Aera

It’s a defining human trait to want what we can’t have. Naturally, then, despite having everything we need down here on terra firma, we’ve long dreamed of soaring through the sky like a bird.

It’s that desire that has given birth to the aeroplane. Well, that and the need for cheap package holidays to Magaluf.

Aera won't send you packing on a cheap break, but it will exhilarate you with flight. Set in the iconic 20th century period of early flight, this is a game that thrills with brightly liveried biplanes, red barons, and handlebar moustaches as much as its aerial antics.

While Aera does full justice to the period, the challenges faced by those first days of flight are not mirrored in the game's finely tuned mechanics. You see, while the game accurately models the basic mechanics and physics of these crude flying machines, it’s all shot through with a welcome arcade mentality.

For starters, the game essentially plays in 2D. While the graphics are gorgeously rendered in 3D and the camera swoops around your craft at certain discrete points, you’re essentially fixed to a single plane (the other kind).

Having set your throttle with the toggle on the left side of the screen, your plane accelerating from left to right, a subtle tilt left of your device causes you to climb. Conversely, tilting right when airborne will send you into a dive. A flick of your handset flips your plane 180 degrees, which is useful for orientating yourself out from a vertical U-turn.

In another nod to arcade thrills, you have access to a recharging boost bar that blasts you forward when touched. This is essential for loops, as your little machine chugs and splutters realistically during extended climbs and often needs an extra kick to keep it moving.

As this suggests, there’s a wonderful sense of physicality to Aera, a real sense of momentum and of gravity. In fact, it’s the most satisfying approximation of flight I’ve seen on the iPhone since Glyder.

There are three types of level to tackle in Campaign mode: Solo (fly through hoops popping balloons along the way), Dog Fight (take on a number of opponents in aerial combat) and Race (Dash between two points, avoiding mines).

Dog Fight varies the pace beautifully and shows off the flexibility of the flight mechanics. You have access to a machine gun and limited missiles, but the real joy is ducking and diving in order to outfox your opponents and bring them into your sights.

It’s a shame that the Campaign mode is so linear, particularly as the general difficulty level is pitched high. There were times when I would have liked to have eased the tension of repeated failures on a tricky Solo round by attempting a Dog Fight level, for example, but my progress ground to a frustrating halt until I could overcome the challenge.

There are some commendable features that ease the frustration. Although you're give a limited number of lives in Solo mode, getting yourself blown up doesn’t set you back to the beginning. Rather, the game rewinds your fateful final few seconds, allowing you to correct your mistake.

This can backfire a little when you choke in the middle of a loop, as your iPhone is invariably at the wrong angle when play commences, but generally it’s an excellent addition.

To combat disorientation with all the swooping and looping going on, the game features an arrow system that points the way to the next goal. There’s also the option to fix the camera to your plane by touching the bottom left of the screen, which ensures that you’re always the right-side up.

Even with these helpful features, Aera remains tough. It looks and plays like a dream, yet provides a stern challenge even for seasoned gamers. A more open, tiered Campaign structure could help anyone could take off with this beautiful game.