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).
Related
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.
Anyone having read my emulator reviews (particularly the NES (Famicom) and the TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) ones) knows SmartGear is one of the best 8/16-bit gaming console emulator for both the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 6 Classic / Professional) and Smartphone (Windows Mobile 6 Standard).
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(the About screen)
Just after my publishing my reviews of the previous, 0.12 version, the developer, Larry Bank, released a brand new, 0.24 version of the emulator.
Let us see how it compares to the previous, well-known version! (Please DO read the two above-linked reviews to find out how the old version fared against the competition, what its major strengths and weaknesses are. In here, I do NOT provide you a FULL introduction / tutorial, “only” an up-to-the-point elaboration on the changes.)
Pros
Fortunately, the new version, as opposed to the old one, does save battery life automatically as can clearly be seen in this screenshot. (The previous version, as can be seen in here, didn’t offer any battery saving as it used the CPU close to 100%. This is great news!
When you pause the game, the menu bars will be displayed at once (on all platforms) as can be seen in here. This also means resuming a game after you’ve done some for example settings changes will work, unlike with 0.12.
There’s a new option, Rapid Fire, with freely definable target button (in here, for example, I’ve made it work together with Button B ). This is certainly welcome!
The menus are also easier to handle (here’s the new Settings screen and here’s the old)– for example, instead of the old “Throttle Framerate”, now, “Throttle to 60 fps” is used, which is easier to understand. As can also be seen, there’s a brand new checkbox, Quick & Dirty Rendering, which also results in some speedup, which can prove pretty useful on lowest-end handhelds.
Now, there is some way to change the video size with the newly added “Video Size” option, which allows for using 75, 100, 150%, Fit2Win and Fit2Win*.
With NES emulation, Landscape mode works OK, unlike previously.
Generic speedup / optimizations.
Cons
There is still no VGA support. You can, of course, play with the new “Video Size” settings, but none of them will help (and some, for example, Fit2Win*, will result in the program immediately exiting on some VGA models)
Screen buttons / tap areas are still not supported
The highly useful (as the emulator, unfortunately, still doesn't have any kind of manual state saving / loading) “Auto Load/Save” option can’t be enabled in the trial version, unlike with the previous one, where it worked (almost) flawlessly.
Compatibility-wise, there don’t seem to be changes. As far as the NES emulation is concerned, BattleToads still stops after displaying “1991”; Elite is still having problems and Famicom Wars (MMC4) still displays the “#10 missing” error. PC Engine emulation-wise, Street Fighter II Champion Edition (J) and Shinobi (if it starts at all – it was only on my HTC Wizard that it did) still have the same bitmap problems. The platform bug of Turrican still exists, making the game unplayable.
Several previously flawlessly running PC Engine games just refuse to start. For example, F1 Dream has refused to start on ALL my test devices. Operation Wolf and Afterburner 2 has only started on my QVGA HTC Wizard (but not on any of my VGA devices – not that it’d be any fun to play a game only occupying the upper left quarter of the VGA screen...)
Verdict
While this emulator still has its share of problems (particularly VGA- and generic game / ROM compatibility-wise), it’s clearly got better and his, as usual, highly recommended (particularly for MS Smartphone users). If it runs your particular favorite games, that is.
as promised by the developer, currently, the, in most respects, best multiplatform game console emulator for both Pocket PC’s and MS Smartphones, SmartGear, has received tap area touchscreen support.
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I’ve thoroughly tested the new, really-really-awaited functionality on my various (QVGA and VGA) Pocket PC’s in both screen orientations and found it excellent. It worked flawlessly. Now, the emulator is MUCH easier to be controlled on Pocket PC’s – you MUST give it a try!
Both Resco and PDAMill (the latter “only” with Arvale, GameBox Asia, Flux Challenge, Anthelion 2, and GameBox Solitaire; see section “PC Versions of Classic PDAmill Games released” on their homepage for the individual download links) have released free (!!) desktop Windows version of their games.
Speaking of PDAMill, they have just released a a Kakuro clone puzzle: Glyphos. They have also come out with a generic, free launcher for all their (installed) games, Lawn Chair. Both titles are PPC only – no Smartphone versions are available.
And, as far as desktop versions are concerned, the desktop Windows version of C2Matrix' Fire Hawk (see review HERE) has also been released – for free. Download HERE.
Ur Mobile Game have released Ore Explorer, a pretty decent jump’n’run game, for Windows Mobile Smartphones, Pocket PC’s and Symbian UIQ 3 ((still?) no Symbian S60, unfortunately). It’s available HERE (in addition to their official homepage); make sure you give the trial a try – it’s certainly worth it. The related PG thread is HERE.
You may already know eSoft Interactive’s Traffic Jam, a very similar game to AIM’s well-known Pocket PC / Smartphone oldie “Done In 50 Seconds” and Simbsoft’s “Railroad Jam” linked to HERE) has just received a sequel, Traffic Jam II. It’s available HERE for both Widnows Mobile platforms (Pocket PC’s and Smartphones) and also Palm OS (HiRes only – no HiRes+ support, unfortunately).
Speaking of Done In 50 Seconds / Railroad Jam clones, Max Image World have just released another clone, Sheepboy. It has nothing to write home about; still, if you’re into the genre, you may like it.
Machines at War, without doubt the best RTS game for Windows Mobile right now, has been updated to 1.10 some two months ago and received a lot of goodies I’ve also asked for in my previous reviews (the last one is HERE):
* New game feature to team players so you can have 1vs2 and 2vs2 battles
* Fixed bertha guns and turrets not firing after a while
* The game can now handle more units on slower machines
* HQ and miniguns were upgraded to help with rushes
* Made the easy AI easier and the hard AI harder
* You can no longer easily rush the AI
* Fixed Smartphone issue not being able to control the tech tree
* Several other fixes and performance increases
I’ve accordingly updated the comparison chart (also linked to from the main homepage of the game – thanks guys!) to reflect the changes.
Moregames Entertainment’s NanoBotz will soon be released!
If you’re a fan of Worms and its clones and/or Atomic Cannon (of which I’ve reviewed the recently-released version 3 HERE), or, just like the previous titles of the developer (most importantly, Enslave, Azgard Defence and the two Orions (Legend of Wizards and The Second Age)) you’ll most certainly welcome their latest title, NanoBotz. I’ve been betatesting it and, so far, have found it excellent. Including the music, of course, which is on par with the music of both Orions and Enslave. Some VGA and QVGA screenshots:
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http://www.winmobiletech.com/012008Controllers/PodsMainQ.jpg
http://www.winmobiletech.com/012008Controllers/PodsMainQ2.jpg
Also see THIS for more screenshots. (Source: e-mail contact with the dev) (PPC only)
SpaceTime’s Realms, which I’ve reported on HERE, has been made free. While it’s, in my opinion, a bit weaker than, say, SkyForce Reloaded, the above-announced NanoBotz or Enslave, for free, it’s definitely worth downloading. Get it HERE. Also make sure you check out SpaceTime Mathematics, which is one of the best maths package out there. (Source: PG, PPCT) (PPC only)
The folks at PDAMill have substantially dropped the price of all their games: their premium are now $14.95 and the other titles $9.95. (Source: PG) (PPC, Smartphone)
OK, now, some emulation-related news:
a brand new, 0.11 version of ScummVM has been released. If you’ve read my ScummVM Bible, you know what it’s all about. If you haven’t but would like to play old adventure games on your MS Smartphone or Pocket PC, go read the Bible.
Compared to the old version, there are few changes (but, of course, it’s still worth upgrading): adding support for both Lure of the Temptress and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream and some other goodies:
+ Seven other new supported games: Elvira 1 and 2, Waxworks (Amiga version only) and 3 Sierra pre-AGI games for children
+ Support for the Mac version of The Legend of Kyrandia and the Amiga version of Nippon Safes
+ Better support for Sierra AGI games
+ Support for FLAC encoded music in Broken Sword 1 for the purists among you
+ Better support for non-English versions of games, including eastern languages
+ Sound compression for SAGA games
+ Much much more
Specifically for Pocket PC users, the 'Free Look' action has been improved.
(Source: the related ScumVM.org thread. It's worth checking out for additional info. Note that the thread starter post also links to the now-freeware Lure of the Temptress.) (PPC, Smartphone, Symbian, Palm etc. Also note that the engine now also has an iPhone port – not only the “traditional” mobile platforms.)
Finally, Masterall has announced he’ll be shortly releasing the 0.12 version of FinalBurn for WinCE - one of the BEST console emulators ever written for Windows mobile. He has promised a lot of improvements and adding CPS-3 support (PPC, Smartphone)
Shame Final Burn isn't for touch screens =/
suk72 said:
Shame Final Burn isn't for touch screens =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is. Read my related reviews.
hehe i didnt read it,Just hit the link
The Redshift folks are back with an excellent title! Some months ago, they’ve announced they’d completely leave the Windows Mobile platform because of the rampant piracy. Now, they’ve returned with a remarkable action-puzzle mix, Dungeoned. If you like a combination of fast-paced action and puzzle games, you will really want to give it a try. It’s a bit similar to some maze games (for example, Astraware’s Mummy Maze, Monkeystone’s Hyperspace Delivery Boy! and AIM Productions’ TMax) quickly introduced in the Windows Mobile Bible of Games Part I, but is much more varied: in addition to having to find out Sokoban-like puzzles, you not only need to fight other (static) creatures, but, on some maps, also a second player, which is controlled by a pretty good AI (unlike the droid opponents in, say, the Commodore 64 classic Paradroid) and you must be very fast to attack him. This certainly makes a refreshing change to the gameplay.
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(more screenshots HERE; a mini-video HERE)
The title is Pocket PC-only; that is, as you MUST use the touchscreen, won’t work on touchscreen-less MS Smartphones.
The price has just been lowered to $9.95 (along with the release of a new build). The game is available HERE and is compatible with all Windows Mobile operating systems starting with WM2003. On VGA devices, it uses high-resolution sprites; in addition, as usual with Redshift’s all titles, it supports all the screen resolutions commonly used on Windows Mobile devices. What is more, it’s one of the VERY rare games that don’t use the CPU at 100%, resulting in the game quickly chewing through the battery. On my 624 MHz Marvel Xscale PXA-310-based VGA HP iPAQ 214, the CPU usage has never exceeded 35%, which is indeed very good news - few Windows Mobile game / emulator developers strive to lowering the CPU usage.
The problems of the title is the lack of in-game music (while the in-game sounds are without doubt good). There is only (very short and repetitive) music in the menus and the shop screen. Also, completely stylus-based control would be highly beneficial as in most, say, Bomberman clones; for example, PalmStorm’s excellent, free (!) Xplodus!. What I mean is tapping the close vicinity of your character to instruct it to go (attack) that way. This would really help players with devices with a, for gaming, sub-par (or plain non-existing – see the HTC Touch series, including the forthcoming Touch HD) D-pad. Yeah, the game does have on-screen arrows, but, in my opinion, they aren’t the best.
Verdict
Highly recommended, particularly now that the price has been dropped. Well worth at least a try.