I’ve elaborated a lot on Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) games in my Multiplayer Bible and Pocket PC 3D Acceleration Bible. Up to now, unfortunately, there only have been two clients available for the Pocket PC; namely,
the Java-based Wyvern, which did have some Java incompatibility and / or speed problems
the Russian-language, non-free Sphere by Nikita.
Fortunately, this seems to change in the future. SmartCell, of which I’ve reviewed several products of (see for example this AquaForce 1.1 and this TextPlus review / tutorial) is working on a really promising, Pocket PC-compliant (!) MMORPG called Shadow of Legend, which even has its own top-level homepage here, which may be worth checking out. There still isn’t much tangible stuff in there (unfortunately, the first demo game clients will only be released in early January as can also be read in here); however, at least there are three MP3 files and two trailers to download.
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This is indeed a very promising project. I’ll report as soon as a playable demo is released.
By the way, in addition to the above links, I also recommend this PPCT thread on similar subjects.
(By the way, still speaking of SmartCell’s product line, they still (?) haven’t ported RemotePlus to the Pocket PC. Hope they change their minds soon – as will also be explained in my forthcoming, biiiiiiiiig roundup of all Pocket PC -> PC remote controller solutions, Pocket PC-based Terminal Server / Services clients are all pretty bad and a decent alternative would be more than welcome.)
Some weeks ago, I’ve elaborated on the forthcoming, highly anticipated Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) called Shadow of Legend.
Now, there are some news on the title; most importantly, some screenshots and two CES videos (without really showing in-game videos). Unfortunately, nothing tangible – that is, no downloadable client is available as yet.
However, the two new videos (directly accessible on the video download page) may be worth checking out.
Related
Brand new trailer & information of the forthcoming K-Rally by authors of SkyForce!
I’ve often reported (see for example this) on INFINITE DREAMS’ (iDreams for short; authors of well-known, high-quality games like SkyForce (Reloaded) (review here), Super Miners (review here, in the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup, the premier resource of everything multiplayer-related) and Explode Arena (review also in the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup) forthcoming big hit, K-rally.
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They’ve just posted a brand new trailer to their homepage here, which is certainly worth checking out. The video is a pre-rendered trailer, NOT an in-game video. This means it shows far less real in-game shots than the more than one-year-old, Symbian (Nokia)-based, well-known “the stolen video vol.1 ” video. The (very short) in-game shots aren’t bad at all – they clearly show the superiority of iDreams’ particle / gaming engine. Knowing how efficient, spectacular and good it is (see Skyforce Reloaded!), I’m pretty sure the game will be a REAL killer, the best arcade car racer on the Pocket PC / MS Smartphone.
The features list has also been updated; now, it also lists (native) multiplayer Bluetooth capabilities up to no less than four (!) players (just like in Explode Arena). I really hope the iDreams folks implement native support for the Microsoft Bluetooth Stack – so far, it’s really been missing from their multiplayer games. They also promise it’ll have real inter-multiplatform support, which already works flawlessly on their other titles (I’ve also tested this with them).
The official K-Rally-related discussion forum, right now, doesn’t contain any new information on the title.
All I can say is this will be probably the best game of 2006 (along with Enslave and Skyforce Reloaded).
(Original news heads-up credit: PocketGamer.org)
We all know Bejeweled, one of the best action/puzzle games on the Pocket PC. There are several Bejeweled clones for the Pocket PC (some of them having been reviewed in the Pocket PC Games Bible Part I); the new title, Snowed In 5 - Flaked Out, is one of them.
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Availability, compatibility
The Pocket PC version is compatible with all WM2003+ devices and had no problems on my test Pocket PC’s. Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with devices running under operating systems prior to WM2003; that is, for example, with Pocket PC 2002.
There are separate versions for VGA, square-screen and landscape devices. Unfortunately, on VGA devices, the landscape-mode version only offers QVGA resolution (example screenshot taken on a VGA device here) and is, consequently, not recommended. That is, get the VGA Portrait version if you have a VGA device and want to enjoy high-resolution graphics.
The main page of the game is here; the Pocket PC-related downloads are here.
Sounds
Unfortunately, there’s no in-game music, which is a big minus compared to the, music-wise, world-class Bejeweled. However, the in-menu music is pretty good.
Visuals
Pretty good; definitely not as spectacular as those of Bejeweled (2) or 4Pockets’ games though. Support for hi-res VGA on capable devices is a big plus though.
Online
The game, along with its homepage (“Submit your score and represent your country”), also promises to collect your high scores on ClickGamer. I, however, couldn’t find out how this needs to be done. Hope it will indeed be added to ClickGamer some time.
Registration
The game needs to be registered for continuous play, but it’s, fortunately, pretty easy. Just navigate to here and register as can be seen in here (the answer is like this) - that’s all. To do this, you need to have a free ClickGamer account – if you still don’t have one, just click the “Sign Up” button at the bottom and fill in the fields.
Verdict
For a free title, I’d say this game is worth checking out, particularly if you have a VGA device.
hehehe... I just got to get this... if not for anything else the graphics alone
SuperCars (2)? Does it ring a bell? Gangsta Race? Dreamway? Ever wanted to play something like them – but something MUCH better, with freaking good visuals, sound effects, animation, in-game music, incredibly good controls and, last but definitely not least, multiplayer?
I’ve often reported on the current state of the K-Rally project. Thanks to the excellent folks at Infinite Dreams, who provided me a pre-release beta version of the Pocket PC version of this EXCELLENT racing game, I’ve been playing this title for a week (played it almost entirely through) and am absolutely astonished.
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I don’t think I exaggerate when I state K-Rally is by far the best game released (or a game that will be released – I don’t know when it will be released for the Pocket PC; hope really soon, which means either minutes, hours or 1-2 days – dunno exactly when) in 2006. Yeah, SkyForce Reloaded, the best top-down shooter for the Pocket PC, is a very close second (and there have been some other outstanding titles too; for example, Enslave), but I’d say K-Rally is even better, particularly when played in multiplayer.
Unfortunately, there’s still no Pocket PC version out (albeit the one I’ve played is very-very good and could be safely released as the final one – it all, of course, depends on the iDreams folks), only for Symbian S60 and S60 version 3. However, if you do/also own smart phones running these operating systems, make sure you visit THIS and purchase the game. (There’s no trial version, but you can take my word: it’s really worth the $14.98, it’s so damn good.)
Expect a VERY thorough review as soon as the Pocket PC version is released In the meantime, you may want to pay a visit to the homepage of the game and, for example, check out the just-posted manual and the online high-score board.
BEST GAME OF 2006, K-RALLY, IS FINALLY OUT FOR THE POCKET PC!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, now that I’ve posted several news items on it in the last few months (the last one some 2-3 hours ago), you probably know what K-Rally is about. It's the BEST top-view racing game ever released for the Pocket PC.
It’s available for purchase at ClickGamer and Handango.
Expect my full review later today or early tomorrow (not right now – sorry, just going to the sauna and, then, to a concert.)
Some user reviews / remarks: AximSite.
Sony Playstation Emulator with VGA & Hardware 3D acceleration (2700G!) Support Out!!!
Ever wanted to play Sony Playstation games on your Pocket PC? Ever heard of FPSEce, the only, high-quality and last but not least, FREE PlayStation emulator for the Pocket PC? I have some great news for you: after a LONG waiting, the new version is out - now, with (in Portrait mode only) VGA & some 2700G (Linear Frame Buffering to decrease the CPU load) support! It’s just wonderful!!
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The God of all Pocket PC Emulators, author of the PocketGamer.org / PocketGaming.de Emulator Page, Michu, has promised some days ago he would come up with a present for the Pocket PC community. The present turned out to be a MAJOR one: a brand new, heavily updated FPSEce version!
The first screenshots of the new versions were published back in October. These screenshots are REALLY worth checking out: they demonstrate very well how the previous, QVGA-only and current, VGA & 2700G-enabled versions compare. The difference is outstanding!
Note that the official download page of the FPSEce folks still doesn’t contain information on the new release, it’s so new. Therefore, you’ll want to download the new emulator from either the related English language thread on pdai.org of the official forum or from great German all-in-one handheld gaming site PocketGaming.de (direct link to download).
Also see this article for more information and a LOT of brand new screenshots (I've linked one of them above). The article is in German; the English Babelfish “translation” is here. A shorter, English article of the new version can be found, as has already been pointed out, here. I also recommend this AximSite thread.
games?
any idea where i can get the games for these emulator? im really curious now dude...
ariyani said:
any idea where i can get the games for these emulator? im really curious now dude...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See http://pdai.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9010 - it has a lot of downloadable freeware demos and stuff
It is nice to have emulator for the pocketpc. BUT, I tried a few other emulators, eg SNES emulator on my Wizard and most of the games are too slow to be 'fun'. I doubt this PS emu will be anywhere faster than the SNES. Proof me wrong
anyone got it up and running yet on an exec/jasjar?
You may still remember my roundup of 3D Arkanoid titles (if you haven’t read it, do it now; note that the chart has bad HTML markup, which will soon be fixed). A brand new 3D Arkanoid clone, Arkanoi3D has just been released for both touchscreen-enabled Pocket PC’s and touchscreen-less MS Smartphones (the latter even including 176*220 ones).
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The game has all a decent 3D Arkanoid should have: powerups (for example, to quickly shoot down some of the blocks), a line constantly showing where the ball really is in 3D and, which isn’t at all common with similar titles, a rotatable overview of the play area:
It’s available for download and purchase HERE.
Compatibility
It’s only compliant with WM5 (I’ve checked this on my WM2003 iPAQ 2210). It ran OK on my WM6.1-based HTC Wizard (Pocket PC) and (the original, factory) WM5-based HTC s310 (Oxygen) MS Smartphone. The touchscreen CPU usage bug considerably slowed down the game; fortunately, you don’t need to touch the screen all the time. Also note that, without increasing the ball speed (in Options), the game can be really-really slow-paced at the default speed. That is, make sure you increase the speed if you find the game just too slow. Still speaking of the options menu, you may also want to change the skin (the default is just too dark). Two examples showing this (the first is the default, the second is taken with the yellow skin):
Note that it shut down the backlight on my HP iPAQ 210 right away. Nothing could fix this. That is, the game (as of the current, 1.0 version) is fully incompatible with this model.
Verdict
If you’re into the genre, do check it out. I certainly recommend it over both Pocket 3DNoid and Crazy Ball 3D. Of course, it’s quite a bit more expensive than the directly comparable Pocket 3DNoid. That is, if you don’t want to spend $10 without comparing it to the alternatives first, also make sure you give Pocket 3DNoid a try first.
I only wish it had in-game music.