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.

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...

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?

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 recently received an announcement from Eltima Software regarding a new product of theirs called SyncMate.  Unfortunately I don't have a Mac so I can't relate any first hand experience with this software (yet), but it sounds pretty nifty, so I thought I'd let all of you know about it in case you happened to own a Mac and a Windows Mobile device.  And since the lite version is free, you have nothing to lose for giving it a try!

"From now on, synchronizing your Mac with Pocket PC is as easy as one, two, three! Let us introduce SyncMate to you! SyncMate is a new and very simple synchronization tool by Eltima Software. It is presented in two versions, Free and Expert.

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...

I'm back!  I'm sure you all missed me :)  I needed to take a break for a bit, but it's nice having someplace to let my opinions out on a semi-regular basis where people might actually read them.  In any case, I thought I'd start by bringing you a several-blog post containing an article I wrote for the final issue of Smartphone & PocketPC magazine that unfortunately didn't make the cut due to space constraints.

It appears that Astraware read my mind! After their first two specialized solitaire releases (Halloween and winter), I was beginning to wonder why they didn't just make them add-on packs to the original Astraware Solitaire. Well, it seems that now they have! See the full details below. You can read my opinion of the game here: Astraware Solitaire Review.

While I’m more into the traditional Jazz Jackrabbit / Super Mario Bros style platform games, I don’t mind the occasional “puzzle in a platform guise” type adventures. This is just the type of game Ur Mobile Game has brought us in its first portable outing, Ore Explorer. You play the part of Jack, an explorer who is trying to gather up a very rare kind of ore for his country. Unfortunately, this ore only appears in certain places around the world (and out of this world), and those places have been overrun by monsters. With a sharp mind and keen reflexes, however, you will be able to overcome the obstacles and recover all of the ore for your country. To ultimately triumph you must overcome 60 levels of box pushing and demolishing, monster stomping or avoiding, and some often tricky platform jumping.

Your arsenal consists of jumping, kicking, pushing and bombs. The game is completely stylus driven, which is nice in theory but in practice causes its share of problems. To move left and right, simply press the stylus to somewhere in front of Jack either on his left or right side. To jump you do the same, though you must also have the stylus over Jack’s head. If you want him to jump straight up you simply hold the stylus right above his head. For the most part moving isn’t a problem, though there have been a couple of times where I had the stylus too far north and ended up jumping instead of moving. Usually such a mistake was recoverable. However, there have been far more times where I’ve actually just moved when I thought I had the stylus high enough for Jack to jump. This type of error is not always easy to recover from.

Dropping a bomb is much like digging a hole in Lode Runner, where you must stand on the space next to the one you wish to blow up and then face your target. When you press the button for bombs Jack will kneel down and place a bomb on the appropriate square. If there is a block right next to the bomb, the block will be sent flying in the direction opposite where the bomb sits. This little extra will come in hand on occasion. The biggest problem here is that if you happen to place the bomb right on the line between two blocks, it could possibly blow up the wrong block. If you can get the bomb in the middle of the block you want to remove you’ll be in the optimal situation. To kick you must click by Jack’s feet. When you’re on the ground this isn’t such a problem, but when you’re trying to execute a jump kick, which is possible and necessary at times, it can become cumbersome. For me it has caused more than my fair share of do-overs on certain levels.

Finally you have the viewer tool, which allows you move around and view the level without actually moving Jack. You will find this tool invaluable on larger levels, as Ore Explorer is one of those games where you often have to plan the entire thing in advance to avoid unattainable areas in a later part of the level. It would have been nice to be able to control this tool with the D-Pad, because if you don’t click on it quite right or accidentally slide the stylus of the viewer while using it you could accidentally trigger a jump from Jack, which could provide disastrous depending on where you left him. While I like the fact that they tried to do something different by making a platform completely stylus driven, I think they could have left some options for those like myself who aren’t very skilled with controlling a game like this via a stylus.