(view image)

3D Air Hockey takes air hockey to the handheld in such a real and vibrant way. The graphics are perfect and the sounds are accurate too. You feel like you're actually playing on a real air hockey table. I used to love to go to the arcade as a kid and play air hockey, and now I can do it right on my PDA.

I booted the game up and immediately came to the setup screen. I simply chose to play against the computer and I was in the middle of a game. There are 12 skill levels that the computer will function at. You get to each level as you beat the computer at the previous level. Level one was easy but still fun. You simply hold the paddle and try to hit the puck into the goal at the other end of the table. Simple right? On my iPAQ there is a toggle button in the middle of the device that allowed me to control my paddle, but I much prefered to hold the paddle with my stylus pen. I had much more control of the paddle and could feel the nuances of the game a lot better that way.

With the different skill levels it really takes air hockey to the ultimate level. At first it was easy but as I started climbing up through the different levels, the action got intense. The puck was flying at lightning speeds and it really takes some skill to beat the computer at those higher levels.

In addition to playing regular air hockey against the computer, 3D Air Hockey includes a Block Break Game. This game is loosely based on the classic Breakout game. You must bounce the puck off blocks on the table breaking the blocks until all blocks disappear. Once all the blocks are gone you can score a goal. The only catch, you can't let the puck hit your side of the table or you lose a life. You have 3 lives to start the game and the puck speeds up dramatically as you hit the blocks.

As with most of the Handmark games you have a lot of control over customization of the game. On the level editor screen you can customize the different levels you play for the Block Break game. You can choose the color of the blocks and place them on the table as you see fit. You can preview the table to see exactly what it will look like. Very cool! You can of course also choose the speed and difficulty of the game you want to play.

Here are some additional specifications of 3D Hockey:

• 3 game tables
  
• Stylus/Graffiti or Keyboard Control
  
• 2 Player Mode
  
• Block Break Game Mode
  
• Block Break Level Designer
  
• 12 Computer Levels
  
• 24 Block Break Challenges
  
• 2 High Score Tables
  
• Multiple Configurable Options
  
• Fully Rendered 3D Graphics