Game Reviews

MAYDAY! Emergency Landing

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MAYDAY! Emergency Landing

Whether you're a pilot or a passenger, "emergency landing" are two words that you never want to hear on board an aircraft.

Yet in MAYDAY! Emergency Landing these two words sum up the entirety of the gameplay. You're given the unenviable task of landing a plane under a host of adverse conditions and must do your best to save the lives of the passengers on board.

Ground control

MAYDAY! is a simple gyroscopic flight simulator that has you guiding your ailing aircraft along a predetermined flight path represented by bright, green rings.

Tilting your iPhone or iPad forwards will cause the plane to descend, while tilting it backwards will cause your plane to climb. A gentle roll to the right or left will send your plane off in that direction.

As you approach the runway, you'll be prompted to deploy your landing gear and set the flaps up to help slow down your plane, but these tasks are quickly handled with the press of a virtual button.

The whole affair seems rather routine after a few approaches, but thankfully the changing weather conditions (notably wind) help keep the landings interesting.

Fly the unfriendly skies

Unfortunately, MAYDAY! is a bit too sensitive when it comes to its controls, and this forces you to recalibrate your device every time that you adjust your posture.

Forget about playing this game on the go. To keep your plane on-path, you'll want to play seated, with your elbows braced and your shoulders hunched forward in order to see the screen properly.

While this is amusingly similar to the brace position that you're told to assume in the course of an actual emergency landing, it's a poor control system that limits your enjoyment of the game and makes it all but unplayable on a train or an airplane.

To further detract from your enjoyment, MAYDAY! doesn’t offer anything in the way of drama or excitement.

Each control prompt is delivered either in a text bubble or through a cold, mechanical voice that has all the urgency of a sunset - neither of which does much for the atmosphere.
You wouldn't think that landing a plane that's actively on fire in the middle of a raging windstorm could be boring, but MAYDAY! manages to prove you wrong. The biggest threat to the passengers on your planes isn't broken landing gear or a cabin fire - it's your wandering attention. Ultimately, MAYDAY! is a hard game to recommend. It may appeal to serious flight simulation enthusiasts, but it's a little too focussed - and boring - for a casual mobile gamer.

MAYDAY! Emergency Landing

Dull and repetitive, MAYDAY! takes all the fun out of what should be an exciting scenario
Score
Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.