ATC 4.0 vs City Gridlock
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ATC 4.0
Take on the role of an air traffic controller and make critical decisions to manage flights and prevent disasters. Oversee all aircraft in your airspace, guiding them safely to their destinations. Thousands of passengers depend on your split-second judgment.
- Manage all flights in your airspace
- Make split-second decisions to avert disaster
- Detailed graphics with weather effects
- Multiple plane types and airports
- 49 challenging levels
- Internet highscore leaderboards
- Featured scenarios like emergencies and no-fly-zones
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Control the Whole Sky! The fate of thousands rests in your hands, as AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER, you must routinely make split-second decisions to avert disaster! Are you up to the task? From the flight control center you oversee all flights in your airspace and you need to control all in and outgoing flights. Be aware that thousands of passengers depend on you! ********* SPECIAL LIMITED TIME SALE ********* To reward our loyal fans, and due to the great success of ATC 4.0, we decided to place ATC on SALE! For a limited time, ATC 4.0 will be reduced from its regular price the lowest possible price in the App Store! We initially wanted to go on sale for 1 week, but we decided to extend the sale for a little while longer. We will return to our normal price very soon, so act quickly! Thanks again to all of our loyal fans! ***** Find out what critics are saying ***** Macworld 4 ½ out 5 “In short order, ATC 4.0 has become one of my favorite iPhone games” AppCraver 10 out 10 “I dig ATC 4.0 in a major way. It’s innovative, challenging and smart. If you like sims, then you’ll want to wrap your head around this one.” SlideToPlay 3 out 4 “We found that ATC 4.0 mostly generated the good kind of stress, keeping us glued to our iPhone.” PocketGamer 7 out 10 “ATC 4.0 comes cleared for landing by the Pocket Gamer crew.” iPhone App Reviews 5 out 5 “The thing I like most is the Survival game where you simply need to clear as many planes as you can before the inevitable mid-air collision ruins your day in the tower.” ***** Game features: ***** - Detailed graphics -- from plane blinking lights and runway lights to tiny cars that drive around on the road - Weather effects, clouds, snow, etc - Wind - Night levels - Elegant touch interface and waypoint system to manage planes - Collision warning effects - Sound effects - Multiple plane types -- from small planes to jumbo jets and military fighters -- all are relying on you to guide them to their destinations! - Airports with up to 6 runways to simulate a busy airfield! If you have a mania for busy airports, you will be satisfied! - High replay value with 49 levels! - Internet highscore leaderboards -- can you compete to be the best ATC in the world? - In-game tutorial - In-game help - Featured scenarios: - day levels, snow levels, cloudy levels - plane emergencies - computers crashing - hurricane winds - high-speed military planes - Presidential visits with no-fly-zones - and more! ********************************************* UPDATE INFORMATION & FORUM DISCUSSION To participate in a discussion about ATC, come to the ATC discussion/comments page : http://www.iphoneappindex.com/2009/02/06/atc-40-control-the-whole-sky/ [ TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/ba76cu ] (Or, just go to iphoneappindex.com and type "ATC" in the search if the above URL(s) are too hard to remember.) ********************************************** ********************************************** TWITTER USERS! Follow me on twitter for app news: http://twitter.com/cculianu **********************************************
City Gridlock
Engage in a city traffic simulation where you strategically place road signs and traffic lights to manage vehicle flow. Solve complex traffic challenges, divert cars, and optimize routes to prevent congestion and keep citizens happy. Unlock new features as you progress through various game modes.
- Traffic simulation gameplay
- Strategic placement of road signs and traffic lights
- Divert cars and optimize routes
- 13 unique levels
- Time attack and manual control game modes
- Unlock new game features
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Turn traffic chaos into a city that flows. City Gridlock is a traffic simulation puzzle game where every sign and signal matters. Study the routes, spot the bottlenecks, and decide how to keep the city moving. Place road signs, program traffic lights, and divert cars around busy intersections. Press GO and watch your plan come to life. Cars head toward their destinations, buses stop to collect passengers, and queues begin to form. Keep drivers moving before their patience runs out, then adjust your strategy to improve traffic efficiency. Want a different challenge? Switch traffic lights yourself in Manual Control, or find the fastest way to clear the city in Time Attack. Features: - 10+ unique traffic puzzles; - 8 Time Attack levels; - 8 Manual Control levels; - Place traffic lights and fine-tune their timing; - Redirect traffic with road signs and roadblocks; - View vehicle paths to understand routes and plan your solution; - Explore cities in daylight, at sunset, in the evening, and at night; - Enjoy dynamic lighting, glowing headlights, and real-time shadows; - Unlock new features and increase your player level; - Compare your scores with other players; - No ads or content locked behind in-app purchases. Can you keep the whole city moving?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ATC 4.0 at 53% against City Gridlock's 0%. ATC 4.0 also leads on ratings volume (13 vs 2) and price ($0.99 vs $2.99). City Gridlock's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
ATC 4.0 costs $0.99 and City Gridlock $2.99 up front. ATC 4.0 sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. City Gridlock asks for nothing beyond the download.
City Gridlock holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ATC 4.0 has 13 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of ATC 4.0's written reviews are positive against 0% of City Gridlock's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ATC 4.0 ships an update every 4 weeks, City Gridlock monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ATC 4.0 | City Gridlock |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 3.2 (13 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.7% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 274 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | C3 Software | Lucky Loot |
Customer experience
ATC 4.0
City Gridlock
Bugs and requests
ATC 4.0
Reported bugs
2 issues- Game crashes or freezes on certain devices
- Levels become impossible to complete past a certain point
Requested features
5 requests- Add altitude control for planes
- Improve runway and plane size for better visibility
- Implement better collision detection and avoidance
- Provide more level variety and difficulty progression
- Add more realistic air traffic control features
City Gridlock
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ATC 4.0
- Adventure Pack$0.99
- Military Pack$0.99
City Gridlock
No in-app purchases









