When it comes to playing and reviewing games, I like to pride myself in giving every game a decent chance. The reality is, making videogames is tough and getting it right is even tougher. So any game that’s able to reach that finish line deserves its own time in the sun and a proper look through before being speculated upon. All that being said, I believe Tower Simulator 3 could very well have used some more time in the oven.
I tried really hard to get myself to go back and keep experiencing this game, telling myself that perhaps at some point things would click and I would actually be able to gain access to the intended experience. I am sad to say, throughout my time spent with tower simulator 3, this did not happen.
Tower Simulator 3 is a game about controlling an air port tower as you guide planes and prepare them for take off and landing. You’re able to tell the planes which runway to proceed to and when its the right time to take off, while also making sure you’re clearing runway space for other planes that may need to land. The game prides itself with its accurate airport simulation as well as boasting voice recognition features allowing you, the tower controller, the ability to simply guide the planes with your voice.
While the game seems like it would be a really fun experience on paper; getting to mess around with planes with just your voice, the game actually delivers very inaccurately on its promises. The voice recognition feature does indeed exist, but it may as well not have because half the time it doesn’t even understand what you are trying to say, and the other half of the time you might not even know what you’re supposed to say because trying to be as close to a simulation as possible the game wants you to actually use proper tower control lingo.
To be fair, I am not actually versed in real life tower control lingo so I cannot confirm the accuracy of the voice commands present, what I can however tell you is that the game actually requires you to read through a manual to understand exactly how you’re going to go about giving your commands and what command means what. I hold a very firm belief that a nicely designed game is able to guide the player through its mechanics using gameplay instead of simply telling the player what to do or having them READ A FREAKING MANUAL. Reading manuals could even be overlooked, Keep talking and Nobody Explodes is another game that actually requires you to read a manual as well, but for that game the reading of the manual actually ties into the gameplay and therefore makes the player feel more involved, Tower Simulator 3’s manual is not this, it is a straight up guide on how to play the game, something that could very well have been accomplished with a tutorial within the game itself.
This isn’t supposed to be a review about the game’s manual however, so I will continue with the actual gameplay. Once you’re past the manual and actually understand what you have to do the game still doesn’t cut you any slack in the way you are supposed to play. the game controls like a free form camera, using your WASD keys to move the camera wherever you want, like you can literally stand under a plane while you guide it. This seems like a great touch however it actually makes the game really difficult to play. The main gameplay of the game has you looking over these different screens that provide you different information about the airport such as a radar showing all the planes taking off and coming in, a map showing all the runways and the planes, another screen that lists all the planes awaiting commands and lastly a command prompt where you actually input your commands and get responses of whether they are valid or invalid (you can use your voice for the commands here and get voiced responses). With all of these windows that the player constantly needs to be looking at, a free form camera where you actually have to take the camera to each individual screen thus makes the game really difficult to navigate. It seems as though you are merely just observing a simulation happen, and if the game just was that, this free form camera would make sense, just being able to get cinematic shots as the airport functions would be a great experience, but the problem is, nothing happens unless I make it happen and in order to make things happen I need to navigate this very convoluted command system on top of this free form camera that makes it hard to see the information I need to make things happen!
The cinematic camera could have easily been redeemed if the game just gave the player a HUD but nope, instead you have the option of opening up multiple windows and putting your screens on different windows and screens on your computer that are separate to the game, which would be great if I actually had 6 monitors but for an average gamer, this is a big ask!
I apologize for the fact that this review has become somewhat of a rant. I do believe Tower Simulator 3 is good at its actual air port simulation but what’s missing here is everything that makes a game actually a game, something someone would actually want to play and not just observe and in that regard Tower Simulator 3 completely misses the mark. I really wish I could enjoy just setting the graphics up, look at these beautiful planes take off and roleplay as if I’m actually in a tower on a bright early morning, but sadly with all of my attempts this just didn’t happen.
I award Tower Simulator 3 a disappointing 3/10.
