Mobile Digest

Maya - Temple of Secret - Rubiks Cube on your mobile

Rubiks Cube on your mobile? Well, not quite - although Ojom reckons its new Maya - Temple of Secrets mobile game is the nearest you'll get to that particular retro gaming experience.

Each puzzle is made up of a cluster of triangles with a different colour in each corner. To solve the puzzle you need to flip or rotate the triangles to form a pattern where all the corresponding colours are connected to each other.

And there's a theme, with the plot takes you deep into the jungle on a quest to reveal the secrets of the hidden Maya Temple. Legend has it that the temple contains a number of ‘golden artefacts’ that hold the key to an unsolved mystery. You'll find the golden artefacts by solving the puzzles and eventually unlock the secret of the Temple of Mysteries.

Find out more at the Ojom website

Transformers: Robots in a mobile game...

One of the hot stories in mobile games at 3GSM was the public unveiling of Transformers, the official game of the upcoming movie.

If you're yet to be convinced by the joys of playing games on your phone, how about one where you control Optimus Prime himself, switching between robot and truck modes at will?

The game is due out in late June or early July, just before the film hits the big screen.

(via Pocket Gamer)

Super Collapse 3 is the best casual game in the world

That's not me saying that, either. It's the prestigious Zeebys Awards, which took place yesterday in Amsterdam to garland the best web games of 2006. RealArcade's Super Collapse 3 took the prize for Casual Game Of The Year.

The game involves matching same-coloured squares on a grid, and has 140 puzzle levels plus a Quest mode to get your teeth into. Go on, it's Friday and your boss didn't come in today. Give it a try.

Super Collapse 3

Second Life gets its first virtual mobile operator

Vodafone is planning to launch itself as a mobile operator in the game Second Life alongside its Vodafone Island area within the popular virtual world. Second Life users will be able to use branded handsets to call each other within the world, as well as send text messages.

There's no news on how much it'll cost to use the virtual mobiles (who knows, perhaps they'll be free...), but it's the first time a big mobile operator has announced plans to extend into a virtual world in this way.

(via Techscape)

Mobile game of the week: Tomb Raider Legend 3D

Okay, so you can turn Lara Croft into a 2D platform game, but it doesn't really do justice to, well, the reason millions of sweaty-joysticked men fell for her in the first place. Yes, gamers, I'M TALKING ABOUT BREASTS. Well, and free-roaming action adventures in three dimensions, obviously.

Anyway, Eidos' mobile division clearly know this, which is why they've released Tomb Raider: Legend. It only works on the swankiest handsets, but you get proper 3D visuals throughout, with a mix of platform-swinging gun-shooting gland-wiggling action.

It's getting a good critical reaction, and is now available to buy for just over £7 from Eidos' own website, as well as a mobile operator portal near you. On your phone, I mean.

The Top 50 mobile games of 2006 revealed

Still think Snake is as exciting as mobile gaming gets? Think again. The last year has seen hundreds of high-quality downloadable games released, taking in console conversions, movie games and entirely original titles. And a new version of Tetris, obviously.

So what are the best ones? UK website Pocket Gamer has just compiled its Festive 50, which ranks the best games of 2006. Some of them you'll know from the console world: Project Gotham Racing, FIFA 07 and Splinter Cell Double Agent all make the top 10.

But others are entirely new, including the likes of Stranded, Turbo Camels: Circus Extreme, Super KO Boxing and chart-topper Tornado Mania.

(via Pocket Gamer)

Nokia World: Flash wallpapers and games on your phone

Just polishing off some more interviews from last week's Nokia World conference today – there was so much happening at the show, I'm still working through transcripts. Let's kick off with Mobile Entertainment Factory, a German firm that's using Adobe's Flash Lite technology to create animated wallpapers and games/applications for phones.

Dr Hubert Weid, the company's CEO, ran me through a demo of the Flash wallpapers (pictured), which are cleverer than just having neat visual animations. One example was a wallpaper that actively links to your phone's time setting, and displays it as an analogue on-screen clock – good for those of us who've stopped wearing watches in favour of using our phones.

"You could even have time-based wallpapers," he says. "We could combine four different wallpapers in one Flash wallpaper, so your phone would display a different one in the morning, evening and night-time, without you having to change it."

Mobile Entertainment Factory started life making Java games for mobile phones, but has recently diversified into Flash Lite games. Hubert says the two areas don't really compete with each other, although he warns against the common assumption that Flash games are just simple one-button games with no depth.

"I wouldn't say simple," he says. "It's more rich media. Of course, we're just starting out, so it's simple at the moment, but in the mid or long term that will change. We might not do sophisticated 3D shooters in Flash, but if you think about advertising games, this is the perfect tool. It's much nicer and better to watch, and avoids the complications of Java."

He showed me a few games, including a Spin The Bottle application – one for The Kids, I'm guessing – and a Simple Simon style memory game.

The games feature more flashy (sorry) visual effects than many mobile games, especially things like popping up speech bubbles or zooming in and out, which are easier to do thanks to Flash's vector graphics.

Adobe's Flash Lite player is making its way into more phones, particularly thanks to Nokia's efforts. But it's still very early days for Flash Lite games on mobile, not least because there's nowhere to buy them.

"It's very hard, because there are hardly any out there!" says Hubert. "As Flash players are pre-installed in more phones, the industry will wake up and start to see that there is new functionality here. But today, even the operator portals don't know how they should handle Flash games."

PREVIOUS NOKIA WORLD COVERAGE
Hands on with the Nokia 770 internet tablet
WidSets bring the best Web 2.0 sites to your phone
Video of Nokia's future mobile concepts (part two)
Video of Nokia's future mobile concepts (part one)
Are you a life juggler or a technology stylist?
Geek TV crosses Miami Vice and Dom Joly with YouTube and, er, breasts
Hands On talks football, mobile advertising, and its Mobizines rival
Refresh Mobile talk about their award-winning Mobizines
Fancy a 100GB mobile phone with a built-in projector?
Next-gen N-Gage to work on 5-7 phones from Day One
Nokia declares war on the iPod!
Ruud Gullit on gadgets and marriage: "It's like warfare..."
Two mobile phones and one DJ Slow...
Nokia promises WiMAX handsets in 2008
Tech Digest goes to Nokia World

Nokia reveals worldwide mobile gaming habits

Nokia have done some research into people who play games on their mobile phones. A diverse group of 1800 people from China, Germany, India, Spain, Thailand and the United States were asked about their gaming habits.

80% of those interviewed play at least once a week, with 34% playing every day. The average length of play is 28 minutes, but highest in India (39 minutes), the US (31 minutes) and Thailand (29 minutes)

Games are played as much on the move (61%) as at home (62%), and 56% play whilst waiting for something else to happen.

Oh look, here's a surprise: The Nokia-sponsored survey showed that 63% of respondents preferred 'the richer experience of Nokia's next generation mobile games offering over existing Java 2D and Java 3D games offerings.'

Good gameplay (83%), replayability (79%) and game genre (78%) are key motivators when considering which mobile games to purchase. Graphical quality (84%) and using the phone for other purposes while downloading (78%) were found to be the most important features when deciding to play Nokia's next generation mobile games.

Worldwide gaming trends show that connecting people, either as teammates or as opponents, is becoming an increasingly important part of what consumers want from their mobile gaming experience. Globally, 45% play multiplayer games on their mobile phones at least once a month. India tops with over half (56%) playing at least once a week and one in four playing everyday.

Not only do players want to defeat their foes, they also want to share game demos with their friends (62%). Additionally, a large majority (79%) would trial games sent by friends.

"These research results further validate that consumers are looking to the next generation of mobile gaming to meet their gaming needs," says Jaakko Kaidesoja, director, games, multimedia, Nokia. "Consumers are demanding great graphics, great content and great game play and we have listened. Next year, we intend to deliver superior mobile gaming experiences which will include great looking, involved and connected games that are easy to find, manage and play."

Stuart's Wednesday Rant: beached mobile game brands

The coolest new mobile phone game this week? It features a bunch of strangers washed up on a desert island, who have to survive long enough to escape. There's mysterious doings afoot though, some dangerous wildlife, and at least one person in the group aren't what they seem...

Great! Someone's done a mobile game based on Lost! But they haven't. Instead, this is a game called Stranded (left), which is heavily inspired by the Channel 4 series, even if its creators Glu Mobile reckon they were thinking more of Robinson Crusoe when they made it.

But here's the confusing thing: rival publisher Gameloft has just signed up the rights to make an official Lost mobile game, which'll be out early next year. So shouldn't mobile gamers wait for the real deal rather than play the imitation? I'm not so sure.

You can't compare the two on quality yet. Stranded is ace: a truly immersive adventure with a healthy dash of Animal Crossing-style fishing'n'farming. You should buy it. But Gameloft hasn't even announced what its Lost game will be like, let alone released any screenshots. So it's too early to tell which is best.

But it's in situations like this where I wonder if the branded game - Lost in this instance - isn't at a disadvantage when faced by unofficial competition. Glu was effectively free to make up its own storyline for Stranded, creating characters, a plot and throwing in jokes without having to get them approved by a brand-owner.

Will the same be true of Lost? Possibly not. Gameloft make marvellous mobile games, but creatively speaking, titles based on TV shows and films can be constrained by the need to follow a plot that viewers will already be familiar with.

It can be done: Gameloft just released a mobile game based on The O.C. which uses the same characters, but doesn't follow any episode (right). Meanwhile another publisher, I-play, did an official 24 game which used the basic concept behind the series to string together a series of spy-themed mini-games.

From an industry point of view, signing up these TV and film brands makes sense, as the mobile operators – who still sell the lion's share of  mobile games – prefer to take brands.

But from a gamer's point of view, I'd rather see games publishers ploughing their money into graphics, gameplay and storyline, rather than into licensing deals.

That's not to suggest that Gameloft won't do both with Lost, of course, but having run down my phone battery several times playing Stranded on the train recently just to find out what happened next, I'd hope fans of the show don't think they have to wait until 2007 to get some decent desert-island action on their mobiles.

Stuart's Wednesday Rant: why brain training mobile games are a clever idea

Some of us aren't cut out for this brain training lark. Last week I bought Brain Age for my DS, and within 24 hours had lost the cartridge after absent-mindedly putting it down somewhere. So much for improving my memory.

There's no doubt that the relatively new brain training genre - simple logic puzzles to stretch your grey cells - has been a huge success on DS. Nintendo has apparently sold over five million copies of its three brain-training titles, and they can't all be duplicates for idiot users like me.

What's more, brain training has been credited with persuading legions of Japanese pensioners to invest in a DS - something that for all its charm, WarioWare had thus far failed to do. However, the next big push for the genre isn't on DS. It's on mobile phones.

Three mobile brain training titles have been announced recently. The first comes, appropriately enough, from Japanese firm G-Mode, and is called I.Q. Academy - it's being published here in the West by Irish firm Upstart Games. Hot on its heels come Mobile IQ Trainer from British company Telcogames, and Brain Juice from US publisher Digital Chocolate.

Three's a crowd, but there's plenty more where those came from. It takes a while for mobile games publishers to react to new trends, so many were still beavering away on Sudoku games when the brain training craze hit DS. So what does it all mean, beyond making me worried that I'm going to mislay my phone now too?

Firstly, in the West, mobile brain training games should open up the genre to a wider audience. Japanese grannies and grandads may have been flocking to the stores to buy DS handhelds, but I'm not sure the same will happen here in the West. Whereas an increasing number of elderly people already have a mobile, even if it's a fairly basic one bought for them by their family.

Secondly, there's the network capabilities of mobile phones. See how your brain power stacks up against the rest of the UK, or even the world. I believe Digital Chocolate is looking to include some form of network functionality in Brain Juice, although it's unclear what form this'll take exactly. Yes, you can do this with a DS, as long as you're within a Wi-Fi network.

Thirdly, brain training games are perfect for episodic content, where you get a new bunch of puzzles delivered to you every day. And while this is equally possible on handheld platforms like PSP and DS, it would seem to be no-brainer (sorry, I tried not to use that word) on mobile, and it'll be easier for publishers to charge small amounts for this - which will encourage them to keep up the service.

Brain training is already big on DS, but it'll surely be bigger on mobile, as long as these games are promoted in the right way to attract people who probably don't spend their time surfing their operator's games portal. But then if you're making a brain training game, you should be smart enough to figure that out for yourself.

Are these the weirdest mobile games ever?

Unfortunately, Indian firm Mobile2win didn't get into today's 'Top 10 mobile games' post, as I haven't had a chance to play any of their games. But by hell, I'd like to. Take Spank The Ass for example, for its title screen alone (left). Or 7 Year Itch, where you have to hurl crockery at your spouse. Or Cupid's Fart to Heart, where the goal is "to fart and spread love". Or Moo Poo, where you fly around as a loose-bowelled cow. I won't even tell you what Casting Couch, Cherry Popping and Anti Terrorism Party Pack involve... If these games aren't already for sale in the UK, well, they should be.

Thursday Top 10: Mobile games worth giving yourself RSI for

Mobile games are rubbish, right? Snake's the only one worth playing, especially since you paid a fiver for that rubbish movie game when you were drunk on the train home last year. Never again. But wait a second.

Mobile games have moved on, both from Snake and from the more atrocious movie tie-ins that were common a couple of years ago. The last year has seen an explosion in creativity and quality among mobile game designers. To prove it, we've rounded up ten of the best current mobile games.

They're all unbranded, not based on films, console games, celebrities etc. This isn't because branded games are inherently bad, but because unbranded games don't always get the publicity they deserve - in the press, or from your mobile operator. That said, they should all be available to buy for £3-£5 from the games section of your operator's portal.

1. Turbo Camels: Circus Extreme
It's the best game featuring a bouncing German camel you'll ever play! Yes, probably the only one, but still. Pioneering a genre crying out to be known as the hump'em-up, this sees you playing a camel who's fired out of a cannon, and has to bounce around over 60 levels collecting items before executing a gymnastic landing. It's got humour, panache, and turtles too. And a finely-tuned scoring system gives it more depth than most games we've seen.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

2. Rollercoaster Rush
Ever been on a rollercoaster and wished it was, well, a bit more dangerous? Try this neat 2D game that puts you in the shoes of a coaster brakesman. It’s controlled with just two buttons - 6 to speed up, and 4 to whack on the brakes (although you get a bonus if you don’t use the brakes at all). The idea is to give your passengers as thrilling a ride as possible by jumping off bumps, speeding downhill and doing loop-the-loops at every opportunity. Set in Australia, France and the USA - what, no Alton Towers or Thorpe Park? - and will have you beaming like a fool from the start.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

3. Midnight Bowling 3D
Bowling games have always been a safe bet on mobile thanks to the simple controls and familiar gameplay mechanics. The latest breed of 3D-capable phones are spawning their own bowling titles too, such as this one. There's a selection of well-rounded characters to control - yes, including the obligatory slinky women - and enough swoopy camera angles to make the game worth showing off. Meanwhile, you unlock new characters, balls and costumes as you go along. They haven't messed with the controls though - setting your aim and spin is as easy as the traditional 2D bowling games.
Official site - IGN review

4. Tower Bloxx
You have to be good to get comparisons to Tetris and not emerge with egg on your face. The premise of Tower Bloxx is simple - build skyscrapers floor-by-floor by pressing the 5 key to drop blocks into place - complicated by the fact that they’re swinging all over the place. If your timing’s good, your tower is straight and loads of people move in. If it’s off, you end up with a wobbly load of old shite. It’s hypnotically addictive, with added depth provided by the Build City mode, which mixes in a dash of Sim City-esque town planning to the core one-button action.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

5. Ancient Empires 2
This is nominally an original game, although it’s fair to say this (and its predecessor) owe more than a smidgeon to Nintendo’s Advance Wars series. It’s turn-based game where you move your units around a map, ganging up on enemies, capturing towns and gradually taking over the (fantasy) world. If all this sounds a bit dull, don’t worry - it’s leavened by the crafted cartoon graphics, which actually look better than the GBA version of Advance Wars. Hate orcs and elves? No problem, this goes easy on the wizardy rubbish in favour of brain-twisting strategy.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

6. Skipping Stone
Single-handedly popularized the mobile game genre of 'one-button' games, so called because, yes, you only use one button to play it. Made in South Korea, it's brilliantly simple: you have to skim a stone by pressing the 5 key every time it hits the water. Time it right, and your stone goes faster and higher. Get it wrong, and you'll gradually sink. There's also a bunch of obstacles/helpers thrown in, including a whale that spurts to give your stone a boost. It's not half as twee as that makes it sound - it's probably the best rhythm action game released yet for mobile.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

7. Darkest Fear 2: Grim Oak
Because you can scare the willies out of yourself with a survival horror game on mobile, even if it's top-down rather than 3D like Resident Evil on console. The plot concerns a suitably spooky hospital-gone-wrong, and there's lashings of monsters, gore and puzzle-solving to be had. If you're as geeky as me, you'll also appreciate the effort that's gone into the game's atmosphere, from the sound to, yes, the lighting effects. Scarily good.
Official site

8. Playman World Soccer
Football games traditionally haven't worked well on mobile. They need too many buttons, leaving you floundering while the opposition spank 20 goals past you. But this game's different, thanks to its innovative control system where your player automatically runs ahead - all you have to do is turn him left or right. The result: marvellous weaving runs a la Ryan Giggs in that FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal. The game's also got spiffing 3D graphics and a wealth of humour, with some of the most unrealistic - yet fun - unlockable power-ups you've ever seen.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

 

9. Townsmen 3
For those of you with fond memories of Populous and Powermonger, the Townsmen series of mobile games is the modern-day equivalent (albeit with less smiting and natural disasters). It's a resource-management and building game where you have to build up a colony of 'townies' (no, not the kind that hang around your local shopping centre). Construct buildings, seek out new resources, fend off natives and eat LOTS of bacon. It's cartoony looks bely a strategy game with impressive depth.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

10. Slyder
Another unbranded mobile game that'll remind elderly gamers of some titles from their youth, for example Chip's Challenge. The task here is to guide an amenable blue ball ('Slyder') around 150 mazes, negotiating baddies, traps and bottomless pits. As you do. The twist is that when you move Slyder in a particular direction, he won't stop until he hits an obstacle. Much brain-twisting strategy ensues. The game looks ultra-simple, but trust me, it's fiendish once you get started. A perfect example of the sort of 2D puzzler that mobile does best - although hopefully the nine other games here prove that's not all your phone is capable of.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

Thursday Top 10: Mobile games worth giving yourself RSI for

Mobile games are rubbish, right? Snake's the only one worth playing, especially since you paid a fiver for that rubbish movie game when you were drunk on the train home last year. Never again. But wait a second.

Mobile games have moved on, both from Snake and from the more atrocious movie tie-ins that were common a couple of years ago. The last year has seen an explosion in creativity and quality among mobile game designers. To prove it, we've rounded up ten of the best current mobile games.

They're all unbranded, not based on films, console games, celebrities etc. This isn't because branded games are inherently bad, but because unbranded games don't always get the publicity they deserve - in the press, or from your mobile operator. That said, they should all be available to buy for £3-£5 from the games section of your operator's portal.

1. Turbo Camels: Circus Extreme
It's the best game featuring a bouncing German camel you'll ever play! Yes, probably the only one, but still. Pioneering a genre crying out to be known as the hump'em-up, this sees you playing a camel who's fired out of a cannon, and has to bounce around over 60 levels collecting items before executing a gymnastic landing. It's got humour, panache, and turtles too. And a finely-tuned scoring system gives it more depth than most games we've seen.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

2. Rollercoaster Rush
Ever been on a rollercoaster and wished it was, well, a bit more dangerous? Try this neat 2D game that puts you in the shoes of a coaster brakesman. It’s controlled with just two buttons - 6 to speed up, and 4 to whack on the brakes (although you get a bonus if you don’t use the brakes at all). The idea is to give your passengers as thrilling a ride as possible by jumping off bumps, speeding downhill and doing loop-the-loops at every opportunity. Set in Australia, France and the USA - what, no Alton Towers or Thorpe Park? - and will have you beaming like a fool from the start.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

3. Midnight Bowling 3D
Bowling games have always been a safe bet on mobile thanks to the simple controls and familiar gameplay mechanics. The latest breed of 3D-capable phones are spawning their own bowling titles too, such as this one. There's a selection of well-rounded characters to control - yes, including the obligatory slinky women - and enough swoopy camera angles to make the game worth showing off. Meanwhile, you unlock new characters, balls and costumes as you go along. They haven't messed with the controls though - setting your aim and spin is as easy as the traditional 2D bowling games.
Official site - IGN review

4. Tower Bloxx
You have to be good to get comparisons to Tetris and not emerge with egg on your face. The premise of Tower Bloxx is simple - build skyscrapers floor-by-floor by pressing the 5 key to drop blocks into place - complicated by the fact that they’re swinging all over the place. If your timing’s good, your tower is straight and loads of people move in. If it’s off, you end up with a wobbly load of old shite. It’s hypnotically addictive, with added depth provided by the Build City mode, which mixes in a dash of Sim City-esque town planning to the core one-button action.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

5. Ancient Empires 2
This is nominally an original game, although it’s fair to say this (and its predecessor) owe more than a smidgeon to Nintendo’s Advance Wars series. It’s turn-based game where you move your units around a map, ganging up on enemies, capturing towns and gradually taking over the (fantasy) world. If all this sounds a bit dull, don’t worry - it’s leavened by the crafted cartoon graphics, which actually look better than the GBA version of Advance Wars. Hate orcs and elves? No problem, this goes easy on the wizardy rubbish in favour of brain-twisting strategy.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

6. Skipping Stone
Single-handedly popularized the mobile game genre of 'one-button' games, so called because, yes, you only use one button to play it. Made in South Korea, it's brilliantly simple: you have to skim a stone by pressing the 5 key every time it hits the water. Time it right, and your stone goes faster and higher. Get it wrong, and you'll gradually sink. There's also a bunch of obstacles/helpers thrown in, including a whale that spurts to give your stone a boost. It's not half as twee as that makes it sound - it's probably the best rhythm action game released yet for mobile.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

7. Darkest Fear 2: Grim Oak
Because you can scare the willies out of yourself with a survival horror game on mobile, even if it's top-down rather than 3D like Resident Evil on console. The plot concerns a suitably spooky hospital-gone-wrong, and there's lashings of monsters, gore and puzzle-solving to be had. If you're as geeky as me, you'll also appreciate the effort that's gone into the game's atmosphere, from the sound to, yes, the lighting effects. Scarily good.
Official site

8. Playman World Soccer
Football games traditionally haven't worked well on mobile. They need too many buttons, leaving you floundering while the opposition spank 20 goals past you. But this game's different, thanks to its innovative control system where your player automatically runs ahead - all you have to do is turn him left or right. The result: marvellous weaving runs a la Ryan Giggs in that FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal. The game's also got spiffing 3D graphics and a wealth of humour, with some of the most unrealistic - yet fun - unlockable power-ups you've ever seen.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

 

9. Townsmen 3
For those of you with fond memories of Populous and Powermonger, the Townsmen series of mobile games is the modern-day equivalent (albeit with less smiting and natural disasters). It's a resource-management and building game where you have to build up a colony of 'townies' (no, not the kind that hang around your local shopping centre). Construct buildings, seek out new resources, fend off natives and eat LOTS of bacon. It's cartoony looks bely a strategy game with impressive depth.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

10. Slyder
Another unbranded mobile game that'll remind elderly gamers of some titles from their youth, for example Chip's Challenge. The task here is to guide an amenable blue ball ('Slyder') around 150 mazes, negotiating baddies, traps and bottomless pits. As you do. The twist is that when you move Slyder in a particular direction, he won't stop until he hits an obstacle. Much brain-twisting strategy ensues. The game looks ultra-simple, but trust me, it's fiendish once you get started. A perfect example of the sort of 2D puzzler that mobile does best - although hopefully the nine other games here prove that's not all your phone is capable of.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

Column: Will Paris Hilton's mobile game start a celebrity bandwagon?

There was a time when being a celebrity was about having the fast cars, the yachts, the luxury handbags... Then it was all about having the right small-yappy-dog to put in said handbags. And now? It's about having your own mobile game. At least, that's the conclusion to be drawn from the recently-released Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest, made by French mobile game publisher Gameloft.

A colourful puzzler that's closely inspired by classic casual game Bejeweled, it's the classiest celebrity-based mobile game yet (admittedly against competition including games featuring topless shots of Jordan and Pamela Anderson). And if it sells well, it surely won't be the last.

While branded games have been a dominant feature in the mobile gaming world, they've usually been based on films, console games and sporting competitions rather than individual celebrities. Yet that's not always been a good thing: most movie mobile games have been underwhelming - and often rubbish - while those inspired by console brands have tended to be a let-down to hardcore fans of the original game.

2006 could yet be the year of the celebrity tie-in game though. Gameloft's effort stands out because a.) it's actually good (read reviews here and here for opinions), b.) the subject matter - spangly jewels - is well-suited to Paris herself, and c.) will appeal outside the measly 5% of mobile users who currently download games.

That's fans of Paris - and I don't mean mole-eyed mothers' boys who bought her DVD either. Mobile games publishers see celebrities like Paris as a way to appeal to more women, and more 'non-gamers' who watch The Simple Life, but haven't downloaded a mobile game before. It might just work, too, although one barrier is the fact that the strategy relies on these non-gamers going to their mobile operator's games portal and seeing it there.

So who'll be next? Cartoon hip-hop band Gorillaz signed up for their own mobile game earlier this year, with a sequel on the way. And, er, Busted had a game a couple of years ago where you could manage the band (sadly not by driving their tour-bus into a slavering pit of hyenas).

But there are plenty of stars out there who'd benefit from a clever mobile game tie-in, from Robbie Williams to Sienna Miller to Prince Harry to... well, whoever you like. And if Paris' game doesn't spark a wave of similar efforts from the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie, then I'll eat my hat. The Gucci one. Take the small dog out of it first though.

Become a pop star down the phone

Want to be a pop star? Don't want to wait in a queue for 12 hours before being humiliated by Simon Cowell, Ozzy's wife and the bloke who inflicted Westlife on us? You could soon test out your tonsils down the phone instead with the Ring ‘n Sing service.

The phone-based game uses a "pitch-tracking algorithm" to compare different voices. So, select your song from those on offer, listen to the song being sung by a professional crooner, then sing your version down the line. The system compares the two renditions before giving your effort a mark out of ten. As far as we know, you don't have to sit through 5 minutes of criticism about your hair, clothes and choice of song before the result comes through.

The system has been developed by UK speech recognition specialist VoxGen in association with Vocability, a leading provider of hosted speech applications. It's not available to call just yet, but expect to see the Ring ‘n Sing service advertised like crazy during the next series of the X-Factor.

VoxGen website

More fun on the phone:
Liven up your mobile chat with Razz
How do you use your 3G phone?

Nokia saddles up for N-Gage 2?

According to industry title In Stock, Nokia has announced it is preparing a range of new gaming handsets for release in early 2007. Nokia announced the range alongside a new toolset for developers to create mobile games at GDC, currently taking place in San Jose.

Take a peak at sister site Games Digest for even more gaming news.

The casino on your mobile

Fancy a trip to the casino, but don't have the dinner jacket ironed and ready? Well, now, if you're over 18, you can just switch on your phone with the launch of the Wild Jack Mobile Casino.

If you have a compatible Java mobile phone, you can take your pick from one of seven games via a secure gaming interface. The games featured in the mobile casino are Roulette, Blackjack, Video Poker, Fruit Fiesta, Double Magic Slot, Scratch Card and Treasure Niles - the world’s largest mobile jackpot slot, with a minimum jackpot of £40,000,

It might not have the atmosphere of a real casino, but it'll cut down your cigar and Martini bill.

Find out more

More for your mobile:
O2 promises live mobile gigs
Orange offers VibeTonz games

Xbox 360 on your mobile?

Ok, you can't fit Microsoft's new gaming machine into your phone - but you'll soon be able to receive alerts when your friends are playing online whne Microsoft integrates MSN messenger into the console.

Messenger is already included as part of a compact version of Windows for mobile phones. The big problem for Microsoft is that only around 18 per cent of smartphones and PDAs in Europe use Windows Mobile as the operating system. By far the most popular software is Symbian.

The plan for mobile alerts is in line with Microsoft's aim to bring together its various online services under the Windows Live umbrella. With Windows Live, Microsoft is aiming to provide a one stop shop that brings together a range of services, such as email, search and other elements.

Source: The BBC

More Xbox 360
Xbox 360 - how good is it?
Xbox 360 crashing problem

Interactive football phone in

It's funny how all the best footie shows are on either when you're at the match or on the way down to the ground. Wouldn't it be better if they were on in the week - or you could get them on your mobile?

O2 and Buongiorno are offering just that for 3G mobile owners with an O2 contract. Their new four minute weekly show, Soccer Addicts, is hosted by ex-Prem hardman turned minor celeb Neil Ruddock and incorporates studio footage and interviews with a bit of real fan interaction. Send in your angry post-match rants and you can appear on the show next to your heroes. Fame at your fingertips!

The first Soccer Addicts show will be goes out live on 19th December 2005 and is available to download or stream to mobile phones for the entire week, with a new show going live every following Monday. Visit www.o2.co.uk for more information.

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Nokia's business style 3G phone
3 gets the Motorola 3G RAZR

Sony PSP to feature on mobile

Ken Kutaragi has told business media site Bloomberg that an add-on turning the PSP into a mobile phone will surface "in the near future". Sony had already demonstrated mobile phone capabilities at a prototype stage at E3 in LA last May.

Games Digest  Simon M

Keep you girlfriend in your pocket

Ok, we know that gadget lovers have a reputation for being bereft of any social skills, but surely it hasn’t come to this? Hong Kong company, Artificial Life, has developed a 3G “game” for the lonely 3G phone-owner: Virtual Girlfriend.

Based on Simms-like 3-D animated characters, the virtual girls can be contacted or spied on using a 3G phone whenever the mood takes you. The characters in the virtual world get up to all sorts while you’re off in the real world: shopping, going to work, visiting friends, or just chilling out in their virtual homes. A daily and weekly schedule guides the lives of the characters and this changes over time to keep you interested.

So you don’t feel like a complete sad loser, watching a couple of cartoon characters on your phone all day, you can “interact” with your virtual lady friends by sending them texts and picture messages. A J2ME client will allow you to chat to the girls in real time and you can send your girlfriend/s virtual gifts to stop her from virtually cheating on you.

A Virtual Boyfriend version is being launched at the start of next year, while the Virtual Girlfriend will be available in December of this year. No doubt Virtual Husband/Wife, Virtual Children, Virtual Affair and Virtual Divorce will follow shortly. It's like some creepy update of Pygmalian.

Read

V3 RAZR available now!

Well, not quite. Motorola's new ultra-skinny V3 RAZR won't be in the shops till September, but if you're desperate to get your hands on one as soon as they come out, you can pre-order one now.

Carphone Warehouse is taking pre-orders for the handset, with the price at just under £500 for a SIM-Free version. When you consider that, for that price, you can get yourself a powerful smartphone, you've probably missed the point of the RAZR.

This is not a phone for people wanting the most powerful specs and most impressive feature set. The V3 is for the fashionistas who want to be seen with the slickest looking phone around - preferably before anyone else is seen with it. The question still remains to be answered, however: are there enough of these people around to make the V3 RAZR a success?

Nokia improves N-Gage

In a bid to address many of the design problems that have severely limited sales, Nokia has launched a new - and much improved - version of its N-Gage game player.

The new model, dubbed the N-Gage QD, is about 20 per cent smaller than the mark one model and, unlike the old unit, has the speaker and microphone mounted on the front so you don't have to hold it sideways to make a call.

Whereas with the previous version you had to remove a back panel and pull out a battery to insert a new game card, the new model has an easy to reach multmedia card slot for game cartridges.

Another criticism of the original N-Gage was that few games exploited the device's connectivity options for multiplayer gaming. Nokia therefore intends to launch 50 new N-Gage titles on the market by the end of this year, three quarters of which will offer multiplayer gaming.

Due to be officially unveiled at the E3 show in Los Angeles, the N-Gage QD is expected to be priced between E99 (contract) and E199 (SIM Free) when it is launched across Europe in May.

http://www.n-gage.com

More games on your mobi

So far mobile gaming hasn't quite taken off in the way that many pundits predicted - just ask Nokia which has already admitted that sales of its N-Gage gaming phone are way below expectations.

At 3GSM in Cannes though several companies unveiled new games and tie-ups with games makers that could certainly keep your thumbs busy in the coming months.

For a really good round-up of all the news including Infusio's tie-up with Microsoft check out Rhianna Pratchet's Guardian article here.

Strip poker for your mobi

Here's one new game for your mobile phone that we are looking forward to see others playing in public. Finnish games provider Wes has teamed up with Playboy to deliver a strip poker game for your handset. Details are a tad sketchy but we understand users will play the game (Playboy Playmate Strip Poker)against a real Playboy playmate - so basically it is worth winning.

There's no news yet on when and if the game will come to the UK.

FIFA2004 for mobiles

Proof, if it were ever needed, that phone gaming is emerging as a potentially lucrative area for companies comes with the news that for the first time ever a company will release a Java version of a game for mobiles simultaneously with console and PC editions.

Electronic Arts is debuting its FIFA 2004 footy game with the Java title, co-published by Digital Bridges, offering a cut-down version of the game with 16 international teams and real players.

The game will be available from late October/early November from mobile network operators Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange; from Sky's YourMobile interactive TV channel and from a number of mobile entertainment web portals including Tx1.com and Telemob.com.

Nokia's N-gage -now on sale

We couldn't let the day pass without a quick mention of the Nokia N-gage which arrives in the stores today. One of the most hyped phones of recent years the N-gage packs an MP3 player, FM radio, gaming device, and of course a phone into one pretty compact and funky-looking package.

However, like many in the mobile and gaming industry, we think the N-Gage is on a hiding to nothing at the hands of Nintendo GameBoy Advance (to say nothing of Sony's upcoming PSP) and may prove a very costly mistake for the world's leading phone manufacturer.

It is not because it is too expensive - O2 already has it for £100. It is just that it will never match the GameBoy Advance in terms of games, battery life will be a real issue and the very annoying way a person has to take out the battery to change games is a real flaw.

Still for other people's take try the BBC for the background, CNN for a scathing review and Wireless Gamer for the verdict from the streets.