breathtaking and it is clear that the Spb team when far beyond what many other game developers have done when it comes to extracting the most out of VGA displays.  It is one of the best games I’ve ever played on a Windows Mobile device and one that even the casual gamer can enjoy. 

The game is available directly from Spb Software House for $19.95 on their Spb AirIslands site at http://www.spbairislands.com.   

Clinton Fitch ~ MVP-Mobile Devices
Principle
Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! (http://www.clintonfitch.com) & HPC:Factor (http://www.hpcfactor.com)