Flight Control HD

Flight Control HD
N/A
Metacritic
91
Steam
81.135
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$0.99
Release date
18 November 2010
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
91 (465 votes)

Control a never-ending stream of aircraft in this insanely addictive worldwide hit from Firemint! You’re an air traffic controller at an increasingly busy airport; just point and drag aircraft to their landing zones with your mouse or trackpad. Sounds easy? It isn’t!

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Flight Control HD system requirements

  • OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Vista and 7
  • Processor: 1GHz
  • Memory: 512MB
  • Graphics: 64MB
  • DirectX®: Directx 9.0c
  • Hard Drive: 90MB
  • Sound: Directx 9 compatible card
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
62000
Platforms
Windows PC
Mac
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Loktar
Loktar

Its a tablet game thats also fun on the computer. If you have a tablet or phone grab it for that. Worth $2.50 no more than that though.

Ilya Golosovsky
Ilya Golosovsky

5/5
Such a great game!
The game is originally made for mobile devices, so it's naturally feels better on one.

EZ2ON IS GOD GAME
EZ2ON IS GOD GAME

한국어로 작성된 리뷰 보기 (클릭)

a common Killing-time Casual Game.

but, It have some problem it is designed for Cellphone. It dosen't fit with a Mouse well.

Night
Night

A fun casual game where you guide aircraft around the screen to land at a location of the same color. Easy to play, with steadily increasing difficulty as the sky gets busier and busier.

kikuchiro
kikuchiro

Single mechanic, single-input indies--particularly not-so-glorified tablet games--are only as good as your friends' activity on their leaderboards. Nary an acquaintance has given Flight Control a crack, so while it's a paradoxically relaxing diversion for 10 or 15 minutes, there's no reason to keep it on your hard drive without competition.

A sequel, however, could be interesting, with the introduction of progressive difficulty level design, and the introduction of several other secondary time-sensitive moving parts to keep track of...

sonofrice
sonofrice

It's an iPhone game that's worth about $0.99. Somehow charging $5.

Don't waste your money. Or waste less of it on the iOS/Android version.

Thumper1971
Thumper1971

If you liked the movie 'Pushing Tin" this game is worth a try.
4/5 on PC....5/5 on touch screen enabled PC.
Originally developed for a cell phone, the game is tougher with a mouse but it can be done.
It would have been nice to have a mouse only mode with click, draw, click vice click and drag which usually leads to click, drag, crash results.
I can play this game with my child in the room. No gore, no profanity except my own.
The game has solid replay-ability, easy to learn but tough to earn top scores.
This is a good way to pass some time.

FlyDrive2021
FlyDrive2021

This was a purchase which I do not regret making from Steam. Pleasantly animated the game offers players the opportunity to control different types of air traffic within a number of easy to challenging environments. However what goes up must come down ... At the airfield(s) into which players have to vector all air traffic safely. Controlling aircraft is easily done with the mouse and this allows the drawing of a route from an aircraft which has just appeared direct to the runway centreline. But the longer players spend within their chosen environment the busier the airspace becomes ...

Should an aircraft appear on screen and remain unguided this soon creates a dangerous situation or two. As until guided by the player these aircraft will continue to just blunder along in the initial direction they were heading in. Which sure guarentees a 'fender bender' not being too far away the longer the player allows this to continue for! I would give this neat little game 9/10 and give it a thumbs up in terms of being a recommended purchase.

Mozgus
Mozgus

A fun little time sink but nothing complex here. You just juggle as many planes as you can until it gets out of hand. A click fest. It's fun for a buck or two.

Krystal
Krystal

Pretty accurate simulator.
I launched this game today to find that it crashes as soon as I let go of the mouse button.
Even though i cannot play the game at all i think it perfectly simulates many historical events and has a very good physics engine.
Visuals: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/11

spaceboy
spaceboy

Just played my first 15 minutes of it, and I was surprised at how fun it was! So, I'm writing an initial review immediately and I'll update it later.

At first I thought it might be too simple to suit me, but it got challenging VERY fast. Plus, you can redirect flights as often as you need to avoid collisions. In some ways this reminds me of some of those old Atari games but with a fluffy modern twist.

I got it on sale and am very happy to have it. I hope they continue to update it, maybe with additional modes and challenges.

Update: I've played enough now to say....this thing gets massively hard, FAST! hehe Nobody will ever accuse this game of lacking challenge. This game will _break you_! lol It has leaderboards for each map too.

Even the first map gets very challenging after 50 planes, and is rough getting over 100. My high score is 150 and I'm amazed that I managed that. I usually lose between 70-100. I just finished trying the 3rd map, a 5 star map. It started off slow and easy, and then it opened the mother load on me after about 10-15 planes. Wow! Talk about massive mega challenge.

The only thing I would suggest to the Dev, is to add a 3rd speed which is 50% slower than the slow speed is now, that way we can really try and get strategic and micromanage our way through really heavy jams, rather than just saying, "I always lose about here". That would be great, because as it is, you really can't get too far, unless you're an absolute pro at this sort of thing.

Imagine playing Tetris and going from level 1, to 'Insta-Drop' in less than 5 minutes. That's how hard this gets that fast. Again, I still highly recommend this. Very fun!

Major_TORMENT
Major_TORMENT

This really doesn't need a review or a recommendation. It's one of the simplest possible casual games, and I got it in a sale a few years ago for a quid, which is definitely the maximum it could possibly be worth.

You can get this kinda stuff for free on your phone / tablet.

ZenWidjet
ZenWidjet

TL;DR Synopsis: if you have an Android or iOS Tablet, get the game on there for 1/5th the price it is on here and it will have more content to boot! Otherwise wait until this game gets picked up for a 80-90% off sale.

Fun little game is good for passing. I don't think this game is really worth the $4.99 price it's listed on here for the following reasons:
1) Game is over 4 years old
2) is just the base game (I don't think it's been updated with any of the content that the CURRENT iOS or Android vesions have) so we are paying 5 times more for a port of the older version of a game that is on on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

MrCrossa
MrCrossa

A fun game to play every now and then. Nothing mindblowing or super complex by any means, but still pretty fun to play. Only recommended during a sale, though.

Jørgen Oktober
Jørgen Oktober

I've played a lot of FSX with the PMDG-737 addon. I have no idea what I was thinking when I got this game.

In any case I gave it a try, and it's a good puzzler, and if you're into game like this one I'm guessing you'll find it worth its price.

Whatin theBlazes
Whatin theBlazes

I've played this for 5 years. While this is a port of an iOS game, the port is fine, there's no cash shop, and it's built up around actual game mechanics that have some actual depth behind them. The graphics are flash, so they're simple but scale infinitely without quality loss, regardless of the player's resolution. If you have multiple monitors like me there's some weirdness with the game pausing if I do something on a different monitor, but that ended up feeling like a feature instead of a bug most of the time.

The basic gameplay is managing different kinds of aircrafft that are coming in for landing at an airport. The craft can't land just anywhere and are color coded to match the correct runway. They're smart as bricks but always follow orders perfectly, even at their own peril. The player directs them by clicking and dragging their desired path, similar to how a graphic artist uses a vector pen tool. Different levels = different airports, with their own sets of obstacles and challenges. There are 9 levels and speed up button (hotkey F), but the game autodrops speed back to normal if it decides two planes are too close.

The main gameplay challenge to the player comes from the random nature of when and where planes appear, the game ratcheting up the number of incoming planes over time, and that the planes come in at different speeds. If two vehicles ever crash, the level is over.

So what kind of player is Flight Control HD for? The main appeals are:
(1) Stress relief/relaxation/a diversion. Somewhat like the effect last hitting and denying in DOTA produces for some people, Flight Control creates a zen sort of state where I can turn my higher brain off, wind down, and just enjoy directing planes around for a bit, then get back to whatever I was doing. For me the perfect time to do this is when I'm trying to solve a completely different problem. The casual pick-up-and set-down-whenever-you-want nature of the game also lends itself to this. The soundtrack has only one song. While it won't win any awards, it does fit the mellow mood the game is going for quite well.

(2) Score attack, and RTS micro practice, although this can conflict with using the game to relax. There are online leaderboards, which still work fine 5 years after the game was released. As far as I can tell, the leaderboards also seem to be free of cheating unlike, say, certain indie platformers or the latest Call of Duty titles, so props to the developer for that. Levels start easy but ramp up to quite hard if you're going for a top score. In other words, the game scales with what you put into it. As a result you'll probably get out exactly the level of challenge that you want. Be warned that having 50+ planes on the screen gets stressful, especially on maps with a lot of plane types. My brain just doesn't like that, and I've ragequit a few times.

Probably not worth full price, but for me this game has been surprisingly good.

NakeD
NakeD

Simple game but after few minutes it's a real challenge :) 2.50 (means on sale) is definitely worth to me even if I bought the same apps for like +-1$ on my iPhone.

Wicked Gamer & Collector
Wicked Gamer &…

This is a point & click puzzle game.

I founded this game first time on a Tablet.
And I whas totally in love with this game.
It's so basic just make lines and try to guide every plane or helicopter to a save landing.
This game is very challanging and with more than 10+ maps it's very fun for many hours.
Tablet as these version is only made for 1 player I know there are console games who offers 2 player option.

It's a fun game and very addicting if you ask me.
Try it.. it's good to play with a mouse.
Or you need a Windows Tablet that can be used with steam / flight control HD.

It's Original... it's cool... ITS ADDICTIVE !! 10/10

Serieus
Serieus

Fun little casual game of managing an airport with planes that need to land in a particular airport. Match the colors and receive bonuses and don't let the passengers become unhappy. I love the cartoony graphic design for this game and the way you can trace the paths of your planes so they don't crash into each other is easy, intuitive and fun to use. Be careful though, it's still easy to crash. Easy achievements as well for those who like to get 100% completion.

FriendlyLicense
FriendlyLicense

This is one of those instances when writing a recommendation for a game is a little more difficult… Is this a bad game? No… Is it particularly engaging or enjoyable? Not really… Is it something I recommend you play on PC? No… In Flight Control HD you must draw a line, representing the travel path, to direct incoming planes and helicopters to their corresponding colour runways and helipads. It’s a very simple concept; and something that doesn’t feel like a sit at a PC and go out of your way to play kind of game… It’s a mobile game through and through; something extremely casual that you can play and try to beat your best scores! It can get challenging on some levels as the overwhelming amount of aircraft that can be on the screen at any given time can really challenge your attention to detail. Some larger planes fly faster, small planes slower, some have direct paths that can’t be changed and you have to fly the others to the same runway in a staggered pattern… There is a lot here to really keep you focussed and observant… But as a whole this isn’t really an experience I recommend for PC players to purchase. On an additional note; the cheery airport holiday-vibe music that loops through the game will gradually drive you to the point of insanity.

Sobriquet
Sobriquet

53mins.
Never need to play this one again.
Try your mum though if she likes mindless, time consuming fun on say... a face book game or something.
Nah it's not that bad, actually pretty good value if you enjoy scorre based games and achievements. (Tetris score attack etc)
James Dudding.

{IC} prime
{IC} prime

Hey guys just wanted to let you know I'm the #2 player in the world on this game so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. This game is pretty fun you should get it.

//EDIT: I'm now #1 so I'm like super authoritative.

Proscuitto
Proscuitto

Simple game, lots of fun, kid friendly, great to try and beat friends records. Easy way to kill 15 minutes here and there while you wait for something else.

Vienticus Prime
Vienticus Prime

This is a great little time-waster here. Each time you play, it starts out as a relaxing experience, but shortly thereafter becomes this mad frenzy to route the planes without letting them crash into each other. It's a well-done little ditty. Thumbs up.

Iron Nick
Iron Nick

Pick up and play joy. Cute graphics, beautiful music, addictive, polished gameplay.
One of the best conversions of an app I first played on a phone ever.

I come back to it year after year, if only for twenty minutes at a time. Fantastic.

Cremo
Cremo

A really good arcade game

Game is fun, but you can tell that it is made for tablets and smart phones on the first look. If you want to give it a try, pick it up on a sale.

pancake95J
pancake95J

It's a simple game but damn, do I love it! :)

There's something really relaxing about landing planes and choppers for an hour or two.

Pee Pee Raymond
Pee Pee Raymond

This is a nice casual game you can pop in and play for a few minutes. It starts out easily enough and gets progressively more difficult as the minutes go along. The music is catchy, but gets old after the thousandth time. (You can turn it off though.)

Twistor
Twistor

Briefly: Flight Control is a decent, casual flight control simulator in 2D.

Now, Flight Control HD has little to do with flight control. Surely, there are planes, helicopters and airports and surely, you don't want aviational vehicles to collide with each other. Other than that, it's just fun and casual management of emerging chaos in pastel colours.

Planes on a plane!

You do get to control colourful planes. They randomly appear from the edge of the screen (with a convenient warning). If you wish, a handy tutorial will show you the ropes, but controls are fun and easy: just drag a path for the plane with mouse. Ideally, the path would end up in an airport, because points are scored for landing planes successfully. Each plane has a specific airport to land coincident by their colour.

You lose if two aircraft collide with each other. Since the game is in 2D this is hard to prevent for long.

While waiting for the inevitable, you can speed up the game. Conveniently enough, if two aircraft are on a collision course the game slows down to normal pace and highlights the two aircraft.

Even though this is nice, the highlighting backfires when there are many aircraft on collision course at once. It becomes difficult to see where the most urgent flying machine is. So you lose. And try again.

Dispelling the illusion

Initially I tried to do nice and pleasant-looking arcs and long-winded landings with the planes but I quickly noted that the planes can actually do 180 degree turns, which dissolved the simulation aspect.

Still, with a large enough number of planes to control, it does become difficult to manage. Different planes travel at different, albeit constant, speed with many having the same airport to land in adding to the complexity. A single game lasts just a few minutes at a time.

There are 9 different levels with varying difficulty (size, variety of planes) and even a couple with special features, e.g. wind that closes up certain airports. Special features are nice but they are only in place in few levels. There's a minor random element in most levels of slightly changing positions of the airports, of course coupled with a randomized appearance of planes.

A word on music: there's the same jolly, easy-going tune in most levels. Just a couple of levels have a special tune to fit their special theme. While the song is fine, it curiously stops after a while and doesn't resume for some time leaving you alone with the minor sound effects of collision alert and successful landing celebrations. Which are fine. It just weirds me out that the music is off for so long.

Conclusions

Even the nine levels do not last forever. There's content for a few hours of fun. For myself, 3 hours were spent on achievements, which were actually very well thought and enabled additional meaningful challenges. Then I spent an hour or so trying to beat my friends' highscores, regrettably without success. Consequently, leaderboards may or may not generate a few more hours of gameplay for you if you are so inclined.

The price is pretty good but since it is already an older game (almost 6 years old as of writing this), I'd recommend getting it on sale.

Shandybloke
Shandybloke

Years ago, I purchased this game to run on a laptop I was using at the time as a student. It's very easy to pick up and play and the task sounds fairly simple. However as soon as planes start filling the screen like there is no tomorrow, the challenge begins!

Flying Shisno
Flying Shisno

There's a shit ton of 'plane landing sims' that it's almost its own genre by now. This one is pretty good though. 9 maps that are quite different from each other, so plenty of variety. There's also a "Stunt Map" exclusive to the Steam version, where there's obstacles you can do maneuvers around for extra points. There's Leaderboards you can compete on as well.

Graphics and sound/music are great, very pleasing to the eyes and ears. I definitely recommend this.

Holeyman
Holeyman

This game just draws me in when I have a few minutes or more to kill. I find myself returning to it regularly.

PolloPicante
PolloPicante

Reminds me of a similar mobile game. However I enjoy playing. Can get repetative but always room for improvement. I wish progress could be bookmarked so I could resume at a certain point verses playing the first few minutes over again each time.

SheriffWu
SheriffWu

I originally played this game on my ASUS Transformer tablet many, many years ago. I had a blast with it then and Firemint has done a good job of adapting it for computer use. The controls are simple to use and the gameplay is easy to follow/understand. It's pretty much a timewaster game for when you're bored or just want to relax. The planes do come quite furiously after playing for not very long. It's simple, challenging fun.

For those coming here for a Game of the Year...you'll be disappointed. However, for what the game is...it's excellent. I'm not sure it's worth the price - but since I have nostalgia I paid it.

klewa27
klewa27

Fun little game that I picked up when on sale. Easy to pick up and play if you are strapped for time, and you can pause and pick up where you left off if you are doing better than expected. However, I don't feel that there is enough here to justify pay $5 for. Maybe grab if on sale, or play on your phone (it's free there).

Vinnie Farsheds
Vinnie Farsheds

Simple and very enjoyable little game. It starts very relaxing and the music is very fitting. But if you get far in a level you can't afford to keep this laid-back attitude and will endure some very stressful moments with the constant bleeping of planes being too close but it's the only way because the sky is too full and you still manage to keep the planes in different paths. CRASH! You didn't notice the big fast one and a slow helicopter colliding on the other side and have to start over again. But this time you will really pay more attention.

Shabadoo
Shabadoo

This game is hard for all the wrong reasons. It's clearly meant to test your ability to multitask and spread your attention thin. But instead the challenge is the fact that it gives you basically no airspace to use to navigate the 30 air vehicles down to the runway. You cant use the airspace around the edges of the screen because new planes fly in with basically no warning and smash into existing planes. Obviously you need the airspace over the runway to land planes and the space in front of the runway to begin the landing process. Its incredibly frustrating losing to variables you can't control. I see how this game could be fun if it fixed these issues but its been out for a long time I think so I doubt they will. Its a poor analogue for real air traffic control where you would have basically infinite airspace in which to work with.

mikebrown66
mikebrown66

Bought this game originally for the iPhone in 2009, still one of the best games around if you have a touch-screen. Classic.

CannedMan
CannedMan

Akkurat passe mengde stress og ro på en gang, og et perfekt spill når man vil slappe av i fem minutter mellom oppgaver. At man kan konkurrere om poeng med venner, er bare positivt. Anbefales.

intradimensional
intradimensional

Flight Control HD is mediocre. It is what it is and no more. It lacks depth for a pc title. Landing planes quickly becomes a race to click and drag. When the planes inevitably crash into each other all they do is blink. The leaderboard server is not currently active. 5/10

Unrest
Unrest

This game is days away from being ten years old. There isn't and wasn't anything groundbreaking about the game. But it was (and is) simple, mindless fun for a couple of hours. The art style is simple and cute, and managing an increasingly large number of aircraft at a variety of speeds and beating your previous personal best is surprisingly addictive.

It takes an hour or two to get the hang out of it, but at some point you'll feel committed to getting just one more aircraft better than your last attempt. It's just that, sooner or later, you end up in a race with yourself -- in a game that isn't always friendly in its aircraft pathing or in the "hit boxes" for each aircraft. Some crashes will annoy you, and apparently the game score servers have gone down. (Permanently?) At some point I had to uninstall and walk away. Which makes the game a bit like a lot of cheap mobile games, designed around a comparable premise, playable for only a short while.

I did notice something, in having my youngest niece and nephew play the game. It helped train them a bit in pathing a mouse cursor, as well as multitasking with multiple objects on the screen. These are the two fundamental skills of a game like this. But they're also skills that apply to PC use in general. There are probably plenty of first year graduate student papers about this sort of thing by now. So I'm not going to test it out any further. ;-)

Another review made a funny comment, that I'll repeat here. "Good thing real traffic controllers got an extra dimension to deal with. I'm sure its quite handy at times." This isn't a simulation game. Buy it if you can grab it for a dollar or two, and see how many aircraft you can land. Then uninstall it, and don't think about it again.

6/10

PyroPylon
PyroPylon

I'm hesitant to leave a negative review, but with such a shameless mobile port, I can't help but say no to the steam version.

The game is fine as a little mobile game, but better enjoyed on a tablet then a PC. Quite basic, but enjoyable.

The last achievement that I've been putting off for years is to play 200 games, even with alternating with friends playing locally I barely scratched 100 games played.

Game: 6/10, on steam 4.5/10 (comparing to mobile version).

Reapazine64
Reapazine64

Honestly i love these types of games. This reminds me so much or plants vs zombies casual game style. Around the edges this game is a deffinently a port from ios and with that comes its problems. Such as not updated graphics. One song about 3 min. Long that your suppose to listen to on repeat. But over that i like the game and would recommend it.

Mystic Duck
Mystic Duck

Despite being an 11 year old port of a 12 year old game, Flight Control HD continues to be a fun time-waster to keep your hands and mind busy.

Using your mouse or touch-screen you guide the various aircraft to their respective runways and landing pads. the difficulty comes from the difference in speed each plane/helicopter moves at, forcing you to carefully estimate where every plane will be in several seconds time, especially as the screen fills up with more planes.

The "play 200 games" Veteran achievement took me the longest time and required about 20 hours of play to reach legitimately and that might put some off looking to achievement hunt with this game but if you go into it looking for a casual time-waster you won't be disappointed.

MrJordilicious
MrJordilicious

This game took me through several boring college classes and it's still as enjoyable today. Enough said!

yst
yst

It was fun for a couple of hours. And with the sale price it's so worth it.

So Flight Control is a mobile game that existed on many platforms, but I somehow never heard of it. Discovered and grabbed it thanks to the sale, and pretty happy I did.

Gameplay reminds me of Mini Metro, but it's even simpler. Guide planes and helicopters of various speeds to their designated landing zones, there are 4 to maybe 8 types of aircraft depending on the map. (Ignore runways, they are just for decoration). Eventually you'll get overwhelmed. That's it.

Silver
Silver

Land Planes, actually relaxing game, use your mouse to make flight path's on Deck use finger on touch screen.
... works on Steam Deck ...

Lars Lars Pants On Fars
Lars Lars Pant…

AT A GLANCE

(Full review follows below)

    Game Name: Flight Control HD
    Original Release: 2010
    Genre Tags: Casual
    Estimated Playtime (Campaign): N/A
    100% Achievements Playtime: 3-5 hours
    DLC Required for 100% Achievements: N/A
    Multiplayer Aspect: None
    Replayability: Yes
    Recommended To: Achievement Hunters

REVIEW

Flight Control HD is a casual game.

You are an air traffic controller for what seems to be the busiest airports in the world. You are using your knowledge to keep the planes and helicopters from crashing and landing safely.

The game is not difficult for a casual game. Play time is ~3-5 hours to get all achievements. Some achievements are very grind intensive and one in general requires a lot of concentration to land 200 planes. The game has replayability as it is a game you can load up and play any map at any time. I recommend the game to anyone who is an achievement hunter or anyone looking for a more casual gaming experience.

хлеб мальчики
хлеб мальчики

One of the best mobile games ever made continues to live on even after its digital death on the App Store

Drive-In Nathan
Drive-In Nathan

Played this because it was a part of the 1001 games to play before you die. Reading the book it seems like
when this was written in 2010 the idea of touch phone games was a pretty novel idea and starting to make waves and this game was one of those early phone game choices. I think it's worthy of it though because it
encapsulates what is so addictive about games like this. Short, simple, and easy to understand. Let me tell you how much I didn't think I'd care about this game but it actually was quite a bit of fun. Making plane connections when the screen gets so many flights is intensely enjoyable. There isn't a lot of substance here and I would not include it on the list now over 10 years later but it's still a great time.

Khalthehunted332
Khalthehunted332

Its an okay flgith control point and click and drag game but Airport madness 4 is better than this. So is Tracon 2

bonoes
bonoes

My father in law introduced me to this game and challenged me. We would take turns beating each others score. Miss you Max.