Play as the intrepid Bret Airborne and help Doctor Altus to fight his evil twin brother and his minions in a colorful steampunk world. Features: - Puzzle-based hot air balloon duels - Challenging single-player campaign with player-selected levels of difficulty - 40 powers and augmentations to customize your balloon - Gauntlet mode to test your skills against increasingly difficult enemies - Custom duels vs. AI opponents - Custom two player local duels
The line which divides player access makes Bret Airborne shine. Anything along the outer edge is relatively safe while items neighboring the line are in danger of being stolen. The grace period allows players to shift items around instead of being forced into specific swaps. There is a tug of war as large matches move the line towards the opponent and swapping items with no match moves the line towards oneself. Being aware of items to steal and large matches to perform is encouraged further as skills may count those events as bonus resources.
The campaign is short, upgrades are offered in small quantities and player's can't grind endlessly for funds. The result is analysis paralysis is reduced and players are encouraged to try again with different options. There are also other modes for session-based play.
The story is just an excuse for puzzle battles, but that's fine. I would have appreciated the ability to play in a window, grouped skill messages to avoid (rare) spam from opponents and the ability to immediately jump around a map when enemies are gone. These were all minor annoyances though. =)
despite having very simple graphics and a silly story, Bret Airborne's gameplay is a match-3 paradise. really fun and addicting, just the right mix of strategy and luck.