Airport Madness: Time Machine

Ever since the Airport Madness series started coming to Steam, I have had a huge love affair with it. There's an addiction that cannot be described. All you do is monitor the incoming planes and try to find a gap to send departing planes on their way. It starts off simple, but gets progressively more difficult as the sky gets busier. This happens until you lose enough attention to cause 2 planes to collide. You then swear profusely at how stupid you have been, think about rage quitting. Then instead of exiting, you press the retry button again and again until it's 4am. It's a form of self inflicted torture, but you cannot stop playing. You have to beat your previous score. This has been true of Airport Madness 4 and World Edition. So along comes Time Machine. I found the demo on their website, and got immediately hooked. I'd often play it at work out of boredom, and the hours fly by (pun intended). So when it came to Steam, I was all over it like a rash. Instead of Airport Madness 4 or World Edition's several airport levels where you just attempt to accumilate enough score until you collide 2 jets, and then try to better it because you're stubborn. Time Machine takes you through numerous levels/years of just a single airport. From a basic field in 1925, you go year by year, watching the airport expand and take shape until you get to 1970 where you've got to deal with more aircraft than Heathrow and LAX combined. Each level presents new challenges, from new runways, new facilities, to having to deal with military and civilian aircraft in World War 2 at the same time. Then even more... Once you get to certain stages in the game. You also unlock a Victorian Style steampunk airport and an airport from far in the future. These present further challenges and add a nice change of pace from trying to beat each level in the main part of the game. This means more fun and more addiction! Time Machine stands as my favourite in the series for the different direction it takes. It doesn't matter how many of these games Big Fat Simulations release. I will always buy them on launch, because they are just really, really fun to play. I look forward to the possibility of seeing Airport Madness 3 on Steam and their current development, Airport Madness 3D in the new year. For me these are "Must Buys"... I suggest you go to their official website and play the demos on their site. Discover the addicition, and buy the series here on Steam. You'll be hooked in no time!

A surpisingly deep strategy game. In Airport Madness: Time Machine you run an airport by deciding when and where planes are allowed to takeoff and land. You have to keep a steady flow going of takeoffs and landings, without causing crashes. The game begins in the early 30s and each level is one year later, each year introducing new features such as additional runways, faster planes, priority transports, etc.. What starts out really simple with simple queuing up planes quickly becomes a deep strategy of making sure runways are /just/ cleared when a new plane has to land or take off, dealing with multiple waiting planes and deciding the optimal order for them to launch, etc.. Visually the game is really underwhelming but the graphics do their job. On my system the game started fullscreen stretched across three monitors, but fortunately pressing ESC once made it windowed. Sound: music is limited to looping time period [ieces. Soundeffects are basic and limited to plane engine sounds. Control can be done completely via the mouse, or by using keys 1 through 5 on the keyboard once a plane is selected. A fun game that won't bore you too quickly, with decent length levels. Recommended for anyone who likes management strategy games.

[b]Airport Madness: Time Machine[/b] is the third iteration of air-traffic controller RTS games. Even though it holds its own well by introducing different eras and progressive mission-style levels, unfortunately it feels like a step-back from the excellent Airport Madness 4 version. Here's a short list to sum it up: + Yet another take on the Airport Madness traffic controller theme with its own unique flavour + Progressive difficulty missions (from a humble grass field to huge modern airports) + Three different eras with their unique backdrops and air-traffic patterns (gyrocopters anyone?) + Some limited injection of humor in the form of catchy newspaper article titles + Final year (2172) with 6 runways at max difficulty is seriously insane! + You could possibly squeeze 10 hours out of it if aiming to get all 3star levels - Not enough content and little replayability value - The main interface seems rushed and unpolished - Lacks the finesse and fine-tuning of its predecessor, Airport Madness 4 - Some annoying bugs, inc the occasional landing and taxiway glitches - There are no challenges on offer or even different game modes, e.g. scenarios - Would only allow full screen mode - No steam achievements or tradecards ----- TL;DR: Airport Madness: Time Machine is a just above average RTS air-traffic controller game. If you were deciding to dabble into the genre, I would recommend instead its predecessor, Airport Madness 4, for a small price increase you'll get a lot more fun and replayability out of it.

Do not buy this game on it´s own as it contain bugs that makes gameplay perform strange and counterintuitive. Personal favorite, plane trying to taxi down the runway in the wrong direction rather than taking the taxi path. As the Dev himself has said "Unfortunately, this game is not receiving any further updates." in the steam forum, this is not expected to get a solution any time soon. If you get this as part of a bundle, expect some frustration over this buggy mess compared to the crisp and well polished game that is AM: World edition.

Great little game. Well worth the couple of bucks it costs. It takes you through the history of an airport from the 1930s up to about 1970. And two bonus fantasy scenarios. Your job is to coordinate arriving and departing planes. Each level offers varying runway, taxiway and aircraft configurations. Even the music changes, depending on the decade. But there may be more to come with future free updates. It would be a blast to get some more decades. So overall, it is one of the best of it's kind. I'd love to see more of that. There are some small issues still to fix and some details to improve. But even at this stage, right after release, it is a very well rounded game. What could be improved? - a few more decades ;-) - there are still some minor bugs. For example, sometimes, not too often, flying planes decrease speed dramatically. That seems to happen occasionally (maybe once per hour at most) when those planes are directed over paved parking areas and remains until the plane has landed. It's not a game breaker, but should be fixed. - I may just not have found it yet, but there seems to be no way of getting to the bonus scenarios, once they are unlocked, other than to finish the last level again. - Some levels are over too soon. For that, there is an endless-play mode. But I'd prefer just to have a harder game mode. So here is how I'd implement that: Once a player gets through the game, a new button gets unlocked in the main menu. With this button, the player can switch between 1x and 2x mode. 1x being the normal game, 2x being the very same game, but starting at the first level again (meaning that all levels for this mode have to be unlocked again) and with twice as many aircraft to handle per level. Once the player has played through the game that way, a 3x mode becomes available. And so on. - It would be great, if the prices for other Airport Madness games were decreased a bit. Also, it would be great to see Airport Madness 1 and 2 as a bundle on Steam.

When I first saw Airport Madness: Time Machine (AM:TM) on steam, I thought this was one of those shovelware titles. Boy, was I wrong. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] This game has a story but it's unimportant. What is important is that you got a job to do. As an air traffic controller, you got to airplanes know when it's okay to come into the airport, and when it's okay to leave. What makes AM:TM unique is that you get to do manage airports throughout history, starting with dirt runways in a farmer's field back in the 20s. Those airports are simple, but things get complicated very quickly. The difficulty comes in that you'll have multiple runways to manage, often crisscrossing each other, and lots and lots of planes that come at you all the time. Oh, and different types of planes behave differently. Mark my words, you do not want to let a biplane take off while a Boeing is coming in. As you can probably imagine, there's a lot of crashes. And you'll begin questioning the intelligence of some of these pilots. But once you get through a year, you'll feel a sense of elated satisfaction. [h1]Graphics[/h1] There's a reason I thought AM:TM was shovelware, and that's because there's not a whole lot of eye candy here. At best, they get the job done. To see what I mean, here's a screenshot. There were certain graphical features I wish this game had. I wish there was a zoom feature. I wish there was some sort of off-screen indicator of planes coming in. I wish it has more impressive explosions. But in the end, the graphics are simple and to the point. You're looking top down on an airport with planes coming in and out, and that's it. [h1]Sound[/h1] This is where I feel AM:TM shines the most. There's music recalls pop tunes of each time period. I quite like the jazz tunes. But just as nice is the ambience of the airport. And by ambience, I mean you'll be hearing lots of jet engines. The sound effects are actually quite practical. In order to manage your airport effectively, you'll need to pay attention to the audio cues that tell you how quickly a plane is embarking and disembarking. Generally, the bigger the plan is, the bigger the noise it makes, and the bigger the concern it will be. [h1]Controls[/h1] The entire game can be driven by the mouse and left click, which means AM:TM is generally easy to use -- and most people should be able to pick up and play it. However, you can also use the numeric keypad for shortcuts, and that often comes in quite handy. What you got to do is click on a plane, and command an action. Sometimes, you need to taxi it to the runway, whereupon you have to tell it when to depart. With planes coming in, sometimes you have to tell them to delay their arrival so they don't crash into a departing plane. In other words, there's a lot to do which is why I'm glad the controls are so simple. [h1]Synopsis[/h1] If an airport simulation appeals to you, you should love AT:TM. But don't let the word "simulation" put you off. This game has as many similarities to Diner Dash as it does to SimCity. You won't be asked to build airports or runways. All you have to do is decide which planes are departing, and which planes are arriving. Thus, the most important skill here is time management. Now all of this might sound too easy, but by the time World War II comes around, you'll be failing quite a lot. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I love a good challenge. This is what I call a "sleeper game". It doesn't look like much, but it is.

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Before purchasing the excellent Airport Madness 4 on my STEAM system, it was Airport Madness : Time Machine that I spent many a happy hour. Fans of the successful franchise will know exactly what to expect here. As with the others, planes enter the screen randomly and we have to land them on the runways without incident. Once landed, they are quickly refuelled and passengers on board before we send them skyward to exit the screen. Points are earned for both landing and newly airborne planes. The game begins in 1925 during the early days of flight. As we progress the years roll steadily by. Aircraft become much more powerful and the airport layouts increase in complexity. Soon we are facing levels with differing plane types - including airships and helicopters - plus numerous runways where planes have to cross the lanes only when it is safe for them to do so or risk a collision. When a plane is destroyed the game ends and we have to restart the current level all over again. Collect enough points, though, and we advance to a new level and all the challenges it creates. I found Airport Madness : Time Machine enjoyable to play with a nice variation in plane types and runway layouts. As usual for the franchise, approaching plane speeds can be adjusted to either fast or slow while aircraft may be ordered to circle around for another approach if a runway is congested. Idle planes add to a Time Delay score but this does not seem to be detrimental to the completion of the level. There is nice period music for each level but this can be turned off if so desired. Graphically the game is okay but the sprites on certain levels are incredibly small - green planes flying over fields can be particularly hard to spot even with their silhouettes - and on some of the space-age levels these silhouettes occasionally flicker, which can prove somewhat off-putting! These are just minor criticisms to an otherwise very good game. During play there is a series of information boxes displayed at the bottom of the screen for Score, Planes Moved, Year and Time Delay. All are continually updated. There are also options to Quit, Pause the game and toggle the music on or off. Our best score per level is always retained so we can try and surpass it at a later date. There are no Achievements but a total of 6 Trading Cards to collect. Airport Madness : Time Machine is very enjoyable to play but some notable features from Airport Madness 4 are missing, such as the unlimited time per level (until a crash occurs) and decreasing fuel for planes to add urgency to the proceedings. Nevertheless, for those wanting more or people new to the franchise the game should cater very well indeed!

[h1]Reseña Aérea del \Airport Madness: Time Machine\[/h1] [h2]Resumen Express[/h2] ¿Alguna vez soñaste con manejar un aeropuerto sin la necesidad de preocuparte por tu propia ineptitud con las relaciones humanas? ¡Pues \Airport Madness: Time Machine\ entra en escena para salvar tu vida social! Viaja a través del tiempo, desde los adorablemente simples aeropuertos de hierba hasta los monstruos de cemento del siglo XXI, y prueba si realmente podrías haber hecho un mejor trabajo que los controladores aéreos de la vida real. [h2]Aspectos que Despegan[/h2] - [b]Viaje en el tiempo:[/b] Oye, no todos los días puedes decir que tu aeropuerto evolucionó desde 1925. Esta funcionalidad no solo es cool, sino que también cambia la jugabilidad, lo que agrega un fresco dinamismo al juego. - [b]Jugabilidad Adictiva:[/b] Déjame decirte, esto puede hacer que pierdas la noción del tiempo, y no solo en el juego. Es más adictivo que el olor a combustible de jet. - [b]Humor:[/b] Spoiler alert: ¡los pequeños chistes y situaciones te sacarán una risa ocasional! [h2]Turbulencias en el Horizonte[/h2] - [b]Gráficos:[/b] Vamos, sé que estamos en un viaje por el tiempo, pero eso no es excusa para graficar como si todavía estuviéramos en 1990. Un pequeño pulido no haría daño. - [b]Repetitivo en Ocasiones:[/b] A veces, la maravilla de controlar el tráfico aéreo se siente más como estar atrapado en un bucle temporal de la rutina. [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentarios[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]8[/td][td]Engancha más que serie de Netflix.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]7[/td][td]Desafiante justo, ni modo Skynet aún.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]6[/td][td]Bastante completo, pero ¿dónde está el spa para pilotos?[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Video / Gráficos[/td][td]5[/td][td]Retro no siempre es bueno.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]6[/td][td]Interesante, pero no esperen un Tolkien.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]7[/td][td]Te sientes en el control... y bajo presión.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos[/td][td]7[/td][td]Apropiados, pero nada del otro mundo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]7[/td][td]Pasable, pero después de 10 horas, ¿quién necesita audífonos?[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]5[/td][td]Pocas y repetitivas, como mi profesor de historia.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Suficiente, pero podríamos viajar más 'wild'.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Total Puntuaciones[/td][td]64[/td][td]Más verde que rojo en el semáforo.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Veredicto de Compra[/h2] [b]Compralo con descuento[/b]: Con un total de 64 puntos, te recomendaría agarrar \Airport Madness: Time Machine\ durante una venta. Es un vuelo entretenido que, a pesar de algunos aterrizajes forzosos en diseño y variedad, te mantendrá en la torre de control por más horas de las que te gustaría admitir. ¡Eso sí, amarra bien tu cinturón!

This game is not for everyone. If you don't like the graphics in the screenshots, stop reading reviews. If you can see past that, or even like the retro style, then keep reading. For me, I had a lot of fun with this game. The game is a typically strategy game of managing aircraft landings, pathing and take-offs. It's fast paced and you have to make quick decisions about the speed of different craft to avoid accidents. There is enough randomness in terms of the planes that arrive, when they arrive, from which direction, and to which landing strip, that when you inevitably fail a level due to a crash you didn't notice was about to happen, you quickly restart that level and it's different enough to keep your attention. The challenge for the level remains the same, but how you achieve it is a new challenge every time you start a level. As you complete levels, the airport develops and new planes come into play, adding fresh challenges and complexity. Not only do you have the long base campaign taking you from a field of grass landing strip in 1925 up to a major airport in 1970, you also have two small bonus campaigns. The first is in a fantasy version of the 1800s and features a variety of craft including dirigibles! It also has some unique features to the level design that appear as you advance through the levels. The second bonus campaign is set in the future. It's not as interesting to look at, and all the ships do look a bit like dildos (you were thinking it too!) but the challenge comes from the speed of the craft. You barely have time to register all the aircraft as there are so many at once, and that final level with multiple overlapping runways too me many attempts to complete. If you enjoy fast paced strategy that requires quick decisions, aren't afraid to fail and retry a level, and find something appealing about airplanes and the airline industry, you'll probably get about 10 hours of fun out of this little game. Give it a try, then check out the other games in the series.