1. Yesterday, I reported on the new FPSEce 0.010 videos. The Pocketplayers.info folks have just uploaded two, brand new FPSEce 0.010 videos well worth checking out:
Rayman
Wipeout XL
It seems FPSEce 0.010 will indeed be a BIG hit, particularly for 3D game fans with a Dell Axim x50v / x51v: it’ll really be able to run the well-known PlayStation classics without any problems. Make sure you donate to the developer (I’ve already done so)
2. A quick overview of Prowler Studios' games
Prowler Studios is a newcomer to the Windows Mobile gaming scene but has already released several titles. Of these, I review the three most expensive ($12.95 each) one (assuming most expensive means the best). Note that they're all Pocket PC only (not compatible with MS Smartphones - I've tested) and support all operating systems starting with WM2003.
a. Toe 2 Toe Boxing Championship is (or, at least, tries to be) a 3D boxing game. I don’t recommend this title. While it tries to be 3D, it in no way utilizes existing 3D acceleration hardware (tested this on the Dell Axim x51v). The in-game sprite animation is also VERY bad: it only has TWO phases. Taken the high price of the title into account, I in no way can recommend this game even for a quick try. I know there aren’t any boxing games for Windows Mobile (quickly checked this at Clickgamer in addition to the Sports category of the PPCMag encyclopedia). Therefore, I recommend going for emulation. The home computers / home consoles had WAY better boxing games; for example, Boxing Legends of the Ring for Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES; George Foreman's KO Boxing for the same two consoles; Riddick Bowe Boxing (which is very similar to Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing for Genesis and GG) for SNES, Gameboy and GG. Make sure you check out my emulation-related articles / Bibles in the Emulators category of my blog. Or, if you don’t necessarily want boxing, just a very similar arcade game, give a try to, for example, Garou (Fatal Fury): Mark of the Wolves under the excellent NeoGeo emulator FinalBurn Alpha. (Note that I haven’t tested the title under FinalBurn. It may NOT work. If it doesn’t, you can still look for another action game to run.)
b. Shuffleboard Unlimited: Unfortunately, this title is in no way as entertaining as for example 4Pockets’ Air Hockey Challenge reviewed HERE. If you’re absolutely sure you want a simple shuffleboard simulator, you might want to check it out. However, if you want a REAL air hockey title, go for the 4Pockets game instead - it’s way better.
c. Pocket Bass Angler 2007 1.1. Probably this fishing simulator is the only game you might want to give a try – if you’re into the genre, that is. (I am not at least.)
All in all, I couldn’t find anything of real interest among Prowler Studios’ current games. Hope their future games become much better.
3. Yeah, I know it’s self-promotion like linking to frontpages of my articles, but still… in the last (Feb/Mar 2008) issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, my Orions: The Second Age Strategy Guide was quickly summarized. Also, in his farewell message, Allen Gall recommended the articles of you-surely-won’t-guess-who
Related
Ever wanted to have a light racer / flight / bowling / golf game on your Pocket PC? Read on!
My readers surely remember the Multiplayer Bible, My Top Five Golf Games in the Apr/May 2006 issue of the Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine and my OpenGLES / Intel 2700G-related games / tech demo reviews. In these reviews, I’ve already reviewed some titles from Pocket PC and MS Smartphone games developer company OmniGSoft: Chopper Flight (currently, the only OmniGSoft title to have OpenGLES / 2700G support), Nine Hole Golf, 3D Mini-Jetfight and 3D Mini Dogfight.
Now that the company has just released a fully WM5- and square screen compliant upgrade of six of their titles, I’ve spent some time checking them all.
First of all, all non-Mini games have been updated. (“Mini” games, which were last updated in January, have always been WM5-compliant.) That is, if you have an OmniGSoft title whose name doesn’t start with Mini, visit the homepage of the developer to get the new version. All the new, just-released versions have the ‘u’ trailer; based on this, they’re pretty easy to be recognized.
Availability, compatibility
The titles are all available on the homepage of the developer. Their regular price is $17.95. Of particular interest is the Owen's Monster Truck and 3D Chopper Fight combo on Handango, where you get a $10 rebate ($26.96 / $29.95) if you purchase both games.
I had no problems (except for speed problems with some of them) running these titles on any of my (numerous) test devices.
The good
First, kudos for the developer for not forgetting pre-WM2003 users. This means ALL of their games run on Pocket PC 2002 devices too – albeit they can be a bit slow. For example, Owen's Monster Truck and Speed City are close to unplayable on my otherwise pretty snappy Pocket PC 2002 Compaq iPAQ 3660. Note that the homepage of the developer lists both Chopper Flight and Speed City as WM2003+ only; this is not the case, they do run on older devices too. Note that these games are ARM only; don’t even think of looking for MIPS or, even worse, SH3 versions for old Pocket PC 2000 devices (also see the Bible of All Pocket PC Games Part I for more information.)
Second, seamless WM5 and square screen support are also welcome.
The bad
I’m pretty disappointed by still not having either OpenGLES / 2700G support in any of the titles (except for Choper Flight) or multiplayer support in these titles except for 3D Mini-Jetfight 1.2f and 3D Mini Dogfight 1.5f. These games all cry for both these features: all these titles are 3D-heavy, where graphics processing units like the 2700G can prove VERY useful; furthermore, most racing / sports games cry for multiplayer options.
The lack of stylus-based (touch screen) control is a big problem with the racing titles of the developer. On Pocket PC’s, most racing titles have touch screen-based controls. Very few titles refuse to be controlled with the stylus / by the screen (for example, the great racing game port Raging Thunder).
In addition, all these titles have VERY repetitive in-game music. This should be addressed by the developer.
Finally, a problem with the graphics engine: there’s no way to decrease the graphics detail in these games. While the games run very well on today’s non-low-end devices (including my VGA devices too - I've tested the titles on my VGA Dell Axim x51v and VGA Pocket Loox 720 and had no speed problems), there are some notable exceptions: for example, current Pocket PC’s with 180…195 MHz TI CPU’s; for example, the HTC Wizard.
Other remarks
As far as the “fantasy racer” Owen's Monster Truck is concerned, anyone having read my big roundup of Mario Kart clones knows what kart / trucks game implementations there are on the Pocket PC. Owen's Monster Truck, when compared to these titles, certainly excels at square screen support and support for pre-WM2003 OS’es. It, however, has no multiplayer, unlike MicroSquad and has no REAL auto-acceleration (the, by default, enabled “Auto-accelerate Assist” only keeps the truck at the given speed; it doesn’t try to increase the speed all the time, which can be pretty annoying after, for example, running into other cars), unlike most other titles. This is a definite minus, as with the complete lack of stylus-based control (most Mario Kart clones have, in cases, freely definable on-screen controls).
Anyone having read my Pocket PC-based golf game reviews and comparisons (for example, the one in the Apr/May 2006 issue of Pocket PC and Smartphone Mag) have heard about OmniGSoft’s Nine Hole Golf available on the Microsoft Do More with Your Windows Mobile Powered Phone homepage.
Note that you need to have an active (but, again, FREE) Hotmail account to be able to access the game.
Again, check out my review to see how it compares to other titles. While the game isn’t so stellar as, say, Links (traditional golf simulations) and isn’t so innovative as 4Pocket’s Harry Putter's Crazy Golf and isn’t so friendly as Pocket Mini Golf 2 (minigolf games), for free, it’s definitely worth downloading.
Other recommended, OmniGSoft-related review links
OmniGSoft releases six new, WM5- and square screen compliant versions of their existing games
Multiplayer Bible
OpenGLES / Intel 2700G-related games / tech demo reviews
(News source: Dan Hanttula)
Emulation&gaming news:SmartGear with greatly enhanced NES compatibility;Civ clone etc
I think it was worth asking the developer of SmartGear to go commercial; his excellent emulator has been further enhanced after the major upgrades (the touch screen tap zones) in the previous version reviewed HERE. Now, almost all the NES mappers (more on this in the NES Emulation Bible) have been implemented, resulting in tons of previously incompatible games becoming playable. Thumbs up, Larry!
Revival will very soon be released – the first Civilization-like game for all mobile platforms, including both the touchscreen-enabled and -less two Windows Mobile platform. It seems to be REALLY great. Before it’s released, read Ben Stanley’s excellent review, “Revival: Finally a Civilization-Like Game for Windows Mobile!!!” and Masa’s in-depth one HERE (in French; the Babelfish and the Google Translator “translations” are HERE and HERE, respectively). Attila Katona’s (Symbian S60-related, but the game is basically the same on Symbian S60 as on touchscreen-less MS Smartphones) preview is HERE; his full-length review hasn’t been published yet. The related PG thread is HERE.
Lygue Games, who don’t seem to have a homepage of their own, have released a new platformer called “Bananas”. It’s available HERE and is definitely worth a try. (PPC only!)
There’s another platformer, Killer RoboRabbits from Mars; see THIS for more info.
Windows Mobile leading gaming news site PocketGamer.org has reported on some of the games of the free and pretty much high-quality games of XFlib website. See their report HERE, HERE and HERE of TangledBugs, Pipes (a Pipe Dreams clone – see the Windows Mobile Gaming Bible Part I for more info on this genre and the alternatives if interested) and ChristmasXed, in this order.
Still speaking of free games, the excellent Just Another Mobile Monday has published their Arcade Best Five (Plus Two) of 2007, listing the, in the staff’s opinion, best freeware games they’ve reviewed in 2007. Definitely worth a read. Also, don’t forget to check out their monthly freeware reports; their list is HERE.
Two new Sudokus have been released: Impossible Sudoku and Skinz Sudoku.
1. PDAmill has released Wild Gears, a Micro Machines clone
Famous game developer company PDAmill has just released Wild Gears, a pretty decent top-down racing game certainly worth a try. The features include:
• Gorgeous Cartoon Art
• Four different cars
• Intuitive controls that make full use of Windows Mobile touch screen
• 15 awesome tracks to race on
• Rockin' Soundtrack with over 20 minutes of music
• Four different Cups to compete in!
• Records Menu keeps track of all your best track and lap times
• Auto-save
Your first question will surely be (if you’re into gaming, that is): How does it compare to K-Rally, the King of all top-down racing games on all mobile platforms, including Windows Mobile (see review HERE)? Well, it has both cons and pros.
Compared to K-Rally...
It’s worth pointing out that the PDAMill folks pay special attention to their titles’ flawless running on low-end Pocket PC’s plagued with the infamous touchscreen bug I’ve elaborated on, for example, HERE. I’ve thoroughly tested the game on my non-overclocked HTC Wizard and found it extremely well done and the graphics not stuttering at all even with the stylus resting on the screen. This certainly wasn’t the case with K-Rally. On the other hand, I’ve found the game slightly slower on my VGA Dell Axim x51v than on my (even low-end!) QVGA devices. In this regard, K-Rally might (still) be a better choice.
Pros:
- runs definitely better on low-end Pocket PC’s with touchscreen CPU usage issues
- the control scheme may turn out be better for many (see below)
Equal:
- in-game music (both games have very cool music; PDAMill’s musician is Jaybot, after all, which guarantees high-quality, non-repeating music. And we all know how nice the “scener”, “retro” music in K-Rally really is.)
- no multiplayer in either titles. iDreams still haven’t implemented this in their title (too bad) and PDAMill surely won’t. Let me cite Jaybot from PDAMill: “You know my opinion on multiplayer support on windows mobile devices already: nobody uses it It's a nice extra feature to have, but we've never been able to justify it since Snails.”
Cons:
- (no MS Smartphone version: bad news for touchscreen-less Smartphone users)
- slightly slower on some? all? VGA devices - in this regard, K-Rally is better optimized
- no weapons, which really restricts the strategies you can use. In the initial design documents, the PDAMill folks did have lots of different things planned, of course (including battle mode, stunt mode, etc). They, however, simply didn't have time to fit it all into this release. So definitely in an update, sequel, whatever. Let's hope for the best
- Landscape mode only – bad news for users with devices with landscape polarization issues like the Dell Axim x50v / x51v. In K-Rally, you could switch between the two modes (that is, you could just stay with Portrait if your eyes are sensitive to the polarization issues)
There isn’t much point in comparing it to Gangsta Race and Dreamway (old Micro Machines clones) - this title is FAR better, particularly music-wise (just like K-Rally).
Controls
The car (as opposed to most other racing games, where the D-pad can also be used) can ONLY be controlled via the touchscreen. There is a compass on the bottom of the screen, which lets you set both the speed and the direction of the car. That is, the touchscreen controls are WAY different from all the Pocket PC alternatives. In K-Rally, for example, the stylus’ distance from your car sets the speed of the car and the car always accelerates in the direction of it. This is entirely different in Wild Gears. If you’ve been a K-Rally player, the new control scheme takes a few minutes to get used to, but after awhile it grows on you and you may actually prefer it to the full screen controls (especially on tight turns, and... when intentionally ramming another car out of the way). In addition, the PDAMill folks want to get everyone used to the on-screen analog stick idea, as it's something they foresee being very, very useful in future titles (for example in a 3D platformer, along the lines of Mario64).
Of course, this approach has (other) major advantages too; most importantly, no cars will ever be hidden under the stylus (some people have complained about this with K-Rally).
Verdict
All in all, go give the trial version a go – it’s certainly worth a try. It’s available HERE.
2. Resco Table Soccer, which is a very nice game particularly on high-resolution VGA devices, is free (!!!) until 03/12. Get it HERE - it’s REALLY worth it!
3. DoomGLES, the only 3D hardware accelerated and, what is more, free (!!!) Doom port for Pocket PC, has been updated to support the GoForce 5500 hardware chip in some models like the O2 XDA Flame and the new i-mate Ultimate 6150 / 8150 (see review of the latter HERE).
So far, very few (only two: Call of Duty 2 and GeoRallyEX), otherwise, Intel 2700G-enabled 3D titles have had support for GoForce 5500 (see THIS compatibility list). Now, you, at last, have an excellent Doom clone as well. Hope Kokak also manages to make his recently-released HereticGLES. Also see THIS PG thread if interested. Finally, please don’t forget to donate some money to Kokak if you would like to see future development – I’ve just done so.
UPDATE (03/09/2008): I've forgotten to directly compare the graphics of Wild Gears and K-Rally. In this regard, K-Rally is way better with its excellent light and particle effects, pseudo-3D environment (for example, trees) and scrolling. (Thanks to my blog reader Natestera for pointing this out!)
Thanks for the info and links.
1. (WinMo, desktop Windows): The creators of Shadow of Legend, a really promising multiplayer (!!) MMORPG I’ve several times reported on, have announced (see http://www.shadowoflegend.com/web/News.aspx?ID=452 ) the forthcoming, vastly enhanced 2.5D version of their game.
Unfortunately, there will be NO Windows Mobile-specific version of the new game, unlike with the previous, 2G (isometric) version. It will only be released later, if at all: the developers state they will only look into releasing the WinMo version when WinMo hardware manufacturers do come up with much more gaming-friendly (mostly importantly, 3D hardware accelerated) devices – that is, not in the foreseeable future.
2. (WinMo, BlackBerry, (Symbian?)): Concrete Software ( http://www.concretesoftware.com/ ) have announced the forthcoming native (non-emulated!) ports of the titles of the great Microprose classics, Civilization (IV?), Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon.
The ports will, at first, be released for BlackBerry. (Which may also mean they’ll also be made available for Symbian and other platforms with strong Java MIDlet support – after all, BlackBerry apps are also Java-based.) The BlackBerry games list (http://www.concretesoftware.com/blackberry/index.shtml ) on the homepage of the developer already shows these four titles; Civilization (here, referred to as Civ IV: War of Two Cities – that is, not the first episode) is slated for Sep. 2., while no release date is provided for the other two titles. The listing of other platforms doesn’t list the new titles as yet.
While, at least on Windows Mobile, you definitely can play these titles under emulators (for example, Civilization does run under n0p’s DOSBox – see The definitive guide to running (MS-)DOS (80x86) programs under Windows Mobile at http://pocketpcmag.com/cms/blogs/3/the_definitive_guide_to_running_ms_dos_8_12 for more info), doing the same with native (or, at least, Java MIDlet-based) games is much better: much less CPU usage (resulting in much better battery life), advanced (midi / Adlib / Sound blaster) audio, customizable keys etc.
3. Make sure you check out Eric Pankoke’s My World Of Handhelds http://www.myworldofhandhelds.com . Among other things, it has decent a review of Xassar's Quest ( http://myworldofhandhelds.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128&Itemid=33 ) and Igor ( http://myworldofhandhelds.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122&Itemid=1 ) – two titles I couldn’t fully test upon writing a quick news items on them. Of particular interest is Xassar's Quest, an RPG, which definitely is worth paying attention to.
4. (Windows Mobile devices with accelerometer): There is a real abundance of games utilizing the accelerometer of the HTC Diamond and the HTC Touch Pro. See the list of these games at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=411419 . The thread started post is worth checking out now and then for new projects.
Still speaking of 3D hardware acceleration, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=415873 has a decent C#/.NET Compact Framework wrapper for OpenGLES. If you’re a .NET CF games programmer looking into 3D acceleration, check it out.
5. (Symbian): Several new, high-quality titles have been released for Nokia’s Next-Gen N-Gage platform. Some of the better titles include the adventure Dirk Dagger (official website: http://www.dirkdagger.com/ ; AAN post & discussion: http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7858_Dirk_Dagger_now_available_on_N.php ) and, most importantly, Reset Generation (see related AAN story at http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7789_Reset_Generation_The_first_Meg.php and http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7774_Reset_Generation_out_now_on_N-.php ), a truly multiplayer, really nice game well worth trying. Note that it has a free Web version you can test in your desktop browser; it’s available at http://www.allaboutngage.com/games/item/Project_White_Rock.php . Also note that you can even put the game on your own website as is explained at http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7781_How_to_put_the_full_version_of.php
Still speaking of the N-Gage platform, the also-new Dogz has received pretty bad press; see http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7914_AAN_reviews_Dogz_for_N-Gage.php
6. (Symbian, Palm, WinMo): Infinite Dreams, the developer of some killer titles like K-Rally and SkyForce (Reloaded), have a blog on their own at http://idreamsblog.blogspot.com/ (also see http://www.allaboutngage.com/news/item/7742_Infinite_Dreams_Blog.php ). There aren’t many entries there; still, fans of the developer may still want to check the page out.
7. (WinMo): A free (!) Metal Slug-remake, Psycho Team’s Symbian Killer (see http://psygame.org/publ/2-1-0-4 ; direct download: http://psygame.org/download/SymbianKiller.CAB ) is definitely worth checking out if you like Metal Slug, one of the bets 2D platform games ever written. (See my Guide to Emulating NeoGeo and CPS: A must if you’re into quality and FREE arcade games! at http://pocketpcmag.com/cms/blogs/3/the_guide_to_emulating_neogeo_and_cps_a for more info on emulating the original titles.)
8. (WinMo): another platformer: Firetop Adventure. Allen Gall's review is at http://pocketpcmag.com/cms/blog/5248/the-week-in-games-firetop-adventure