Menneisyys

Excellent Pocket PC gaming site PocketGamer.org has just reported on this game. Interestingly, the trial version has 2-year-old filedates inside – don’t know why Handango has only now made it available. (Assuming the trial version is up to date, that is.)

Genre

The game is a classic Space Invaders (pretty similar to Galaga, which, in turn, is a descendant of Galaxian - it’s the latter that is based on the original Space Invaders) clone with some additional twists (balls, (pretty bad) digitized sounds) and a lot of other opponents. It’s also far faster than the original game, which is a definite plus.



Availability

Note that, while the game has a trial version, it can be only downloaded from the homepage of the developer (direct link to the trial version here. Do NOT use any kind of download accelerator while getting it; otherwise, you will only get a HTML file with an error message inside). The Handango page has no trial version for download.

The pros

1. Considerably better and more entertaining than Namco’s official Pocket PC Galaga port – that is, go for this title if you need to get a strict Galaga/ Galaxian/ Invaders clone.
2. Has no compatibility problems (runs, without problems (including speed/sound problems), on all my PPC2k2+ test devices: the iPAQ 3660, 2210, WM5 hx4700; the PL720, the x51v and the HTC Wizard).

The cons

1. Considerably worse than any other “real” (not strictly Invaders) space shooter scroller – even Jimmy Software’s 6-year-old Turjah and Turjah II (review here) are considerably better, not to mention newer clones including even the free GikaDiver (review here) and a whole slew of other shooters (SkyForce (Reloaded), DarkLaga, Resco Guardian, Particle Wars etc). That is, if you’re just looking for a good shoot’m up game, go for, say, SkyForce Reloaded (info here – make sure you follow the links in there) or Arcade Park (review here), which only cost $3 more and, technically, are far superior (and Arcade Park has a lot of other minigames).
2. No in-game music
3. Memory card problem: it can’t be installed to memory cards – upon start, it’ll complain about missing sprite files

Verdict

I only recommend this title if you want a “barebone” “retro” shooter, as opposed to, say, the completely up-to-date and really spectacular SkyForce Reloaded. If you want a decent shooter, there are much better titles to choose from for not much more money.

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MS MVP- Mobile Devices.