Ever wanted to play platformers on your Pocket PC? So far, unfortunately, few REAL platformers have been released for the Pocket PC; they are as follows:
Atomic Dreams,
SuperTux,
Gold Miner Joe,
the free OpenJazz,
Bayside Studios' Quigley's Quest 1.10,
the not-sold-any-more Rayman Ultimate by Gameloft,
the non-WM5-compliant, now-free Tommy Kombat,
N.I’s great Retro Games collection,
Momentum Games’ pretty good platformer-alike, brand new Meltdown
and the to-be-released Titus’ Prehistorik clone Prehistoric(it, unfortunately, has just been delayed to March).
This means all new, decent platformer releases are a must for real Pocket PC game freaks.
Fortunately, Jadeware’s new game Grizzly Adventure is a pretty good platformer game – if and only if it flawlessly runs on your Pocket PC. Read on!
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Availability, compatibility
The homepage of the game is here. Alternatively, here’s the Handango page.
The title is supposed to the compatible with WM2003 and later operating systems (sorry, no-pre WM2003, contrary to what the official homepage states).
Unfortunately, it seems to have severe problems with VGA devices. As far my VGA test devices are concerned, I’ve tested the game on my Pocket Loox 720, WM5-upgraded HP iPAQ hx4700 and the A12 Dell Axim x51v. Of the three, it’s only the Axim that could run the game with an adequate speed and tolerable playability. The Loox was unbearably slow (even with Picard’s GAPI hack) and the iPAQ was only a tad faster (with stuttering music). It should be pointed out, however, that the x51v was still slower and less pleasing-to-play than the QVGA HTC Wizard.
As far as QVGA devices are concerned, I’ve tested it on my HP iPAQ h2210 and HTC Wizard overclocked to 240 MHz. The game had very annoying stuttering problems on the former (while it, basically, ran the game otherwise OK); the Wizard ran the game without any problems.
That is, before paying anything (fortunately, it’s pretty cheap - $7.95 only) for the game, make double-sure it does run on your Pocket PC without major problems!
Note that there also is a Mac and a desktop Windows version. Unlike the desktop version of MANY Pocket PC games (4Pockets and OmniGSoft titles, for example), it does make use of the increased screen estate – give it a try.
Installer
It should be pointed out that Grizzly Adventure uses a non-standard installer (screenshot here). This, as usual, presents a lot of problems: lack of user-deployable CAB files, lack of Mac / Linux compatibility, not possible to re/uninstall from ActiveSync, a current connection is needed to install and so on.
I really hope the developer switches to using standard CAB files.
Also note that the starting link it creates is linking an ogg music file in Programs. You must manually create a link to GrizzlyDemo.exe in the main directory of the title, which is \My Documents\Grizzly Demo when installed to the main storage.
Audio
There is pretty good in-game music in OGG format; this also means it can be freely copied / swapped. They’re played back in mono during the game. There are three different, pretty good in-game music tracks (also see the \audio subdirectory in the home directory of the game) and another menu music. There are sound effects too in the game.
All in all, the audio department is OK.
Verdict
It’s a pretty good and, what is even more important, cheap platformer IF it runs on your Pocket PC well. Give the trial a try to find it out - it's worth the trouble.
Related
Ever played the free RedBall by Heliad (also see the comments here) on your Pocket PC? Wanted something very similar, but with some decent in-game music and much better graphics / enjoyability? Get JumpyBall!
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Availability
The game is available here free of charge for both the Pocket PC (all Pocket PC operating systems are supported except for the oldest Pocket PC 2000) and the Microsoft Smartphone platforms.
Gameplay
It’s pretty simple, but entertaining: in the pseudo-3D world, you need to make sure you don’t let the ball sink into water.
Compatibility
No problems here either: the game ran on all my test Pocket PC’s: the PPC 2002 iPAQ 3660 (with slightly decreased speed and slight background problems – the background image just vanishes when you move the ball left or right), the WM2003 iPAQ h2210, the WM2003SE VGA Pocket Loox 720, the WM5 VGA hx4700 (2.01 ROM), the WM5 VGA Dell Axim x51v (A12 ROM), the WM5 VGA HTC Universal and the WM5 QVGA HTC Wizard (2.26 ROM) running at 195 MHz (had no speed problems even at such a low clock speed). I, in addition to the PPC2k2 / iPAQ 3660 problems outlined above, only encountered problems on my hx4700 because of the D-pad, which is pretty useless for gaming. Whenever I tried to redefine the left/right scroll buttons (which is possible in the game) so that I reassign them to “real”, more gaming-friendly buttons, this turned out to be impossible because of the two-state buttons. That is, it’s the best to forget the hx4700 entirely unless you have an external Bluetooth gaming pad.
Graphics
Pretty good for a freeware game and much better than that of RedBall. Doesn't use high resolution on VGA devices.
Music
The game uses quality scener tracks; for example, delicate 0ooz! by emax / trsi (also see the main page here). Hopefully all this with permission of the original authors – see the story here. The tracks are swappable in the \Program Files\PocketNew\JumpyBall\Musics\ directory.
Compared to Heliad's RedBall...
(as of (current) version 1.2 of the latter)
Pros
Has great in-game music
Has much better visuals; looks far less computer-generated
Much more stable on my WM5 VGA devices (x51v A12, hx4700 2.01). RedBall often (on the hx4700, always, upon trying to return to the main menu) crashes on these devices
Allows for redefining buttons
Has auto-jumping upon encountering water (this can be disabled)
Cons
No PPC2k support. RedBall works great even on my Casio E-125
No minimap at the top of the screen
Verdict
This title is definitely worth getting - you can't beat the price. If you've been an avid RedBall player, make sure you download it: RedBall was a definitely worse title (except for the minimap). There are very few free titles and most of them are of much worse quality. Give it a try.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to AximSite forum member pmcizhere for pointing my direction to RedBall.
Recommended links
Don’t forget to check out my other game reviews here. I also recommend the game reviews in the Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine's Expert Blog by Ben Stanley, Al Harrington and Eric Pankoke.
(Original heads-up news source: PocketGamer.org)
Momentum Games, developers of well-known, high-quality titles like Pocket Mini Golf 2 (see review & comparison here), has just come up with a remarkable, new, platform-like game. Since there are very few really good platformer games for the Pocket PC (SuperTux, Gold Miner Joe, the free OpenJazz, Bayside Studios' Quigley's Quest 1.10, the not-sold-any-more Rayman Ultimate by Gameloft or the non-WM5-compliant, now-free Tommy Kombat come to mind as examples, in addition to N.I’s great Retro Games collection and the to-be-released Titus’ Prehistorik clone Prehistoric), I gave it a test ride right away.
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While the game isn’t exactly a traditional platform game (unlike the above-listed games) but more of a logic / puzzle game (in this respect it’s a bit like, for example, Lemmings, Cavemen, AIM productions’ Tmax or Astraware’s Mazera, reviewed in the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I). It is also slightly similar to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Jet Pac (screenshot here), one of the favourite games of my childhood.
Availability
The game is available HERE, costs $15.95 and has a perfectly playable trial version.
Compatibility
I’ve tested it on my WM5 Dell Axim x51v (A12), WM2003SE VGA Pocket Loox 720 and 5-year-old (!) Pocket PC 2002 Compaq iPAQ 3660 (yes, Pocket PC 2002 compliance is VERY rare with new titles!). It worked flawlessly on all these devices. It’s also compatible with square-screen devices and also has MS Smartphone and desktop Windows versions.
Visuals
They’re pretty good: the game, just like the new version of Pocket Mini Golf, supports hi-res VGA. On these devices, it looks pretty cool. The “thrust” effects (see the screenshot above) are pretty cool too, a bit like those of 4Pockets (the most known, excellent Pocket PC game developer company to use movement effects like these.)
Music / sounds
While the music is pretty cool, it’s pretty repetitive (as with Momentum Games’ other titles in general – they should pay more attention to less repetitive in-game music with better quality) and played back at a low quality and in mono.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a “traditional” platform game, you may be disappointed with this title. Still, give it a try.
If you more like platformer-like games where thinking is more necessary (in the Tmax / Mazera / Lemmings / Cavemen way), definitely give this title a try.
Would you like to play an Astraware's Tradewinds / Sid Meier’s Pirates! clone? Do you find Tradewinds’ battle system far weaker than that of the Pirates, the father of all such titles? I have good news for you – read on!
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Unfortunately, there are very few Pirates clones on the Pocket PC – a classic game that is, as with Elite (see the Bible of Pocket PC Gaming Part I on the latter), based on both trading and battling and can be played for weeks or even months long. Up to now, the only Pocket PC game that was, to some degree, similar to Pirates! has been Astraware’s well-known Tradewinds (not counting in the even less Pirates!-reminiscent Seven Seas, also by Astraware and also discussed in the Bible of Pocket PC Gaming Part I), but, as it almost completely lacks all arcade elements, can be quite a disappointment for a die-hard Pirates! fan.
The new, recently released game High Seas is different in this matter – it has a far better battle system than that of Tradewinds. In this respect, Pirates! fans that wanted something more reminiscent of the classic may rejoice.
Availability, compatibility
The official homepage, the game being pretty new, still lacks some essential menu items. The title is available at Handango and costs $9.95 (half the price of Tradewinds).
It’s, currently, only compatible with WM2003 and WM2003SE devices. It is NOT WM5-compliant! I had no problems running it on my WM2003SE VGA Pocket Loox 720 and WM2003 iPAQ 2210.
Visuals, music
Pretty OK; music-wise, not so good as that of Tradewinds though (in my opinion). Note that neither of the two games makes use of the high resolution of VGA screens.
Compared to Tradewinds (as of version 1.03)
Pros
Much better battle system, pretty close to that of Pirates!
Shows low / high prices in shops and, in about 50% of cases, even for remote harbors – this greatly reduces wasted time and routes!
Landscape version also available (albeit as a separate download) – Tradewinds is portrait-only. (A quick note: the landscape version must be started in landscape mode; otherwise, you’ll be presented an error message that can only be cleared by resetting the Pocket PC) when you start the game in Landscape
Only costs the half
Cons
As of version 1.00.08, no WM5 compliance
Worse in-game music
Not so spectacular
No PPC2k2 compatibility (Tradewinds is compatible with Pocket PC 2002)
Verdict
Give the trial a try if you have a WM2003 or WM2003SE device - you may like it.
The company Oasys claims to have released Pirates! I have seen no reviews of it on the web though. The screenshots look great.
http://www.oasysmobileinc.com/products/pirates.html
TITAN-23 said:
The company Oasys claims to have released Pirates! I have seen no reviews of it on the web though. The screenshots look great.
http://www.oasysmobileinc.com/products/pirates.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still "coming soon" and, based on how lame the WM / BB Civilization IV port is of the same developer (ConcreteSoft; they're poering all these classics to the WM and BB), I'm afraid it won't be as good as the original.
Sid Meir's Pirates! works well on my Kaiser using emulators.
There is a NES version.
And a Sega Genesis/Megadrive Pirates! Gold version.
Both run full speed.
Sid Meier's Pirates for Java also works on my Kaiser 6.1 rom. You can even use the touchscreen.
Unfortunately, except for Sean O'Connor's PocketGeneral and Blitsoft’s Battle of the Generals (BoTG for short), there has been no Stratego clones for the Pocket PC. Fortunately, now, Inscenic, developers of well-known title Warring Nations and Creatonia has released a pretty cool implementation, Napoleonix.
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Availability, compatibility
The official homepage is here; the ClickGamer download here. The game costs $9.95 and there is an, unfortunately, pretty restricted trial version.
The title is compatible with all WM2003+ devices and I had no problems in running it on my various test Pocket PC’s.
Visuals
Very good – it supports high-resolution VGA.
Music, sounds
Yes, this is an area where Inscenic's games have traditionally been weak. It has no music / sound effects at all. Hope the developer will fix this problem. (Note that the two alternatives don't have in-game music either - except for a short menu tune in Connor's game. BoTG only has in-game beeps and a drum menu tune.)
Some remarks on the alternatives
(Also see the Bible of All Pocket PC Games Part I for more info!)
Sean O'Connor's PocketGeneral is an old, but very good implementation of the game.
Blitsoft’s Battle of the Generals has recently beeen removed from the Net – from both the official homepage and that of all Pocket PC download sources (I’ve checked Handango, PocketGear and ClickGamer). I think this was done because the most recent version, 1.1 (released back in 2003; incidentally, it's the version that I've compared NapoleoniX to), doesn’t support WM5. I don’t know more about when it will be upgraded because the developer’s contact form and forum doesn’t work either. Also see this and this for reviews. Please also see the former on the rules of Stratego.
Note that according to sponge the developer of BoTG is out of business.
Multiplayer
The title also supports real multiplayer (not only plain hotseat - it's also supported here -, as was the case with Warring Nations!) capabilities, which is painfully missing from both BoTG and Connor's Pocket PC game (unlike his desktop Windows version).
The multiplayer uses the best approach, that is, full TCP/IP (see this screenshot) and not, say, LAN multicasting or native Bluetooth connections; that is, to be able to run it without an Internet connection you'll need either a Bluetooth PAN or a Wi-Fi P2P network to be run. Of course, it'll run over traditional Internet connections - as far as the server host isn't behind a firewall or a NAT'ed connection. That is, you'll be able to play even people on the other half of the planet.
Unfortunately, it has no in-game chatting, unlike many other multiplayer-enabled titles.
Note that the only problem in multiplayer mode is exiting on the other PPC when one party surrenders. Restarting the game, however, works in this case too.
Compared to the other two titles,
Pros
REAL TCP/IP MULTIPLAYER!!!!
Much more spectacular, particularly in (the otherwise pretty useless) 3D mode
Hi-Res on VGA devices
Costs the half of that of Connor’s game (Connor's games, while being pretty good, are rather overpriced.)
Shows possible move directions
Excellent built-in help, which can always be invoked. The game rules are explained very well.
Supports WM5, unlike BoTG 1.1
Has no speed problems on the Dell Axim x51v, unlike Sean O'Connor's game (the latter very slow on the A12 x51v; it seems it has no speed problems with other WM5 models)
As opposed to Sean O'Connor's PocketGeneral, automatically rotates the screen to Portrait when you start the game in Landscape mode (and it has built-in portrait/landscape switching, which works even on WM2003 devices). Connor’s game, then, is unplayable and must be exit.
It’s available for purchase / download, unlike BoTG
Cons
“Only” supports WM2003+ (BOTG supports all ARM CPU’s and Sean O'Connor's PocketGeneral also supports very old MIPS / SH3 Pocket PC 2000 devices)
Verdict
Highly recommended for both Stratego fans and people that have never played the game but would like to have a decent, flexible multiplayer game. Give it a try - you'll like it.
Updated version posted.
Lately, I’ve had absolutely no time to test new games because I’ve spent all my time in real-world projects (yeah, I need to do some work to make both ends meet and to be able to purchase all the new gadgets), the Windows Mobile Web Browsing Bible and, of course, the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine’s Annual Best Software Awards I’ve become the Nominations Manager of. So, let me quickly review two of the titles; first,
A REAL Prince of Persia-clone!
You must have heard of Prince of Persia, which, back in 1990 (in addition to Indianapolis 500 and Legend Entertainment’s Spellcasting 101), was one of my favorite games on the IBM PC.
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So far, there was no real Prince clone of the game on Windows Mobile. Up until now, that is; now, well-known (see the review of their Billiard Master 2 and Bowling Master review & comparison in the Windows Mobile Multiplayer Bible) Russian Windows Mobile & Palm OS games developer Mobirate has just started reimplementing the game on Windows Mobile.
The demo can be downloaded HERE and is WM2003+ compatible.
The project is really at the alpha stage and a lot of stuff doesn’t work. The Options screen is completely messed up (the labels are not visible at all and you can only guess what a particular checkbox does) on both VGA and QVGA devices, there’s no Button 1 (I’ve tested this on all my three Pocket PC’s (Dell Axim x51v A12, HP iPAQ 2210, HTC Wizard with AKU3.3 ROM) I’ve deployed the game on). The on-screen controls seem to be non-existent (albeit, after switching some “Off” checkboxes to “On” in Options, the game started to use them – but not the D-pad any more). Furthermore, there are absolutely no sound effects / music. Finally, the game may be pretty slow on some devices: it was barely playable (17-18 fps) on my iPAQ 2210. The HTC Wizard running at 240 MHz fared better (24 fps); finally, the x51v was the best (about 26 fps).
While the lack of for example button support may render the game completely useless (for example, you won’t be able to even do basic stuff like drinking potions), you may still want to give it a try, particularly because the developer is giving away free copies of the final version to the best, most productive betatesters (see the last sentence in readme.txt).
I really hope a (more) playable version follows very soon.
Note that the developer’s homepage doesn’t contain any real information on the game. For example, the image’s link takes you to their game compilation Brain Master. I’ve tried to supply different URL’s (by increasing the document ID referenced by the URL) to find out whether there is a page dedicated to the game; there (still) isn’t. That is, you won’t get any additional info on the game.
(News source: have run into the news upon routinely checking for a new, Microsoft Bluetooth stack-compliant version of Billiard Master 2 and Bowling Master on the developer’s homepage).