PDAmill Releases Xplodus; Arvale - Short Tales Previewed

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pdamill.com/prod_xp.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.pdamill.com/prod_xp.shtml</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Xplodus is a classic action title for those who yearn for solid arcade gaming and like mindlessly blowing things up! Aliens are attacking, you know the drill, and the only available soldier left is Private Pete from the reserves. Take control of Private Pete and help him eliminate the aliens with the power of massive explosives... before he accidentally blows himself up!"</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20060610-Xplodus.gif" /><br /><br />PDAmill has just released Xplodus - an action game that's great for "blowing" your entire weekend away. ;) You can grab a free trial version, or purchase the full version for $9.95 from our <a href="http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&platformId=2&productType=2&productId=188757">affiliate software store</a>.<br /><br />Also, for all you Arvale fans, head over to <a href="http://my.pdamill.com/viewtopic.php?t=1608">My PDAmill</a> for a brief look at the next Arvale adventure.

[Menneisyys]

Xplodus is a very good game. Here’s the review I’ve written on it:

There are dozens of Bomberman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomberman) clones for the Pocket PC. (In addition to the Wiki article, which, unfortunately, doesn’t list online/Pocket PC games, I recommend this Flash animation (http://www.killsometime.com/games/Game.asp?ID=252) if you don’t know the genre and want to quickly get familiar with it, without the need to download/install anything). The new title, Xplodus by the infamous Hungarian multiplatform games company PDAMill, is the latest release in this genre. The game is available here (http://www.pdamill.com/prod_xp.shtml?ref=newsletter#ss).

http://www.pdamill.com/images/titles/xplodus.gif

I don’t speak much of the game itself – if you know a Bomberman clone, you know them all. Also, you will be able to navigate the menus/setting dialogs after some seconds of starting the game so I don’t elaborate on them either. That is, let’s move straight to the pros/cons section – something a decent comparative review should always have.

Pros

broad device compatibility: it’s compliant with even Pocket PC 2002 devices, which is admirable – and, also with the WM5-upgraded HP iPAQ hx4700. On all my six test devices (iPAQ h3660, h2210, WM5 hx4700, Pocket Loox 720, Dell Axim x51v, HTC Wizard), it works without problems
doesn’t have high resource demands; works great for example on both my almost 5-year-old iPAQ 3660 and “slow” HTC Wizard
your sprite can be, as opposed to most other Bomberman clones, controlled by the stylus. This also means you can play the game on devices with non-gaming-friendly D-pads (including the hx4700).
it even has (a limited) pathfinding algorithm if you use the stylus - that is, it's much easier to control than most other Bomberman clones!
pretty good in-game music (not stereo though)
pretty cheap ($10)


Cons (note that this section is more of nitpicking as the game is perfectly playable and enjoyable)

no multiplayer as opposed to Infinite Dreams’ Explode Arena or 4Pockets' Great Gold Rush, the two other, really good Bomberman clones
QVGA resolution “only” – no Hi-Res version. (Nevertheless, it works great on VGA devices too.)

Verdict

The game is pretty good; I certainly recommend giving the trial a try.

Other Bomberman clones worth knowing of / giving a try

If interested, you may also want to check out section 3.1 (Bomberman clones) in the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/052006MIPSGames.asp) for more games in this genre, some of them being free.