Stunt Car Extreme (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Fathammer, QueenMeka
Publisher: Fathammer, QueenMeka
Released: 2005

Stunt Car Extreme is a racing game that was also released on the Gizmondo (2005) and Tapwave Zodiac (2003).

+ Track design is generally good and each includes multiple routes which is ideal for determining the most efficient lap times.

+ Unlocking new events and cars is gratifying, and your fellow racers have some personality that enhances the competition.

+ It's exhilarating to boost wildly and successfully pip the opponent to the finish line as you teeter on the edge of control.

- Frame-rate is choppy though which results in over/under-steering when cornering or attempting to line up for a ramp jump.

- Compared to other handheld versions, the portrait N-Gage screen makes it difficult to see items and hazards in your car's vicinity.

- Text overlay after a stunt obscures your already limited vision, and the game doesn't remember your chosen camera angle for each race.

- Graphics are average, with low quality textures and a severe amount of pop-in that can affect your racing lines.

Stunt Car Extreme (Tapwave Zodiac review)

Developer: Fathammer
Publisher: Tapwave
Released: 2003

Stunt Car Extreme is a racing game that was packed in with the Zodiac console.

+ Track design is generally good and each includes multiple routes which is ideal for determining the most efficient lap times.

+ Unlocking new events and cars is gratifying, and your fellow racers have some personality that enhances the competition.

+ It's exhilarating to boost wildly and successfully pip the opponent to the finish line as you teeter on the edge of control.

- Frame-rate is choppy though which results in over/under-steering when cornering or attempting to line up for a ramp jump.

- Accelerate and nitro buttons are positioned too closely together, and one should have been mapped to the R trigger.

- Graphics are average, with low quality textures and a severe amount of pop-in that can affect your racing lines.

SpyHunter (Tapwave Zodiac review)

Developer: Fathammer
Publisher: Midway Games
Released: 2003

SpyHunter is a vehicular-combat game and the sequel to the 1983 Arcade title of the same name.

Like the original game, a range of offensive (e.g. guns, missiles) and defensive (e.g. smoke screens) weapons are at your disposal. Arcade mode tasks you with reaching the destination point before time expires. The camera is positioned high above your vehicle and the off-shoot is not being able to see very far into the distance; enemies appear with little warning and spotting upcoming turns with enough distance to prepare is always stressful. While the frame-rate performs decently during straights that aren't overly populated, the game engine freaks out whenever you need to make 90° turns and the action becomes utter chaos until it stabilises. When things are working in a respectable fashion the gameplay is mildly enjoyable (if not a little repetitive) and weaving in-and-out of traffic while blasting bad guys is fun. The ability to use both offensive and defensive weapons is a neat touch and the scenic locales help to keep you somewhat immersed. Missile Mode consists of seven missions where you must complete multiple objectives before time expires. Compared to Arcade, the camera angle is lower which makes it easier to see what's ahead; the problem it introduces though is a further decrease in the frame-rate and trying to make subtle movements is nigh-on impossible as your vehicle constantly over-steers. Your guns also appear to be less accurate and instead wildly spraying bullets is the order of the day. The missions are nowhere near as fun as the console versions (2001-02, GameCube, PS2, Xbox) and instead of diverse tasks to slalom between gates or catching air to gain a certain distance you're instead challenged to banal errands such as destroying cargo boats.

SpyHunter lacks the playfulness and personality of its console big brother and the uninspired, mundane missions make for some lacklustre gameplay. Those with an affection for the series might find some enjoyment here in short bursts, but others are likely to grow tired of its inexcusable frame-rate issues rather swiftly.

Random trivia: SpyHunter was also released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002.

Ball Busters (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Netdol Ltd
Publisher: Fathammer
Released: N/A

Ball Busters is an unreleased sports title that was due to be published in 2005.

You control a racket and the goal is to repeatedly hit the ball in order to launch it past your opponent's net to win a point. Arcade mode consists of five matches and features items that allow you to swerve shots or add a brick wall to your opponent's halve. The action is fast and intense, and the core concept is almost a mixture of Pong (1972, Arcade) meets Windjammers (1994, Neo Geo). The ability to collect items adds strategy too and I like how there's a risk-reward in terms of obtaining them while keeping an eye on the incoming ball. Also, the inclusion of some cheesy, yet humorous trash talk from the competitors adds personality to each match! However, while the controls aren't necessarily bad, your racket tends to jump around when pressing the d-pad; this lack of smooth movement results in lots of over-shooting your intended target and delicate shifts around the playfield are nigh-on impossible. Also, with only five matches per game this mode is rather short and lacking in replayability. Quest mode consists of 54 challenges that include avoiding bombs while returning the ball, or hitting moving targets. The objectives are quite basic, but there's definitely some fun to be had and the short bursts of gameplay encourage you to keep trying. Unfortunately, by the time you reach the higher difficulty levels it becomes more about luck rather than skill, as the speed increase is so steep that trying to line up your twitchy racket is total guess work. Also, like Arcade, this challenge mode is light on content and with only six gameplay variants you're usually doing the same thing over and over again with faster ball physics as the only difference.

Ball Busters is a neat concept that would have made an entertaining multiplayer game if the planned mode was finished, but as it stands the premise is a little lost when you're dealing with such bare-bones single-player content. It can be mildly enjoyable in short bursts, but the inaccurate d-pad controls do hold things back.

Random trivia: Netdol Ltd also developed Pocket Ping Pong 2005 which was released on the Gizmondo in 2005.

Gizmondo Motocross 2005 (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Housemarque
Publisher: Fathammer
Released: 2005

Gizmondo Motocross 2005 is a freestyle racing game that adopts an isometric viewpoint.

There's nine bikes available and the modes on offer are Cup (eight track tournament), Quick Race (complete objectives to unlock bikes), Ghost Race (compete against your best time) and Multiplayer (challenge a friend via Bluetooth). While racing, points and boosts can be earned by performing mid-air tricks, such as Nac-Nacs and Heel Kickers. Once the action begins, it takes a while to get used to the sensitive controls and blistering speed; for the first few races you'll likely be veering off course with regularity, but once you take a more cautious approach and use your brakes everything becomes more manageable. The racing reminds me of Excitebike 64 (2000, N64) in that you're always walking the fine line between riding like a pro and being totally out of control! It's chaotic, but in a fun way and the quick, bite-sized nature of each race is perfect for a mobile device. The tracks aren't particularly memorable from an aesthetic point-of-view, but they are expertly designed and challenge you in different ways; for example, while Badlands has plenty of well-placed hills and hairpin turns, Arena is extremely narrow and requires carefully precision to avoid riding out-of-bounds. My main complaint is that there's only nine bikes and eight tracks, and the game doesn't give you many reasons to stick around. The Quick Race mode is actually quite innovative, and rather than just being singular races it tasks you with completing challenges; these include winning without boosting, and finishing first after each lap. This is a great idea (basically acting as a mission mode) that adds variety considering it's the only way to unlock better bikes for the Cup mode.

Gizmondo Motocross 2005 is undeniably light in the content department, but if you can take it at face value there's a lot of fun to be had in the 2-3 hours it takes to unlock everything. The intense racing goes hand-in-hand with the excellent level design, and there's a nice contrast between each of the available modes.

Random trivia: Housemarque also developed the similar looking Flo Boarding on the Nokia N-Gage in 2003.

Hockey Rage (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Chairman & Board
Publisher: Fathammer
Released: 2005

Hockey Rage is a sports game that was only released in the UK and Europe.

It features 16 national teams and the modes on offer are Single Game, World Cup (beat five teams to win) and Multiplayer (play against a friend via Bluetooth). On Offense, you can pass and shoot, while Defense allows you to body-check; both sides of the puck allow you to speed boost when necessary. The game gets off to a fantastic start by providing you with an option to clean the entire ice while driving a Zamboni; it's strangely relaxing and the ability to beat your record time while listening to classical music is genius! The actual gameplay is not so good, as the Wide angle is too zoomed out and it's tough to spot who has the puck in crowded areas; it also doesn't scroll far enough ahead and your player will often outrun the camera. The Close angle is better, although it suffers from the same scrolling issues and it's not easy to see who's available to pass to up the ice. The A.I. is pretty dumb and many times your teammate will casually wander into an offside position as you're skating the puck towards the blue line; they're also useless at checking opposing players and the goalies are regularly caught napping. If you can try and work your way around some of the above, there's an average hockey game here, and scoring on a breakaway or a one-timer following a face-off is just as fun as ever. It's certainly basic (e.g. no advanced options such as line changes and team management), but the responsive controls allow for precision passing, shooting and defending, and the ice physics are spot-on. The polygon graphics, lighting / reflection effects and animation are all excellent too, and the hilarious player voice clips give the game a fun personality.

Hockey Rage is very simplistic, but if you're looking for a fast-paced 'arcadey' take on the sport you could do a lot worse than this. To be honest though, it doesn't really do anything particularly well and the various A.I. and camera issues become even more magnified the deeper you delve into the game.

Random trivia: A version was also released for the Symbian mobile operating system in 2005.

Pocket Ping Pong 2005 (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Netdol Ltd
Publisher: Fathammer
Released: 2005

Pocket Ping Pong 2005 is a sports game that was only released in the UK and Europe.

Arcade mode tasks you with beating six players to win the league. Each character has offensive, defensive and special shots, and the action takes place in a first-person perspective. The immediate problem is that your racket isn't displayed which leaves you guessing as to where you are in relation to the ball. Even if you do make contact, there's not much consistency as to where it will land, and hitting the same button in the same table position will produce different results; this makes winning a match seem more about luck rather than skill. It does become slightly easier the more you play (and there's some enjoyment to be had when you get an opponent off balance with defensive shots and then smash it to their opposite side), but you'll never feel totally in control. The frame-rate doesn't help, as it varies from playable to choppy. Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad if you could judge your opponent's shot type from the SFX, but even those don't play until the ball has crossed over the net! By this point, they've probably already smashed it and you'll be out of position with no time to react. In Target Practice, you launch static balls to hit blocks on the other side of the table within a time limit. It's decent, mainly because you don't have to rally and contend with the wonky controls! Return Fire tasks you with hitting a certain number of balls as they're fired from a cannon at increasing speeds; again, the lack of an on-screen racket and the choppy frame-rate make this frustrating. Nonstop Rally tasks you with keeping the ball in play for as long as possible; unfortunately, many rallies end whenever the game decides to send a ball out of play instead of over the net.

Pocket Ping Pong 2005 has the stench of a game that's either complete shovelware, or that was rushed to market before all the kinks had been ironed out. While it becomes marginally entertaining with repeated attempts, it can teeter dangerous close to being unplayable due to its lousy controls and unstable frame-rate.

Random trivia: This was the only game developed by the South Korean company Netdol Ltd.