Atlantis Sky Patrol

Infobox VG
title = Atlantis Sky Patrol


developer = Big Fish Studios
publisher = Big Fish Games
designer =
engine = PTK
released = August 2006
genre = Puzzle
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: Everyone (E)
platforms = Windows, Mac OS X
media =
requirements = Windows 98/2000/ME/XP, or Mac OS X 10.2 or better
input = Mouse

"Atlantis Sky Patrol" is a casual game developed by the team formerly known as Funpause, now part of Big Fish Studios, and distributed by Big Fish Games. The game is a sequel to 2005's Atlantis.

Story

In an alternative, retro-futuristic early 20th century, the player takes the role of the leader of the Sky Patrol, a secretive air patrol that takes on world threats. As the game begins, strange doomsday devices have been reportedly seen all across the world. Believed to originate from the long-lost continent of Atlantis, possibly as retaliation from looting its treasure in the first game, the player must disable all of them to save the world.

Gameplay

Atlantis Sky Patrol is a dynamic match-three puzzle game, featuring colored balls rolling down a predetermined path, at an increasingly fast pace. The game also features an entirely original element, stationary control parts peppered across levels, in increasingly hard to reach places, that must be disabled in order to destroy the doomsday machine. A level is completed when both the stationary control parts, and the moving balls (defense mechanisms) have been successfully matched and removed. Atlantis Sky Patrol is a fairly innovative puzzle game in the sense that it puts the player in control of how long a level lasts, and that it has eliminated downtime. While the player would sometimes wait on the game in previous titles of the genre, the addition of the stationary puzzles always gives the player something to take care of, providing great pacing and flow to the game.

Theme and production values

Atlantis Sky Patrol features a retro-futuristic theme of movies such as "Indiana Jones" and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". The theme is used consistently from the opening screen, featuring the obligatory Zeppelin, to the quirky mixture of early 20th century technology and futuristic devices made from early 20th century material, such as TV screens and steam-powered ships. This mixture, a staple of retro-futuristic movies and comics, is considered new for casual games.

The industry generally recognizes Atlantis Sky Patrol to have very high quality visuals and audio.

Reception

Atlantis Sky Patrol held the #2 sales spot on its home downloadable games distribution portal, Big Fish Games, for weeks. While this is undoubtedly partly due to heavy promotion from Big Fish, Atlantis Sky Patrol was also featured in top 10's from other top distribution channels. This game marks the 4th hit in a row for the development team formerly known as funpause, now part of Big Fish Studios, and another hit in an uninterrupted series of successes for Studios, also home of the Mystery Case Files and Travelogue 360 casual game hit series.

Credits

* Design and graphics: Jerome Grandsire
* Design and programming: Emmanuel Marty
* Music and SFX: Jean-Marc Lederman
* Orchestral arrangements: Nicolas Van Dooren
* Producer: Patrick Wylie
* Additional Design: John Cutter, Eric Hull, Robert Baldwin
* PTK game engine: Patrice Krystofiak
* Story: Jennette Marty
* Quality Assurance: Robert Baldwin
* Copyright: Big Fish Games 2006

External links

* [http://www.bigfishgames.com/downloads/atlantisskypatrol/ Atlantis Sky Patrol on Big Fish Games]
* [http://www.namcogames.com/game_detail.php?gid=58 Atlantis Sky Patrol] for mobile at NamcoGames.com

Reviews

* [http://www.gamezebo.com/2006/08/atlantis_sky_patrol_review.html Review of Atlantis Sky Patrol] at Gamezebo.com
* [http://www.gametunnel.com/gamespace.php?id=330&tab=3 Review of Atlantis Sky Patrol] at Gametunnel.com