Forget all the new fangled brain games, Steve has turned to the
classics - Chess. Odesys Chess promises a challenging AI opponent, as
well as a strong online multi player environment. Steve is impressed,
but not enough to tell us his ranking, in our latest review.
Fed up waiting for N-Gage to go live? Console yourselves with this brand new games compilation from PDA maestros Astraware. After yesterday's announcement, and after a week or so of actual pre-release gameplay, Ewan presents his review of Astraware Boardgames, for both S60 3rd Edition and UIQ 3. Summary: classic games, well pitched and well implemented, Boardgames only falls short of Megagame status by a gnat's whisker.
Astraware, arguably THE top name in PDA gaming, has finally started releasing titles for Symbian OS, with the simultaneous launch of "Boardgames" for both S60 3rd Edition and UIQ 3, supporting all the usual devices. The games include Chess, Reversi, Backgammon, Snakes and ladders, Nine Mens Morris and Checkers. Ewan's been playing with an advance copy for a while and he'll have a full review tomorrow, hopefully. See below for some screenshots and the full press release.
Continuing his quest to find great time fillers for his transatlantic trip, Ewan's been looking at another Java game, Silver Ball. It's presented well and has classic gameplay, but it's let down by clumsy sound control and some overlong screen transitions.
If you're anything like Ewan and myself, you'll enjoy a good brain-stretching, language-challenging word game - and these have been few and far between on smartphones. However, the appearance of Scratchy, reviewed here by Ewan, has helped a lot, keeping him entertained on his American travels. It's Java-based and basically works on anything, by the way.
The makers of the free Xmas game Snowed In have come up with a similar Easter-themed free game called Eggstreme: Sizzler Supremacy. It's available for every Symbian platform (S60 3rd, S60 1st/2nd, UIQ3, UIQ2, Series 80 and Series 90). The S60 3rd version supports all screen resolutions including the N80 and E90. You can download the relevant game file by going here, and you can get the free unlock code by going here.
I reviewed Meteor almost three years ago but Krisse, in the run up to the next-gen N-Gage launch in 20072009 2008, has been revisiting many Symbian OS classics and here reviews Meteor again in QVGA form on a modern S60 3rd Edition device. Has the game changed in the intervening years - does Meteor still hold up? It's available for all versions of S60 and UIQ, plus Series 80, by the way.
Twelfth Night has come and gone so Xmas is well and truly over, but you can still get Snowed In 6: Deep Freeze for free if you hurry. Simply download the game from this page (click on the relevant "try" button), install it on your Symbian device, and then head on over to the unlock code page to get your free key. SI6 is available for all Symbian platforms, and the offer ends on the 15th of January.
Just to assure those who might worry that AllAboutSymbian game reviews would turn into AllAboutJava, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Read on for a preview of a real treat for Symbian gamers.
Krisse is either getting dangerously loose with AAS MegaGame awards or has indeed found a second game in a fortnight to merit the high rating. Sola Rola, despite being built on J2ME, delivers at every turn, with smooth and believable 2D animation allied with great level design. Here's the Sola Rola review, make sure to click through at the end of the review to the video walkthrough, to see what Krisse means.
All About Symbian would like to wish all its visitors a very happy Christmas. If you're hankering after some Xmas-related Symbian action while defrosting or digesting the turkey, don't forget to check out our recent features on Symbian Christmas Games and S60 3rd Edition Christmas Themes.
