Blog > Archive for June, 2008

Midnight Pool was just released for the N-Gage last Friday but already we have three reviews of this new game out there.

First up, All About N-Gage’s Steve Litchfield has his take in this thorough review:

“As usual with the ‘Midnight’ series of sports games, there’s a bit of a seedy night-club atmosphere, brought to life here by 3D animations and 3D-modelled pool halls. As each shot is taken, you get to see how it plays out on set of TV-style angles and there are digital sound effects to match. The production values applied to all of this are quite high.”

Overall, he finds the game fairly casual in approach and too easy for a hardcore gamer.

For a completely different take, there is Nok-Nok’s review. They call it one of the best N-Gage titles yet.

“The last N-Gage game we looked at (The Sims 2 Pets) was pretty dismal, but Nokia’s gaming platform is back on track with this little gem. It’s a straight-up arcade version of pool shrunken to fit on your phone — and for our money it’s one of the best N-Gage titles yet…

“Overall we’d have no hesitation recommending Midnight Pool to anyone with an N-Gage ready phone — it’s one of the best made titles around.”

Finally, hOAx over at N-Gation has put up his thoughts on the game, beginning with a history of the game from earlier incarnations:

“Midnight Pool is no new contender, it was released on the good old 6630 and many other older Symbian devices. I remember playing this game on the good old 6630 I used to own and I loved it. The graphics were fantastic, the sound was great too and the game play was addictive but that was nearly 3 years ago and it’s released again, were our expectations met? Is it improved?”

Overall he ends up a little disappointed too. So there you have it, three reviews, three different opinions. So what’s yours? Remember you can download the free trial here.
 

Midnight Pool has been released in the Showroom on the N-Gage application and is now available for you to try. Navigate to the Showroom tab and select ‘Update Now’ and it should appear at the head of the list.

“Gameloft takes mobile billiards to the next level with tons of personality, atmosphere, fun, and satisfying pool table physics including realistic spin and jump effects. With the game’s amazing 3D graphics, you can view the table from any angle and zoom in and out to focus on your shot or see the layout of the table. Drop in for a game at any one of seven colorful 3D bars and play against seven entertaining opponents, each with their own story and attitude. Play US 8-ball, 9-ball, or UK 8-ball.”

You can also download the free trial directly from the game page on the Website, too. Give it a try and tell us what you think!

We have added two new game pages for upcoming games to the N-Gage Website. These can be found by visiting the Showroom.

The games are Cafe Sudoku and Cafe Solitaire 12-Pack, both from Digital Chocolate. On the game pages for upcoming games, you will be able to find screen shots, videos, and a description of the game’s features.

We hope to be adding game pages for other announced games soon.

As part of our continuing efforts to bring your more content and information about N-Gage on the main Website, we are now publishing a list of the top five best-selling games for the previous week in the Arena section.

I have just put up the first list, you may find it here.

Here are some reviews of the latest N-Gage game to hit the Showroom, The Sims 2 Pets from Electronic Arts. First up is All About N-Gage, who note:

“Sims 2: Pets has a good graphics engine and an easy-to-use interface. It’s made even more easy to use by on-screen hints that appear when you first encounter a new aspect of the game, so practically everyone should be able to play this straight away.”

You can read their full review here. Next up is N-Gation, which had this to say:

“This is a title the N-Gage needed, a well known franchise from the original PC series. We have had so many different versions of Sims 2 Pets for all the mainstream consoles and handheld’s, is this version worth our money again? Read on…”

And you can read their full review here. And of course, you should always download the free trial and try the game yourself from the game page, as well as read the many player reviews on that page.

So what did you think of the game?

Nokia has announced that it will buyout its partners in the Symbian venture and gradually turn it into an open source development platform for mobile devices over the next two years. Here’s a link to the official press release, and there are also a slew of articles about what this means for Symbian developers on www.allaboutsymbian.com and elsewhere on the Web.

For a clear write-up on what this likely means for N-Gage in the long run (since it’s not likely to have any effect in the short term), you could do no better than checking out Tzer2’s article about this over on All About N-Gage. Stuart Dredge on Pocket Gamer also has a take on the news, as does Ripten.com.

 So what’s your take?

It has been announced that Nokia will be the main sponsor of this year’s GCDC game conference, held in Leipzig, Germany. From Gamespy.com:

“Today the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) announced that Nokia will be the main sponsor of this year’s event. Nokia will showcase its latest games for N-Gage making mobile a big part of the conference. Nokia has supported GCDC, Europe’s leading developer conference, since 2005. The GCDC takes place in Leipzig August 18-20, 2008.”

The Leipzig show is one of the largest in Europe and is open to public, giving gamers and press a chance to see upcoming games before they are released, much in the way E3 used to. Fore more information, check out the official site.

It should not be confused with the GDC, or Game Developer’s Conference, held every year in San Francisco, California and is limited to industry professionals.

Embedding = the Real Launch?

Earlier this week All About N-Gage posted up an editorial called “When Will N-Gage Really Launch?” talking about the need for the N-Gage application to be embedded in as many compatible devices as possible to more quickly grow the service.

Sims 2 First Impressions

Long-time N-Gage Arena Player and all around groovy guy Emo185 has posted up his first impressions of Sims 2, the newest game available in the N-Gage showroom. He notes: “I wasn’t too bothered with the game but after a quick play it brings a smile to your face and is rather enjoyable.”

Unofficial N-Gage Theme

Earlier this year, N-Gage fan p@sco has posted up an unofficial N-Gage theme for you S60 device that intends to make your entire device look and feel like the N-Gage application. Get it here.

All About Symbian Podcast

A wide variety of topics covered this week, including a brief discussion about N-Gage games. Give it a listen here.

Sims 2 Pets Review

Nok-Nok has taken the Sims 2 Pets out for a walk. Get their take here.

MTV’s gaming site has taken a look at the mobile version of the Dark Knight, which will be released on mobile platforms later this year, including the N-Gage. Here’s a snippet:

“The Dark Knight will be out worldwide July 18th, released alongside the movie on most handsets. It will also see a release later this year on the N Gage platform, with additional content including updated levels, art and community features.”

Remember, the preview is not of the N-Gage version, but it’s a good overview. The announcement about the N-Gage version can be found here.

Hello everyone, I’ve just got the word and downloaded it myself on the application to verify: The Sims 2 Pets is now available on device. Navigate to the Showroom, choose ‘Update Now’, and you should see the game on your list.

Update: It is now also available for download on the Website game page.