Carmageddon (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Stainless Games
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: N/A

Carmageddon is a vehicular-combat racing game that was cancelled prior to release.

+ Features a huge number of stages that vary in scope, yet all manage to be an enjoyable battleground for sheer mayhem!

+ Gives you incredible freedom, as you can either win by racing to the finish line, or by mowing down opponents / civilians.

+ Lots of vehicles are available and unlocking more capable, aggressive rides is both highly addictive and rewarding.

+ The need to rack up credits / time increases the intensity and constantly gets you thinking about your next methodical move.

+ Frame-rate is consistently solid, and the excellent graphics include detailed texture work and a good draw distance.

- Underwater areas slow the action to a crawl and some power-ups (e.g. bouncing cars) only serve to annoy players.

Conflict: Vietnam (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Coyote Developments
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: N/A

Conflict: Vietnam is a tactical shooter that was cancelled prior to release.

+ Fans of Cannon Fodder (1993, Commodore Amiga) should feel right at home, as the squad-based gameplay is very similar.

+ Missions are lengthy (with an option to save at any time) and cleverly interweave the narrative between your teammates.

+ Scouring every inch of the environment is fun thanks to the plethora of ammunition, health packs and collectable dog tags.

+ Stage 3 is outstanding, as it creates tension through its booby-trapped fields and napalm strikes that force you to multi-task.

+ Unlockable bonus missions are great, with some awesome puzzles and even a Pac-Man (1980, Arcade) style arena battle!

- Can be very difficult to avoid taking damage and the deluge of health packs are seemingly there to overcompensate.

Chicane: Jenson Button Street Racing (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Gizmondo Studios Helsingborg
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: N/A

Chicane: Jenson Button Street Racing is an unreleased Arcade-style racer that was due for release in 2005.

It features 8 cars, 8 city routes, 2 racing circuits and 6 challenge tracks. Alongside the Single Player mode, there's also Multiplayer which allows for Bluetooth racing against a friend. The courses are enjoyable and scenically varied, and include beautiful seaside resorts and grittier industrial locations. I also like how some races are over in a flash while others can last minutes, as they test your driving skills and mental stamina. However, my main gripe lies with the controls, as power-sliding around corners is annoyingly tricky, even after lots of practice. Part of this is the twitchy and overly-sensitive drifting of vehicles during a turn, and another is the camera which doesn't give you an ideal angle when attempting to re-centre. Despite lengthy play sessions, I never felt in control during a drift and this mechanic paled in comparison to the similar mechanic found in Ridge Racer (2005, Sony PSP). Also, the spotty frame-rate can't quite keep up with the fast-paced action and the limited draw distance affects you being able to adequately see what lies ahead (at times it's a bit of a guessing game until you fully memorise the course). It's a shame, as the races can be blisteringly fast and you can definitely tell the potential for some hair-raising moments that would keep you on the edge of your seat. There's some great lighting effects on offer too, not to mention the excellent texture-mapped graphics and fast loading times that quickly get you back into the action. The music is the typical electronic style found in many driving games, but interestingly the main theme from Point of Destruction (2005, Gizmondo) is recycled here.

Chicane: Jenson Button Street Racing is a majorly frustrating game, as beneath its technical issues is a solid racer with terrific course design and some of the best graphics on the system. However, the controls are simply too finicky (especially for an Arcade style title) and mastering them takes serious patience that few will likely attempt.

Random trivia: The game was eventually ported to the iPhone in 2008 as Fastlane Street Racing.

Hit & Myth (Gizmondo review)

Developer: Gizmondo Studios Texas
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: N/A

Hit & Myth is an unreleased action game that was scheduled to be published in 2006.

There's five levels and you play as a medieval knight called Sir Timorous Cadbury IV who's attempting to stop the evil machinations of the demonic hordes. The gameplay is a twin-stick shooter (using the face buttons to fire) and you can also summon spells that offer temporary upgrades such as increased speed. The Gizmondo is a fairly comfortable system to hold, but the constant need to be circling enemies by rotating the stiff d-pad is enough to give you hand cramp within a few minutes. Also, the lengthy missions (which take 30-40 minutes each to beat) aren't suited to handheld play, and while checkpoints are available there are no mid-level save points. Additionally, despite the controls being the best they could be given the system layout, consistently hitting diagonals is tricky due to the requirement to press two face buttons at once. The gameplay can be challenging with enemies spawning out of nowhere, or firing from off-screen at high speed. However, at least there are ample opportunities to refill your health and spell power by dispatching opponents so you always have a good chance to succeed. The field-of-view is limited and the environments can be overly dark at times, but the cool lighting effects from your weaponry help to brighten the path ahead. Impressively, the action never slows down, even when the game throws a huge number of sprites on-screen. Perhaps its best feature is its wickedly sarcastic sense of humour and heavy use of voiceovers, as they give your team-mates and enemies oodles of personality. The bosses are interesting, but after a couple of levels you've seen pretty much everything the game has to offer.

Hit & Myth is an above-average title that would certainly have added more diversity to the Gizmondo library, and it's worth a play-through if only to experience its hilarious script. Unfortunately, it offers little in the way of replayability and it's a shame that the monotonous gameplay wasn't spiced up with some fun diversions.

Random trivia: The original plan was to include four selectable characters, but this was eventually limited to one due to time constraints.

Classic Compendium 2 (Gizmondo review)

Developer: AI Factory
Publisher: Gizmondo Games
Released: 2005

Classic Compendium 2 is a collection of five board games and the follow-up to the 2005 original title on the Gizmondo.

This time, the games are Eastern-based and include Taipei, Chinese Checkers, Chinese Chess, Shogi and Gomoku. 1-2 players are supported and there's 10 practice levels and 14 computer opponents. You can also choose from a selection of boards, pieces and backdrops, and a rating system measures your progress in each game. As per the first collection, the presentation is extremely lacking with dull menus and zero design flair throughout. The games can also be intimidating to beginners (despite the box art claiming otherwise), as you're always launched straight into play with no tutorial or early-level hand-holding. Sure, there are text-heavy instructions in the sub-menu, but a visual demonstration of what's required to succeed would have been greatly appreciated to immediately engage newcomers. This is a much bigger oversight than you might expect, as many of these Eastern-based games will be unfamiliar to Western audiences, something that wasn't such a huge issue with the original Classic Compendium title. Despite this, the selection of games on offer is decent with enough variety in each play style to keep puzzle fans interested and entertained. I do like how 'next move' hints are available in games such as Taipei, as well as the ability to rewind previous steps in Chinese Checkers. Another neat feature that's ideal for a handheld platform is the option to save your progress and pick up at a later date. The calming music is also perfectly suited to the relaxed atmosphere, although curiously there's zero sound effects during play which makes everything seem rather lifeless.

Classic Compendium 2 is a no-frills experience that's incredibly dry from a presentational standpoint and it does a poor job of teaching newcomers how to actually play the games. However, those who are familiar with them (or puzzle fans looking for something different) should get some enjoyment out of this compilation.

Random trivia: As of 2021, AI Factory still creates puzzle games for various platforms including Android smartphones.

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.