Space Impact Evolution X (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Kuju Entertainment
Publisher: Nokia
Released: 2003

Space Impact Evolution X is a vertically-scrolling shooter that was available as a console pack-in on the included CD-ROM.

+ Action is perfectly suited to the handheld's portrait screen, and the game has a good range of locales and multiple continues on offer.

+ Features detailed sprite work (particularly on the bosses and orb enemies), and some areas have awesome background layering.

- Takes a long time for the action to heat up due to predictable enemy patterns and your ability to safely blast their own shots.

- Difficulty options are entirely absent, so unless you want to try and beat your high score there's little reason for repeated play.

- Manages to suck the fun out of powering-up, as collected items are only available to use for a few precious seconds.

- Collision detection is awfully sketchy and you'll likely lose many lives despite clearly being a few pixels away from a projectile.

- Seriously lacking in atmosphere, as the gameplay doesn't include a note of music and the SFX often randomly stop playing.

Rayman 3 (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Gameloft
Publisher: Gameloft
Released: 2003

Rayman 3 is a platformer that was also released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

+ Exploring each level to obtain all the lums and caged creatures is extremely addictive thanks to well-designed stage layouts. 

+ Mixes in various challenge types to spice things up, such as vertical platforming and hitting switches to unlock gates.

+ Slowly introduces new power-ups to aid progression, and does an admirable job of explaining the fundamentals in-game.

+ Often has a rhythmic, parkour style quality, such as in Boulder Brink where fast reactions are required to avoid crumbling platforms.

- Despite the levels needing precision, the game engine frequently has a stuttering issue that results in button presses being ignored.

- Dreadful checkpoint spacing and stingy life counters make for rage-inducing platforming that relies on trial-and-error.

- Minimal horizontal vision does hurt the gameplay, as you can't always see hard-to-reach platforms or enemy projectiles.

Flo-Boarding (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Housemarque
Publisher: Nokia
Released: 2003

Flo-Boarding is a sports game and a cut-down port of Supreme Snowboarding (1999, Microsoft Windows).

+ Courses are very well designed and allow you to play to your own style whether it's with air-based tricks, or rail grinds.

+ Fast-paced action that gets more exhilarating as you learn the course layouts and figure out the optimal path to the finish line.

+ Includes many shortcuts if you're brave enough to wander off the beaten path, with the reward being huge time savings.

+ The need to consistently execute tricks to top-up your boost metre means you can never play it safe, which keeps suspense high.

- With only five courses on offer, the game is light on content with no real reason to stick around once you've beaten them.

- Can initially be tough to spot upcoming bends due to limited camera visibility, so course memorisation is an absolute must.

- For such a simplistic game, there's an unnecessary amount of grab tricks that make convoluted use of the numbered keypad.

Y*A*S*I (Vectrex review)

Developer: Alex Herbert
Publisher: Classic Game Creations
Released: 2003

Y*A*S*I is a clone of Space Invaders (1978, Arcade) that features raster graphics instead of the console's typical vector graphics.

+ Includes gameplay variations that can either help players (e.g. guided missiles) or provide a greater challenge (e.g. moving bunkers).

+ With singular fire capability comes increased anxiety, and being able to cancel enemy shots by downing them creates intense standoffs.

+ Having the option of destroying one of your own bases to get a better shot at an enemy is a cool gameplay strategy.

+ While the analog stick can be used to move left/right, two buttons can be used instead to mimic the Arcade original.

+ The optional VecVoice speech add tons of personality and being on the receiving end of robot smack talk is hilarious!

+ Raster graphics look gorgeous with their sharp scanline effects, and the game saves your high scores to the cartridge.

- The included overlay looks terrific and adds colour rows to enemies, but it also darkens the playfield a little too much.

Red Faction (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Monkeystone Games
Publisher: THQ Wireless
Released: 2003

Red Faction is a first-person shooter that was developed by John Romero of Doom (1993, MS-DOS) fame.

+ The bite-sized levels are just the right length for mobile play, and also help to limit the frustration when you do have to restart a mission.

+ The large amount of weapons gives you a myriad of combat options and there's many secrets to be found by blowing up walls.

- Level design constantly repeats textures, and the underwater Power Plant mission controls so poorly that it borders on unplayable.

- Manual targeting is frustrating due to the lack of horizontal aim precision and the fact your character bobs left/right as he moves.

- Automatic targeting is useless, as it frequently refuses to lock-on to an enemy until you've taken damage.

- Similarly, opponents have a sixth-sense, making it almost impossible for you to peek around a corner without immediate health loss.

- You'll quickly tire of hearing the same enemy voice clips, and the music loops are short to the point of annoyance.

Puyo Pop (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Lavastorm Engineering
Publisher: Sega
Released: 2003

Puyo Pop is a tile-matching puzzle game that was also released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002.

+ Gameplay is deceptively simple, as there are plenty of savvy chain reaction moves to learn that can help clear the playfield faster.

+ Puzzle mode offers a great way to hone your skills and learn advanced moves through scenario-based missions.

+ Two-player competitive mode adds a ton of replayability and lasting appeal once you've beaten the main modes.

+ The controls are highly responsive and allow you to make split-second decisions with ease.

+ The difficulty pacing is spot-on, as the opening stages gently ease you in before new coloured tiles and barriers are introduced.

- The playfield is incredibly small (even in solo mode) and there's occasionally some audio stutter, particularly when completing a puzzle.

- Not as intuitive as Tetris (1989, Game Boy) and it can take time for newcomers to become accustomed to the reliance on chain reactions.

MotoGP (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: THQ Wireless
Publisher: Nokia
Released: 2003

MotoGP is a motorcycle racing game and the only Nokia N-Gage title developed by THQ Wireless.

+ You can create and save your own tracks, and the editor is very intuitive / easy-to-use.

- Frame-rate is atrocious, and when it dips to low single digits as soon as each race starts you know you're in for a rough time. 

- The dreadful frames-per-second also affects the controls, as severe under/over-steer plagues the entire game.

- While you can race from several perspectives, the first-person camera is vomit inducing due to the afformentioned performance issues.

- Even at full throttle, there's little sense of speed and it feels like everything is crawling along at all times.

- The graphics are a pixelated mess and many of the drab track-side environments have barely any texture details.

- SFX when cornering is akin to grinding metal and the music does nothing to enhance or compliment the action.