It started as any ordinary day. Picking up my iPhone and looking through the view finder of Star Wars Falcon Gunner I could see things are going to get ugly fast!! Blasting my way through wave after wave of TIE fighters and Star Destroyers.

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner app allows for Augmented Reality play where the ships are all around you whether your in town or out in the back yard. Yes, that included below and above you. To successfully play you will need to twist all around. In the Arcade game play, the gyroscope and compass comes into action as tipping and twisting the iPhone to change views rather than you doing all the turning.

Starting the game and returning later gives you a splash screen of game options. The lowest button is for switching Augmented Reality view on/off.  Due to the power of the game, it’s best suited for the newer iPhones and iPod Touch… the current version wont install on the iPad.

The settings area of Star Wars Arcade is a quick way to tune the game to your liking. Highlight Enemies is pretty important when playing outdoors so you can see the ships bracketed like in the real Millennium Falcon’s gun views. ‘Auto-Aim’ is a good place to start until you get a handle on how far things move on the screen when you tip and turn around.

I have not reached the levels that need the extra add in In-App Purchases features. The list is long so there will most likely be a big need as you move through the upper levels of difficulty. ‘Armor Plating’ leads me to believe there are some wicked guns pointed at my iPhone as game play goes forward.

Initially, there is only one game unlocked to play of you against the many Tie Fighters defending the Death Star. Below you can see the additional games available as you work your way through Falcon Gunner.

Game Center and Facebook is integrated so you can play against your friends too!

When not in the Augmented Reality mode, your view is of outer space. Included is the Death Star and many planets. Tipping the iPhone will cause your ship view to dip to the left/right. You can control where the gun is aimed with the left controller and shoot with the button on the top of the controllers.

At the base of all game play screens in Star Wars Arcade is a display to see where the incoming attackers are. This is very important in the Augmented Reality game play as you will need to turn around or look up/down to see and shoot the other ships.

I had not luck punching some holes in the Death Star as I shot at the Tie Fighter when it swept past. Your shooting and tracers are much easier to see in the dark of space then over the town.