I was very pleased to hear from C.A.K.E. Software with regards to reviewing their newest game, Aero Fighter. I haven't had the opportunity to work with them, and while I was aware that they had a popular game out called Amusement Park, I'd never gotten to play one of their games. That said, allow me to introduce Aero Fighter.

I laughed out loud when I visited the website and saw their description of the game. "Space Invaders meets Tetris", they claim. And since I've never been the same since Atari fell by the wayside and my favorite game (Space Invaders) was lost with it, I couldn't get Aero Fighter installed fast enough. Call me old fashioned, but I think that there remains a lot to be said for games like this. Their simple directions and lack of lack of complicated commands make them much more enjoyable to me. Not to mention that the buttons on a Palm are perfectly configured for games like this.

Enough small talk, let's get down to the real nitty gritty. First, you should know that Aero Fighter is currently being offered at 20% off. This will end July 1, so hurry up and try it, so you can get it for the introductory price. Secondly, now through August, C.A.K.E. Software is running a "High Score" competition with prizes being awarded to the top scorers. Visit the website for more details and don't miss out on the competition. Practice makes perfect and don't think for 1 minute that Aero Fighter's straightforward, "old-fashioned" rules make the game a push over. Start off too cocky and you might just find yourself embarrassed.

You've got 5 tabs to navigate through the configuration of the game. Once you start playing, you don't have to be bothered with menu items and the like. You get to configure the game, before you start, the way it should be.

The second tab, Top 5, is going to be the most important to everyone involved in the contest. Aero Fighter keeps track of your Top scores and lets you enter your name. It also displays your score and which level of the game you achieved.

The Options tab lets you set the game volume; select one of 4 sets of targets; choose which of the 10 levels you'd like to start at; pick one of three modes, Easy, Normal, or Difficult; and configure which buttons control which function. The default setting is for the Datebook and Address buttons to control left and right respectively, with the MemoPad button as Fire and ToDo as the Eraser. More about the eraser when we get into the game. The rest of the controls are self-explanatory. The point here is that control of the game is completely flexible and EVERYONE should be able to find a setup that's comfortable for him or her.

The targets also come in 4 varieties. There are animals, Heads, Aliens and the Card Suits. While I might feel more "adult" shooting the hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, I personally enjoy shooting the heads out of the sky :)!

The C.A.K.E. tab gives all the contact information necessary. The "?" tab explains the scoring of the game, vaguely explains the contest, and allows you to take an animated tutorial of Aero Fighter. The tutorial takes about 3 minutes, and once you start the tutorial, you can't stop till it's over. It's actually kind of neat and walks you through the game before you actually start playing.

The object of the game is quite simple. Shoot matching targets out of the sky and "erase" them. That's where the Eraser button comes in. Each target you shoot will appear at the bottom of the screen. Three matching targets will erase 1 row from the screen. The object is to keep the targets from reaching the bottom of the screen and crushing your ship. Four matching targets remove 2 lines. 5 targets, 3 lines, and 6 targets delete 4 lines. There are also point values accessed for each individual target, with bonus points awarded when rows are removed. Points for rows starts at 20 for 1 row and goes up to 200 for 4 rows. You can also get rid of rows by mixing three groups of two targets OR two groups of tree targets. Confused yet? Don't forget to refer to the "?" tab for a full graphical explanation of the points system.

The rest is just pure fun. It didn't take long for me to realize that "Space Invaders meets Tetris" is a very realistic description. The pure pleasure of blasting targets out of the sky combined with the pressure of having to have a method to your madness and the "luck" of the drop combine for a game that really is a lot of fun. I plan to keep plugging away to see how I make out in this competition come August.