Elite Air Hockey

Overview

Remember the days when we were kids and we used to ride our bikes down to the video arcade? We would get five dollars in quarters, head over to the air hockey table and take turns kicking each other's butts. Well I remember, and I'm pretty stoked that they finally came out with Air Hockey for the PC. Elite Air Hockey comes with five other games; Air Hockey and Skeet Shooter are the featured games, and Memory, Walk the Plank, Odd Man Out, and Saloon Shootout are the bonus games.

Gameplay, Controls, Interface

When I first loaded up Elite Air Hockey, I was really curious how the game designers were going to get that "playing on air feeling." Rest assured, gentle reader, they did a great job; it's just like playing in the arcade, minus getting your fingers hit with the puck. I should go back a little and explain, because the younger set might not have gotten to play air hockey before. The game is played on a table that has hundreds of holes drilled into it with air being forced out; each end of the table has a goal that you cover with your goalie. The puck then floats on air as each person shoots it back and forth to the opponent, trying to get past his goal. The other feature game is Skeet Shooting, where you shoot at single and multiple clay targets, trying to get a perfect score. All the bonus games are very self-explanatory and easy to get into. For the most part, all six games are a quick way to blow off some steam if you only have a few minutes to play, or don't feel like getting into one of your hard thinking games.

Graphics

I think almost every one that plays this game will agree that the graphics for both feature games are the best, while the graphics for the bonus games are sub-par. I really liked the option of changing to different tables in Air Hockey; it gives you a little change of scenery. The graphics for Air Hockey and Skeet Shooter were very fluid also, which is important for Air Hockey.

Audio

When playing Air Hockey you will get different crowd noises depending on which table you choose to play on. Skeet Shooter is just plain simple "KKKKLBBAAAAMM," with not a lot else. None of the bonus games' audio really sticks out in my mind except Saloon Shootout, and only because it was noisy and distracting.

System Requirements

Win 95/98, Pentium 75MHz, 16 MB RAM, 20 MB free hard space, sound and video card

Bottom Line

I only gave Elite Air Hockey a score of 61, and that's because games like these just can't make you want to sit and play forever. I do think this is a great CD to have when you just don't have the time to go online and kill some bad guys in Rainbow Six, or if you are waiting for the wife to finish her hair for the 12th time before going out to dinner. There you have it, gentle reader; a quick and fun game for those on the go.