Glacier hints: Air Penguin iPhone tips and tricks
Learn how to Peng-WIN
Welcome to Pocket Gamer's no-nonsense guide to playing the latest smash-hit App Store time-sink: Air Penguin.
This fluffy, flightless game from Korean game studio Gamevil spins a grizzly fable about the sheer, unadulterated villainy of the human race.
Our cars, nuclear plants, and spray cans have belched a toxic burp into the atmosphere, ripping a hole the size of North America in the ozone layer. This lets the sunlight stream in, heating up Antarctica and turning glaciers of ice into slushy, useless goo.
Our faithful protagonist, the titular Air Penguin, ends up stranded from his family as he washes away on a drifting ice cap. It's up to you to tilt your iPhone, race through over 100 levels, and spend your pocket money on in-app purchases to reunite them.
The game features a full Story mode, an endless Survival challenge, Game Center achievements, power-ups, fishies, and more. Read on to find out how to save your penguin family, rack up high score,s and unlock pointless digital trophies!
How to play Basics
Air Penguin is a little like casual hit Doodle Jump, but this time it plays out in 3D. You leap from glacier to glacier by tilting your iPhone left and right, but you can also bank your Apple gadget forwards and backwards to speed up or reverse.
In each of the Story levels you'll need to leap from the starting glacier to the flag-carrying ice block at the top of the screen by jumping on platforms and avoiding nasties.
In Survival mode it's the same idea, but there's no end: it's all about how far you can go without dunking AP (what Air Penguin's friends call him) in the drink.
You'll need to start out by calibrating your iPhone. It's easy - just follow the instructions on the screen, remembering to hold your device in the position you're most likely to play it.
Each level in the Story mode introduces new platforms, challenges, and enemies. Here's a rundown of how to use and abuse them:
Normal platform
These circular chunks of glacial rock are the bread and butter of Air Penguin. You'll use these to jump across the choppy Antarctic seas and reach your goal.
You'll crack the ice when you hop onto them, but they'll never completely dissolve. This way you can keep bouncing up and down for as long as you need, while you wait for the perfect moment to leap off.
Later in the game you'll find the platforms moving in patterns. It makes it harder for you to land on them, but as soon as you touch base the ice will stop.
Broken platform
The CO2 emissions have already got to these suckers: they're half smashed and will dissolve into the icy drink as soon as you touch them. They're utterly useless, so avoid them entirely at all costs.
Turtles
These handy hard-shelled friends will give you a piggyback if you land on their rear. You can alter their speed by tilting your iPhone more or less sharply, letting you navigate the environment with precision.
If you bump into an ice block you'll fling off your turtle. You can, however, hop straight back on for another ride.
Starfish
These sea-dwelling stars can be handy platforms, but they dip in and out of the water like clockwork so you'll need to time your leap well. Jump off your safe spot when they're in the water and they should emerge underneath your flippers just as you land.
Octopus
These guys make handy springboards, but not without a cost. Hopping on their heads causes them to splurt jet black ink against the screen, obscuring your view. If there are nearby glaciers, consider using them instead.
Whale
Pop on this guy's blowhole to be fired through the air and over the level's obstacles. Landing can be tricky, so make shorter, more controlled leaps rather than flinging Air Penguin as far possible and risking a good drowning.
Slippery glaciers
Ice, by definition, is slippery. A microscopic liquid-like film makes the stuff friction-free. This means large, screen-filling blocks of ice will cause Air Penguin to slip and slide, rather than jump.
You can't control your speed, so just work on avoiding obstacles by tilting left and right. Oh, and look out for the end of the glacier - it might just say...
Jump!
In Survival mode, slippery glaciers end with a large jump. Flick your iPhone up to send Air Penguin in the air. The animal will then disregard a few million years of evolution and start flying. When he starts to lose speed, aim over a safe spot and let Air Penguin land safely.
Sharks
These toothy Jaws-rejects will take great pleasure in having Air Penguin for breakfast. Avoid them at all costs because they'll kill you instantly.
You can goad them into biting and disappearing (they'll plunge under the water for good if they miss chomping on AP) by flying close to their mouth. It's tricky, so only use if a shark is really in the way. Otherwise, go around.
Swordfish
These nasty sword-nosed sharks dart from one side of the screen to the other, spearing Air Penguin on their face-prongs if the fluffy little bird is in the way. Avoid them at all costs, and only jump past when the timing is right.
Seals
Seals are, apparently, very bouncy. In Air Penguin these fish-eating jerks act as bumpers, bouncing our penguin protagonist into the icy juice below. They're especially annoying on slippery glaciers.
You certainly can hit them: they'll just bounce you off course. But in any tight spot, or near an edge, you'll be best off avoiding them completely or you'll find yourself in the sea. Brrr.
Holes in the ice
Slippery glaciers often come with holes in the ice to slow you down. Avoid them entirely: there's no jumping over these tiny, two-foot gaps.
In the Story mode, you can make a certain level a little easier on yourself by using an item. These generally get you out of a sticky spot by giving you a second chance or making an enemy less deadly.
To buy these one-use items, you need to work with the game's currency: fishies.
How fishies work
Every Story mode level has five fishies to collect. You can only get these babies once, so no use grinding an easy level over and over again for coinage.
Survival mode also gives you some fishies, but they're rare so don't expect to fill your fishy coffers in this mode.
In both modes you'll see two types of fishies. Those spinning around in circles are in the air, so you can grab them mid-jump. The static ones are on the ice itself, so you'll need to land on them to grab them.
Buying more fishies
If you want to buy more fishies, you can trade real-world cash for them through in-app purchases. You can get...
- A bucket of 350 fishies for £1.79 / $2.99 / €2.39
- A barrel load of 700 fishies for £2.99 / $4.99 / €3.99
- A cart of 1500 fishies for £5.99 / $9.99 / €7.99
You can get even more through incentivised downloads. Go to the store, click earn more, and start downloading apps. You can get anywhere between ten and 25 fishies by downloading free apps like Words with Friends Free, Flirtomatic, and Coin Dozer.
Buying items
Once you've got some fishies you can swap them for items in the Story mode. Simply get Game Over in any level to bring up a menu of treats.
The items you can buy relate to the types of dangers in the current level. They'll be used up, even if you don't use them.
Water bounce
For ten fishies, you can use this power-up to get a second chance when you hit the ocean.
Seal re-size
For 30 fishies, this makes every seal on the current level much smaller. This makes them harder to hit, and much less trouble for you.
Shark bonker
For just ten fishies you can knock out every shark in the stage. This makes them so much easier to bypass.
Starfish freezer
30 fishies nets you the ability to freeze all the starfish in the current stage, so they're permantly out of the water. With this power-up, you won't need to worry about timing your jumps perfectly.
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Swordfish parachute
20 fishies is what you need to pay to put those swordfish in speed-stripping parachutes. They'll dive by much slower, making them easier to avoid.
Hole freeze
20 fishies will make all the holes in the level's glacial ice freeze over, meaning you can skate over them without a care in the world.
Octopus nose-twisting
If you cough up 20 fishies, the octopuses in the stage will have their noses tied up. Now you can bounce on them without having your screen splattered with ink. Hooray!
Skipper - 5pts
Skipped one ice platform (Jump over an entire platform. Hold your iPhone sharply forward to jump farther)
Bouncer - 5pts
Bounced on the same ice platform five times
Retreater - 10 pts
Bounce backward on ice platforms (Hold your iPhone backwards to go in reverse)
Turtle Rider - 10pts
Took the turtle for a cruise
Shark Bait - 10pts
Died from a shark attack (Ouch)
Seal Bumper - 20pts
Get bumped into the drink by a seal
Whale Crusher - 25pts
Get blasted into the air by a whale's blowhole
Ink Shower - 30pts
Jumped on an octopus
Starfish Masher - 25pts
Leap onto a starfish
Swordfish Swiper - 40pts
Get speared by a leaping swordfish
Posterizer - 20pts
Post a score to Facebook or Twitter (Feel free to delete the post or tweet after)
Child Saver - 10pts
Cleared 25 levels in story mode
Twin Saver - 20pts
Cleared 50 levels in the story mode
Triple Saver - 30ts
Clear 75 levels in the story mode
Happy Wife Happy Life - 40pts
Clear story mode
Bronze Medalist - 10pts
Record 10,000 points in survival mode
Silver Medalist - 30pts
Record 20,000 points in survival mode
Gold Medalist - 50pts
Record 30,000 points in survival mode
Light Jumper - 5pts
Jumped over 5 ice platforms in one play
Mid Jumper - 10pts
Jumped over 10 ice platforms in one play
Sky Jumper - 15pts
Jumped over 15 ice platforms in one play
Fly Like a Bird - 5pts
Flew more than 500 in distance (from the Jump!! platforms in Survival mode)
Fly Like an Eagle - 10pts
Flew more than 800 in distance (from the Jump!! platforms in Survival mode)
Fly Like a Plane - 15pts
Flew more than 1000 in distance (from the Jump!! platforms in Survival mode)
Turtle Driver - 5pts
Rode on a turtle for more than 500 in distance
Turtle Racer - 10pts
Rode on a turtle for more than 1000 in distance
Turtle Jacker - 15pts
Rode on a turtle for more than 1500 in distance
Ice Hopper - 10pts
Step on 1,000 ice platforms
Ice Breaker - 30pts
Step on 10,000 ice platforms
Ice Age - 50pts
Step on 100,000 ice platforms
Brave Penguin - 10pts
Step on 100 moving ice platforms
Thrill-Seeking Penguin - 30pts
Step on 1,000 moving ice platforms
Stunt-Man Penguin - 50pts
Step on 10,00 moving ice platforms
Ice Attacker - 10pt
Pushed 10 seals off ice platforms
Ice Assassin - 30pt
Pushed 100 seals off ice platforms
Ice Desperado - 50pt
Pushed 1,000 seals off ice platforms
Rebounder - 10pts
Jumped on board the same turtle (Bash into an ice block to fly into the air, and then bounce back onto the turtle)
Hole in One - 25pts
Land in a ice hole (Whoops)
Land on turtle after being airborne (from the Jump!! platforms in Survival mode)
