Balloon Gunner 3D: Rule the sky and blast the enemies to smithereens.
This is an interesting little game which reminds me a lot of when I used to play X-Wing on the PC. Nostalgia aside though, check out what I thought of this impressive product.
Gameplay: This is a fully 3D immersive experience where you fly a balloon gunship around to complete specified missions. Usually the mission aim is to obliterate everything in sight though… great mindless destruction!
The special part about this game is that you use the accelerometer to control the ship. So you tilt the phone left and right to change the direction you fly in. Tapping on the screen will fire, and there are rockets, bombs and boosts available as specific extra buttons.
Trigger happy fun: For me, the 3D-ness and in-air dogfighting brings back memories of Tie-fighter (PC-version) (except TF is set in space…). So you need to control your flight path and trajectory to try and match your enemy so you can shoot them easier. In the end you usually yo-yo into a particular flight pattern which you get used to enough to be able to shoot your opponent. The great thing here is that your vertical height is automatically controlled… so you can focus on blasting everything without worrying about crashing.
Some downers: Although the game is fun, there are some areas which haven’t been polished: The missions are pretty much all the same really so the game can get repetitive; The loop sound on the sound effects aren’t great and can make you tetchy; Although the 3D simulation is ok, the explosions are pretty poor and you can’t really tell when you’re being hit; The altitude control is difficult to understand and could be improved.
Rating: 3/5 A free game which will give you some sensation of flying through the sky. Don’t let the dreadful game menus stop you from giving this a whirl… It’s not bad for a quick 5 minute blasting dogfight. Don’t compare this to the amazing 3D titles out there though because otherwise you’ll probably feel this is a 2 star game instead (especially given the negatives I highlighted above).
Balloon Gunner 3D Promotional Youtube Video
Balloon Gunner 3D Tips from Android Games Review
Although there is a mission, you generally have to shoot everything down. Even in the survival missions, the best defense is offense. So to shoot everything down faster then consider the following points:
- Get used to using the radar to see incoming units and things to destroy.
- There isn’t any aerial or ground colour separation so you need to get used to feeling out when the dots are moving faster than others – they’ll be the flying enemies.
- When things are being shot out at you, then white dots will appear on the radar. Be wary of when you’re surrounded and there’s loads of white dots as you’re probably being showered in bullets.
- To reduce damage, then try and fight flying targets whilst far away from ground cannons. This also makes the radar easier to use because you’ll know you’re not looking for an enemy which is on the ground.
- If you want to improve your firing accuracy then feel the motion of the enemy and try to shoot in front of it.
Balloon Gunner 3D QR Code
(Click on the image or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto the Android Market)
Developers: Matt Milton, Balloon Gunner 3D Facebook Page
