Bottom Line: Another excellent offering from Croco Studios, Build and Play 3D — Planes Special Edition is just what it says — a special edition chock full of personality packed planes for users to build and fly. Following in the footsteps of the superb Build and Play 3D, this special edition is another Top Pick in my book.
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No ads, no in-app purchases, external links to developer’s other apps in protected area
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It’s always a good day at my house when we get to play an app from Croco Studios. This week we were lucky enough to test out Build and Play 3D — Planes Special Edition. And my love for Croco Studios is still going strong. With the flawless game play and engaging colors and sound effects, I already expected to find a winner. The addition of some very colorful characters was icing on the cake.
The game follows the same basic format of my old favorite Build and Play 3D. First you choose an object — in this case one of ten unique planes. That object is then broken down into parts for you to reassemble. As each separate piece is touched, the base of the plane rotates to show where the piece belongs. As each piece locks into place the base rotates back to its original position to wait for the next component to be added. Once the plane is complete we are given a better look at it as it rotates for our viewing pleasure. Then it’s off to the game.
Once each plane is complete, the user gets to play pilot and try to collect the gold stars. To complete the course you must collect five, which sounds simple. But be careful of the birds, because if you hit one, you lose a star. After five stars are collected, you are rewarded with a short aerobatic display that showcases each plane’s personality.
Let’s talk about those personalities. There are ten planes total. You begin with a cute orange single prop plane before you move on to a biplane colored red, white, and blue. Then a blue double prop and a spiffy pink glider make an appearance before we get to the really unique planes. These planes seem ready for the holidays, with Dracula, a witch, and Frankenstein for Halloween, and a reindeer, Santa, and an elf for Christmas. The characters from Croco Studios seem to improve with each new app.
So, what did I like? As usual, pretty much everything. These apps are nearly perfect in their design and execution. The characters are delightful. Croco Studios continues to build on their already excellent format for quality apps.
What disappointed me? OK, I have to admit I was kind of let down when I found that the mini game was essentially the same for every plane. Sure, the colors and background changed a bit, but it was still the same basic “collect five stars” game. And after many (many, many, many) times of playing through the games, it seemed to me that the stars showed up in the same patterns each time, which started to get a little boring after a while.
I still feel that this ranks right up there with some of the best apps I’ve reviewed. A very strong 4.5 star rating is nothing to sneeze at. But there is a teeny bit of room for improvement. Even so, I highly recommend buying this one for your little builder.
(This app is also available for Android users! Click here.)
*****
Kelli wishes that she could have flown in a twin-engine, vampire-themed plane the last time she traveled. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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