A demo of Nokia's upcoming next gen game System Rush Evolution is now available for download from the N93 software support page. It will install and run on other S60 3rd Edition phones, not just the N93. Unfortunately it's unplayably slow on the E61 I tested it on, presumably because the E61 doesn't have the N93's 3D graphics accelerator chip. If that's the case, then we can probably expect a slew of new 3D-accelerated S60 models to appear early next year in time for the launch of Nokia's Next Gen games.
The BAFTA Video Game Awards 2006 took place last night and were sponsored by Nokia N-Gage. As well as sponsoring the overall event, N-Gage sponsored the Gameplay Award and The Gamers' Award (which was voted for by members of the public). There's a list of the winners here, and photos from the event here.
Nokia's long-awaited combat racing game Payload for the N-Gage and N-Gage QD is now on sale in the N-Gage Game Shop as a download for €9.99. You can find out more details about the game itself by visiting the Payload game info page.
Just a note to remind everyone of our Support knowledge base. This was set up earlier this year as a replacement for the old FAQs and contains hundreds of common (and not so common) questions and answers for devices from all Symbian platforms. Here's the Support front page. If anyone would like to help me maintain/add to this, let me know!
N-Gage and N-Gage QD owners: you can now get all first party N-Gage games as downloads for €9.99 each at the N-Gage Game Shop. The selection includes: High Seize, One, Mile High Pinball, Rifts - Promise Of Power, Glimmerati, Pathway To Glory, Pathway To Glory - Ikusa Islands, Operation Shadow, Requiem Of Hell and Ashen.
Ewan installs Blackballer, designed to block unwanted calls and messages, and sets off round the world (again) - does it work and who is it designed for? Here's his review.
Maybe it's because I still feel S60 3rd Edition device owners are starved of good games that I've gotten excited over the release of the freeware S-Tris 2 by Elements Interactive. It plays well, doesn't use up huge amounts of RAM and is available for every other mobile device under the sun...
In support of the international 'talk like a pirate day' (no, really), AAS's own krisse explores the world of ScummVM, the emulator that makes classic games like Monkey Island possible on any Symbian OS device, and reviews a couple of the most legal games.
Time to get the diaries ready, as the All About Symbian Pub Meet time and date are confirmed. It's the same venue as last year (The Cross Keys Weatehrspoon in the City of London), and as always, it takes place on the Monday night before the Smartphone Show, so that'll be the 16th. We'll be there from 6.30pm, and the programmed events start at 8. More details here .
It's along time since I've laughed out loud when reading editorial about the mobile world, but Michael Mace has managed that this Friday morning, with a lovely piece entitled "Good Luck Naming Your Phones, Nokia." If you've always wondered about the byzantine naming structure of companies such as Nokia, then here's your answer. And keep reading to the very end, it's worth it.
Ewan reviews the classic strategy puzzle, Super Miners, here in its latest S60 3rd Edition incarnation (but applicable to all other Symbian OS platforms). Summary: classic puzzle, superbly implemented.
Nokia and EA have announced an agreement that will see EA create games for both current and future Nokia phones. The agreement encompasses both Java Games, which will be distributed using Nokia's Content Discoverer, and Nokia's next generation gaming platform.
You may have already bookmarked my own 3-Lib web guide, but there's another mobile web portal on the block, 247mini, run by recent Nokia E61 convert Shaun McGill. It's pretty impressive, too, and well worth bookmarking from any PDA or smartphone.
Moconews has a great interview with one of the VP's from Gameloft, and it touches on a lot of the issues we all know are in the mobile space - advertising and promotion, gaining new customers, the cost of mobile games and a lot more. Worth checking out.
According to a report on Gamesindustry.biz, Nokia is to be joint sponsor along with PC World of the 2006 BAFTA Games Awards. Nokia will sponsor the Gameplay award which is voted for by members of the public, and is apparently carrying the N-Gage brand. This continued support for the name implies that they're going to continue using it with their Next Gen games service due to launch in the first half of 2007 on new Nokia S60 smartphones.
