Archive for the 'Arcade' Category

Direct Link : Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars
Publisher : Astraware

Price : $29.95

Graphics : 9.5 Out of 10
Sound : 9 out of 10
Gameplay : 9 Out of 10
Longevity : 8.5 Out of 10
Overall : 9 Out of 10

Sometime a review can take a while to complete. This can be due to other working commitments, or one of a multitude of other reasons. Sometimes however the reason is the classic, one more go syndrome. With Broken Sword however, it’s not quite the one more go scenario, as you don’t get vanquished by your foes and have to start all over again. Here it’s the need to progress further and further into the game, of course to be able to report on all the goodness within.

First off let me say this game is gorgeous. From the absolutely amazing graphics, to the smooth animation, and wonderful sound effects and spoken dialogue. Admittedly the dialogue can at times be really cheesy, but it’s totally in keeping with the game and at times provides some light relief.

This is a game that’s relatively hungry for storage space. The game itself needs 115 megabytes, with a recommended 250 megabytes for the purpose of installation. No problem here, fortunately as I have a 4 gigabyte CF card in my Pocket PC, so this wasn’t an issue, but it’s worth noting, if you are a bit short of the necessary space.

For anyone who’s played a point and click adventure, the gameplay will be pretty familiar. After cut scenes or interaction with characters, you can click on items strewn about the scene, to find out more information or interact with the item, or click in the direction you wish to travel, i.e., through a door, or up a flight of stairs. You can also interact with a range of characters in the game, from stuffy police, to the delightfully dotty and eccentric and this interaction is vital to unlocking information and clues, to allow you to progress further in the game.

The basic storyline begins with you, George Stobbard a vacationing American, outside a café in Paris, just after an explosion in which a man is killed inside. You take it upon yourself to investigate further and start to uncover a terrifying conspiracy. The game is a remake of one previously available on the PC and Playstation, but you wouldn’t have guessed it. This isn’t a straight, let’s make money port, as there has been some amazing attention to detail and indeed gameplay. This game plays like a charm and you never feel like it’s a game that’s been mindlessly shoe horned into the Pocket PC.

As I mentioned before, I would have reviewed this earlier, but I wanted to at least get far enough into the game, to be able to give an informed opinion. Well that opinion is in and it’s all good. I’m not sure how far I’ve got in the game, but I’ve had enough “ah ha” moments, to fuel the desire to continue further. Indeed even after this review is put to bed, I feel like I’m going to have to finish this game, otherwise it will be one of those things burning away in the back of my mind.

I can’t really think of a single thing to criticise this game. Yes the price of the game is a little high at a tad under $30, but the overall experience and gameplay really pale the cost into insignificance. This really is one of those games you love to have, just to show off what a Pocket PC can do, to your friends and collegues.

Conclusion : This is just an amazing game, with that great immersive quality. In fact I’d sometimes forget that I was playing on a small Pocket PC screen, especially when wearing headphones. Certainly not a game you are going to walk straight through, but the difficult level seems to be set just about right. An absolute must for your Pocket PC games collection.

Direct Link : Atomic Battle Dragons
Publisher : Isotope244

Price : $19.95

Graphics : 9 Out of 10
Sound : 8.5 out of 10
Gameplay : 8 Out of 10
Longevity : 8.5 Out of 10
Overall : 8.5 Out of 10

Based on the old Atari arcade game Joust, this takes the basic gameplay and builds a story upon it, adding a whole new dimension to the game. If you haven’t guessed already, the basic idea behind the game is to fly your dragon and joust other dragons. You have to make sure your jousting pole is higher than your opponents to inflict damage, or it’s you on the end of a sharp stick. Once you have defeated a dragon, the rider will make his way to a regeneration pod. If you hit him before he reaches it, he will be defeated. Once all the dragons are defeated, you progress to the next level. There are 4 different zones to progress through, each comprising of 40 levels, so this is going to be no walk in the park.

What makes this game shine, is the story that unfolds during the game. This not only provides light relief, which is sometimes sorely needed after some levels, but it also makes you really feel involved in the game. Yes at times the dialog is a bit on the cheesy side, but it fits right in with the animation/graphics style, so is easily forgiven.

I have to admit, although I never played the original game in the arcades, I did play one of the many home computer versions, that surfaced in the mid 80’s. The one I remember most was for my beloved ZX Spectrum, from Rabbit Software. I actually remember this games exceptionally well, as a friend and I disassembled the code, to find out how it works and I’m still a huge geek, many moons later.

The big proviso of this games is the machine you are running it on, specifically the method for which you interact with the game. There are two modes. One has you using your devices D-Pad, or what ever equivalent you may have. On my Dell Axmin X50V, this isn’t the most ideal of control system, especially with a game like this, where the action can get a bit frantic. Fortunately the other method utilities a mix of control pad and screen taps. You basically use the screen to flap your wings and the control pad to direct either left and right. This latter method is the one that I found myself using most and becomes pretty intuitive pretty quickly.

Conclusion : This is a game that starts of pretty slowly, but even then you are going to struggle until you are used to controlling your character. The difficulty escalates pretty quickly, but not at a rate that becomes overwhelming. I love the graphics, which are slick and smooth and the sound, whilst fairly minimal, compliments the game nicely.

Direct Link : Hammer Heads
Publisher : Astraware

Price : $19.95

Graphics : 6 Out of 10
Sound : 6 out of 10
Gameplay : 7 Out of 10
Longevity : 7 Out of 10
Overall : 6.5 Out of 10

I have to admit, the thought of a game, that’s basically a more in depth version of the freestanding arcade game, “Whack a Mole” didn’t fill me with too much anticipation, but as with all Astraware games, you have to reserve judgment until you’ve actually played the game.

So the aim of the game is relatively straight forward. When a gnome pops his head from out of a hole, tap his head with the stylus and that’s one less gnome to have to worry about, miss however or let the gnome get away and you miss the opportunity of a perfect score. As the game progresses, gnomes with different properties appear, forcing you to hit them multiple times or at a time when they are susceptible to attack.

The game is played in waves, with only a brief respite after each wave. Admittedly once you have become accustomed to the game play, the earlier levels can become a bit mind numbing, fortunately you can pickup the game play from the previous level you expired on. Throughout the game, you also collect coins left by the gnomes you bash, or left around in treasure chests. These coins come into play at varying points in the game, when a shop pops up instead of a gnome. Tap on it and you enter the shop, allowing you to optionally purchase items to help you in your quest. Some of these items have an unbelievable price on them, so somewhere in the game you must be able to collect a bucket load of coins, because so far I’ve only managed to afford the cheapest upgrade.

The graphics throughout are crisp and clear, as is the sound. Certainly they are not ground breaking by any means, but they are pleasing and very effective. The game play can end up pretty frantic at the later levels and is surely a good test for your hand eye co-ordination.

Conclusion : A great game to while away the odd break in everyday life. However prolonged use may make the game seem long in the tooth before too long.

Direct Link : Galaxy Gate
Publisher : Inscenic

Price : $7.95

Graphics : 7 Out of 10
Sound : 7 out of 10
Gameplay : 8 Out of 10
Longevity : 8 Out of 10
Overall : 7.5 Out of 10

You can always tell a good game. It’s the one that over the years, keeps coming back again and again. I’m not saying that as anything against Galaxy Gate, it just goes to prove that simple gameplay is sometimes much better than all the latest bells and whistles. Just take a look at Tetris for a case in point. In fact, I think that being able to describe a game in just a sentence or two, is a great testament to a games design.

The gaming pedigree of Inscenic, Galaxy Gate’s publisher cannot be denied. They are the company behind one of one favorite Pocket PC games of all time, Warring Nations, so it was with nervous excitement that I installed the game. OK so this is no Warring Nation, but it’s not designed to be. This is a puzzle game, pure and simple, but that’s about the only simple thing in this devious game.

The basic premise of the game is to collect all the gems in a 9×7 grid. However if it was as simple as that, you’d probably only play this game a couple of time. The 9×7 grid is filled with crates that can contain either contain gems or bombs. You must determine what they contain, by firing your laser across a row or column. If it hits a gem, the laser beam will deflect and change colour, to either green, blue, or red. If it hits a bomb, the beam will still deflect and change to yellow. Your job is to collect all the gems and mark all the bombs for deactivation. Whilst the gameplay is deceptively simple, it soon progresses at a rapid pace. I like to think I’m pretty good at these games, but man I’m not half as good as I thought I was, but you know what they say, practice makes perfect.

As always the presentation is top notch. The graphics are bright and colourful, if a little on the simplistic side. The sound is also very well done, with some great spot effects and some really groovy music. Registered users also get a game editor, allowing them to create their own levels. The only niggly point I had with the whole game is that I would often click on a bomb location, without first having the bomb locater selected, thus ending my game. If there were some kind of confirmation before clicking on each square, that would be a good way to prevent this, but you’d need a way to switch that off, if it got too annoying.

Conclusion : This is one of those games, where you just need one more go. At just $7.95 this is a must buy, as it will keep you entertained for hours.

Direct Link : Master Kick
Publisher : INDUSTRY Entertainment

Price : $14.95

Genre : Sport/Action

Graphics : 7 Out of 10
Sound : 8 Out of 10
Gameplay : 8 Out of 10
Longevity : 5 Out of 10
Overall : 7 Out of 10

I must admit I have never considered the possibility, that there could be a Pocket PC version of table football/fooseball, but in the matter of a few weeks, this is the second game I’ve seen. I approached this game with a sense of skepticism, but I have to say after playing for a while, it really is rather good.

The gameplay is just what you’d expect. The control mechanism is well thought out, but I have some reservations about constantly pumping the hardware buttons. That aside though, the gameplay is pretty fluid and is exactly how you’d imagine it to play. You move your men up and down using either the d-pad, or slide the stylus (or your finger) up and down on the screen. You spin the men by clicking on either the Select, Contact or Home button. Depending on how long you hold the button, determines how strongly you spin your men.

There are two different gameplay options, either single game, where once you’ve selected who you want to play as, you then select one of the remaining 5 opponents. The other mode is League, where you play all the other teams, hoping to finish at the top of the league. My only concern is that while this provides an excellent way to while away a few minutes, the league mode doesn’t really offer much depth, as you only play each team once. It would have been great, if the other mode was some kind of knock out competition, where you first have to qualify and then scrape through each round to reach the final. Failing that, if you at least had to play each team twice that would be better.

There are also two different modes of play. You can either play a timed game where the winner is the one with the most goals after 3 minutes, or play until one of the players reaches 5 goals.

Conclusion : Whilst this is an excellent implementation of the game on the Pocket PC, the long term playability is a factor. If you love to switch on and have a quick game with some frantic action this is a must buy. If however you like a game with a little more depth, then you may want to try this out first.

Direct Link : My Little Tank
Publisher : Astraware

Price : $19.95

Graphics : 7 out of 10
Sound : 8 out of 10
Gameplay : 8 Out of 10
Longevity : 7 Out of 10
Overall : 7.5 Out of 10

ATTENTION!!! ARE YOU READY TO DRIVE SOLDIER? GO!!! Wow every boys fantasy come true. OK, that’s not quite accurate, but I must say I’ve always fancied myself as a tank driver and now I’ve got my chance. Thinking back though, I did drive a tank a bit in the 70s with Atari’s Tank Battle. Oh yeah and I also drove a tank in the 80s in Atari’s Battlezone. The 90s were a lean period for tanks, but now we’re in the Noughties, Astraware have me back behind the wheel (or is it sticks) with My Little Tank.

First off, let me say congratulations to Astraware. Not only do they support the standard 240×320 display and the VGA 480×640 display, they also support the new 240×240 display, all within the same installed program. This is excellent news as I sometimes like to revert back to 240×320 for gameplay reasons. Let’s hope more developers do the same.

So what’s the game all about then. The basic premise of the game is to drive your tank around and blow up things. I said basic premise as there’s a lot more to the gameplay than that. As the levels (and there’s 60 of them) progress, the enemies get more and more aggressive and require more than 1 shot to destroy. The game also covers numerous terrains that scroll as you move and you encounter 5 different types of enemy tank.

As the game unfolds you also come across different power ups, that give your tank additional powers, for a limited time:

• Smart Bombs - Destroy all enemies within a given range.
• Life Bonuses - Regenerate your tank
• Speed ups - Give your tanks some additional speed.
• Invincibility - Makes your tank invincible
• Weapons Upgrades - Gives your tanks some additional weapons
• Freeze Bonuses - Freezes all opponents

Pocket PC’s weren’t really designed to play action games, but with some careful thought when designing games, many of the limitations can be overcome. With My Little Tank, you can either use the conventional control, i.e. the D-pad and the hardware buttons or you can use the stylus on the screen to tell your tank where you want it to go and then use the hardware buttons for firing. On the Dell X50v i much prefer the stylus approach, but some other Pocket PCs have the controls perfectly arranged for this kind of game.

Conclusion : This is a little gem of a game. The presentation is very well done and the gameplay is spot on. This game should provide quite the long term challenge. I would have liked an additional hard level, just to give the seasoned gamer an additional challenge, once the game has been completed.

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.

Direct Link : Deflex
Publisher : Llamasoft

Price : $9.00 approx

Rating : 8 out of 10

To anyone who had a home computer in the UK during the 80’s, the name Jeff Minter will need no introduction. Indeed the name Llamasoft may be familiar to people in the US and Canada, especially if you had a Commodore Vic 20 or C64. To anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, be sure to visit the Llamasoft website, as there’s lots to read.

Above all else, whatever your opinion on Llamasoft games, the one thing you cannot ever say is that they’re boring. This guy has a seriously warped mind and it’s contagious. Even the simplest of games cannot escape the mighty Yakness and Deflex is a game in point. There’s been many variations of this theme, but the basics are, you control a ball that bounces back and forth between the walls of an enclosure. There are numerous objects dotted around the screen for you to pick up (targets). You do that by pressing one of two buttons on your PPC. Depending on the key you press a deflector will be placed in the path of your ball, either a ‘\’ or a ‘/’ that will change it’s direction, either up, down, left or right, depending on how the all strikes it.

What’s starts off as a very simple game soon turns into something much harder. Although this starts as an action game, it soon becomes clear that you’ll need your puzzle head on as well, as some screens need a very logical mind to complete. While the majority of action games I’ve played on the Pocket PC tend to be very awkward to play, Deflex plays like a charm… once you manage to work out what deflector you need to drop and which key drops it.

What sets this game apart are the crisp, fluid graphics and quirky sound effects. Many of the sound effects have a very British influence and this is something very unusual in games today, especially Pocket PC games.

Conclusion : This was the first Pocket PC game I purchased and I love it. Although Llamasoft have another game available called Hover Bovver, I wish they’d write some more as they are sorely needed. For $9.00 you can’t go wrong.