The last effort from this developer (Lemon Team by way of Southwinds) we saw on the Mac was Dylo's Adventure. It looked nice, but the graphics were hard to appreciate when paired with some lackluster gameplay. There was persistent mismatch between the game's stated goal of simple-but-fun action gameplay and the reality. Airport Mania: First Flight is perfectly executed as a casual game of solid proportions and the accompanying graphics do the gameplay proud. A simple humor infuses the design aesthetic of the game; the plane models are varied and have lots of cute sounds that go along with landing, takeoff, and refueling. The goal seems to have been to make the cutest damn airport game ever, and it's been achieved from my perspective.

Beyond the planes, you'll find the airports are full of little secrets that will prompt funny things upon a click. Some items in the background will earn you special points for interacting with them; you never really know what can come from a little experimentation until you try. It takes some time playing the game to get comfortable enough to play around, but you'll get there eventually. The best possible feature of Airport Mania from a visual perspective is that everything is kept very simple. All you need to know about interacting with planes is displayed on the screen. Planes will have a happy face or sad face according to how well you're meeting their needs, because the point of an airport after all is to satisfy these cute planes. One test of a good casual game is its ability to make sense without the encumbrance of any menus or mysterious icons.

Ever dream about being an Air Traffic Controller? Yeah, I never did either... everyone I envisioned doing that job was probably bored to tears or on the verge of suicide from stress. C'mon, you saw Tin Men right? Even in Die Hard 2, the guys in the tower just sit around waiting for Bruce to pull their bacon out of the fire... So imagine my surprise when I learned that running an airport is a lot like running a bed-and-breakfast, except the planes are your customers. Bring them in on time (or early), don't keep them waiting too long on the tarmac, fuel and fix them as necessary, and get them in the air early (or on time). These are the keys to success for you after assuming control in the tower at a series of regional airports. A selection of eight towns awaits you through the game, each with airports and 10 or more stages to conquer. Along the way, you'll have a chance to master interaction with different planes under different conditions; always it comes down to speed and keeping a cool head. Unlike real-life situations where planes come down in screaming balls of flames is mismanaged, the worst you'll see in Airport Mania: First Flight is a frowning plane that doesn't earn you extra points. And people wonder why casual games are so popular...

The first step to playing Airport Mania is earning a license. You'll play through a few segments for training purposes, to understand the basic mechanics and gameplay. Skipping this is possible but not recommended, since you can get some killer tips on how to manage difficult situations at the airport. Basic gameplay is covered in this tutorial before you are turned loose on your first real town. A win is calculated in terms of points, and there are many ways to earn points. The easiest way is to land planes early and help them take off early. Preventing this from being an easy task is a proliferation of planes in the sky at any one time waiting to land, and a limited number of gates for loading passengers. Eventually as you play, you'll be introduced to planes that require service or fuel, making the mechanics more complicated. It's again a testament to success for this casual game that nothing is beyond reach and that unless you're looking for a "perfect" score, you'll be able with some practice to move up in levels and experience new towns. Hey, if it were easy, we'd all be up in the tower guiding planes back to the tarmac.

Airport Mania doesn't include difficulty modes and doesn't seem to adjust automatically for players of different abilities. The difference in score between passing or failing a level can be significant depending on how well you do. Scoring high allows you to purchase some upgrades for the next level, meaning that more advanced players move through the game more quickly. Less experienced players will accrue points and eventually earn the same advantages as the more seasoned players, but it will take more time. It's difficult to completely fail a level, but it's possible. The most common reason is losing sight of the things that earn points or take them away. Leaving planes in the sky is the worst thing you can do, since eventually a plane will become frustrated and move on to another airport. This means you lose all possible points for that plane. The second worst thing you can do is to mismanage a plane on the ground. Airport Mania doesn't withhold tips and tricks for scoring big points, but these things are harder to execute than they seem on the surface. I got some play-testing assistance from my 5-year old and if he can do it, you can too.

Airport Mania works well because things are kept very simple in the controls' department. Click a plane to select it, then click a runway to land that plane. If you click a gate immediately after the runway, you'll route the plane on through to that gate. Staging planes for a gate is complicated when you have several planes landing in short succession and you realize that matching the color of the plane with the gate is important and earns you more points. There are parking spaces that you can use to keep planes happier while you are waiting for a gate to come open. Once a plane attached to a gate has loaded passengers, you can click a runway to stage the plane for takeoff. Complicating the staging further is that some planes will require repairs or fuel before loading passengers and taking off. Also woven into the game is that some planes take longer than others to load and unload passengers. Easier planes are quicker loading/unloading and don't come with as many problems or issues. After you encounter each of the main issues listed above, you've probably played through a couple towns and you've seen everything Airport Mania has to offer. What keeps it interesting is how the game manages to mix up all the elements and not make things feel crazy. A subtle and gradual increase in difficulty feels more like exploration than anything else. Each time you land a new plane, you earn an award, and there are other awards available for meeting certain benchmarks. The benchmarks are hinted at in the game's "award room", but you'll have to experiment to find the right combinations. Successful players will also find that buying extras like parking spots or upgraded gates makes things easier and more interesting.

Airport Mania is just a great combination of vision, style, and execution. As a casual game, it works perfectly and as any type of game, it manages to create loads of entertainment. The 'Net is starting to feel a bit crowded with download options and there are lots of me-too games that you'll see popping up, but Airport Mania has the mark of a true original. If you've ever enjoyed mini-gaming or consider yourself a casual gamer (in-the-closet or outed), you need to grab a copy of this and see how well you manage to keep those planes flyin'!