I am a sucker for arcade-style action games.  These are the kinds of games I grew up with (way back in the 1980′s), and Sky Force is a classic arcade-style game, just like I remember.  You pilot a plane flying over enemy territory.  Along the way, you will encounter wave after wave of enemies, bent on blowing you out of the sky (literally).  Sky Force doesn’t just harken back to my youth, however, it updates and improves upon it by adding three dimensional background elements to the two dimensional graphics.

Installation and registration: There is a trial available which offers limited gameplay.  Once you pay for the game, you can download the full version of Sky Force, and install it on your Pocket PC utilizing ActiveSync.

Graphics: The graphics in Sky Force are stunning.  The game offers a combination of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional graphics, which combine for an exhilarating game play experience.  Instead of simply flying over a static background, planes interact with the background by flying through multi-layered clouds, or crashing into buildings.  Additionally, the game offers realistic looking weather effects.  You could easily find yourself flying through a rainstorm with thunder and lightning or baking in the jungle sun.  Nonetheless, while it can be easy to get lost in the graphics, they never get in the way of Sky Force offering a superb, action-packed shooter game.  In this case, the graphics truly enhance gameplay without overpowering it.

Modes and Options: Before beginning, you are given the option of three modes: Easy, Normal and Difficult.  As you progress through the difficulty levels, the enemy fighters become more aggressive and your missions become more difficult.  Additionally, you have the choice of three fighter planes.  Each has a different ratio of speed to shields.  Personally, I found increased shields to be the most important option, and selected the fighter with the highest shields, but lower speed.  

Gameplay:  Sky Force’s action is consistent with a traditional arcade-style action game.  Fly your fighter through the skies above enemy territory on a slowly scrolling screen.  In each level, you are provided with a mission (this can be a percentage of enemies you must kill, or a specific target to destroy).   Once you have received your mission, suit up and it is off to the skies.  Watch out though, as you progress through the game’s levels, your enemies get smaller, stronger, faster, and more plentiful.  Don’t worry, however, because your firepower will consistently increase as well, as you grab better guns, missiles, and lasers.  

Sky Force also offers the option of auto-fire.  This allows your fighter to fire continuously as you fly through the sky.  If you toggle it off, then any of your hardware buttons can be mapped to control your fighters’ guns.  I found, however, that playing with auto-fire off required two hands to operate the game: one to pilot your fighter, and one to fire.  The Pocket PC is simply not a two handed device, and it became too difficult to steer and fire at the same time.  As such, I recommend leaving on the auto-fire option so you can concentrate on flying. 

Powering Up:  As you defeat your enemies by literally blowing them out of the sky, they will release numerous items which can help you.  First, every time you shoot down an enemy, a star appears in the sky.  Collect these stars to earn extra points (but beware of enemy fire as you fly across the screen to gather a star.)  Additionally, some enemies will release power-ups which can increase your firepower, give you new weapons (such as double guns, missiles, and lasers), or boost your shields.  The more enemies you destroy, the greater likelihood you will earn one of these helpful items.

Rescuing People: Humans add an extra twist to the game.  As you fly through enemy skies, you will find humans on the ground below.  Fly over them with your fighter to rescue them.  Rescuing humans earns you extra bonus points at the end of each round.  Be careful not to shoot them, though, or you will lose the human and earn no bonus points.

Lives and Ending the Game:  At the beginning of the game, you have three lives.  Once you have been killed by enemy fighters three times, your game ends and your score is tallied.  You lose a life if you are hit by enemy fire with no shields left (each hit reduces your available shields).  One improvement I would like to have seen in this game is the ability to save a game at the end of a level or continue a game once it has ended.  After you have played a few times, you get tired of always starting at the first level and working your way up to level four or higher.  It would be nice to be able to start at a higher level once you have worked your way through the easier ones.  Additionally, frequently a game such as this one, which is based on having a limited number of lives, will afford you the opportunity to add lives during gameplay.  Sky Force does not even offer this basic option.

Conclusion: Sky Force is a high flying hit! It is well conceived, and epitomizes the classic arcade-style action game format.  Additionally, by giving you a choice of difficulty settings and fighter attributes, the game can be made as difficult or easy as you want it to be.  I thoroughly enjoyed testing this game, and intend to continue playing it even after I have completed this review.  It would be nice, however, if I could continue the game where I left off instead of starting each game from the beginning. 

Vital Statistics:

Title: Sky Force

Version: 1.21

Developer: Infinite Dreams

Available From: Infinite Dreams

                          JAMM store

Price: $9.95

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