The Marble rolling game genre isn't new to Symbian OS, but rarely has it been done better than here, in MicroMaze for S60 5th Edition, reviewed by Ewan. 80 plus levels over six different rolling surfaces and with bridges, barriers and trap doors to avoid, this is a smooth action casual game that you'll be playing for quite a while.
Two weeks after Nokia announced that their N-Gage system was to be closed and the titles merged into Ovi Store, N-Gage old-hand Ewan delivers his verdict, looking at what Nokia did wrong, from support to marketing to community. More worryingly, Ewan also worries that similar errors might be being made with Nokia's other Software and Services.
In All About Symbian Insight 93 (AAS Podcast 157) we discuss the Q3 smartphone figures from Canalys and Rafe explains that Fujitsu and Quic have joined the board of the Symbian Foundation. We move on to a retrospective of SEE 2009 with discussion of the media reaction (which send Rafe into rant mode). We finish with thoughts on N97 PR 2.0 and the closure of N-Gage (sniff). You can listen to AAS Insight 93 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
And so the final N-Gage game slips out the harbour. Perhaps Nokia were hoping for a quiet maiden voyage for Powerboat Challenge? Whoops. Despite a solid game structure and good enough graphics, this title just - in Ewan's words - isn't fun. Read the illustrated review here on Ovi Gaming.
In a low key announcement, via the N-Gage blog, comes the news that Nokia plans to shutter its N-Gage gaming service. Nokia say they will 'no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform'; instead games will be provided via its Ovi Store service. Current N-Gage games can be purchased until September 2010 and the N-Gage website and Arena service (online elements) will be available throughout 2010.
Hulk smash!!! Or in this case a giant panda, as Ewan takes a look at the B-movie-inspired Mega Monsters from Nokia on N-Gage. It's a stomping, rip-roaring rampage through the city, either against miniature opponents or against these plus the clock/another online opponent. And it all hangs together rather well, rounding off what has been a relatively good week for N-Gage.
Electronic Arts PGA Tour series of golf games dates back to 1990 - which should give this latest mobile incarnation some pedigree in terms of gameplay. But how well does it all work on the phone, how much (or how little) has been done for the official N-Gage incarnation, and how does it compare both to the Java version and to the established Pro Series Golf for N-Gage? Find out in my Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 review here on AAS's Ovi Gaming.
Just popped up in the Nokia Ovi Store are two new, free ZingMagic games, both based in the same genre. 'Alpha WordSearch' and 'Starts with WordSearch' are free to play, with no restrictions, I've included some screenshots below. There are also a batch of six new themed, bigger Word Searches, available as commercial titles. Details below.
At first I thought it was just me. But all week, trying to view the N-Gage 'All games' catalog in the on-device client has resulted in an error message 'Out of internal memory. Close some applications and try again (Error -4)'. Not terribly helpful, especially on an (e.g.) N96 with 80MB of free RAM and now verified on numerous other devices. What's clearly happened is that adding the latest game to the online catalog has broken some internal limit within the client ("How many games shall we allow for in our array? Pick a number..."), but it's a crying shame that such an error has been allowed to exist for so long, especially around the launch dates of three new titles.
In the best traditions of the swinging 1940's hero with a Fedora, Dirk Dagger is back on the N-Gage in “Dirk Dagger and the Nuclear Zeppelin.” Ewan reviews this over on our OviGaming.com and concludes that, while 'on rails', it still provides quality entertainment for casual gamers.
HeroCraft, one of our favourite games houses, has just released '$tolen In $ixty $econds' for all S60 5th Edition touchscreen smartphones - as it sounds, the idea is to roam the criminal underworld, planning crimes and making money. Hmm.... not sure we should be promoting that kind of behaviour on AAS. But heck, it's all virtual.... There are screenshots and details below if this is your sort of thing!
Ewan revs up his bike and roars out onto the circuits of Ducati Moto, the latest N-Gage title. Unfortunately, despite largely competent graphics and a full complement of features, the gameplay's way too easy, the bike handling is on rails and there are graphical glitches. Which is, yet again, a shame for N-Gage. Over on Ovi Gaming, Ewan wonders if anyone actually play-tested the title and I have to agree.
Rolling around on deadly tiles? It must surely be a new implementation of a classic genre... Ewan finds out more with Sensitive, for the Nokia 5800. It's light on graphical wow, but it seems this is more than made up for with cerebral gameplay.
Over on OviGaming.com, Ewan feels his doubts about Nokia's N-Gage games platform starting to emerge once again. Can N-Gage stay off the iceberg? Read Ewan's say and then have yours in the OviGaming story comments!
Trippy balls exploding, new age music, Ewan is in a 60's-inspired flash game... and he's (apparently) "hip to the groove liking it!..." Read the review to find out what the freeware title BoomShine is all about on the Nokia N97, 5800 and other S60 5th Edition phones. And if you try it for yourself, listen out for a rather nice new age soundtrack.