More Than One "Snake" Coming To N-Gage

Just last week we get news of the new Snakes Subsonic game coming to N-Gage soon, bringing back the old fun Nokia game in a bold new way. This week, news breaks of an even more exciting "Snake" game. That's right, Konami is bringing Metal Gear Solid to N-Gage. Any hardcore gamer knows that Metal Gear Solid is one of the best franchises out there, and to have it come to N-Gage means a lot to Nokia's gaming portfolio. It will be interesting to see how this new game play. If it's even a fraction of what the console versions were, this is going to be a monumental addition to the N-Gage collection.

With Companies like Capcom and Konami developing for N-Gage, we will finally have some titles in the "big names, big games" category. More and more people hear about the great N-Gage comeback because of this news for sure. Gonna be a great year for N-Gage, and a great year for gaming.

Simple Improvements To Complex Devices

It's night, and you hear your N81 8GB chime that the battery is low. Uh oh, forgot to plug it in to the charger. The lights are off, so it's pitch dark and you really don't want to turn on the lights just to see where that tiny little prong plugs in on the phone. So you fumble around with the charger and phone until you finally connect...

Why is there lights for every single button on phones these days, but there's no way to see where various connectors are when you need to plug in? I know it sounds trivial to have such a feature on a mobile device, or any device for that matter, but there are a lot of us that live our lives in the darkness a large percent of the time and we need well lit icons, terminal beacons, and just about anything that helps us even just a little bit while in less than acceptable lighting conditions.

In a time where Timex Indiglo watches, writing pens with battery powered LEDs, and ultra low power plug-in night lights exist, it only makes sense that the devices we use 24/7 should be user friendly 24/7. With the addition to status LEDs, backlit buttons and keys, and even battery indicator lights, it's only logical to have a way to see where those ever shrinking plugs go while in the dark. Be it through a dedicated "light up the sockets" button or some other ingenious method.

Of course it would be great if you could turn the feature off to save power or for those that never really need it. I mean it's not like you would need the lights on all the time anyways, so why not just let the light sensors on these devices determine when it's too dark and turn on when you hit one of the buttons on the device? This brings me to another simple idea of static awareness of devices where your device should know when it's been touched or moved and will react according to what the user wants to happen, but I'll save that for another post.

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."

Block Breaker Deluxe

The classic Block Breaker game is back with a fresh new look and lots of new N-Gage goodies this time around. Much more polished than the original, and even the sequel. For anyone familiar with the paddle style games will get a real kick out of this one. With several locations each containing ten levels and a boss level, a ping-pong-like tournament, dozens of paddle and ball upgrades, and a slew of challenging N-Gage point pickups, It's amazing this game only takes up a mere 5 MB of space on the phone.

I haven't had the chance to try the multiplayer mode via bluetooth, but I'm pretty sure it's much like the tournament level where you are basically playing "pong" with the other player. There's an option to change the screen orientation, as well as the key settings to your style of playing. I love all the high score stats that you can check out to see how well you have progressed through the game.

As for my favorite location, it would have to be the Coconut Casino where there are levels you can play mini versions of slot machine, poker, and craps for lots of cash. I just love it when I get poker chips raining down to catch with my paddle. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm somewhere else when I play this game. Be careful though, this game will suck up your time as it is hard to put down when you get in to a rhythm.

The graphics aren't anything to wright home about, but are good enough to know what's going on. The music and sound effects are clean and cool (some block hits sound like forks tapping on wine glasses). Not much of an online presence with this game. Just the ability to upload your high scores. In fact, there's a Great Gameloft Giveaway Competition going on between April 21 and May 18 where you can submit your score for a chance to win very cool prizes. I really like how Nokia and Gameloft have teamed up for this event. It's a good marketing and distribution technique that will help N-Gage on the path to success.

Overall, it's a great paddle style game with lots of extras and many challenges. If there was a real-time online tournament mode I would have given it the fifth star. Even without that, the game shines pretty bright. Check out the video of the game in action.

Games To Go Rating: 4 out of 5

Space Impact: Kappa Base

If there's one thing I miss about going to the arcade it's the scrolling shooters. Now I can get that same joy of intense flying and shooting action, and I don't have to stand in one place anymore to do it. Space Impact Kappa Base for the N-Gage platform is one game I have grown to love over the last few days. The action of this game is very fast paced and has a lot of depth.

With three characters to select from, two difficulty levels, ten missions, eight Skyblades with varying attributes, a ton of cool weapons, and a plethora of enemies to take out, there's no way one could get bored with this game. You could spend hours on end just trying to find your perfect setup. It takes credits to unlock many of the weapons and spacecraft, which makes the game that much more challenging. There's also a combo system to multiply points gained in game and a grading system for each mission that shows how well you pilot through.

Of course the N-Gage Arena features are pretty cool too. The World Battle lets you test your skills and uploads your best scores amongst the list of other players. It would be cool if there were more game modes or even just a two player co-op mode, but there's just so much going on in this game already, and I'm pretty sure it pushes the current phone hardware to the limit.

The controls are relatively easy to use on the N81. You can also remap the keys to your liking. The game only plays in portrait mode, however. The music in the game is very good and sound effects are nice as well. The graphics are astounding with the whole 2D mixed with 3D thing going on. Overall, this game rocks, and in it I see much promise of success for the new N-Gage platform.

Also check out the All About N-Gage review and a video of the game in action.

Games To Go Rating: 4 out of 5

More Than Just N-Gage

So N-Gage has launched, many are still left out of the fun, and some are having all sorts of issues with the platform and games throwing errors like a pro baseball pitcher in his prime. Some gamers will give up on N-Gage right off the bat, some will just wait it out until it's all fixed. Then there are the hardcore gamers like myself constantly in search for something fun to do on the go. Of course it would be quite selfish of me not to share my findings that may or may not add a bit of entertainment to your S60 phone.

Let's start with where these gems can be found. I use MOSH on my N95 all the time to find new and interesting content. It's also a great way to store files quickly to free up space when you run out of room on the memory card. Anyway, there are a ton of games to download on MOSH, and that's just one resource. Games like S-Tris 2 (a Tetris clone), Alpha Wing 2, Frozen Bubble, Block Breaker Deluxe, and Mystery Mansion Pinball are just some of the cool games that bring the arcade to wherever you want to go.

Two of my favorite things about the N95 is the built-in accelerometer and the TV-out feature. Adding gaming as a third ingredient to the mix makes for some serious fun. There has been recent development around the accelerometer lately that goes beyond just using it for user interface purposes. rotateMe and Nokmote make way for demos such as MosKillTo, where you aim and shoot pesky mosquitoes in a virtual room and Mirage Money where you can fly through a virtual or camera-based environment to collect coinage for points. Of course you could mix some games like FreeFlight with Nokmote which is cool in and of itself, but hook it all up to a nice TV and you have something very cool to show off to friends and family.

I have no doubt that we will see a lot more fun ideas spring up around the potential of phones like the N95 and it's accelerometer and TV-out features. I also hope N-Gage will eventually mature into the mobile gaming platform that many have waited for a long time. I'm always looking for more interesting games and applications that push these technologies to the limits, so if you stumble upon anything neat or are a developer that needs a guinea pig to test out their latest creation, I'm always up for something new. Well, back to pinball on the TV for now...

S60 Embassy Sweets

I've recently become one of many S60 Ambassadors and have received a nice little bag of S60 goodies. The bag included a mousepad, a couple of very nice pens, a slick lanyard, and a cool S60 shirt.
I look forward to performing my new duties as an S60 Ambassador as well as meeting up with other S60 Ambassadors in the future. See you in the streets (I better bring my umbrella, it's raining out there right now).

The Position Art Genius

As a fellow artist (and self proclaimed genius) it is my duty to present one of the coolest artists of our time. The Position Art Genius, Stavros has recently produced his greatest piece to date in the heart of Rome. Stavros uses a Nokia N82 to geotag his position to create various shapes and even more complex pictures.

I must thank Stavros and WOM World for sending NET9 the awesome T-shirt with a portrait of the genius on the front. I will wear it with honor for the world to learn of Stavros. Also for the signed and numbered super duper limited edition poster. And of course, I can't thank Stavros enough for the one of a kind, framed and signed NET9 position art piece.

For those who are unfortunate not to know the phenomenon that is Stavros, you can become fortunate by learning about the genius at The World Is My Canvas site. Also view some of his great works and photos too. Now please excuse me while I continue to gaze at the great position art Stavros has blessed me with.

Nokia N95: Gaming, Serving, Streaming

I've been checking out a few cool services and apps for the N95 these days and I continue to be amazed at how fast this device is growing in its capabilities.

First, I have to admit to grabbing the unofficial version of the N-Gage First Access app, and have been having a blast with some of the Games. N-Gage is certainly shaping up to be an awesome gaming solution, and I think I speak for many when I say I can't wait for N-Gage to "officially" appear on the N95 and other supported phones. Looking forward to some fun challenges in the N-Gage Arena.

The next app I got around to checking out is the Nokia Mobile Web Server. This app has been out for some time, but there's been a recent update to 1.2 beta and it is still pretty cool to be able to access your phone from any web browser. Contacts, calendar, messaging, images, etc. is manageable through the web. There's even some cool blogging options in there.

And finally, I stumbled on the cool PocketCaster app that works great for live video streaming from the N95 to the ComVu site for viewing. This could be an awesome way to do live shows on the go. And it works very well over a 3G connection too.

There's just so many great S60 apps and services these days, it's a challenge just to keep up with it all.

N81 8GB and Bose QC3 Headphones

The Nokia N81 8GB has been reviewed to death and I think it's an okay device by itself, but the special edition kit with the Bose QuietComfort 3 Headphones set it off very nicely. Oh, and the packaging of it all was quite cool also. I'll quickly go over my thoughts about the N81 8GB, but it's the Bose Headphones that will get the best of this review.

N81 8GB
A very sleek Nokia phone with a great music experience and a pretty fun gaming experience, the N81 8GB has what it takes to kick out a nice amount of tunes and even some N-Gage gaming action the way it was meant to be. The slider is solid, and feels even sturdier than the N95-3. However, the plastic back cover felt a bit cheap and made some creaking noises that annoyed me to no end (thank goodness for those noise canceling Bose headphones).

The battery life was pretty good, the Navi Wheel function of the direction pad was fun to play with, but I never saw myself wanting to use it much at all. The camera was sub par and I was disgusted with the image quality I got with it. The wifi and EDGE only connection is enough to browse the web in comfort, and the built-in speakers were excellent. I loved that the screen was flush with the rest of the face of the device, unlike my N95-3 which has that traditional beveled frame for the screen. Scratches may be an issue for the N81 in the long run with a screen like that though.

The button placement has to be one of the worst I've seen to date. It looks as if the designers couldn't decide where to put the music keys so they opted to cram them all at the bottom of the screen with the other keys and hope no one would notice how retarded it actually was to use. Come on Nokia, 16 freaking buttons in an area the size of two stamps is ridiculous! Crowded is not the word for this monstrosity. This should have been a dual slider like the N95, period.

Finally, the last things I dislike about the N81 8GB is that there's no way to expand the storage capacity past the built-in 8GB and no TV-out functionality. For a device that will be primarily a mobile music and gaming machine and more, 8GB is laughable. For a $400+ Nokia phone I expected more than what the N81 has to offer. The styling and durability is spot on, button placement is all wrong, and the expandability is off by a mile. This phone had potential to be so much more than what it is. I hope Nokia can fix it or bring the best parts to future phones.

Bose QuietComfort 3 Headphones
These things are simply awesome! They make up for quite a bit of what's lacking in the N81 8GB for sure. I've never heard a more clear sound of music come from headphones in my life. There's really not much I can say about headphones, but I know I have to get a pair of these when I get some extra cash. They feel great over my ears, have all the adapters needed for travel, and of course the noise canceling feature is top notch. Simply put, these headphones make the difference in any music listening experience. Bravo Bose, Bravo.