Fortunately, the Pocket PC gaming scene is really developed; this can also be seen by the fact that the majority of my more current reviews are games reviews and the most time I’ve spent on the
PPCMag Best Software Awards 2006 nominations and recategorization are gaming-related.
Russia-based (a country very famous for their Pocket PC developers)
Insenic, also known for their, for example,
Warring Nations and
SmartDjVu (roundup
here) has just released a new, excellent Role Playing game (RPG) title
Creatonia.
On the Pocket PC, there are very few really good RPG titles. The natively Palm OS-only
Edge and
Arvale are the most casual gamer-friendly examples of the best RPG titles currently available.
Availability
The game being brand new, the
official homepage of the developer doesn’t have any information on the final version. Therefore,
it’s only available at Clickgamer. It costs $14.95, which isn’t much, particularly when compared to the combined price ($29.95 + $24.95) of
StyleTap (the Palm OS emulator) and
Edge, the best "most recommended for casual players" RPG solution on the Palm/Pocket PC right now (IMHO).
Executive summary
Creatonia is of very high quality as standard RPG features are concerned – certainly
a must for die-hard RPG fans. It, however, lacks
essential features like in-game music/sound and, generally, visually not as pleasing as some of the alternate titles like Edge.
Therefore,
I really recommend the game for die-hard RPG fans only. For
casual players not necessarily wanting the best RPG engine possible, however, I instead recommend some ‘lighter’, but more spectacular alternate titles like Edge or Arvale with great in-game sounds/music.
Compatibility
I had no compatibility / other problems on any of my WM2003+ test devices (WM2003 iPAQ 2210, WM2003SE Pocket Loox 720, WM5 iPAQ hx4700, Axim x51v). The VGA resolution support is
real, unlike with some titles advertised as VGA-friendly (but having only QVGA resolution).
Maps
Its automap support is excellent as can be seen
in this screenshot.
Event / quest lists and reminders
As with
Edge (the best direct competitor) and some adventure games like
Fade,
it has extensive event / quest lists and reminders. It’s definitely a plus.
Graphics
The hand-drawn characters (example screenshot
here,
here,
here and
here) are
excellent. So are all the icons – in addition to the character icons visible in the top area of the above screenshots, all for example spell/effect icons are beautifully drawn as can be seen for example
here.
However, the visuals in the game aren't, in my opinion, as good as those in Edge. Examples:
this is an in-house screenshot, this is a screenshot made
in the (in-town) residetal area and another one
made outside the town. Now, compare this to the beautiful environment Edge provides - the latter is certainly better with the more furniture, more, better-looking building types etc.
Battle system
It, fortunately, allows for pausing and re-arming, as with any decent RPG battle system. This is shown
in this screenshot (note the red Pause button and, next to it, the “Go on” (Play) one.) In this respect, the battle system of the game is clearly better than that of the "slash", "action"-type Edge.
Character pages
Equipment: As with any decent RPG’s, it allows for fine-tuning what equipment you wear and where. An example screenshot is
here (note that the top of the labels in the top row are cut off!)
Tutorial
The game, as with any decent RPG game (Wyvern and Arvale, for example)
starts with a decent tutorial.
Sound
There’re absolutely no sound effects or music in the game. This is a big problem - it's in this area that Edge and Arvale are far-far better!
Battle system
It's advanced as that of, say, Arvale; both use a round-based battle system similar to for example the one in the all-time classic
Betrayal at Krondor). It is, as with Arvale and unlike with Edge, also allows for pausing between rounds, however, as can also be seen
in this screenshot showing a red, flashing Pause icon and a Resume icon next to it. (Icons are very intuitive in the game - you'll instantly recognize their meaning as opposed to, say, the game
Tower of Souls.)
Character settings
Everything a decent RPG should need – see for example the already-linked screenshots.
Compared to...
Edge : well, Edge has certainly better graphics (the sprites look just better, the rooms look just better). It also has a very interesting storyline and, most importantly, great in-game music. Too bad its playability for Pocket PC users is really limited – I wouldn’t play it on any of my Pocket PC’s now that I also have a HiRes+, 480*320 Tungsten T3, which runs the game just great in high-resolution full screen music (unlike Styletap, the Palm OS emulator on the Pocket PC). Still, Edge is worth giving a try even if you don't have a native Palm OS HiRes+ device - you will certainly like it.
Arvale I/II: while the two Arvale games don’t support high-resolution (they are QVGA only), overall experience-wise they are a bit better for the casual player, mostly because of the in-game music (by
Jaybot7 himself – this guarantees quality, albeit the music, at the beginning, is pretty Anthelion-like. Fortunately, later, it becomes more original.) The visual effects of Arvale, the visuals of Arvale are, IMHO, also better than that of Creatonia.
!PyroManiA! (latest news
here): more spectacular and has in-game music. Its, as with all the other alternate titles, RPG-wise not as good as Creatonia.
Ancient Evil: it's a bit more spectacular; the in-game sounds/music are also appealing. Not as good as Creatonia if you're a die-hard RPG fan, however.
Everquest: the Pocket PC version of Everquest is pretty aged and can’t really be compared to newer, native Pocket PC or Palm titles like the above-listed titles. Therefore, I think Creatonia is better.
Legacy by
Redshift: I don’t particularly like
Eye of the Beholder-style first-person RPG’s; therefore, I wouldn’t spend much time playing Legacy either. I, therefore, consider Creatonia better. Your mileage may vary, however.
Undercroft: another Eye of the Beholder-style RPG. I like, therefore, Creatonia better.
Wyvern (see the tutorial in the
Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup): because of the restrictions and the slow(ish) speed of some JVM’s needed to run Wyvern, Creatonia runs better on the Pocket PC. The two games, however, are very hard to compare because Wyvern is a multiplayer RPG - that is, you should go for it if you need multiplaying features.
Tower of Souls 1.2 (see quick review and links in
the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I): I think it’s better for casual gamers than Creatonia mostly because of the visuals and the sounds/music.
Shadowgate Classic (see quick review and links in
the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I):
Shadowgate (which is more of an adventure game with some RPG elements) is very outdated. Creatonia is certainly better.
Sphere (
see review here): this multiplayer Russian title is one of the best - its visuals and in-game music are just great. I wish it was English...
Nuclear Time 1.50 by Mallocware (see quick review and links in
the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I): a Fallout-like, static RPG – adventure combo. Creatonia is much more dynamic.
Solskia v2.0 by Crimson Fire Entertainment (review in
the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I): this title is much worse than Creatonia
Verdict
While this game has a lot of potential and implements a really nice and capable RPG engine, if you want to have a “lighter”, albeit more spectacular title, you may want to go for alternate titles (
Arvale I/II or, if you also have a preferably HiRes+ Palm OS device around,
Edge). The lack of in-game music and/or sound effects are a big problem – as with the game field not being very spectacular (as opposed to Edge or Arvale) is a definite minus. This is why I don't recommend this game for casual users wanting to have the best gaming experience and not necessarily looking for the best RPG engine.
Knowing that Insenic has some really good-quality game titles (for example,
Warring Nations), I don’t think it’ll take the Insenic people much time to greatly improve the quality of this title (by, say, adding in-game music, sound and much more sprites) so that it becomes even more appealing for casual, non-die hard RPG fans.
I, however,
really recommend the game for die-hard RPG fans mostly that aren’t discouraged by the lack of in-game music and the (compared to Edge / Arvale) a bit more Spartan in-game graphics.
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