It's good to see Resco active again in the Symbian OS world. And even better to see that their latest, the game Resco Bubbles, is both original, addictive and has a superbly crafted learning curve for a mobile device, or so reckons Ewan in his review. Note that it does require a Nokia N95 or N82 though (both of which have an accelerometer and graphics hardware/compatible 'sensor framework')
Hurrah! It seems that THQ and/or Nokia have changed their minds, and the apparently cancelled Worms for N-Gage has been un-cancelled. This is great news for the next gen N-Gage as the game was very well received on the original gen N-Gage, and should be even better on the new platform thanks to the bigger screen size and better internet connectivity. Nokia chose to mention All About N-Gage's "Most Anticipated Game" reader poll in their Worms announcement, so perhaps AAN's readers managed to get Nokia to see how much demand there is for this game.
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.
Over on All About N-Gage, we've reviewed the arcade racing game Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, and we've also published the results of our readers poll on the best N-Gage game of 2008, along with the personal picks of the AAN/AAS staff.
Over on All About N-Gage, we've just started a poll to find people's favourite N-Gage game of 2008. Head on over to the survey thread to vote, and remember this is just a silly bit of fun! :-) You may also want to check out the results of AAN's end-of-year readers poll, where we asked which phone they used for N-Gage, and which announced game they were most anticipating.
A completely new game from one of my favourite S60 developers, MicroPinball: Casino is now online in demo and commercial form in the AAS software store. Screenshot below. The graphics are pretty smooth on all portrait QVGA S60 phones, despite using software rendering.
Looks like we're getting to the stage where serious apps and games can now be written in Python for S60 - witness Jomtris, released today, complete with (late) festive theme, which works on all devices with portrait QVGA displays. Screen and links below.
Over on All About N-Gage, we're asking readers to take part in an end-of-year survey to find out which phone they use for N-Gage, and which announced N-Gage games they're most looking forward to in 2009. Click on the link to find out more...
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.
As a fellow mobile video show host(!), I can appreciate the efforts of others in the field. Stuff.TV's last two shows have some interesting bits for the Symbian world. The very latest show has a feature on the best mobile games, with the N82 shown many times and Reset Generation on the N96 starring as well, plus the last but one has a big head to head between the Samsung INNOV8 and Sony Ericsson C905. I've already slated the INNOV8's reflective display in our video podcast and Stuff.TV agreed - it's the single biggest downside of the Samsung flagship.
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.
Our very own Tzer2 has been blasting away in a military helmet for days, in order to bring you the AAS review of Astraware's My Little Tank. It's a competent mobile game but it's let down by poor level mechanics (having to play them over and over again after dying) and by the lack of any multiplayer action.
AikonLab has released the first version of a new accelerometer take on an old classic: Frozen Bubble Twisted. Grab the beta here and get your comments and feedback in to the project's contributors. (via p@sco)
There are now six separate competitions running simultaneously to promote the N-Gage platform, with some rather good prizes ranging from phones and games to a big pile of Star Wars and football goodies. We've collected together all the links and info you need to enter these contests and grab some loot. As these contests have been poorly advertised there is actually a very good chance of winning too... :-)
Electronic Arts' football simulator FIFA 2009 is now available on the N-Gage platform. Just open your phone's N-Gage app, go to the Showroom section, select "Options" and then "Update Now" to see it. (It should also become available through the N-Gage website over the next day or two, if you prefer to install games through your computer.) This release is a bit of a surprise, as it had only just been announced a few weeks ago and hadn't even made it into N-Gage.com's upcoming games list. Obviously EA were working on this a long time before they announced it.