Airport Contraband initially looks like a cross between Papers, Please and Contraband Police, but the developers behind Gas Station Simulator have taken the inspection genre in a somewhat different direction.
Rather than working through a traditional campaign, you’re surviving individual runs, balancing the demands of your employer and the cartel until one side either fires you or takes you out. Then it’s back to work as a new employee, with certain unlocks carrying over.
It’s an interesting approach that feels a little unusual for the genre but makes sense once you get into it. Starting over can make progression feel slow, although choosing different paths between runs introduces new possibilities and changes the mechanics you’ll encounter which does make it enjoyable.
I enjoyed my time with Airport Contraband. It’s a solid game with some good ideas, and I’d have no problem recommending that fans of the genre give it a look.
Unfortunately, the next couple of weeks are already packed with games, and I don’t see an opportunity to return.
Airport Contraband is pronounced Dead, through no particular fault of its own.
The paperwork is approved.
The employee has been terminated.
Pronouncement: Pronounced dead.\