axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
PM, WWW
|
Of PS3's launch lineup here in Europe, ten games have mobile versions, or at least mobile games based on their overall franchise.
Sonic The Hedgehog has actually had two games out on mobile in the last year, and they're basically the original Mega Drive game cut in half and squeezed onto a phone. More impressively, they don't skimp on the speed, although portrait-format mobile screens don't make it easy to see enemies up ahead when streaking through levels.#
Call Of Duty 3 on mobile is a top-down military shooter, with you controlling one soldier in a platoon of four, running round shooting, taking cover, and carrying out a varied range of missions, from escorting tanks to directing air strikes. It's about as far from the spectacular visions of the PS3 version as you can get, but it's still good fun.
Ridge Racer 7 hasn't yet been turned into a mobile game, but last year Namco Mobile did release a Ridge Racer game for phones. Based on the original PlayStation game, it's available for 3D-capable handsets, and does a pretty good job of recreating RR's slidey thrills.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is getting a simultaneous PS3 and mobile release this week. The mobile version's looking good too, obviously featuring far less courses than the console version, but making up for that with quick one-thumb gameplay, so you can blast through a round on a short bus journey. It's out this Friday, but last year's mobile edition is pretty cool too.
Tony Hawk's Project 8 is ace on mobile. Instead of trying to make a 3D game with complex combos, the mobile developers turned it into a 2D downhill race, using one-thumb rhythm-action mechanics to keep the action flowing. And it looks like an explosion in a paint factory, which helps.
Virtua Tennis 3 has yet to be served up on mobile, but Virtua Tennis did appear on phones last year. Available in 2D and 3D versions, it does a great job of cramming in the tournaments AND the training aspects to build up your character. And like the console version, it thrives on simple controls – which are well replicated on mobile.
Need For Speed Carbon came out for mobile just before Christmas, and if you have a relatively decent handset (for example Series 60 Nokias or new Sony Ericssons), it's stunning. Fast-paced 3D visuals and well-balanced controls make it a joy to play. If you've got an older phone, give it a miss though – the low-end version isn't much cop.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shouldn't work on a mobile phone, really. How can you translate a super-immersive RPG into a device with limited memory and a tiny screen? That hasn't stopped someone trying though: complete with isometric graphics and the classic Elder Scrolls class system.
Fight Night Round 3 isn't out on mobile yet, but it's coming next month. EA's mobile division has been pushing 3D games, and this is no exception, with well-rounded boxers thumping the bejaysus out of one another. Ricky Hatton's in the mobile game too, along with five fighting venues and a training mode.
World Snooker Championship 2007 is an example of how mobile games can not live up to their console big brothers, unfortunately. It's just come out for phones, and although developed by the same company, on mobile it's hamstrung by dodgy camera angles and fiddly controls. That was a bad miss, as Mitchell & Webb's commentators might say.
source
[addsig] |
Posted: 2007-03-22 22:23
