Cell Phone Game Reviews

[TX-Kingsnake]

tron 2.0 light cycles developed by lavasoft engineering inc. for the cell phone platform.

Entering the game grid.

We are all familiar with the pivotal gaming movie Tron. Take from the movie what you like, but the concept of inhabiting cyberspace and the innovative technologies put to use at the time yielded cinimagraphic eyecandy and, despite a slightly hokey plot, a few interesting ideas about artificial intelligence. years ago Midway released the arcade version of the game Tron. In one stage of the game you rode the light cycle, Syd Mead's cyberistic visions of a motorcycle meets geometric restraints of 80's rendering. I always got a rush from the light cycle game grid because the physics modeling was different. This was not the usual lousy modeling of a motorcycles inertia, momentum, and centripetal force in turns. The physics modeling was completely rethought to express the absolute precision of the binary environment. The fast turns were either 0 or 1 meaning the cornering was at astounding instantaneous 90 degrees. The original midway game gave you a very clear plan or top view of the game grid. Another absolute perfect conducive to the binary environment.

For those that plunked their allowances into the quarter operated arcade machines prepare yourself for another rip off in the cell phone platform. Instead of being presented with the concise top view, you are greeted with a lame oblique view that you cant rotate or change field of view. This is beyond retarded. In other words you are driving and can't see what's in front of you. I think lavasoft engineering inc. needs to change it's name to 'short bus'. While the graphics are nifty for a small screen and the sound is bland, The game play is stagnant, confusing, and moronic.

Review Grade: C-

[TX-Kingsnake]

mforma the company that brought CoD to the cell phone version describes the cell phone version of Call of Duty as follows, "Based on the hit Activision PC game, you are part of an army squad in this World War II battle game of historical realism. You participate in combat missions using full-scale assaults, stealth and sabotage, search and rescue, vehicle chases and tank battles to accomplish mission objectives and eliminate enemies."I decided to get a third party review of the game to see if the scathing review I was about to write was fair and balanced. The following are excerpts of the worst game review I've ever read.http://www.gamespot.com/mobile/action/callofduty/review.html"Call of Duty, while not as pretty as one would hope, represents a very successful transition between the worlds of PC and mobile""Call of Duty's weakness is audiovisual. Its graphics are subpar, and its repetitive sound effects fail to evoke the confusion and mayhem of war. Since all of the game's soldiers use the same sprite, with a different color representing hostiles, it's impossible to tell your units apart without switching your control to them. ""While far from perfect, Call of Duty is exactly what real-time strategy lovers want in a mobile game. It is a thinking-man's shooter, packing thrills for grognards (serious wargamers) and casual fans alike. Simply put, its team-management features and level designs are visionary. It's a highly recommended game."" Call of Duty (BREW) - review (8.0 / 10)"Actually, simply put this game bites the big one period. There is nothing in that game review that could prepare you for the utter and complete lameness. I was stupefied by the asinine opening remark where the reviewer states that it was a successful transition. This is quite possibly the worst transition to a cell phone game. The rinkie dink game pallors in comparison to the PC version. Where does this reviewer get the justification to stake his reputation as a game critic by stating that the level design is visionary and an 8.0 out of 10? Even with the restraints of cell phone screen I can hardly believe the lousy job they did in transitioning the game. You start the game by selecting different character classes, medic, sniper, engineer and so on. The combat interface is not in a first person view, rather a lousy 3rd person. The view is not even perspective. Nor is the view isometric. Nor is the view from the top. Instead you are presented with an awful top side oblique with out the option to rotate the field of view. Years ago game designers figured out the worst possible view is the top side oblique. If you walk into a building your view is obstructed by the wall. Essentially you are given the same view as Ikari Warriors for the NES systems in the 80s. What part of the term 'first person shooter' didn't they get?   It starts out bad enough by taking a first person shooter and turning it into 3rd person. From there it all goes down hill. Bullets are 3 red softball sized sprites that move in orthogonal and diagonal directions. Textures are pathetic even by the 1980's colleco vision standards. Orders to the squad following you are follow me or take cover. Grenades are so bad I won't even go there. Any gamer from n00b to veteran, will surely find this the biggest waste of time and money available on the cell phone gaming platform. If I were Stalin the game designers would be shot on the spot. If I were Churchill they might find a slightly more civil punishment. In the real world, I can only hope the repercussions of truly impotent game design are matched in the sales performance. It is a disgrace to Activision, and everyone associated with the hard work and talent it took to create the original Call of Duty.Review Grade: F- 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag

[TX-Kingsnake]

Tetris Cascade  developed by bluelava licensed under Elorg (the soviet electronic gaming organization) originally created by Alexi PajitnovHere is a game well suited for the low res portability of a cell phone. In this recent twist on Tetris the original gameplay and look of Tetris is intact plus a few new features that enhance game play for the cell phone and hand held platform. Everyone likes Tetris and with good reason. This addictive puzzle game has the right mix of action and intellect. Unlike many puzzle games Tetris moves at a pace that makes it exciting and still requires exercising your I.Q. Most of the cell gaming I do is when I have a few minutes to kill, waiting in a car or waiting for my computer to crunch something out. When it doesn't matter if your game gets interrupted Tetris is a perfect distraction. Alexi Pajitnov has an interesting story. He continues to make games and last I checked he works for Microsoft making puzzle games. You can read more about him at www.tetris.comReview Grade: A+

[TX-Kingsnake]

Top GunNot even worth the review. F-

[TX-Kingsnake]

Snood version 3.1.8 licensed by THQ developed by Cybico originally designed by David Dobson. You know them all, the snoods. David Dobson's puzzle game that kept countless people glued to the screen out of fascination and eventually obsessive frustration. My only beef with Snood is that it never lets you know when you won. Particularly frustrating are the game types 'levels' and 'journey'. In almost every game you are rewarded with a pat on the back for your heroic efforts for vanquishing the increasingly difficult artificial intelligence sprites. Snood just continues to kick you down presenting infinitely increasingly difficult levels. In other words, there is no apparent end to the madness. Add to this the number of snoods should be reduced by one or two to accommodate the hand held screen size and you end up with a slightly cramped style of game play. Other than that I like it. Review Grade: B

[TX-Kingsnake]

PAC-MAN, Namco developed by Interactive brainsI like this game so much I bought a PAC-MAN knit cap. PAC had a good life, he met Mrs. Pac Man, had a kid and then turned into Super Pac-Man. The game play is simple and exciting. Of particular interest in the original version is the sound score. The score is original and upbeat when most games of the time were repetitive and down right obnoxious. Unlike most simple games of this genre, you are given respite during the comic shorts every few levels. What I find interesting is that game designers were able to use the low-res environment to make great games. All the new cell games look like they were designed in high-res and down sampled. That never turns out well. Why aren't the designers using the low-res environment with the same approach as Atari's 80's platform? Why are games designed two decades ago proving superior to those of today? Review Grade: A

[TX-Kingsnake]

If anyone can find screen shots of these games post them here. I couldn't take pictures of the screen.TX-KingsnakeWhite 1

[TX-CUDA]

.....is this for real Kingsnake? CoD for the cell phone/PDA? What is this world coming to?  It's Blasphemy I tell you....Blasphemy!!TX-Cuda...one Shot...One KILL!

[TX-BlackKnight]

IL-2 for the Cell Phone .......Just think of the possibilities.......Just think of all the freeway crashes..........~S~BKFlame Broiled - Just The Way You Like Em'

[TX-Kingsnake]

LMAO BK! That is a bad idea. But look at my sig line, it could almost be done at that resolution. The problem is the game design is never very good when they port games to the cell/pda platform. Yes Cuda, CoD for the cell phone, it couldn't get any worse.