Air Forte

Any videogame with a cleverly integrated Star Wars reference automatically gets my seal of approval. Air Forte, Brendon Chung of Blendo Game latest project isn’t just some kind of slapstick Robot Chicken affair. The game has some clever writing for its somewhat short length. It’ll make you laugh, make you cry and perhaps just a little frustrated through its hilarious kind of edutainment.

 

 

Air Forte’s presentation is really well put together. The main page is simple, functional, entertaining. The game’s Johnny River’s styled soundtrack, composed by Benny Hammond of the Volcanics, complements the game well. There are some good tunes in Air Forte and they’ll have you looking for MP3s in no time flat. Graphically, it’s tame in comparison to Flotilla’s three dimensional presentation. You play as a small jet that flies around on a two dimensional plane. More on this in the next paragraph.

 

Welcome to the next paragraph. Air Forte challenges you to find multiples, vocabulary and countries. Each level presents the player with a small statement like, “Multiples of 2.” It’s pretty self-explanatory. You fly around using either the mouse or the keyboard—depending on the number of players—collection the correct tabs. When you’ve collected every one it’s onto the next stage. It’s never a challenge to collect the pieces, nor are the controls ever cumbersome. The challenges are the tough part.

 

I had no idea that “jump” was a noun and a verb. There were a few times during the story mode that I was genuinely surprised at my lack of knowledge. Some of the mistakes I made are too embarrassing to repeat on the record, however, Air Forte helped me brush up on my geographical and vocabulary skills. It helped me empathize with Jazz Hands’ predicament.

 

 

Challenge mode mixes the vocabulary and mathematic elements in to one level. Infinite mode counts down from ten seconds and each correct answer gives the player two for each correct answer. There’s also a practice mode that allows you choose your categories and the number of floating boxes that appear. It’s a good way to brush up on your vocabulary, multiplication and geographical skills. Like Jazz Hands, I messed up on almost all of these categories on the first time around. Being an illiterate octopus must be hard, but at least he has eight hands and can have a four player round of Air Forte by himself.

 

Air Forte’s cast is an eclectic group of talking animals. There’s a group of puppy-eyed puppies, the king frog, two guitar playing mice, the protagonist—who you name—the infamous yet misunderstood villain Jazz Hands and, yes, a Rastafarian Cat. The game’s story is split up into seven or eight comic book like section. Each stage reveals a little more of the unfolding—paper pun—plot. I won’t spoil the story for you, but it has a happy ending and a hilarious epilogue.

 

I only had two or three problems with Air Forte. Length. The game’s story will take you about a half-an-hour to get through. It’s a fairly short game. The online components—leader boards and high scores—will keep you occupied for a little while longer if you play competitively. Replayability. The epilogue is a funny and nostalgic piece of writing. I expected, however, after a second play through to see some different endings for the characters. Once you play through Air Forte’s story mode there really isn’t a reason to play through it again. Challenge mode and Infinite mode offer high score, leader board standings, however, the story mode does not. Gameplay. There’s really only one kind of game in Air Forte. You collect multiples, vocabulary and countries. Some variety could have made the multiplayer aspects of Air Forte a little stronger.

 

 

Air Forte really feels more like a bench test, a proof of concept if you will. The design, sound and play are solid, yet the short length prevents players from having a full experience. It’s certainly a funny, Blendo style experience. I can only hope that some updates are coming to expand on this unique experience.

 

Air Forte is a nicely constructed game. The story can feels a little undeveloped at times, but will you get a few good snickers out of it? Yes you will. As a proof of concept and as a game, Air Forte is a true show of Brendon Chung’s skills as a game developer and designer. Air Forte provides an enjoyable experience for illiterate octopi and Rastafarian cats everywhere.

 

You can pick up a copy of Air Forte on Brendon Chung’s site www.blendogames.com.