Air Hockey-e is a simple but fun game. It is not anything ground breaking but since it was given out as a free game at most places where you buy the e-Reader what can you expect. Nintendo sent out Air Hockey-e to stores to demo the e-Card Reader. It lets you play a simple game of Air Hockey against a computer.
The game is hard. Nevertheless, it’s just fun to play. The average game takes about 10 minutes to play and the first one to 10 points wins.
To get started you scan both sides of the Air Hockey-e card. You will see that there is the table, puck, paddle, and scoreboard. Not too high tech, but what do you want for a freebie. Nintendo did manage NES graphics without sacrificing gameplay. Sound is NES quality, decent, but nothing special. You hear the click of the puck, and background music that repeats over and over again.
This is basic Air Hockey with generic gameplay. It doesn’t stop the entertainment value. You control the red paddle, and the computer controls the blue paddle. The AI is very good at winning. It will let you think you are winning until you get ahead and depending on what the score is it will turn it on. If you have nine points and only need one more point to win, the AI will block everything you throw at it. You will have to rely on luck and quick reflexes to score and win. It’s not like you get a great ending when you beat the game. The same text that comes up when you lose saying ‘Game Over’ comes up when you win and says ‘You Win’. It also plays a little winning song.
There is a power hit when you hold down the A button but this can backfire on you. Learning how and when to use the boost is the biggest thing. Don’t over use the power hit it will come back and hurt you.
Sadly, this is only a one-player game and you can only play against the computer. It would have been nice if you could link up two GBA’s to play with another person, but what do you want for free.
Controls:
D-pad: moves paddle
A button: power hit
Start: pauses and exits game
e-Card:
Number of Cards: 1
Number of Scans: 2
Series: Promo
Final Verdict
Air-Hockey-e is a free game. Since the game is only 4.4 kilobytes, it’s not a bad game at all. Even though the game is simple it doesn’t stop the game from being fun. If you have an e-Reader, more than likely, you have this game. I wouldn’t run out and buy an e-Reader just for this game but if you do get an e-Reader don’t overlook this game. It does have a very good replay value.
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