Direct Link : Arcade Challenge
Publisher : eSoft Interactive
Price : $9.95

Rating : 8 out of 10

Sometimes you have some time to kill, but do not want to load a game that’s going to take too much brain power. Arcade Challenge is such a game, or should I say it’s 10 such games. The premise behind this title is KISS (Keep it simple stupid), ok, so stupid is maybe the wrong word here, but when you have 10 games that only require you to press the stylus on the screen to interact, you get what I mean.

Arcade Challenge is an ideal introduction to Pocket PC games for children, but don’t let that fool you, some of the games within have some real good playability. I’ll cover each game briefly so you can see what you get, along with a score out of 10 in brackets, next to each title.

Skateboard Spiff (6)
Navigate you skateboard along a course, pressing the stylus on the screen to make him jump various heights to clear varying size objects.

Jump Rope (3)
Tap the screen to make your skipper jump when the rope comes round.

Toy Factory (7)
Pack Toys by releasing your toy (a colored block) on top of a similar colored toy, to remove them from the screen.

The Fly (7)
Trap the fly to a single block, by making the room smaller and smaller, by tapping the screen, which causes a wall to form each time clockwise around the room, until the fly occupies one square. Be careful not to squash the fly under the wall.

Jump Bot (8)
Make your Bot jump up to the next platform. Platforms move and shrink in size.

Captain Gravity (5)
Fly you spaceship through a narrowing, twisting canyon. Use the stylus to negate the effects of gravity and make you ship go up, otherwise your ship will fall Careful not to hit the walls.

Alienz (5)
Kill all the aliens on the screen. Your ship moves back and forth as in space invaders. You tap the screen to fire a shot. Remove all the aliens to proceed to the next screen.

Basket Hoops (7)
Place your throw, by first selecting your horizontal and then vertical, by pressing the stylus when the ball is near the centre of the cross. Once you vertical is set, the ball is released and you hopefully you get a hoop. Games progresses in speed.

Circus Canon (8)
Fire your canon at the correct trajectory to hit the target either above or to the right of the canon.

Litter Bug (6)
Guide the bug across the screen to pick up litter. Tap to start your spinning bug in the direction pointed to collect litter, then click to reset the direction and then click again to release your bug.

Conclusion : Whilst none of these games is going to tax much of your grey matter, there is a certain charm about them. They are all certainly presented very well, with very good graphics and fitting sound. A couple of the games get very repetitive, very quickly, but the rest should keep you entertained for a while. My particular favorite is Jump Bot, as this reminds me of a game I played something like 20 years ago on a home computer. Overall for just under $10, this is a nice title to have on your Pocket PC and a definite buy if you have small children, who are allowed to play on it.