Category: Game Reviews

NAME: LEGO Batman VERSION: 1.0. COMPANY: Cobramobile PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Movie Platformer SIZE: 580 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 5/10 DEMO:

Welcome to the LEGO Batman for mobiles game review.  LEGO themed games are usually more humorous than the normal game releases.  It is no different for LEGO Batman!

The storyline is not movie based – rather a game which has all the major villains from Batman’s comic past.  We haven’t finished the game for various reasons hence didn’t do this writeup till recently.  Also don’t expect the dark somber look of the recent Batman movies.  This is LEGO and it recalls the TV series Batman.  So it is bright and dare we say cheerfully.

90% graphical environment for the game is the typical LEGO blocks.  That doesn’t mean poor quality graphics.  It’s perfectly acceptable.

The gameplay is standard platformer but there is something wrong with the controls.  The problem is that they don’t work in a predictable fashion (at least in our version).  The jump forward in particular is annoying and error prone.  If you are me persistant you’ll definitely get the hang of the game but since there are so many other games to choose from this one did not hold my attention.

Conclusion: Purely due to the the control factor the game doesn’t get a good rating.  It took a lot of time to finish the 1st level that in the end we didn’t bother trying to finish the game.  It’s a pity because other LEGO themed games are usually pretty good.

NAME: Iron Man VERSION: 1.0. COMPANY: Glu & Sony Pictures PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Top down scroller SIZE: 580 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500, SE K800i RATING: 3/10 DEMO:

Welcome to the Iron man game review.

They’ve taken the old ‘standard’ flying game put in the Ironman icon updated the graphics BUT got rid of the powerups, the controls the speed, the game is really boring vague storyline etc…  Not much going for it basically.

The menu system looks great though…

Conclusion: Don’t bother.  Even couldn’t be bothered posting the game images.

NAME: Cluedo VERSION: 1.0.8 COMPANY: EA Games PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Board game SIZE: 704 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 7/10 DEMO:

Welcome to the Cluedo (JAVA) game review for the mobile phone.

The game play is similar to the board game which it is based and any changes are to make it interactive as a computer game should be.

You are a rookie reporter who is involved in a who dunnit!

There’s alot of text based dialogue to read and it hence important to pay attention.  It’s like a basic text and graphic adventure game of the early 1990’s.  Since you have to work out who killed who and with what – without too much graphical aid – it requires conceptual and logical thinking.  The game starts off with simple walkthroughs of how the game is played.  Each tutorial gets harder as you move up the career ladder.

Graphics are a bit plain 2D but are stylized in an art deco fashion or ‘detective’ movies on the 60’s.  There are lots of menus to go through – too complicated in my opinion.

The game play is like the menu system – complicated for a mobile phone game.  If you like the ‘Choose your own adventure’ books then there is a good chance you’ll like this game.  There are variable endings and lots of murders to solve.

If you want a mobile phone game that makes you think a little bit – just like the board game then this one is for you.   It  is not a game for those after instant entertainment.  As they say you have to immerse yourself into the game to enjoy it.

It is a good game but only for the few other than that it will have limited appeal.

NAME: Star Wars The Clone Wars VERSION: 1.0.19 COMPANY: THQ & Universomo PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Action/Movie SIZE: 312 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 7/10 DEMO:

Welcome to our Star Wars: The Clone Wars mobile game (Java version) review. Another Stars Wars universe based game we decided to review.  Generally they are worth buying – so its not a hard task to perform.

The story line is about you the leader of a squad of Clone troopers (They don’t become Storm Troopers) on a mission to destroy the separatists or droid army’s secret weapon.  The weapon is no big deal Ie. Cloaking technology.  However it is strangely compelling to play through.

Game controls are the direction keys and the fire key (special weapon) – which is very simple.  Sure its old fashioned but it does work very well on a mobile phone.   Your troopers are on auto fire which suits the game so it only a matter of pointing them towards the enemy.

Graphics are 3D like and quite good to look at.  The background and game environments are quite good although not photo realistic.  Likewise the sound is pretty much standard mobile game.

There are plenty of levels or planets and missions on them to do so it will keep you busy a a little while.  Difficulty level is good so you can finish the game if you wanted to.  You can also replay the levels to get better mission rankings or collect missing powerups.

Easy to play in short sessions between train stops or 5 minutes gaps.  You can also easily pickup the storyline if you haven’t played it for a few says.

Conclusion: We enjoyed this game.  It allows you to control an entire squad of 5 clone troopers easily and use various weapons without stress. Not a landmark game but good enough.

NAME: Watchmen VERSION: 1.0.1 COMPANY: GLU Mobile PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Action/Movie SIZE: 626 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 9/10 DEMO:

Welcome to our Watchmen game (Java version) review.

The Watchmen was refreshing because I’ve never heard of the comic series before.  It’s nice to experience something completely unknown.  Furthermore the movie based on the series will be out by mid 2009.

Glu games are generally some of the best and although at first glance at the game’s application icon didn’t look too interesting we where slowly impressed from the opening credits!  It doesn’t take much effort to produce high quality graphics for introductions thankfully Glu have for the most part.

I can’t tell you the entire story line because I haven’t finished the game or seen the movie at the time of writing so you’ll have to visit later for more details…  However you start off playing the character of Nite Owl!  The tutorial is quite good showing you that there are a ton of ‘weapon’ moves. You get to play new characters (eg. Comedian) as the games progresses each with their own regular and special moves.

Gameplay and controls are simple or difficult depending on how you want to play it.  Just use the direction keys and the center button if you want OR if you want the special moves try the other keys!  I won’t give too much away needless to say being able to punch enemies, throw them around or use your boomerang thing or the ultimate area destruction weapon is new to me and very well done.

Graphics are generally 3D like but if you look closely just 2D with shading effects.  They are very good and 3D would not have helped since your character Nite Owl after all he  is animated very nicely.  Ie. moving cape and good character movement. It’s the best I’ve seen to date.

Likewsie the background graphics are really nicely done too! Cut scenes that progress the story are made in the same way and looks great. The quality of graphics are mostly pin sharp – or maybe the screen on the test Nokia 6500 is just very good – whatever!  Quality graphics that’s for sure.  The BGM is decent but like all mobile games gets repetitive.  No sound effects though…

There is only one issue we have that is directed to the 6500 and that the game needs a fast CPU to work properly.

Conclusion: We enjoyed this game. Very entertaining beat’em up game in the vein of the old Arcade versions of Street Fighter.  It is better than the latest super hero games released recently (late 2008) eg. Batman, Batman and Superman, Hellboy etc.. Very nice graphics – cool moves decent story line so far.  Really well done.  I think it’s a benchmark game…

NAME: Snoopy The Flying Ace VERSION: 0.6.1 COMPANY: Namco Network PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Action/Cartoon series SIZE: 272 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 7/10 DEMO:

Welcome to the Snoopy The Flying Ace game review (JAVA Version).

It’s taken awhile for anyone to release a game based on the dog  from the popular Peanuts cartoon series created by Charles M Shulz.

The story of the game is for you to play as Snoopy to collect balloons in order to raise his friend Woodstock’s, the yellow bird’s nest from the ground.

The games graphics are replicated from the hand drawn cartoon they are essentially  replications of the cartoon strip which are perfectly suitable.  Fans of the cartoon will be very happy indeed.

The game’s sounds are typical MIDI based and acceptable.

Snoopy’s playability is very good since it requires only one button!  You could compare it to the Johnny Crash series in this regard but Snoopy is a little more technical.  As you progress through the levels it does get quite tricky.

You control Snoopy as he flies on his kennel though the air collecting balloons.  There are various obstacles like storm clouds and the Red Baron to avoid and powerups like Root beer to collect.  You even get to run over Charlie Brown and his friends for extra points.

Overall easy enough tasks to perfrom made more interesting by that addition of new obstacles with each new level.  Eg. Barn Storming

The game is targetted at a younger audience since is a lot of help on screen including a mini map at the top!  Nonetheless still challenging.

Conclusion: It is great little game that’s easy to play. It does not have the immediate addictiveness of  the Johnny Crash series but overall interesting enough for casual player and fans of the cartoon.

NAME: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed VERSION: 1.0.8 COMPANY: THQ & Universomo PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Action/Movie SIZE: 512 KB TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500 RATING: 7/10 DEMO:

Welcome to our Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile game (Java version) review.

The game is a massive 512KB in size so we where expecting big things from this game!  Mind you 512kb on a PC is tiny but as cell phone games go 1/2 a meg should mean that it will be a reasonable game.

The Force Unleashed is clearly a Star Wars game released in conjunction with the Xbox, Wii, PS2 and even DS versions.  The mobile version is quite different from the others for obvious reasons. However the premise is essentially the same.

The story line set between Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith and Episode 4 – A New Hope is relatively simple you play as the Darth Vader’s secret apprentice who under various orders goes about the galaxy wiping out any remaining Jedi Knights.  Throughout the game you get various cut scenes and dialogue that progress the story and of course the game difficulty.

The quality of graphics in the game are quite good for a 2D game. The action sprites and backgrounds work very well and in keeping with most of the other Star Wars games made in 2D. Characters from the original series and some from the pre-queal series also make an appearance.  Including Liea and Wookies.

The quality of the sound is likewise good using higher quality MIDI and instruments.  The soundtrack is typical Star Wars which is perfectly acceptable.

In terms of playability Universomo have developed a new system of controlling the action.  So you don’t directly control the actual movement of the character rather you key in combinations (called Weaving) that appear on enemies the screen. Your character then attacks the character for the sequence you keyed in.  As a method it works very well!

However there is a problem and that is to do with the large amount of variance in the keypads on your mobile phone these days.  So if you have a Sony Ericsson K800i or a Nokia 6500 the keypads are quite stiff so you’ll have a hard time keying in the sequences fast enough and without error. If you have a small phone even worse because it can’t really be played one handed.  The method would probably work better on a touch screen.

Each level is paced for 2-3 minutes if you do the right tasks which makes it playable on a bus or train.  However the two handed controls, required for speed.  Getting used to the control system takes a little while but once learned its quite repetitive and easy enough.  However that still does nto solve the keypad problem.

Each level also reveals a new force power for you to use and various powerups available in the game.  Again you need to type the correct pattern to use it.  There is a free play mode along with 3 hardness levels AND unlimited lives which makes up for the novel control system.

Conclusion: It is a pure light saber/force game but the pressing so many buttons distracts you from actually watching the game rather  – you are looking at the keypad to find the right shape to make.  It is a game for the fans of the movies or those who want a bit of a physical challenge or one with a cell phone that has a soft touch keypad.  So overall a decent game that takes more time than usual to get used to but ultimately enjoyable.

NAME: Castlevania Aria Of Sorrow VERSION: 1.0.0 COMPANY: Konami PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: RPG SIZE: 563 KB TEST PHONE: K800i RATING: 7/10 DEMO:

Welcome to Castlevania Aria Of Sorrow game review. We haven’t played the original Gameboy series of the same name so didn’t have any idea what the game was going to be about. Essentially we saw it as a platformer game with RPG elements such as character customization and special powers.

After a bit of research on the original game we found that the JAVA version for mobile phones uses the same story line! In fact the game mechanics are identical apart from the graphics. As a result the game is a rare almost full version of an original. That said we haven’t finished the game since it takes up more time than we have at the moment.

The story is all about defeating vampires, you play Soma Cruz character guiding him to defeating various enemies and realizing his true destiny. We won’t spoil the story for you but clearly the good usually triumphant over evil.

Game play is like the original so a hack and slash set using vampire and mystical attacks as well as metal based implements. Destroying your enemies sometimes results in them dropping items that you can use to increase your various stats. This includes money to buy items from a NPC in the game.

Graphics are mobile phone standard as is the sound. As a difference you can choose between standard background music or special effects sound only. (You can only have one or the other!) We’ve never seen this sound/music option before and think it’s an excellent idea. Anyway your character simply glides around the screen flicking out your sword or what ever weapon you’ve chosen when here’s an enemy nearb. Just remember to equip your character with upgraded items – it’s not automatic.

Game controls are very simple to learn with additional menus easy to activate, navigate and select. The options presented are clear. The only thing we are unsure about was the Tactical Soul System…

So if you want a classic RPG platformer style game on you phone Castlevania – Aria of Sorrow is a good start. It is easy to understand the game play since it is based on traditional rules, far easier than say Puzzle Quest to learn.  Note that the two games are completely different in concept.

Further comparisons it’s much like the Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull platformer but with character customization. The only flaw we detected in Castlevania was the need to find a ‘save game’ room before being able to save.

Overall a good game and worth getting if you have the time.

NAME: Centipede VERSION: 1.0.4 COMPANY: GLU PLATFORM: JAVA GENRE: Retro Shooter SIZE: 289 KB TEST PHONE: K800i RATING: 9/10 DEMO:

Welcome to the review of the Centipede game for the mobile phone. Lets start off by saying that we have been unimpressed by remakes of old games. The remakes are often poorly made and even if licensed by the original developer they still don’t do the original justice. So we where in 2 minds to get Centipede. However one of us took the plunge and the rest is history.

Centipede is a simple shoot game. Shoot all the parts of the centipede (which we feel is more caterpillar ) that turns into mushroom barriers and and anything else like spiders, fleas and even scorpions to get points. The game is has multiple levels and 2 types of game play. The classic mode that uses retro graphics and powerup mode which brings it up to date graphics and logically powerups. Aside from the two modes there is also 3 level of difficulty and different game themes to unlock. Fully packed for a retro game!

Gameplay is excellent. Controls work immediately and the positioning on the screen is precise. There is an autofire which suits the game since the phone keypad these days are getting smaller. Nothing to complain about. Even the in game menu and help system works well.

Very easy game to pick up and leave especially on train and buses. However it has one flaw – This game is addictive. You think you can just pick up and leave – but you are wrong. 5 minutes turns to 10 then you jet sore thumb because you’ve been playing for 30 minutes. This is especially so in the Powerup mode.

Graphics are retro in classic mode which suits the game completely. In Powerup mode the graphics have been updated to a modern 2D environment. The update looks good although you’re too busy shooting centipedes to admire the background and icons.

The games sounds are standard MIDI but with effects when new enemies appear or explode. Nice change from just generic BMG. (Back Ground Music) Strangely we rate the sound effects better than other games we’ve tried to date.

Conclusion: we where impressed with this remake! The gameplay of the original but actually enhanced with this release. Objectively, like the original there is no ‘ending’ which is not a problem but a story line would have been nice at least in the new Powerup mode. You will definitely enjoy the game for the first few hours but over time you will probably lose interest.  However we think this is a must have have game on your phone.