Assassin’s Creed for the consoles was one of the best looking games in the current generation of consoles. Making a mobile version of the acclaimed game is no mean task, since it carries the expectations of the gamers who want the game to be as good on the small screen as it did on their consoles.
The challenge was tough, but Gameloft, the makers of wonderful games like Asphalt, have made sure that mobile gamers can get a peice of Altair as well, without much compromise to the graphics and gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed HD is the best port of a console super hit game to mobile that I have seen in a long time. The game puts you in the shoes of Altair and gives you no less the experience than the console version. In fact, I found the mobile game to be more fun and enjoyable (am a mobile gamer first, after all!) than the big brother, mainly due to its simple and intuitive gameplay, designed perfectly for playing on the mobile. What I loved most about the game was that the actions of Altair- the jumping, creeping up the walls, etc. - have been retained and since these are the most awe inspiring aspects of the game, it is good to see them in the mobile version too.
The game shows how capable mobile games can really be and was a huge treat for Assassin’s Creed fans and mobile gamers. This is no doubt, the Symbian game of 2008!
N97 is the big daddy of all mobiles. Just by its looks, it can awe any person. If you get under the hood to see what its got inside, it will cause your gamer senses to raise an alarm with the message that the N97 is a gaming beast. Coupled with the N-gage platform, Nokia has got a huge winner, atlast!
Combining a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard, the N97 goes beyond any other phone from the Finnish company. N97 is thus markedly different from other N-gage supported devices. Touchscreen is a new concept in the world of N-gage and just imagining the slew of new games that would come supporting the touchscreen features is already making me mad with excitement. Combine with that the huge screen, great ergonomics and the latest in accelerometer technology, the N97 is destined to be the ruler of the portable gaming world. The iPhone, a new entrant in the market, has become a great gaming device, mainly because of its touchscreen features. The N97, which is far better than the iPhone, will cause another revolution in mobile/portable gaming. The presence of a great QWERTY keyboard is an added bonus, a feature that the keyless iPhone can never hope to match.
Consider N-gage gaming at 97 times its current ability. That’s the N97. The true portable gaming beast has arrived!
Nintendo’s Wii revelutionized the way games are played and has become a huge success. It has redefined the concept of immersed gaming by making us physically take part in the game, rather than just using our fingers.
Wii’s controller is a technological marvel and allows us to use our physical motion to control the character in the game. It uses gyroscopes and stuff (let’s not get technical now!) to sense the user’s motion and reflect it into the virtual world. Many mobiles have such technology built in, in the form of what they call accelerometers. The iPhone is one example.
But the quantity and quality of games based on the motion sensing features of the mobile have been serioulylimited. There has been an increase in the accelerometer based games for the iPhone, but they dont match those of the Wii. Symbian mobiles have some cool game like Groove Labyrinth that uses motion sensing, but still, Wii games are much better.
The limitations have been in both hardware and software. With the major mobile makers announcing that phones will include MEMS gyroscopes in the near future, the hardware front is being taken care of. The onus is on the developers to use the hardware and make us go the Wii way!
EA has introduced an intriguing concept called Console Boost, through which gamers can improve their stats on the console version of a game by playing the mobile version.
Tiger Woods 09 is one such game to have the Console Boost. Get both the console and mobile versions , and by playing on the mobile you can actually improve your rating on the console side. The console features works in both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 versions.
It basically works by storing your mobile performance in your EA account and by linking the account to your console and thus applying the CONSOLE BOOST, the skill level increases in the console version. Of course, some kind of translation formula will be applied while translating from mobile performance to console performance.
I dont actually see the utility of the feature, except some marketing gimmick on the part of EA. Playing a MMORPG game on your console and with your mobile, both reflecting the performance in the other, is a neat concept. But what do I get by playing golf ( of all games!) on my mobile and see the achievements on console? Even if EA extends CONSOLE BOOST to other games, I wouldnt be interested. And hey, one has to buy both the console and the mobile versions? Get real EA!
I came across this site 123play.com that offers free mobile games. The games are sponsored by advertisers and you get get them for free, simple as 1-2-3.
123play.com, which goes by the tagline of “Dont pay, just play!” is just the right solution for the gamers who find the games too expensive and dont want to shell out their hard earned money, eventhough they would love to get their hands on the games and start playing them for eternity!
Here’s how it works. Just select the game that you want from thier huge list of games. Then enter your mobile phone number in the screen that appears in the next screen. A free sms will be sent to your mobile, with the link to download your game. Download it to your mobile, install it, and start enjoying the game.
The catch is that two ads will be displayed when you start the game and two ads will be displayed when you end it. That, I think, I pretty bearable and is fair. You get the complete game free, after all. And don’t worry, there’s no ad during the game itself and you can enjoy the game without any obstruction.
One disadvantage is that the service is for UK residents only. I dont know whether they have any idea of extending it to other countries, but am keeping my fingers crossed. Also the games in the list are not exactly new and also it’s not comprehensive. However, new games are being added daily and that should keep the gamer in you occupied for a while!
The popular game from Electronic Arts is moving into a new dimension. EA has entered into partnership with Z corporation to make real 3D sculptures of the gamers’ spore creations. Now, that’s great work EA. Nice try at diverting us from the DRM issues plaguing the game.
Anyway, coming back to the sculptures, Z corporation’s advanced technology ( Do I really care what the technology is? Nay) will be used to convert the virtual spores that gamers create into sculptures that can be used for, hmmm, showing off to their friends maybe. Pardon the sarcastic tone, but what’s the purpose really? Spore is an excellent game to play where you give life to a creature, see it evolve, and make sure it reaches the top of the virtual food chain, but what will it in do in my bedroom?
Like I said, EA seems to be taking steps to promote the widely acclaimed game that was tarnished a bit due to the DRM issues. Many will like to get tangible versions of their spores, but am not amongst those and am definitely not alone. Dragging and dropping “body parts” to get our spore up and alive is the game is so much, but a sculpture? Get real! People have better things to do, hopefully!