Menneisyys
05-05-2006, 05:23 PM
Much as the Russian multiplatform mobile game developer company HeroCraft HiTec is a brand new one on the scene, they have managed to get into the lime-light very quickly. Their first title, Battle Cake, is really entertaining in multiplayer mode and is highly recommended (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/102005MPPPCGames.asp).
They have just released their latest title, Arcade Park, which contains eight games for only $10.
Read on for a detailed review and comparison to other Pocket PC titles of the same genre!
A review and comparison of the games
ArcadeBall: A Breakout clone. It’s a bit pixelizated and, in this respect, not as good on a VGA device than the VGA version of Spb Arkaball II or Acky’s Breakout (see review here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&title=isotope_244_graphics_acky_s_xp_breakout&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)). Its music is definitely better than that of Spb Arkaball II but not as good as that of Acky.
As with the two other Breakout clones, it has a lot of different power-ups and weapons. The biggest difference between them and ArcadeBall is that the pod at the bottom can’t be instantly moved to a distant position and the scrolling isn’t as smooth as in Acky.
Asteroids: a very good Asteroids clone. Its only problem is that the action button must be used for firing (there’s no autofire), which can make the control very awkward because if you want to stick to using the D-pad (instead of the stylus) to control the ship. Unfortunately, as with all the other titles in the pack, there’s no way of redefining the controls. Knowing the responsiveness and eagerness to help / improve their stuff of the developers, I think they will surely implement this feature.
Rushman: Pac-Man clone. Good.
Digger: it has a pretty short music track. However, it’s also pretty OK.
Real Tanx: a tank game of the well-known Tanks theme. What is a bit strange (and can be a big minus for many) that you must defend the Soviet flag and there’re Red Stars (that of the Soviet Union) around. I think having to defend a more neutral, non-communist flag (for example, that of the U.S., France, the U.K., the Netherlands or anything, if you want to stick to WWII subjects) would have been a much better choice for players from all countries. (For a Finn or an East-European, for example, having to defend the Soviet flag can be hurting and wounding for historical reasons.) Otherwise, it’s a great game.
Gold Hunter: a nice Lode Runner clone. Definitely better (because, for example, of the music) than Stock Scramble in the Microsoft Games PocketPak (see Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MDLSE/ref=sr_11_1/102-6442864-1727327?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=229534) and Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&platformId=2&N=96806&productId=44496&R=44496)) but, in my opinion, not as good as LODERUNNER 1.51 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=1), X-MAS Runner PRO 2.0 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=25) or the free (!) X-MAS Runner Lite 1.20 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=34) by Ballshooter Games. (See my forthcoming MIPS games roundup on these games.)
Galaxy Invaders: as may have already been guessed, it’s an Invaders clone. Its music is, just like with Digger, very short. However, it’s, technically, much better and, therefore, much more entertaining than, say, Galaxian for Pocket PC by Island Labs (http://pocketpc.islandlabs.com/galaxian-pocket-pc.htm). The well-known other Invaders clone, G-Prime Xtreme (http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=2270&section=PPC) is, in my opinion, definitely better music- and controllability-wise (you can not only move your ship sideways, but also up and down), however.
Riverside Assault: a River Raid clone. Much as it can also be entertaining, its technical realization is definitely inferior of the other, in cases much better River Raid clones - the, unfortunately, no-longer sold Siberian Strike X (see this (http://www.pocketgamer.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1130) and this (http://pdarcade.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=9) threads) by Gameloft, Particle Wars by 4Pockets (http://www.4pockets.com/game_info.php?par=Particle+Wars&pro=MA&pid=1), AngelFish by FatHammer (http://www.angelfishgame.com) or probably the two best titles, SkyForce by Infinite Dreams (http://mobile.idreams.pl/product.php?idProduct=3) and Darklaga by int13 (http://www.int13.net/darklaga.htm). (Also see this article (http://www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21739) on the last three titles and my forthcoming MIPS Games Roundup on the first two.)
On VGA devices, scrolling is a bit (but not much) slower than on QVGA ones – the difference isn’t that big, however. That is, the game is playable on VGA devices too – but it won’t be as enjoyable as on QVGA devices or as with other, better-optimized titles (like SkyForce).
Verdict
Despite the technically not-very-good Riverside Assault, Gold Hunter and the sometimes short/not inspiring in-game music, I can only recommend this game pack. At $9.95, it’s quite a bargain, particularly if you take the price of the other titles I’ve compared the game to into account (except for the free X-MAS Runner Lite, of course).
Technical data
Price: $9.95
URL: http://hitech.herocraft.com/arcadepark.htm
Genre: Arcade games
Availability: Clickgamer (http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=4820), Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=8CA2CDD2F396ADE4AAXCX31A4AAB1X19&platformId=2&N=96806%2093274&productId=187382&R=187382)
Pocket PC OS Compatibility: WM2003, SE, WM5. Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with 240*240 square screens and Pocket PC 2002 devices.
VGA compliance: Compatible with both VGA and QVGA devices.
Other platforms: It also has Symbian, Palm OS and MS Smartphone clients.
Sound: all minigames have different (!) stereo in-game tracked music (using the high-quality Hekkus sound system).
Control: all titles are controllable with both the stylus and the D-pad. Naturally, stylus can’t be used on the MS Smartphone and the Symbian S60 platforms. Firing can only be done with the Action button, which can’t be redefined.
Memory consumption: 3 Mbytes, can be entirely installed on memory cards.
They have just released their latest title, Arcade Park, which contains eight games for only $10.
Read on for a detailed review and comparison to other Pocket PC titles of the same genre!
A review and comparison of the games
ArcadeBall: A Breakout clone. It’s a bit pixelizated and, in this respect, not as good on a VGA device than the VGA version of Spb Arkaball II or Acky’s Breakout (see review here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&title=isotope_244_graphics_acky_s_xp_breakout&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)). Its music is definitely better than that of Spb Arkaball II but not as good as that of Acky.
As with the two other Breakout clones, it has a lot of different power-ups and weapons. The biggest difference between them and ArcadeBall is that the pod at the bottom can’t be instantly moved to a distant position and the scrolling isn’t as smooth as in Acky.
Asteroids: a very good Asteroids clone. Its only problem is that the action button must be used for firing (there’s no autofire), which can make the control very awkward because if you want to stick to using the D-pad (instead of the stylus) to control the ship. Unfortunately, as with all the other titles in the pack, there’s no way of redefining the controls. Knowing the responsiveness and eagerness to help / improve their stuff of the developers, I think they will surely implement this feature.
Rushman: Pac-Man clone. Good.
Digger: it has a pretty short music track. However, it’s also pretty OK.
Real Tanx: a tank game of the well-known Tanks theme. What is a bit strange (and can be a big minus for many) that you must defend the Soviet flag and there’re Red Stars (that of the Soviet Union) around. I think having to defend a more neutral, non-communist flag (for example, that of the U.S., France, the U.K., the Netherlands or anything, if you want to stick to WWII subjects) would have been a much better choice for players from all countries. (For a Finn or an East-European, for example, having to defend the Soviet flag can be hurting and wounding for historical reasons.) Otherwise, it’s a great game.
Gold Hunter: a nice Lode Runner clone. Definitely better (because, for example, of the music) than Stock Scramble in the Microsoft Games PocketPak (see Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MDLSE/ref=sr_11_1/102-6442864-1727327?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=229534) and Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&platformId=2&N=96806&productId=44496&R=44496)) but, in my opinion, not as good as LODERUNNER 1.51 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=1), X-MAS Runner PRO 2.0 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=25) or the free (!) X-MAS Runner Lite 1.20 (http://www.ballshooter.com/games/?prod_id=34) by Ballshooter Games. (See my forthcoming MIPS games roundup on these games.)
Galaxy Invaders: as may have already been guessed, it’s an Invaders clone. Its music is, just like with Digger, very short. However, it’s, technically, much better and, therefore, much more entertaining than, say, Galaxian for Pocket PC by Island Labs (http://pocketpc.islandlabs.com/galaxian-pocket-pc.htm). The well-known other Invaders clone, G-Prime Xtreme (http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=2270&section=PPC) is, in my opinion, definitely better music- and controllability-wise (you can not only move your ship sideways, but also up and down), however.
Riverside Assault: a River Raid clone. Much as it can also be entertaining, its technical realization is definitely inferior of the other, in cases much better River Raid clones - the, unfortunately, no-longer sold Siberian Strike X (see this (http://www.pocketgamer.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1130) and this (http://pdarcade.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=9) threads) by Gameloft, Particle Wars by 4Pockets (http://www.4pockets.com/game_info.php?par=Particle+Wars&pro=MA&pid=1), AngelFish by FatHammer (http://www.angelfishgame.com) or probably the two best titles, SkyForce by Infinite Dreams (http://mobile.idreams.pl/product.php?idProduct=3) and Darklaga by int13 (http://www.int13.net/darklaga.htm). (Also see this article (http://www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21739) on the last three titles and my forthcoming MIPS Games Roundup on the first two.)
On VGA devices, scrolling is a bit (but not much) slower than on QVGA ones – the difference isn’t that big, however. That is, the game is playable on VGA devices too – but it won’t be as enjoyable as on QVGA devices or as with other, better-optimized titles (like SkyForce).
Verdict
Despite the technically not-very-good Riverside Assault, Gold Hunter and the sometimes short/not inspiring in-game music, I can only recommend this game pack. At $9.95, it’s quite a bargain, particularly if you take the price of the other titles I’ve compared the game to into account (except for the free X-MAS Runner Lite, of course).
Technical data
Price: $9.95
URL: http://hitech.herocraft.com/arcadepark.htm
Genre: Arcade games
Availability: Clickgamer (http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=4820), Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=8CA2CDD2F396ADE4AAXCX31A4AAB1X19&platformId=2&N=96806%2093274&productId=187382&R=187382)
Pocket PC OS Compatibility: WM2003, SE, WM5. Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with 240*240 square screens and Pocket PC 2002 devices.
VGA compliance: Compatible with both VGA and QVGA devices.
Other platforms: It also has Symbian, Palm OS and MS Smartphone clients.
Sound: all minigames have different (!) stereo in-game tracked music (using the high-quality Hekkus sound system).
Control: all titles are controllable with both the stylus and the D-pad. Naturally, stylus can’t be used on the MS Smartphone and the Symbian S60 platforms. Firing can only be done with the Action button, which can’t be redefined.
Memory consumption: 3 Mbytes, can be entirely installed on memory cards.