Menneisyys

1. (WinMo, desktop Windows): The creators of Shadow of Legend, a really promising multiplayer (!!) MMORPG I’ve several times reported on, have announced (see Shadow of Legend ) the forthcoming, vastly enhanced 2.5D version of their game.

Unfortunately, there will be NO Windows Mobile-specific version of the new game, unlike with the previous, 2G (isometric) version. It will only be released later, if at all: the developers state they will only look into releasing the WinMo version when WinMo hardware manufacturers do come up with much more gaming-friendly (mostly importantly, 3D hardware accelerated) devices – that is, not in the foreseeable future.

2. (WinMo, BlackBerry, (Symbian?)): Concrete Software ( Concrete Software Mobile ) have announced the forthcoming native (non-emulated!) ports of the titles of the great Microprose classics, Civilization (IV?), Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon.
The ports will, at first, be released for BlackBerry. (Which may also mean they’ll also be made available for Symbian and other platforms with strong Java MIDlet support – after all, BlackBerry apps are also Java-based.) The BlackBerry games list (BlackBerry Games and Software ) on the homepage of the developer already shows these four titles; Civilization (here, referred to as Civ IV: War of Two Cities – that is, not the first episode) is slated for Sep. 2., while no release date is provided for the other two titles. The listing of other platforms doesn’t list the new titles as yet.

While, at least on Windows Mobile, you definitely can play these titles under emulators (for example, Civilization does run under n0p’s DOSBox – see The definitive guide to running (MS-)DOS (80x86) programs under Windows Mobile at The definitive guide to running (MS-)DOS (80x86) programs under Windows Mobile | Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine for more info), doing the same with native (or, at least, Java MIDlet-based) games is much better: much less CPU usage (resulting in much better battery life), advanced (midi / Adlib / Sound blaster) audio, customizable keys etc.

3. Make sure you check out Eric Pankoke’s My World Of Handhelds Untitled Document . Among other things, it has decent a review of Xassar's Quest ( My World Of Handhelds - Xassar's Quest reviewed ) and Igor ( My World Of Handhelds - Igor reviewed ) – two titles I couldn’t fully test upon writing a quick news items on them. Of particular interest is Xassar's Quest, an RPG, which definitely is worth paying attention to.

4. (Windows Mobile devices with accelerometer): There is a real abundance of games utilizing the accelerometer of the HTC Diamond and the HTC Touch Pro. See the list of these games at [REF]G Sensor Apps - xda-developers . The thread started post is worth checking out now and then for new projects.

Still speaking of 3D hardware acceleration, [REF]Write 3D Games and apps: a C#/.NET Compact Framework wrapper for OpenGLES - xda-developers has a decent C#/.NET Compact Framework wrapper for OpenGLES. If you’re a .NET CF games programmer looking into 3D acceleration, check it out.

5. (Symbian): Several new, high-quality titles have been released for Nokia’s Next-Gen N-Gage platform. Some of the better titles include the adventure Dirk Dagger (official website: Dirk Dagger and the Fallen Idol ; AAN post & discussion: All About N-Gage - Dirk Dagger now available on N-Gage ) and, most importantly, Reset Generation (see related AAN story at All About N-Gage - Reset Generation: The first Mega Game of the new N-Gage platform and All About N-Gage - Reset Generation out now on N-Gage and PC ), a truly multiplayer, really nice game well worth trying. Note that it has a free Web version you can test in your desktop browser; it’s available at All About N-Gage - N-Gage Game - Reset Generation (formerly Project White Rock) . Also note that you can even put the game on your own website as is explained at All About N-Gage - How to put the full version of Reset Generation on your own blog or website

Still speaking of the N-Gage platform, the also-new Dogz has received pretty bad press; see All About N-Gage - AAN reviews Dogz for N-Gage

6. (Symbian, Palm, WinMo): Infinite Dreams, the developer of some killer titles like K-Rally and SkyForce (Reloaded), have a blog on their own at Infinite Dreams - Team Blog (also see All About N-Gage - Infinite Dreams Blog ). There aren’t many entries there; still, fans of the developer may still want to check the page out.

7. (WinMo): A free (!) Metal Slug-remake, Psycho Team’s Symbian Killer (see SymbianKiller - Уничтожаем Nokia - SymbianKiller - Игры на КПК (PDA) - Проекты команды - Psycho - belarussian gamedeveloped team ; direct download: http://psygame.org/download/SymbianKiller.CAB ) is definitely worth checking out if you like Metal Slug, one of the bets 2D platform games ever written. (See my Guide to Emulating NeoGeo and CPS: A must if you’re into quality and FREE arcade games! at The Guide to Emulating NeoGeo and CPS: A must if you’re into quality and FREE arcade games! | Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine for more info on emulating the original titles.)

8. (WinMo): another platformer: Firetop Adventure. Allen Gall's review is at The Week In Games: Firetop Adventure | Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine

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MS MVP- Mobile Devices.