Air Blocks

Overview

Air Blocks is essentially a virtual Lego set. It allows you to build with a wide variety of different shapes of blocks. There are prefab buildings that you can modify or you can start from scratch. There is also a rather cute, but challenging, maze game where you must strategically place blocks to direct a car to the finish line.

Gameplay

Air Blocks installed flawlessly in about 30 seconds. The game is very easy to control in most respects. My 5-year-old son could easily navigate the controls for just about everything except changing the perspective, which even I had problems with. However, even a non-reader will be able to figure out what each control does.

The little maze game is challenging. You can only move the white blocks to navigate the car through the maze to the landing pad. This is more difficult than it sounds.

Graphics

The graphics are a little rough, giving the feel of a 256-color application. No pun intended, but the blocks are a little "blocky." However, you can do some very sophisticated things with the blocks, like painting them with gradient colors.

Audio

The music is essentially a soundtrack playing in the background. It is annoying, but is easily turned off under the Options menu. The audio is not needed for this game.

System Requirements

486 DX2/66 or higher, CD-ROM drive, 16 MB RAM, 640X480 display (256 color or higher), Windows 95, sound card, mouse, DirectX v5 (supplied by Air Blocks, if needed). It is nice to see a product that does not require the newest hardware on the market to perform well

Documentation

The documentation, though limited, covered all the bases. This program is simple enough that minimal documentation is acceptable.

Bottom Line

This game earns its K-A rating; it is appropriate for all ages. While you can do a lot of fun things with this program, it is no substitute for a real set of Legos. My 5-year-old played with it long enough to humor me (so I could write the review). As a parent, I appreciated the absolute lack of violence in this game (which is probably why my son found it a bit dull). True, you use dynamite to delete the blocks you no longer need, but compared to what else is out there … well, you know what else is out there! Conclusion: don’t sell your Legos at your next garage sale. For those with limited storage space or budget, this is a nice way to get a BIG set of blocks, or to design projects you want to build with the real thing.