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Updates: Sunday April 01 - Saturday April 28
Pocket Strippoker updated
[ Saturday, April 28 ]
AIM Productions got in touch to let me know that Pocket Strippoker has been updated to version 1.1, available to download as a free update from PocketGear (ARM, MIPS) and Handango (ARM, MIPS). The new version "now contains a RESUME GAME function and a FAST PLAY mode, thus taking care of the 2 major criticism points". If that's not enough, there's also a wide selection of additional models available to spice up the game: Workout Wendy, Angel, Jungle Jill, Double Trouble, Marisha, Miami Vice, Teenie Jessica and Hot Helen.
Genesis emulator in under a fortnight?
[ Friday, April 27 ]
I recently wrote to Domenico Dato asking how work on his Genesis emulator was progressing. This was his reply:
"I took some time to test sound emulation and results (as was in my expectations) are not very good: performance drops too much if sound is active. I will release the first version with no sound and will try to optimize code later to see if it can be added at a second time. Release should be in 7-10 days from now."
Dial 999 for Deathmatch
[ Friday, April 27 ]
Frank M. Jr, more commonly known as 999, has released his "first two mod paks for Pocket Quake, both of which are Bot Enabled", as announced in this Pocket Quake discussion thread. One slight caveat, however, before you can deathmatch to your heart's content: you must be a registered Quake user.
RTS: Codename Argentum
[ Friday, April 27 ]
Frederik Malmer, author of premier platformer, Weeboo, has announced in this discussion thread that he has teamed up with Carpediem in the development of the RTS (real-time strategy) game announced last Friday. There isn't much concrete information mentioned (e.g. no storyline has yet been decided upon, nor has a launch date been set), but if the programming talent is anything to go by, this game is shaping up to be something special.
Cryptic Crypts
[ Friday, April 27 ]
The aim of Crypt Quest is to "exit each level [of a crypt] by [interacting] with doors, keys, boxes, water, fire and much more...". The game, only available for the iPAQ, seems to be exclusive to PocketGear, with the developer rather mysteriously listed only as "Independent". Unfortunately, my iPAQ is currently winging its way to the USA for a memory upgrade, so if any more information can be gleaned from within the game, I can't currently get at it! Crypt Quest is priced at $14.95; a ten-level demo version is available.
Pocket Hustler adds SH3 support
[ Friday, April 27 ]
Godot Entertainment's pool game, Pocket Hustler, has been updated to include SH3 support. In addition, there is now a "normal stroke and manual stroke mode". Godot's homepage also announces that a new game is coming soon; there's no information at present, but the game will go by the delightful-sounding name of Plop Plop.
Japanese developer at the races
[ Thursday, April 26 ]
Fabio Parri sent in a link to a very interesting looking racing game set to be released on May 25. The Pocket PC version of Racing Days (original non-translated page) is being developed by Japanese company, Kitt Peak, as announced in this GAME Watch article, which also notes that the demo is scheduled to be made available on May 10.
Interestingly, the car setup screenshot on the Racing Days homepage seems to suggest that the game interface may well be in English. Another possibility is that the game will be released in more than one language. Either way, let's hope that the game will be available to those of us who don't hail from Japan!
Pocket Quake update
[ Thursday, April 26 ]
Release 0.061 of Pocket Quake is now available for all major Pocket PC's. As taken from the Pocket Quake site, features include:
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Clock updates properly
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Fixed togglemenu mapping for MIPS devices (AUX2 can be used for togglemenu)
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SH3 build now supported.
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Drift Pitch now works properly. The Pitch (up/down) stays where you have it as long as the stylus is down. If you lift the stylus and move, then the pitch will center.
PocketAdventures: Sprite Engine Alpha
[ Thursday, April 26 ]
Check out this Brighthand thread for "a first alpha version of the sprite engine" to be used in PocketAdventures. Don't expect too much, for as the author, Kaiton, notes, "You can't do anything with it. It is just to show we are working on it."
Galaxy Quest: the quest continues
[ Thursday, April 26 ]
I received word from Raymond Staten that "The original Galaxy Quest 2 that I was porting to PocketPC is now being called GalaxyQuestCE. It will be sold as a completely different product then GQ1 or 2 for the Palm, and have many new PocketPC only graphics and features. I hope to have a very early beta out by next week. After the basic game engine is done, it will be using GQ1 style graphics, we will begin selling the game. This version will be the finished GQ1 game, having all the features of GQ1 for the Palm. We will continue to upgrade it until all the new PocketPC features are complete. Users will then receive free upgrades for each new beta, until it's complete."
The game will be hosted on a new site, CasioWorldCE, which is currently in preview mode, but should be fully up and running on Tuesday, May 1. Screenshots of the game will be made available this Monday. In addition, Raymond also told me that "CasioWorldCE will be hosting a unique online multiplayer game, about PDA's. You will need to discover hidden sites, search through other PocketPC website and message boards, talk with people on AIM, even some special, but simple PocketPC's games made for it, and other various things, to uncover a major PDA related conspiracy. Despite it being hosted by CasioWorldCE, you can play for various PDA's, including Casio, iPAQ, Jornada, Palm and Visor."
PocketAdventures update
[ Wednesday, April 25 ]
Check out this Brighthand thread for the latest news on PocketAdventures, the adventure game system under development by Kaiton Buitendijk. Two versions are now being developed, the first being "an easy SCUMM adventure system, for games like Monkey Island, Fate of Atlantis, Day of Tentacle etc. There are just 40 commands to use." The second is "a Jscript powered GAPI/Sprite engine."
New Mega release
[ Wednesday, April 25 ]
Megasoft 2000 have released MegaLines, "an amusing logic game, the objective of which is to gain the maximum scores by arranging 5 or more balls of the same color into lines (Default mode). As a result of such arranging the line of balls disappears the score grows and 3 more balls appear on the game field. The game is finished when all the field is filled with the balls, that makes other moves impossible."
MegaLines is available to buy from PocketGear for $14.95. The game runs on all major Pocket PC's, and a demo can be downloaded from the game homepage.
Tribes in your Pocket?
[ Wednesday, April 25 ]
Crazy Joe pointed out an interesting news item on the Tribes Universe site suggesting that Dynamix are set to release Tribes 2 on the Palm range of PDA's. However, the multimedia issues mentioned in the news item (e.g. "dozens of colors ... wireless Internet connectivity") suggest that a Pocket PC release might not be out of the question if the item is accurate.
More goodies from Japan!
[ Wednesday, April 25 ]
Fabio Parri wrote in with a link to the Japanese Windows CE Software Contest 2001 2nd Edition Software List (please note that this is translated; here's a link to the original) which includes no fewer than 86 applications in total, most being freeware. The following games (all freeware unless noted) are listed:
Please note that the game links are to the relevant listing information page; to go to their actual homepage, simply click the "Link" button in the top right-hand corner of the information box (to the right of the maroon cell that gives the game's title). For download options, click the "DL" button.
Branching out
[ Tuesday, April 24 ]
Mercury Development have released Bough, a puzzle game reminiscent of the old classic, Pipe Mania. As taken from the game's blurb, "A living branch has been cut into separate pieces (we did not do it) and it is slowly dying. The pieces have been left in place but they have each been rotated randomly. Fortunately, the water source in the center of the field still feeds the branch. When water reaches the cut pieces they come back to life and leaves begin to grow on them. You must save the entire branch by tapping on the pieces to rotate them so that the entire branch receives water and comes back to life.
Rotate pieces by tapping them with the stylus. Lock cells when you are certain they are in the correct position. Hold the Action hardware button on your PocketPC device and tap a cell you want to lock. Locked cells will then be displayed with a different background. If you find you've locked a cell incorrectly, you can easily unlock it by tapping it again while holding the Action hardware button.
Your score is determined by how quickly, and in how few moves you can solve the puzzle. The score starts out on a number determined by the difficulty of the puzzle. As time passes, the score drops. With every piece rotation, the score drops. If you manage to solve the puzzle with a score greater than zero, the branch will burst into bloom."
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a game homepage, although there are product pages at Handango relating to the game for the three different Pocket PC processor types, ARM, MIPS and SH3. The game is priced at $9.99, and a demo is available.
Also from Japan: Gikadiver
[ Tuesday, April 24 ]
Wayne (who discovered Ecoco de Fight, as reported on Pocket PC Thoughts) wrote in to let me know that he has unearthed another Pocket PC game from the Ecoco de Fight team. Gikadiver appears to be a space shoot-em-up but, unlike Ecoco de Fight, seems only to be available for MIPS (i.e. Casio) devices.
For those whose Japanese is like mine, i.e. non-existent, here's the direct download link (442 KB). Incidentally, a good tool for extracting LZH files is PowerArchiver, which is free and also supports just about every other compression format there is. Thanks to Craig for pointing out this program in the Pocket PC Thoughts Ecoco de Fight discussion.
Ecoact? Not exactly!
[ Tuesday, April 24 ]
The Japanese platformer previously known as Ecoact should actually be called Ecoco de Fight. According to Frank M. Jr, this is a phonetic translation of the hiragana on the page which (phonetically) reads EKoKo De HfuAITO. You learn a new thing every day...!
Frank went on to say that "This is a full-blown PC game which is on sale in Japan. It's also available for a number of platforms like PPC, Unix, and Win98. ... I took a look at the manual, and it's quite an in-depth game, with lots of dynamics in how you can attack. The game appears to be well thought out, and could very well be the *best* action/puzzle/platformer for the PPC, after all, it's a direct PC conversion."
New Poker game shows its face
[ Monday, April 23 ]
PocketCreations.org have released a new poker game going by the name of PokA2001. Available for virtually all Windows CE devices, please note that the game requires the use of the appropriate Orbworks' PocketC runtime file.
PokA2001 is the first commercial title from PocketCreations.org, and costs $4.95.
Ecoact... I think!
[ Monday, April 23 ]
As reported on Pocket PC Thoughts, there's a new platform game available, the only slight snag being that it's from Japan meaning that English-language speakers have more of a challenge! Judging from the filename, I think that the game, which appears to be freeware, is called Ecoact. If anyone knows better, please let me know.
No matter what it's called, however, the style of the game is very definitely that of a classic platformer: run, jump, avoid getting killed by the nasties. Pocket PC Thoughts author, Jason Dunn, reports that "I tested it on my EM-500, and it has great game-play with fast frame rates".
Having briefly tried it out on my iPAQ, I can say that it is beautifully presented and has a great deal of potential. I'm not overly certain, however, that it is without problems relating to the infamous button issue, and also the fact that the centre of the joypad acts as the pause key was also annoying... but that might just be me!
As the game's homepage is in Japanese, here are the download links:
Pocket Quake fan sites mapped out
[ Saturday, April 21 ]
If you're a Pocket Quake fan (and if not, why not?!), you'll be interested in two fan sites that have been established. The first, by Paul Celozzi, goes by the name of All Things Pocket Quake, the highlight of the site being the selection of specially optimised maps that are designed specifically with the Pocket PC in mind.
If you're interested in designing such maps yourself, the second site will come in handy. Currently entitled Nothing special, run by blindtypist, offers various custom textures designed to look good on the Pocket PC. If you know of any more Pocket Quake fan sites, please get in touch with me and I'll add the link(s) to the Pocket Quake info on the relevant game listings page.
And while I'm on the subject of Pocket Quake, one final mention of the donations request won't hurt. Hosting a site such as PocketMatrix.com where the downloads number into the tens of thousands for each new version of the game certainly doesn't come cheap.
You can send a donation by simply visiting PayPal and choosing the Send Money link on the front page. The address to send your donation to is [email protected]. As Pocket Quake author, Dan East, stated, "If each person paid a mere $2 for their copy, we could pay the website hosting for the next 2 years, give my wife a good reason to let me work on PQ more, and put up some money to encourage the development of new PQ-optimized, expansive, goal-based levels."
AppleCE update
[ Saturday, April 21 ]
As announced in this Brighthand thread, there's a new release of AppleCE. Version 0.2b features "trial external (Stowaway/GoType) keyboard support" (although not all keys are enabled), various bug fixes, and a new "'Color Enhanced' display mode to improve readability of text".
Paint By Numbers
[ Saturday, April 21 ]
Jimbo pointed out a game by the name of PaintByNumbers in this Brighthand thread. Written by Evan Golub, PaintByNumbers allows you to play picture logic games (otherwise known as nonograms) in which you have to work out the clues in order to "draw" the picture.
PaintByNumbers is "postcard-ware", meaning that if you like the game, the author requests that you send him send him a postcard to show your appreciation.
Peter's graphics
[ Saturday, April 21 ]
Many thanks to Peter Balogh for the new front page shadow effect graphics. Don't forget to check out Peter's Page for an excellent collection of freeware, including Oliver's Action Pack, Peter's Gamebox and Peter's Casino.
Additionally, he's also written a freeware graphics viewer that works on just about any Windows CE device you care to mention. Peter's Viewer "runs in full screen, features a nice design, on-screen controls to browse through images quickly and picture dragging for large images."
Solskia ARM update
[ Friday, April 20 ]
Isometric RPG, Solskia, has been updated to build 0419, which now includes ARM support. There is, however, a note on the site that it might be necessary to "download the executable [download link: 369 KB] and install it manually. Unfortunately there are still registration problems that should be fixed soon."
Caocao puzzle
[ Friday, April 20 ]
As spotted on Ludipocket.com, there's a new puzzle game in town by the name of Caocao. Unfortunately for English speakers, it's more puzzling than most because the game is written in Chinese. However, the basic aim of the game simple enough, being very close to the classic sliding tile game. The only difference is that you're not trying to correctly assemble a picture, but instead to move a larger piece from its starting position to the exit.
Announced on Hi!PDA, a popular Chinese "Mobile & Wireless" site, the game itself appears to have been written by Mobem Technologies, although I couldn't find any reference to it on their site at the time of writing. If you're having trouble finding where to download the game on Hi!PDA, here's the direct download link (229 KB).
As the game is in Chinese, here's a very brief guide to getting started. When you first load the game (after having installed it), you're presented with five buttons near the bottom of the screen. Tap the topmost button to start a new game. To move a piece (note that you can only move the bottom piece on your first move), simply tap it. If you have a choice of directions, then arrows will appear - tap the relevant arrow to move the piece in the appropriate direction. The piece you're trying to move to the exit (the gap at the bottom) is the largest one in the middle at the top.
Rogue Element
[ Friday, April 20 ]
Frank Galligan has released AngbandCE, "a port of Angband for Windows. Angband is a 'Roguelike' game, which means that the player, monsters, objects, [etc] are represented as ASCII characters."
AngbandCE is freeware, available for all Pocket PC's (although versions for devices other than the iPAQ are untested), and also features a skinnable control window. Please note that the game is still in the early stages of its development.
New RTS game on the horizon
[ Friday, April 20 ]
As spotted on Pocket PC Thoughts, Carpediem is working on a real-time strategy (RTS) game for the Pocket PC similar to the likes of Command & Conquer and Starcraft. Unfortunately, very few details were available at the time of writing other than the fact that the game can use custom maps. See this discussion thread for more details.
Pocket PC Thoughts author, Jason Dunn, also notes that Pocket Matrix are after donations. Apparently, being the site that hosts Pocket Quake is an expensive business and given that "over 10,000 people download each new version", I'm not surprised.
Turjah II: Reviewed x II
[ Friday, April 20 ]
This site might not be the best at getting the first review out of the blocks, but I'd like to hope that it does an extremely thorough job if nothing else! With that in mind, today sees not just one but two reviews of Jimmy Software's latest offering, Turjah Episode II. Does the sequel live up to its much-loved predecessor? Read what official site reviewers, Seth Bilodeau and Jason Surguine, have to say on the subject.
ZIO: We'll fix Pocket Gambler
[ Friday, April 20 ]
I received a message earlier today from Shannen Choi of ZIO Interactive saying the following:
"We stop selling Pocket Gambler temporally to fix all bugs. The previous purchasers of the game will get the upgrade version. We feel very sorry to the our customers and will fix the problem as soon as possible. Please announce about this and we will do our best to fix all the problems."
Check out this Brighthand thread, in which the various problems were noted, for a request from the company for testers of the new version.
Yacht 2.1 sets sail
[ Friday, April 20 ]
The popular freeware Yachtzee clone, Yacht, from Maxilian Wimmer has been updated to version 2.1. The new release, which you can download from Handango, adds an undo function, a new "Wood" skin, as well as including various bug fixes.
Pocket Gambler: Don't bet on it
[ Friday, April 20 ]
It appears that ZIO Interactive's latest release, Pocket Gambler, may be suffering from more than its fair share of problems if this Brighthand discussion thread is anything to go by. Reported bugs include the fact that in the Blackjack game, an Ace is always worth 11 even if you only want it to be valued at 1, lock-ups if the machine is powered down while the game is running, and improper payback in certain games. Hopefully, an updated version is, if you can pardon the expression, on the cards.
Peter's Gamebox: New and improved!
[ Friday, April 20 ]
Peter Balogh wrote in to let me know that version 2.0 of his game package, Peter's Gamebox, is now out. He states on his site that "I've started making this new version about a month ago and I'm very happy that I had enough time and energy to finish and polish it. It has been greatly improved in many areas: Sound effects added, new graphical design, adjustable levels, a new game replaced the old Blocks2, support for landscape screens and lots of different changes. And best of all - it's still freeware."
Miniature Golf review
[ Friday, April 20 ]
Henry Kong plays a round (or two) with Miniature Golf, and lets you know what he makes of it in this article at PDASquare.
Free Othello game
[ Thursday, April 19 ]
As spotted on Ludipocket.com, an Othello clone has been released for the Pocket PC in the form of Ocero. The game, by K. Kitamura, offers both an easy and a difficult level, and is freeware.
Turjah II cheats
[ Thursday, April 19 ]
People with a conscience should look away now! However, if you wouldn't mind a little help with Jimmy Software's space shoot-em-up, Turjah II, Jonathan Lim wrote in to point out this discussion thread in which several cheat codes are mentioned.
Jimmy requests Casio patch help
[ Wednesday, April 18 ]
If you're a Cassiopeia user, then you may be able to help out Jimmy of Jimmy Software. As posted in this discussion thread, there appear to be several different patch versions out there, and not all appear to be too friendly to Jimmy's games! As such, he's asking for people to post what patch version they have and, if possible, the address where it can be downloaded.
New Solskia release
[ Wednesday, April 18 ]
Solskia author, Kyle Poole, wrote in to let me know that a new beta release is now available, offering "better inventory management, 3D rendered graphics, an improved NPC talking system, and more monsters". Solskia is an isometric RPG, the current release being "in 'arcade mode'. One map, respawning monsters, a few people to talk to, but you can't complete the quests yet. If all goes well the storyline will continue. If you like what you see so far, the 50% off sale has been extended to the next beta!"
Thanks to Ashley Jones for pointing out that there is a caveat for iPAQ users in the form of this note on the download page:
"Sorry PocketPC ARM users, the included file is a slightly older build and may have bugs. A new version will be posted once I figure out while the compiler is hanging for the ARM version..."
New releases, new games news source?
[ Wednesday, April 18 ]
As found on ce4you, Blockobuster and Matrix are two freeware titles from a new site on the block, The Pocket PC Games Network. Blockobuster is described as "a logical game with colorful cubes", whilst Matrix is "yet another Tetris clone". Unfortunately, the two titles are only available for MIPS devices at present.
As for the main site itself, it looks as though it may be set to become a Pocket PC gaming news portal, although the current content isn't up-to-date.
PocketBL: Tetris with a twist!
[ Wednesday, April 18 ]
PocketBL is your average Tetris clone, only with one addition: the third dimension. The game is freeware written by ppc_zouz, who announced the game in this Brighthand thread.
T-Force Platoon fires opening salvo
[ Wednesday, April 18 ]
Thanks to Joseph Gershgorin for pointing out that the T-Force Platoon demo is now available to download. All major Pocket PC's are catered for, and the launch date for the final release is set for April 27.
New Pocket Quake release!
[ Tuesday, April 17 ]
Pocket Quake version 0.6 has been released for ARM and MIPS devices (an SH3 version should follow shortly, along with the latest source code). According to port author, Dan East, in this discussion thread, "the biggest change ... is that the walls are perfectly straight as they should be. It also runs faster, and has some other additions and fixes", which include "auto yaw rotation" and a new task bar, "providing Minimize, Quit, Mute and a clock (when running in portrait mode)". Thanks to Jason Surguine for letting me know.
Pocket Gambler released
[ Tuesday, April 17 ]
ZIO Interactive have now released their gambling suite, Pocket Gambler. Including Caribbean Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat, Video Poker, a slot machine, Roulette and Craps, the game is priced at $19.95. Pocket Gambler supports all major Pocket PC's, and a trial version is available.
Qui veut gagner des millions?
[ Tuesday, April 17 ]
A grand merci to Edouard Lombard who has produced a French translation of Pocket Millionaire. All the details can be found on the Pocket Millionaire downloads page.
Who ate all the pies...?
[ Tuesday, April 17 ]
Fans of English football will be pleased to see a Flash-based soccer game designed for the Pocket PC. It is, however, slightly off-beat to say the least! Stotty, webmaster at Pocket Flash Games (and a Leeds United fan, methinks!), has written Pie Soccer. The game sets you Mark Viduka's Pie Challenge, which is to launch pies from various free-kick positions in an attempt to score as many goals as possible. You also receive points for hitting other targets, such as Fergie (Manchester United's manager), Fabien Barthez (United's goalkeeper) and David Beckham (midfielder). Needless to say, if you're not into English football, you probably won't get much of the humour!
Gem Hunter finds SH3 support
[ Tuesday, April 17 ]
The well-received puzzle game, Gem Hunter (see review), is now available in SH3 format, meaning that Jornada owners can now join in the hunt. The game is available to buy from PocketGear for $8.99.
AppleCE update
[ Monday, April 16 ]
Many thanks to Ashley Jones for letting me know that Erik Chong has released version 0.2a of his Apple ][+ emulator, AppleCE. The new version now includes SH3 support (albeit untested), a larger keyboard, drive status indicator, an option for auto-repeating keystrokes, better sound, new "throttling logic" and support for compressed save game states. All this and the program's size has been reduced, too! Discussion is in this Brighthand thread.
Quake 3 at 60 fps on PDA's soon?
[ Monday, April 16 ]
There's an interesting, if highly speculative, article from The Inquirer suggesting that Imagination Technologies may be just a few months away from demonstrating a revolutionary 3D chip that will allow PDA's to run Quake 3 at 60 frames per second. Kudos to Johan Palm for first spotting this and posting the link in this Pocket Quake discussion thread.
New logo: Thanks!
[ Monday, April 16 ]
As you might have noticed, PocketGamer.org has some shiny new graphics. I'd like to extend a big thank you to Mats Björnström for his help with the colour scheme of the main logo.
PocketGB: New NES code
[ Sunday, April 15 ]
PocketGB's NES support has changed from iNES to FCE Ultra. Skoobouy, who wrote in with the news, notes that the new version offers more complete, but slower, NES emulation. For full details, see the PocketGB news page.
Henry the Gambler
[ Sunday, April 15 ]
The ever-prolific Henry Kong has written a detailed article on Pocket Gambler. Well worth a read, especially if you're considering purchasing the game.
Fade: New images
[ Sunday, April 15 ]
Loic Guille sent in a couple of new screenshots from his upcoming adventure game, Fade. Click on the thumbnails to view the full-size images.
Chopper Alley: MIPS version released, new site up
[ Saturday, April 14 ]
Amazing Games have released the long-awaited MIPS version of Chopper Alley, which officially supports the E-125 and EM-500. They also have a brand new (albeit less colourful!) site which includes a detailed instructions on how to play the game.
G-Pod demo released
[ Saturday, April 14 ]
AIM Productions have now released a playable demo of their action/arcade game, G-Pod. Many thanks to Chuck, Bill Schoonmaker and also Stefan and David at AIM for letting me know.
MAMEBoyX: Loadsa games!
[ Saturday, April 14 ]
Marconelly wrote in to let me know that he has released MAMEBoyX, the latest version of his MAME emulator, which is "a special release with many requested games enabled".
PocketVCS adds SH3 support, second joystick
[ Saturday, April 14 ]
Version 0.55 of PocketVCS is now available, including for the first time SH3 support. New features include "second joystick support (Raiders of the Lost Ark playable), and some minor glitch fixes."
Pocket PC users unite in fight against Cancer
[ Friday, April 13 ]
This is obviously completely unrelated to games and for that I apologise, but this is in a very worthy cause. As some of you may know, there is now a program you can download that uses your spare computer cycles to crunch cancer research-related data. Jason Dunn has created a Pocket PC team (see his article at Pocket PC Thoughts for full details) and, as he says, "I think this is a great cause to rally around, and I'd strongly encourage each of you to download and install this software - it's unobtrusive, and only consumes unused CPU cycles. It will look like it's using 100% of your CPU, but as soon as another app needs CPU cycles, the Agent fades back to idle mode..."
PocketVCS update
[ Friday, April 13 ]
Version 0.53 of Stuart Russell's freeware Atari 2600 emulator, PocketVCS, is now available. This latest release offers fixed paddle support and several minor bug fixes (as a result, Joust now works except for the title screen). Additionally, touching the screen now functions as the fire button for joystick games. Both MIPS and ARM downloads are available from the PocketVCS site.
Oliver's action packed addition
[ Friday, April 13 ]
Oliver Lovaszi's freeware games package, Oliver's Action Pack, is up to version 1.5 and now offers an additional game. As the site maintainer, Peter Balogh, informed me, there are now "three fun action games: Heaven Guard, Snow Wars and the latest addition, Galaxy Clone. In Heaven Guard you're an angel protecting Heaven from devil souls. In Snow Wars you're fighting a gang of kids, heavily equipped with tons of snowballs. In Galaxy Clone, (do we have to explain the name?) you're the last survivor of the human race trying to stay alive by destroying zillions of alien spaceships. All games are easy to control and fun to play for kids and grownups as well.
G-Pod: Demo soon!
[ Friday, April 13 ]
Tsamoudakis Panagiotis of PocketPCMinds.com wrote in with news that AIM Productions are to release a demo of their action/arcade game, G-Pod, today (Friday). PocketPCMinds.com also has a couple of screenshots of the game in action.
Smells fishy
[ Thursday, April 12 ]
As spotted on Pocket PC Thoughts, PocketCreations.org (a.k.a. Oz Creations) have released Fish2001. The game, which is shareware costing $4.95, is a variation on the memory game, Pairs. As the help screen explains, "...all you have to do is select a card, then try and find its partner. Failing to pair cards will result in numbers being placed on the cards". For each failed attempt, the number on the card you selected will increment - should it reach three, or the time limit reach zero, then it's game over.
Cross codes
[ Wednesday, April 11 ]
Puzzle Express have released Coded Crosswords, a game in which "a standard crossword grid is filled with numbers ranging from 1 to 26, each representing a letter of the alphabet. The object is to substitute letters for the numbers so that the crossword is correctly filled in with real words."
Available for all major Pocket PC's, the game features "50 puzzle grids", "various solving aids" and a "replay" function. A 5-puzzle demo is available to download, while the full version is available to buy from PocketGear for $15.
MasterFind
[ Wednesday, April 11 ]
Yves Vanlerberghe has released MasterFind, a free Mastermind clone. The object of the game is to guess the correct sequence of numbers by using the clues given.
Pocket Quake: New version soon
[ Tuesday, April 10 ]
Thanks to Mark Jackson for letting me know of a post from Pocket Quake author, Dan East, in this discussion thread which details what's coming up in the next release of the game which he hopes to have done "by the end of this week". Among the new features are "auto yaw rotation", a new "TaskBar .. providing Minimize, Quit, Mute and a clock (when running in portrait mode)". Additionally, the new version now runs completely full-screen (no more input panel icon in the bottom right corner!), the "perspective correction" has been fixed (no more warped walls) and the implementation of fixed-point conversion code has slightly increased the FPS (frames per second) count.
Turjah II, Chopper Alley: Problems sorted
[ Tuesday, April 10 ]
The demo and retail download files for Turjah Episode II have now been fixed, so you can now enjoy Jimmy Software's latest and greatest as it should be. Also, Chopper Alley author, Sven Mhyre, has been made aware of the shoot button bug (courtesy of the appropriately-named ChopChop) in this discussion thread and this has now been fixed. PocketGear has the latest version for your download enjoyment.
Incidentally, you may have noticed the slight change to the What's New categories near the top of the page. "Game announcements" will, unsurprisingly, let you know the five latest games to be announced (whether available or not). The "New releases/updates" section will list the newest releases to be made available, along with any new versions of games (please note: I don't expect this to be completely comprehensive - for keeping fully up-to-date with software updates, I recommend ce4you).
T-Force Platoon
[ Tuesday, April 10 ]
To quote from the T-Force Platoon site, "It's total chaos. Renegade mercenaries have terrorized everything for several months. The soil has been polluted and pitted under the heavy tanks and their tracks."
And that's my apartment on a good day...
T-Force Platoon, on the other hand, is billed as an "arcade action war game", featuring:
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Single player campaign
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Revolutionary aiming system: no button problem in iPAQ, easy gameplay with stylus.
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Two player game with IrDA
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Two player game with same PDA
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Double buffered direct screen access technique enables smooth frame rate
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Real physics modelling
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Real time shadow effects
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5 different units, different armor and damage ratings
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6 different weapons e.g. homing missiles, cluster grenades
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Exploding backgrounds: mountains, ships etc.
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Every weapon has their own area effects when exploding
The game's launch date is set for April 27 and a demo should be available sometime today, although at the time of writing wasn't up yet.
Turjah II, Chopper Alley: Launch Problems!
[ Monday, April 9 ]
It would appear that both today's releases have hit problems. Check out this Brighthand thread for reports on Turjah Episode II installation problems and this Pocketnow.com thread for reports on Chopper Alley giving an error message when the shoot key is used. Having said that, I would expect everything to be fixed very shortly... perhaps even by the time you read this!
On a related note, Pocketnow.com have also got a review of Turjah II up (with a lot of screenshots to admire!), and it gets a big thumbs up! Expect to see a review - perhaps even more than one! - at PocketGamer.org in the near future.
Turjah II, Chopper Alley (final version) released!
[ Monday, April 9 ]
Today saw the launch of two major Pocket PC releases, Turjah Episode II and Chopper Alley.
Turjah Episode II hails from the Jimmy Software stable and is an action-packed space shoot-em-up in the same vein as its much-loved prequel, Turjah. The Turjah name is obviously here to stay (hopefully, this means more games to follow!) judging by the fact that it is now has its very own dot-com website. The game is available for all major Pocket PC's and, what's more, you can even submit your high score and become world-famous!
Chopper Alley is of course already out, but the final version of the game has now been released to the public, complete with missions... and the ability to fire! Currently only for iPAQ owners, the Cassiopeia release is set for this Friday. A few points to note:
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If you're having problems with the private download link, just get the PocketGear version - it's the same!
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There are 25 missions as advertised, but to only the first 14 are available initially - to unlock the later ones, you need to progress in the game.
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There are some missions where guided missiles seem not to work. This simply means that "Chopper Alley is not currently throwing anyting at you that the guided missiles can lock on to. As the missions change, this fact will change as well ;)"
Many thanks to Timothy M. Williamson, Marconelly, Jimmy and Sven (of course!) for writing in regarding the above news.
New PocketSNES release
[ Monday, April 9 ]
Release 1.00 of PocketSNES is here, adding the following features:
Thanks to Mark Hill, Mark Jackson, Jason Surguine and the PocketSNES team for letting me know! Please note that sound is not working yet; due to a minor bug, roms are not playable when it is enabled. Thanks to Brian Devorak for alerting me to this.
MAMEBoy update
[ Monday, April 9 ]
Marconelly wrote in to say that there's some good news on the MAMEBoy front. Not only has he enabled lots more games, he's also taking requests on the MAMECE3 messageboard for other games that people would like to see enabled!
G-Quest announced
[ Sunday, April 8 ]
BrainDrain have announced G-Quest, a new RPG to add to the currently all-too limited Pocket PC collection:
"Lead your character through quests to dungeons and strange lands. Find treasure and use mysterious and powerful weapons and magic. Battle fearsome creatures in the only realtime RPG hack and slash game for the Pocket PC!"
More screenshots are available on the Products page. According to Andrew Welch of BrainDrain, the game will offer a lot of depth, with plenty of different armor and weapons to try out. As such, he notes that it should be "more Diablo style than a Gauntlet type game".
Flux release Black Jack
[ Sunday, April 8 ]
Flux have released Black Jack, a $4.99 version of the classic card game. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, there was no mention of the game on the Flux site so the link is to the relevant PocketGear product page.
Gem Hunter reviewed
[ Sunday, April 8 ]
PocketGamer.org reviewer Jason Surguine gets to grips with Gem Hunter, but does he like what he finds? Read the review to find out...
Turjah II out Monday!
[ Saturday, April 7 ]
Jimmy Software have announced that Turjah Episode II is to be released this Monday. The new title will cost $24.99 although owners of the original Turjah will be able to get their hands on it for just $14.99. Turjah Episode II will support the iPAQ, Cassiopeia and Jornada Pocket PC's.
ZIO set to gamble
[ Saturday, April 7 ]
ZIO Interactive are set to release Pocket Gambler, a game that turns your Pocket PC into "a fully outfitted casino, including Caribbean Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat, Video Poker, Slot Machine, Roulette and Craps". A demo version will be available soon, whilst the full version will reduce your gambling allowance by $19.95. As spotted on the newly-revamped (and now very swish-looking) PocketPCMinds.com.
JS Landscape 2.0 released
[ Saturday, April 7 ]
Thanks to resident reviewer Jason Surguine for letting me know that Jimmy Software have now released the full retail version of JS Landscape 2.0, which offers a landscape mode rotation (both ways), a maximum resolution of 640x480 (VGA standard!) and a zoom mode with full stylus support. All in all, this is a cool utility!
Jason's thoughts
[ Saturday, April 7 ]
Pocket PC Thoughts author, Jason Dunn, has posted up an item entitled Missing Games in which he discusses some of the games and game styles that he would like to see make it to the Pocket PC. The last paragraph is, however, possibly the most interesting: "So this is a challenge to all you developers out there: show me some cool games! If anyone is seriously interested in developing games like this, contact me and I'll see what I can do to help."
PocketGB skins
[ Saturday, April 7 ]
If you're a PocketGB fan, you'll want to take a look at this Brighthand thread where various artistic talents have posted some replacement PocketGB skins. More to come, hopefully!
Chopper Alley primed for launch
[ Friday, April 6 ]
The final, feature-complete Chopper Alley is almost with us. The latest, and hopefully completely bug-free, version of the game has been sent to a small selection of external testers whose approval needs to be gained before a public release. As Sven Myhre notes in his posting in this discussion thread, this is hoped to be done by tomorrow afternoon or, failing that, Sunday. However, as soon as the game is released, "all registered customers will be notified by email the minute it's available, along with a high-capacity mirror download path."
There's good news too for Cassiopeia and Jornada owners. Work is continuing on a beta version of Chopper Alley for these models, and a newly-implemented "interlaced display option (only every other line on your display is actually used) will give you a 30% - 50% increase in framerate". This feature will also find its way into the iPAQ version at some point and can be turned off if the decrease in quality (said to be not all that noticeable) is not to your liking.
Aiming High...
[ Friday, April 6 ]
AIM Productions have announced two new titles, G-Pod and Done in 50 Seconds. G-Pod is "an action/arcade game about gravity, where you have to fly through tunnels, keeping your ship balanced, and avoiding or blasting enemies". The game comprises more than 50 levels, the player's objective being "to find the magic G-Pod - hidden somewhere in the tunnels" before escaping.
Done in 50 Seconds is, according to AIM, "a mind teasing puzzle game. Steal the car out of the garage within a given timeframe. Plenty of other cars, motorcycles, trucks and items block your ride to the door and you have to move them in a clever way to get the car you need. Think fast, move efficiently and blast away in your dream car!"
RocketElite demo released
[ Friday, April 6 ]
The RocketElite demo is now out and, having been playing it non-stop for a few days, I can assure you that it is well worth the download! Although currently the game is in the domain of iPAQ owners only, the author, Douglas Beck, has stated that "after I complete the game, the first port I will attempt will be for MIPS devices."
What's more, an easy-to-use mission editor is under development courtesy of Curt Tooley, as he explains in this RocketElite discussion thread. He has a "VERY preliminary screenshot" up to give a rough idea of what to expect. Check out the Level Design section on the RocketElite site for more details on how you can create your very own levels for what is shaping up to be a top title.
Pocket Strippoker comes out
[ Thursday, April 5 ]
AIM Productions' latest Pocket PC title, Pocket Strippoker, has been released. The game, as indicated by its name, is very much an adult-only title and features amongst others "exciting and addictive gameplay, high quality pictures optimized for each Pocket PC screen" along with "funny and witty comments by the girls".
The game, which also includes an HTML file containing the rules of Poker, is available in English, French, German and Dutch. A demo is available to download; the full version costs $14.99.
My 3Pics, Pocket Marbles, PocketRubik reviewed
[ Thursday, April 5 ]
PocketGamer.org reviewer Jason Surguine has been doing overtime again! This time, he brings you not one review but three: My 3Pics, Pocket Marbles and Pocket Rubik.
Chopper Alley: Bug blasted
[ Thursday, April 5 ]
Chopper Alley author, Sven Myhre, wrote in to let me know of his latest update posting which states that "the infamous bug is fixed and everything is seems to be working fine. We'll continue testing tomorrow, and we'll come back tomorrow evening with solid release info. We'll probably test it thoroughly for a few days, but it will be out this week."
In addition, there are two new images from the game to admire. What's more, Sven also confirmed to me that, "Inspired by the incredible (!!!) demo by Phantom, I'm implementing an interlaced mode, which should make Chopper Alley playable on" the Cassiopeia's and Jornada's.
Gem of a game
[ Wednesday, April 4 ]
As found on the ever-excellent Ludipocket, AhnDaGo Software has released Gem Hunter which, according to their site, is "a highly addictive puzzle game that offers colorful variety and endless combinations."
Although you'll need to examine the game's homepage carefully to fully understand all the game's intricacies, the basic object of Gem Hunter "is to locate a number of hidden gems in the playfield. You will tap the arrows located around the board to launch a beam into the playfield. Based on the behavior of the beam, you will be given clues as to where the gems are located."
At the time of writing, the game was available for ARM and MIPS devices - an SH3 version is on the way - and is available to buy from PocketGear for $8.99.
Miniature Golf
[ Wednesday, April 4 ]
Miniature Golf has been brought to the Pocket PC and "is the world first 3D Mini Golf game only for pocket PC. You can enjoy 18 distinctive holes with fantastic feelings of swing and stunning sound any time and anywhere. Each hole features different theme such as battle field, game soccer and bathroom."
There is a demo available to download (for all Pocket PC's) which features the first three holes from the game. The full version, available to buy from PocketGear, will set you back $19.95. Thanks to Robert Thayer Jr. for pointing the game out in this Brighthand thread.
Genesis emulator under development
[ Wednesday, April 4 ]
Domenico Dato, emulator programmer extraordinaire, wrote in to let me know that he is currently working on a Sega Genesis (a.k.a. Mega Drive) emulator for the iPAQ. The emulator, based on Generator, "is already running quite well, but I had to remove sound emulation for performance reasons. Speed is not that bad, but more optimizations are still required in order to make some carts really playable. ... There are still many things to do before I can release: controller is not already implemented, source should be better organized and still some bug fix is required on the video rendering code."
Fade gets clearer
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
LudiPocket has two new screenshots from the upcoming adventure title known as Fade. The screenshots demonstrate the quality of the graphics which certainly looks to be exceptional, and the swish-looking user interface at work. A word of warning: if you're easily offended, it don't look too closely at the second image!
One of the game's authors has also let me know that the website should be up very soon. He also went on to say that this should be the biggest game the Pocket PC has ever seen - over 200 CG (computer-generated) images will be used!
Better LED than dead
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
The 1970's saw the release of several "classic electronic LED (light emitting diode) based handheld games". Now you can relive them on your Pocket PC, courtesy of LEDhead from Peter Hirschberg, a freeware program which simulates many of these games. Thanks to Darren Finck for letting me know of this.
Jimmy to write SimCity clone?
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
Cameron Kinzer sent me a mail saying that he had "just found out straight from Jimmy" (of Jimmy Software) that he was writing a clone (N.B. not a port) of the strategy classic, SimCity. I've written to Jimmy for confirmation and in an attempt to find out more details - as soon as I hear anything, I'll post the news up.
RocketElite: Looking good for launch
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
Douglas Beck wrote in to let me know about a new game that he has been developing for the iPAQ. If the the quality of the screenshots and website is anything to go by, then RocketElite should be a massive hit.
The game, which "peaks at over 100 frames per second on a standard iPAQ without overclocking", "includes object physics, transparencies, particle effects, and a full parallax background. The entire game is designed around fixed-point arithmetic for lightning speed, realistic physics, and smooth animation."
Along with "smart AI opponents", lots of weapons, ship upgrades and power-ups galore, the game features "Unlimited Replayability. In addition to all the levels that come with the game, players can create or download additional single level or multilevel "campaign style" addons for use with RocketElite."
While the full version is still some way off, a demo should be available "later this week". Check out this Brighthand thread for discussion.
New card game quick off the mark
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
ClimbWalls Software have released a new card game by the name of JB Speed. But, as the description on the game's homepage says, this isn't your typical card game:
"You know, some card games require you to think. Think, think, think. Think all you want, you have all the time in the world (well, until your batteries run out). Are you ready for something different? How about a REAL-TIME card game that require[s] you to think, AND MOVE! This may be the first REAL-TIME card game for the Pocket PC! We say REAL-TIME, because, your opponent is moving the same time you are; trying to beat you to the draw. The first one to empty their 20 cards wins!"
An unlimited demo version is available to download, although this is "set to the lowest level, and excludes a few luxuries". The full version of the game costs $5.30.
Galaxy Quest 2 kills off prequel
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
Bad news on the Galaxy Quest front: the port has been cancelled. It's not all doom and gloom, however, as Raymond Staten explained that "... we've decided only to port GQ2 [Galaxy Quest 2], since the port will require a lot more time then we thought, we want to get the better one out instead. It will be a while before it's ready."
Reviews: Dopewars, Lights On!
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
Two new reviews from PocketGamer.org reviewer, Jason Surguine, who first cuts through the controversy to take a close look at Dopewars, and then examines Lights On!
Dressing Down
[ Tuesday, April 3 ]
Mojaco wrote in to say that "beta-testing on Pocket Strippoker has begun. The game should be finished by the end of this week, and it is looking very promising. The game will come with one girl and additional girls will be sold separately".
PocketHexen updated, Heretic soon
[ Monday, April 2 ]
PocketHexen is now up to version 1.2. The naming problem for storage cards on non-English devices has now been resolved and the virtual keyboard on the iPAQ version has also been fixed. Many thanks to Tony Owens for pointing this out.
As if this wasn't enough, PocketHeretic will be "available in about 2-3 weeks" according to a mail sent to me by PocketHexen author, Terry Whiterod. The game will include the same feature set as PocketHexen.
Old CE games listings need a home!
[ Monday, April 2 ]
As many of you have noticed, there's a few problems with the Windows CE 1.x and 2.x games pages (which list games designed for older CE devices, i.e. pre-Pocket PC days). The first is that the site on which they are currently hosted is extremely slow. The second is that I simply don't have the time to maintain them, resulting in quite a few broken links. Therefore, I'm offering them up to the CE community. If anyone is interested in hosting and maintaining the pages, then please get in touch with me.
Pocketnow.com's first look at Chopper Alley
[ Monday, April 2 ]
Pocketnow.com have posted a "first look" at Chopper Alley. As it stands, the game is currently not complete so the combat aspect of the game doesn't feature in the article. With all the hype surrounding Chopper Alley, however, it's worth a read.
Atari Emulator: New release, new name
[ Monday, April 2 ]
Stuart Russell's Atari 2600 emulator is now to be known as PocketVCS. The latest version, version 0.5, adds full sound support, major speed improvements and lots of other new options. Currently only the Casio version has been updated, although by the time you read this, the iPAQ version may well be up to speed also.
Game Boy Advance emulator: April Fools!
[ Sunday, April 1 ]
Just when you thought there was nothing more that could possibly be emulated on the Pocket PC, along comes Game Boy AdvanCE which, as its name suggests, emulates the Game Boy Advance! Almost unbelievably the emulator, written by GarcheBien, runs very well on the Jornada and virtually perfectly on the iPAQ and Casio machines.
Having tried it out myself, I can say that this is a truly incredible (in the literal sense of the word) achievement. Indeed, many are of the opinion that people should make a special note of this date as it represents a new beginning in Pocket PC entertainment and I'm inclined to agree. Many thanks to Gill Blue and Loofspiral for letting me know about the emulator's release.
Update (April 2):
Just in case there's anyone who's still wondering, this was an April Fools joke! Many thanks must go to Frank (a.k.a. 999) for setting up the site and Carpediem for the actual programs. Hopefully, there'll be a real Game Boy Advance emulator to report on at some point in the future... :-)
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