AirAttack HD shoots its way onto your Android device

Platform: Android

RATING
5 out of 5

PRICE
FREE

TASTY
The iOS top-down air combat shooter blasts its way onto the Android Marketplace in two installments, and not a moment too soon!

BUMMER
Requires OS 2.2. Part 1 offers three missions and two planes.

COOL
Top-quality graphics, destructible terrain, and a 1943 vibe all add up to a crazy-fun air combat arcade title.

Read all of my Apple iPad and Google Android application reviews at Appolicious and Yahoo! Tech.

If you’re new to the AirAttack family of games, then you’re in for a real treat. Fans of old-school titles like 1943 will feel right at home, piloting their plane via an overhead view, auto-firing a hail of ordinance at incoming enemies both on the ground and in the air.

AirAttack HD Parts 1 (free) and 2 ($2) combine everything you like about arcade shooters and WWII-era flight sims and takes it to the next level on your smart phone. Rich graphics, the best soundtrack of any arcade game in my library, combine with super-simple controls to offer up an addictive “use your WW II-era plane to destroy all things Nazi in the air and ground” gaming experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Dodge your enemies and their bullets and grab floating coins, stars, and upgrades to kit out your arsenal. Don’t forget to take down the ground targets to drop bombs, all while looking down on a top-to-bottom scrolling battlefield.

Part 1 will get you hooked, with the $2 to pick up Part 2 a total no-brainer. The game is easy to pick up and play, and very hard to put down. Taken together, the two apps offer up eight missions, a full compliment of 58 baddies to destroy, and tons of upgrades and special weapons that auto-equip when you fly into them along the way.

My favorite part: The eight end-of-level bosses. These crazy airships and ground targets are merciless in their attacks. You’ll need to employ your very best dodge and hide technique honed over the years of playing similar Japanese-designed shooters to survive and thrive. Be sure to try all four control schemes – relative, tilt, touch, and joypad – to get the very best gaming experience tailored to your preferences.

Move the big initial install to your SD card and prepare for an afternoon of aerial combat like you’ve never experienced on your Android device!