EA's racing game Need For Speed: Undercover is out now on the N-Gage platform. You can find it in your phone's N-Gage app: to see it go to the showroom tab, select Options, then Update Now. (For a list of compatible phones and other info, see the All About N-Gage FAQ.)
Gameloft's action adventure Prince Of Persia is now available on the N-Gage platform. Go to your phone's N-Gage application's showroom tab, select "Options" and then "Update Now" to see it. For more info about the N-Gage platform including a list of compatible devices, see All About N-Gage's FAQ section.
In All About Symbian Insight 62 (AAS Podcast 118) we briefly discuss the recently released S60 5.0 SDK (and consider broader uses), follow up on kinetic scrolling on the N97, get Ewan's view point on Monopoly for the N-Gage. In the last part of the podcast Steve and Ewan relate their experience of video recording on the N85 versus the N95. You can listen to AAS Insight 62 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
The upcoming Ovi Store application is due to replace Nokia's existing Download!, MOSH and Software Market services, and there has been speculation about what else it might absorb. However, Nokia has now gone on record to say the N-Gage application will be kept as a separate service, at least for the moment, though they also said that their medium term goal is to "converge everything into a single distribution channel".
Nokia have released Monopoly, Here and Now: The World Edition for the N-Gage platform. Bringing the classic property trading board game into the next generation gaming platform, the EA published title allows up to four players to play on a board populated not by streets, but by the major cities of the world.
In All About Symbian Insight 61 (AAS Podcast 117) we look back at some of the software highlights of MWC (including a quick N97 mention), discuss the Nokia Netbook rumours / ideas, talk about Ovi Contacts and go over the latest N-Gage developments. You can listen to AAS Insight 55 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
The next gen N-Gage shoot-em-up Space Impact Kappa Base has been updated to add support for online clans and instant messaging in the game's "World Battle" section. Current owners can update to the new version for free, and people who haven't bought SI:KB yet may like to know the game's price has been dropped to 5 euros. Current owners can find full instructions for updating to the new version below.
The puzzle game DChoc Cafe Sudoku has arrived on the N-Gage platform, you can download it from the N-Gage application if you go to the Showroom tab on the far right of the screen, select "Options" and then "Update Now". It's from the same people who did DChoc Cafe Solitaire, and you can see a video trailer below.
The arcade racing game Asphalt 4: Elite Racing is now available on the next gen N-Gage platform. To see it, go to the Showroom tab on the far right, select "Options", then "Update Now". It should be visible in the "Latest Games" section, or alternatively click on "Available Games". (Also worth noting that the prequel, Asphalt 3, is still available on N-Gage and has been reduced in price to 7 euros.)
If you're a mobile game company interested in publishing your games on the N-Gage platform, you may want to check out their slightly updated Developer Application Process page. This page used to only mention becoming a first party developer. However, the application form now also says it can be used to apply to be a third party publisher, so presumably you can now publish your games on N-Gage without giving up ownership of them.
In the first AAS Insight (54) of the year we look back on 2008 and share our hardware highlights, rant about our lowlights, make a few daring predictions and waffle on our favourite pieces of software from 2008. You can listen to AAS Insight 54 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
What happens when you have regular releases, and everyone expects a game on a certain day? You have a good feeling building around your platform. Will Nokia continue the regularity of the N-Gage game releases in 2009? Ewan think aloud on what could happen in the New Year.
Yes, we know we're very late in reporting this, but better late than never... The new installment of Capcom's infamous franchise Resident Evil: Degeneration is available on the N-Gage platform. Based on a recent CGI film of the same name, RE:D is a horror survival game where you have to fight zombies in an airport. Not very seasonal, but there you go! You can get the game from the N-Gage application's showroom section, if you can't see it select "Options" and "Update Now" and then "Available Games", and you may also see it in the "Latest Games" section.
Not quite free but very close to it, you can now buy the updated puzzle game Quartz 2 Deluxe for S60 3rd Edition and UIQ3 devices for just €0.78 from Clickgamer (that's about 66 pence or 1 US dollar). As well as a single player mode the game also features internet and bluetooth multiplayer, and multiplayer versus computer opponents.
UK Publisher Tag Games has been working on a GTA styled mobile game for many months, and now Car Jack Streets is available for download. Given that the Tag founders were part of the original design team for the first Grand Theft Auto, it's no surprise that this is an addictive little mobile game, that makes best use of the smartphone environment. Ewan's full review can be found here.