One sign of a good game is that it has appeal several years after it has been released. Such is the case with Zuma from Astraware, a mobile version of the popular action / puzzle game from Popcap Games. Addictive game play, intense challenge and a cool atmosphere make this an oldie but goodie that should be in your collection if it’s not already there.

At last, I was able to afford an iPhone 3G without an expensive data / phone plan (meaning a much higher starting price). Of course, I've been playing with the device since then. See my review HERE.

In the category of Action Games, I had a tie for first place.  The other game that I thought deserved the spot of #1 action game was Anthelion 2 from PDAMill.  This was actually a bit of an odd choice for me, because I don't normally care for first person flight sim / combat games.  However, this one caught my attention, so keep reading to find out why...

The Task2Gather web service is a promising new (and mostly free) site that allows you to do collaborative task management, much like Remember The Milk (see my review here). Unlike RTM, the T2G Windows Mobile client currently has no integration with the built-in WM task app. There were some bumps to get T2G working, like having to re-install the initial download. It is however a powerful alternative for managing team-oriented tasks from your device.

One of the nice things about being involved with the Smartphone & PocketPC awards over the years is that I’ve gotten the opportunity to play some games that I might not have had the chance or desire to otherwise. One such game is 3D Constructo Combat from Concrete Software. The game takes a rather unique twist on the “tower defense” genre and had the makings of becoming a PocketPC classic.

Basically, your goal over the course of several levels is to build more structures than your opponent. This is done by snatching up building segments and placing them on designated areas within the playing field. A building consists of somewhere between one to four segments and a roof, and you can have as many structures as you can find open foundations on the board. Of course, your opponent is trying to accomplish the same thing, and your building segments come out of the same allocation as his. So how do you get the leg up on your opponent?

I have previously reviewed Mobimate's Worldmate products, the most recent being the Live product here. This time it's no longer in beta, and I noted several minor screen drawing problems had been cleaned up. I was also able to fully test it in conjuction with planning a real trip, which began by me e-mailing my full itinerary (from our corporate travel service) to WorldMate. It worked rather well, but I did note a few glitches.

Here we are, just over two years since I shared my thoughts on Firetop Mountain, the first release from ino Games. Now I've come to talk to you about that game's spiritual successor, Firetop Adventure. The truth is, the two games don't have a whole lot in common. That's unfortunate for Firetop Adventure, because while it's more aesthetically pleasing, it lacks much of the fun and innovation that made the first game a nice little treat.

The puzzle based nature of the original has been replaced with a more traditional platforming experience. That's not to say that it's purely run and jump through the levels, however. There are still things to do like finding dynamite to blow open doors and rescuing prisoners from their cages. However, it wasn't until spending some time with this game that I truly appreciated Firetop Mountain's single screen, time based puzzle levels. This outing almost felt too "standard" for me.
 

There were a few things that were nice to see in the game. While not unique, the certainly under-used "sit and squish" technique for dispensing with monsters was interesting. Sadly, in the levels I've played there was only one monster that could be killed with this technique. For anything else there's either the bottle that gives you one shot in both directions (left and right), or the globe that lets you dispatch every baddie currently on the screen. It was also nice to have an inventory of sorts, where you can store up to four items for future use on the level you're currently playing. These items will go away when you start a new level, so don't be afraid to use them.

I'll put it this way. If you want to make your Windows Mobile device look and act a little more like the iPhone, then Winterface is for you. It is essentially at it's core, yet another application launcher/manager, whith some messaging and PIM integration. It looks good, and the screen animations were quite snappy on my iPAQ. Make no mistake, I like Winterface but would like to see a few more hooks into the native WM environment.

It seems like someone is always releasing a new version of Sudoku. The problem however, as I’ve mentioned before, is that Sudoku is Sudoku. The rules are set in stone and if you change them the game would no longer truly be Sudoku. So how does one version of Sudoku shine compared to another? The difference is in the interface, and unfortunately for Dvide Arts, their minimalist approach to an interface really detracts from what would otherwise be a decent implementation of Sudoku.

The first category on my list was Action Games, which is where I had my tie.  While two very different games, both Atomic Battle Dragons and Anthelion 2 kept me engaged like none of the other contenders in this genre.  So without further ado, here's why I chose Atomic Battle Dragons...