This will either be a complete blast from the past or a glimpse into a world you never knew existed, but.... Nokia had a complete multimedia-accelerated game scene going on back in the early 2000s under the name N-Gage (no, not the software re-invention, we're talking plug-in MMC games on dedicated S60 hardware) and Martin from Retro Game Tech has been putting up occasional videos showing this growing collection of N-Gage's illustrious past. The latest is shown below. Thanks to Jay for the heads-up.
New(ish) in Nokia's Ovi Store are a number of interesting free and commercial 'casual'/'traditional' games from Offscreen Technologies, available for both S60 5th Edition and new Symbian^3 phones from Nokia, including Freecell, (peg) Solitaire, Video Poker and Checkers. See below for screens, mini-reviews and links. And yes, full reviews of some of the big blockbuster 'HD' games are progressing in parallel, to be published over the next couple of weeks!
In our latest (and shortest?) Ovi Gaming review, Ewan looks at MotionSpeed, perhaps a modern equivalent to Whack-a-mole. The title comes across well, though it's best played using a device with capacitive screen, which in the Ovi Store world means just the Nokia X6 at the moment. Read on...
"No..." "No..." "There he is!". Yes, for some Friday fun it's Capcom Europe's port of the popular children's book series, Where's Wally! How well does an artwork based book translate to the gaming world on your smartphone? Ewan decides to risk a pun and takes a look.
With both classic and (ahem) 'pursuit' game modes, Trivial Pursuit in the Ovi Store has been impressing Ewan in terms of sheer playability and implementation - here's our Ovi Gaming review. The only flaws seem to be the relatively low number of possible questions and the lack of true multiplayer action, but hey, isn't this on sale at the moment as well? Run, don't walk around the TP board to the Ovi Store and grab this for the holidays right now.
Nokia's latest first party game title, The Big Roll in Paradise, is now available in Ovi Store. The title is based around games of bocce (similar to bowls and pétanque) played in a resort setting with multiple challenges, tournaments and collectible items. At first glance this might not catch your attention, but the game has been extremely well implemented and is surprisingly addictive. The game, which has been developed by Infinite Dreams, will be available for free until the 2nd of July, but after that it will cost €2. Read on for further details.
Steve Litchfield tries to use his golf game skills in 3D Nine Hole Golf for S60 3rd Edition, gets seriously impressed by the graphics and physics engine, but then finds himself frustrated by a poor interface and general gameplay. The title gets a 65% score and a 'must try harder' summary on its term report. Here's the full Ovi Gaming review.
