| PC Today: CD & DVD Drives, Palm & Windows CE Software, Online Photography | |
| May 2001• Vol.9 Issue 5 |
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| Game Software
Take A Break From Handheld Computing With These Playful Programs |
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You told your loved ones you need a handheld to keep track of your
schedule, your contacts, and your to-do list. Sure you do. We know
you just want to game
on the go without suffering the looks you might get for whipping
out a GameBoy in the airline terminal. Luckily, there are a wide range
of games for the Windows CE OS (operating system). Gamers participating
in a poll at PocketGamer.org (http://www.pocketgamer.org/
) when we went to press picked the following games as some of their
favorites.Bubble Blaster ZIO Interactive $14.95 http://www.ziosoft.com/winpc/bubble.html One offering from ZIO Interactive is the graphically pleasing Bubble Blaster. You are the captain of a pirate ship given the job of shooting into space. That rather implausible premise aside, this is a great game that uses a variation on the classic bubble/Tetris theme by requiring that you try to eliminate bubbles by shooting new ones up onto the playing area. When three of the same color bubbles wind up next to each other, they burst. You play the game by using your stylus to tap the Next or Score boxes at the bottom of the screen to aim your blaster to the left or the right. The Next box displays the color of the next bubble coming up, so you can strategize your beautiful bubble placement. A demo version is available for download from the site, and Bubble Blaster will work on a number of devices, including the following: Palm-size PC Casio Cassiopeia E100/105/500 /503/507; Compaq Aero 21xx; HP Jornada 420, 430se; Pocket PC Casio Cassiopeia E-115, EM-500, E-125; HP Jornada 540 Series; and Compaq’s iPAQ. Bubblets oopdreams software $15 http://www.oopdreams.com/ce/bubblets Bubblets is so addictive that oopdreams software included a disclaimer on their Web site. “WARNING: Read no further if you have deadlines to meet.” This puzzle game for Windows CE features a number of brightly colored bubbles arranged in a gridlike structure. Players use their stylus to select bubbles that are grouped together by color. The selected group of bubbles will then burst, causing bubbles above them to drop into the grid and fill the empty spaces. The more bubbles you can pop at once, the higher your score will be; the game ends when you can’t make any more matches. While color-capable handheld-users will certainly get a better-looking Bubblets game, those with grayscale screens can still play the game. Instead of being colored, the bubbles will be patterned. The game can save individual stats, such as number of games and average and high scores, in a number of areas. You can then match these stats with “Bubbleteers” from around the world. To keep using the shareware Bubblets after 15 days, register it for $15. Bubblets works on a number of handhelds, including the following: Windows Powered Pocket PCs, Windows CE Palm-size PCs, Handheld PCs, and Handheld PC Pros. The game will work with Windows CE 1.0 and higher. Cubicle Chaos Microsoft Free http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/cubiclechaos.asp One of the games in the upcoming Microsoft Pocket PC Games Pack, Cubicle Chaos, celebrates the lighter side of workplace violence in the form of a breakout-type game, where your desk is the paddle, and office cubicles are the bricks. The purpose of the game is to use your desk to deflect the ball up toward the colored cubicles and destroy them. You’ll have to hit different colored cubicles a different number of times to break them, and once you break all the cubicles, you are done with that level. Like other games of this type, breaking certain cubicles will release power-ups or hazards. Power-ups such as stock options, money, and a clock give you bonuses that make the paddle larger, activate a multiball mode, or set a slower ball speed. Hazards such as the boss or a coffee cup make the paddle small and the ball very fast. Cubicle Chaos features three levels of difficulty and supports play for one or two players. The game only works with color Pocket PCs, and you’ll need Windows CE 3.0 to play it. Doom4CE Ported from id Software’s Linux DOOM source code by Panutat Tejasen (Jimmy) Free http://www.jimmysoftware.com/Software/Doom4CE/index.html If you’re the type of handheld gamer who likes to play occasionally at work, you may wish to pick something a little less engrossing that Doom4CE. You might find it a stretch to go from pumping another shell in your shotgun to pretending to enter a Date Book item when someone peeks around the corner of your cubicle to find out why you’re yelling “Fry reptile, fry!” Chosen as the No. 1 game in the PocketGamer.org poll by a large margin, the CE port of the classic id Software Doom shooter has all the thrills of the original and still manages to maintain its premise: If it moves, shoot it. The original shareware Doom WAD (or game file) is available on the Jimmy Software site, and the game will work with WADs such as Ultimate Doom, Final Doom, and the large collection of custom WADs that you can find out there. (Perform an Internet search to find them.) In order to use the game, you’ll also need to make sure that the GX.dll (Microsoft Game API [application program interface]) file is installed on your handheld. Doom4CE does take up a bit of memory (it needs at least 8.5MB of free program memory to run); if you encounter general protection faults while running the game, it probably means you need to free up more memory. Doom4CE is freeware that works on a number of devices, including the HP Jornada 820, Casio E-100, and Pocket PC (Cassiopeia E-115/125, EM-500, EG-800; Compaq iPAQ).
CECRAFT $16.95 http://npgserver.cecraft.com/index.asp What is golf without the bragging rights? CECRAFT’s iGolf incorporates an impressive statistics collecting feature that lets you log such things as driving distances, scores, and putting averages and then share them with other iGolfers from around the world. Posting your scores to the iGolf Server is as easy as putting your Pocket PC in its docking cradle, and you can even join CECRAFT Tours to compete with other iGolfers. The Web site offers more interaction features through its online bulletin board, and up to four people can enjoy network games. And you thought handheld gaming was a solitary event. Additional features of iGolf include the ability to choose between four different player types (select amongst them for power and accuracy) and to download additional free courses, undulation for realistic putting, and a dockable interface. The game requires a mere 1.5MB of storage when installed and will work with a Pocket PC with at least an SH3/MIPS/ARM processor. J-Five Jimmy Software $34.99 http://www.jimmysoftware.com/Software/JFive/index.html There are many special things to like about J-Five. First is the story: A new energy source, Paragon, has become the most valuable mineral in the universe. The Bavog Empire controls all the Paragon mines on Jakra, and as a captain of one of the J-Five pirate ships, you are tasked with stealing as much Paragon as you can. Another is the game itself. J-Five is a combination strategy game and space shooter. It features a number of different campaigns, each with nine levels: eight levels of harvesting Paragon and one of blasting Bavog ships. You can buy new weapons at the Shop area, modify them in the Workshop, and replay missions to raise more money to buy better weapons to kill more Bavog ships. Having to work for your objects of mass destruction makes you appreciate them more, don’t you think? A third thing that places J-Five in a class of its own is the inclusion of special 3-D glasses that Jimmy Software ships to anyone who buys the game. These glasses let you experience the game in a real 3-D environment, and they are shipped within 24 hours of purchase (to customers of the United States only). J-Five works with a number of devices, including the Cassiopeia E-10X, E-115, E-125, EM-500, EG-800; Compaq iPAQ; and HP Jornada. PocketPop PocketFun.co.uk Free http://www.floydian.f9.co.uk/pocketpop/pocketpop.htm PocketPop is very similar to Bubblets in its game play. Gamers use their stylus to tap groupings of similarly colored bubbles to pop them. This makes bubbles from above fall to fill the empty spaces. The more bubbles you pop in one move, the higher your score will be, and the game ends either when the board is empty or when the bubble combos end. PocketPop offers three different difficulty levels: easy (10 x 10 playing area, three types of colored bubbles), medium (15 x 15, four types), and hard (20 x 20, five types). There are two modes of play where you can either try to clear the board or go for the high score, and PocketPop supports skins that you can create or download from the site to change the game’s appearance. PocketPop works with a Pocket PC sporting an ARM/SH3 /MIPS processor. Pow Wow ZIO Interactive $19.95 http://www.ziosoft.com/winpc/powwow.html This shooting game from ZIO Interactive (accent on the “Pow”) features 10 major themes of shooting fun. Themes range from a screen full of flying fish to a William Tell takeoff where you have to shoot apples falling from a tree. Each theme features a number of stages; there are 28 stages in all. The animation here is very well done, at times almost looking like you’re taking shots at Claymation figures. The goal is to shoot all the characters within a certain time limit; players who don’t manage to do so lose a life. A word of warning to those who tend to get a little carried away with their games: There is no blaster in this game, just your stylus, which you use to jab at the moving figures on-screen. Lose yourself too much in the game, and you could damage your handheld. A demo version of Pow Wow is available on the site, and the game works with a number of devices, including Palm-size PC devices such as Casio Cassiopeia E-100/105/500/503/507, Compaq Aero 21xx, HP Jornada 420 and 430se, and Pocket PC devices such as Casio Cassiopeia E-115, EM-500, E-125; HP Jornada 540 Series; and Compaq’s iPAQ. Turjah Jimmy Software $24 http://www.jimmysoftware.com/Software/Turjah/index.html Another title from Jimmy Software is Turjah, an arcade-style shooter that uses Double Buffered Direct Screen Access, the latest in state-of-the-art Windows CE gaming techniques that allows games to run in Smooth & Super Fast mode. You use your stylus to move the ship side to side or up and down on-screen as wave after wave of alien ships attack. The game provides power-ups that enable you to get better weapons, something you’ll definitely need as the enemy just keeps getting stronger. If the action gets too hot and heavy, you can use a limited number of nukes to destroy everything on-screen and give you a little breathing room. Turjah currently has five levels and features a trial version, which you should definitely check out if you’re interested in seeing what superior CE gaming looks like. While this version of Turjah does not currently work with the Handheld PC or Handheld PC Pro, it does support the Cassiopeia E-115, EM-500, E-125 (Pocket PC); Compaq iPAQ (Pocket PC); and the Cassiopeia E-100/105 /500 (Palm-size PC). ZIOGolf ZIO Interactive $29.95 http://www.ziosoft.com/winpc/ziogolf.html One of only two handheld golf games to make our list, ZIOGolf offers all the thrills of 3-D golf for Pocket PCs and Palm-size PCs. ZIOGolf comes with various real golf courses located in California, Arizona, and Nevada. If you tire of those, you can purchase a number of other courses such as Sedona, Hiddenbrook, and Bristol Harbour. This game offers a wide variety of features that will put you right out on the links. You can get information on the grass conditions, the hole you’re approaching, the spin of the ball, and how much wind you’ll have to deal with. You get your choice from a full selection of clubs, and a sophisticated swing gauge gives you fine control over the power of your swing and provides for hooking and slicing. And unlike real golf, ZIOGolf provides you with a full gallery to cheer when that long putt drops. Up to four players can play ZIOGolf at the same time. If you want to try before you buy, get the two-hole demo version for the Pocket PC or Palm-size PC from the ZIO Interactive site. ZIOGolf works on a number of devices, including the Palm-size PC (version 1.1) Casio Cassiopeia E-100/105/500/503/507, Compaq Aero 21xx, and HP Jornada 420 and 430se. The game will also work with Pocket PC (version 1.21) Casio Cassiopeia E-115, EM-500, E-125; HP Jornada 540 Series; and Compaq’s iPAQ. Enjoy! 
by Rich Gray
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