Flight Control Rocket is the sequel to Flight Control, one of the first games to achieve mass success on the iPad and developed by Australian Developer, Firemint.  Similar to its predecessor, you guide different coloured ships to their respective runways with your finger, trying to avoid any collisions which becomes more and more difficult as the number and variety of ships increases.

There are several types of ships appearing in the game.  You have the normal variety that just travel at different speeds but also others, like ships that split into two and ships that leave a trail of ships behind it.  A mini cruiser also makes its appearance, bringing in loads of ships to be landed at once before the cruiser leaves.  The sheer variety of ships within Flight Control Rocket keeps the game interesting.

There are two game modes.  One is just a long, continuous mode where the objective is to constantly land ships until you you lose all three lives.  The other is a more structured mode, divided into different levels and the occasional bonus level of furious landing.  Landing ships of the same colour gives you a multiplier bonus, so it’s advantageous to try to plan the order of your landings to maximise your score.  One neat feature is that at the end of the game, your score is compared to other players around the world, allowing you to see who is doing as well (or as badly, as the case may be).

Within the game, you also collect coins that allow you to buy different items in the in-game shop.  Whilst the in-game currency are these virtual coins, there also is the option of using hard-earned cash in the way of an in-app purchase (for such a wildly popular game franchise, who wouldn’t give up the option of making more money on this?).   Bots can also be bought with coins, aiding you during play (earning you coins or increasing your score or automatically landing some ships for you, for example).  The bots gain experience, and hence levels, during the game, making them even more powerful.

The difficulty level increases rapidly, which is required as the gameplay is simple enough to be uninteresting if the difficulty is not there.  Flight Control Rocket may not enjoy the same astronomical success as Flight Control, as it is more a natural progression from the original rather than something completely different.  What it does offer is some simple, addictive fun.