NCAA Football 2004 (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Exient Entertainment
Publisher: Jack Of All Games, Electronic Arts
Released: 2003

NCAA Football 2004 is a sports game that was also released on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2003.

+ Boasts a deep playbook, along with over 100 Division 1 schools, head-to-head multiplayer, and adjustable depth charts.

+ Running game is excellent with competent blocking from teammates, and the intuitive kicking game resembles early Madden titles.

- Passing game is an abomination, as it's tough to see players when the screen zooms out and receivers don't always try to catch.

- Portrait screen means those who enjoy controlling wide receivers or defensive backs are out of luck due to the limited field view.

- CPU takes control of your player if the d-pad is left untouched, and the game doesn't remember your preferred defender after each snap.

- Graphics are super ugly with pixelated sprites and broken player animations that are clearly missing multiple frames.

- Info regarding injuries only appears for a split-second, teammates take forever to get to the line, and there's no post-game stats.

FIFA Football 2005 (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Electronic Arts Canada, Exient Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 2004

FIFA Football 2005 is a sports game and the follow-up to FIFA Football 2004 (2003, Nokia N-Gage).

+ Has an impressive wealth of content (including a fun Challenge mode) and there's 5,000 more player licenses than the previous game.

+ Prestige Points are an inspired and addictive idea to encourage better play and team management in order to advance your career.

+ Addition of a through ball and 1-2 passes are meaningful improvements that open up the attack game and keep opponents guessing.

+ While still not perfect, teammate A.I. is more refined and they actually make a competent effort to mark rival players on and off the ball.

+ Slicker presentation all around, as you can choose camera angles, save replays, and there's more licensed music tracks in menus.

- Action is noticeably choppier than the 2004 edition, and teammates occasionally stand motionless next to a free ball.

- Radar is still too small for locating teammates, and simulating games is more cumbersome due to extra menu clicks.

FIFA Football 2004 (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Electronic Arts Canada, Exient Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 2003

FIFA Football 2004 is a sports game that was also released on the Game Boy Advance (2003).

+ Includes an enormous amount of competitions, teams and player licenses, and there's even a Bluetooth multiplayer mode.

+ Gameplay is much faster and more fluid than Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer (2004, Nokia N-Gage), with no player animation lag.

+ Action is easy to pick-up-and-play, button placement is well implemented, and the game engine is terrifically optimised.

+ Plenty of customisation options for managing your team, such as in-game statistics, performance charts and key players.

+ Has better presentation than Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer, including replays after goals and highlights at the end of each match.

- Teammates prefer to stand around, so you'll constantly have to switch over to control them when the ball approaches.

- No commentary during matches, and the tiny on-screen radar makes finding neighbouring teammates a guessing game.

SSX Out of Bounds (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Exient Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 2005

SSX Out of Bounds is a snowboarding game that was also released on the Gizmondo in 2005.

+ Courses encourage you to explore, as there's a ton of different routes to the finish line that will take you off the beaten path.

+ Catching big air and successfully executing huge trick combos is intoxicating, particularly when linked with rail grinds.

+ Plenty of modes to sink your teeth into and the different event types force you to adapt to new ways of playing in order to advance.

- Rough frame-rate, making it hard to see upcoming turns and resulting in a lack of precision when attempting to navigate.

- Contains numerous bugs and clipping issues, which either cause you to inexplicably bail or push you into an out-of-bounds area.

- Controls are very unpredictable and there's many times where your button presses are randomly ignored by your character.

- Lengthy load times and elongated courses don't really lend themselves to the handheld's pick-up-and-play nature.

FIFA Football 2005 (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Exient Entertainment, Electronic Arts Canada
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: 2005

FIFA Football 2005 is a sports game that was ported to the Gizmondo from the Nokia N-Gage version (2004).

It supports 1-2 players and includes 18 leagues, 38 national teams and 11,000 real players. Modes include Friendly and Competition, but the most comprehensive is Career Mode which lasts for 15 seasons. The sprites are incredibly small (especially when you're on the far-side of the pitch) meaning that it's difficult to see whether you or the opposing team are actually in possession of the ball; on more than a few occasions I accidentally blasted it into the stands when attempting a soft defensive tackle! On a related note, there is some inherent lag while waiting for animation cycles to complete, so you will run into the issue of previous inputs registering half a second later; with practice you can reasonably adjust and managing to link together several paths, crosses and volleys in a fluid motion is where the gameplay shines. Everything plays smoothly with no sign of slowdown, and it always does a decent job of selecting the right player for you to control. It's also loaded with modes and options to keep you entertained and the licensed players / teams provide greater immersion. The ability to save your replays to the device is a terrific idea too. The Prestige Points found in the Career Mode are an addictive way to hook you into every single second of every match, as you'll constantly be thinking about relatively extraneous factors such as keeping a clean sheet, or blowing out your opponent, all in the name of earning additional points to advance your career. It's a shame then that the graphics don't use the full power of the Gizmondo (as it's simply a port of the Nokia N-Gage version), leaving you with pixelated player models and stiff animations.

FIFA Football 2005 isn't the most aesthetically pleasing title, but its abundance of modes and solid gameplay make for an enjoyable on-the-go experience. In particular, the deep Career mode is a real highlight that invests you into the action through its multitude of options and innovative Prestige Points feature.

Random trivia: Exient Entertainment and Electronic Arts also developed SSX 3 for the Gizmondo, which was released in 2005.

SSX 3 (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Exient Entertainment, Electronic Arts Canada
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: 2005

SSX 3 is a snowboard racing game that was first released on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2003.

The modes are Conquer the Mountain (career mode where you earn cash to unlock tracks and upgrade stats), Single Event (play any unlocked track), Shadow Racing (race against your best times / scores) and Multiplayer (head-to-head). The career mode features several challenge types such as Race which is a dash to the finish line; launching off a ramp and gaining huge air as you glide over several mountain tops is exhilarating, and I love that there's multiple routes in which to tackle the huge tracks. Likewise, there's always a perfect mixture of grind-based obstacles and ramps to suit both play-styles, and successfully managing to link them together is a thrill. The controls are solid and the ability to upgrade stats and customise your rider is fantastic. Despite some pop-in and a limited draw distance, the graphics are outstanding and the frame-rate rarely dips, even in the most intense moments. The Slopestyle challenges task you with scoring the most points before reaching the bottom; not only are these great for variety, they dramatically alter the way you play, as they force you to use every part of the environment to methodically move up the leaderboard. In the Super Pipe events, the objective is to continually launch yourself up the pipe to score points, and the awesome inclusion of air-based multipliers makes for some exciting attempts. The main gameplay flaw is the automatic grind mechanic, as you'll often find yourself sticking to an object that appears from nowhere and then heading into a less preferable path. Also, I did sporadically experience a bug where my rider clipped through the floor while continuing to rack up underground air points!

SSX 3 is a fun racing game that provides hours of entertainment while highlighting the graphical prowess of the Gizmondo handheld. Sure, it's a little unpolished in certain areas, but if you can forgive the occasional niggle you'll experience some high-quality gameplay that has plenty of challenge and variety to boot.

Random trivia: The game was also ported to the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in 2003.