Philip Colmer
07-05-2005, 05:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Cover.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Games compilation<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.gomdm.com/">Mobile Digital Media</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=140076">Handango (affiliate)</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $29.99 USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition with 16.2MB available free memory on device for installation of all games.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Interesting variety of games;<br /><li>Excellent value for your money;<br /><li>CD-ROM includes both Pocket PC & Palm versions.<b>Cons:</b><li>Not all of the games will appeal to everyone;<br /><li>Shame it doesn't come on a memory card.<b>Summary:</b><br />MDM certainly feel that "Centipede & More Classic Games" is one worth putting on your shopping list, emblazoning the packaging with the phrase "The 'must-have' game collection!". However, the decision to buy a compilation is not an easy one - will you like all of the items that have been chosen? Will there be enough items that you do like to have made the purchase worthwhile?<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Centipede</b></span><br />Where else to start but with the main title of the pack? As you can see from the packaging shown at the start of the review, there is the suggestion of some really interesting 3D graphics. However, as Figure 1 reveals, the game is a faithful representation of the Atari original and therefore contains no 3D graphics whatsoever. Unfortunately, you've got to open the packaging to discover that small fact if you've never played Centipede before.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Centipede.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 1: Centipede.</i><br /><br />Whilst Centipede may indeed be a classic shooting game, I think it looks very tired and dated. It will appeal to someone who loved playing it in his or her yesteryears, but it doesn't do anything for me.<br /><br /><span><b>Snails</b></span><br />This game has previously been <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,11829">reviewed on Pocket PC Thoughts</a> so I'm not going to spend too much time on it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Snails.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 2: Snails.</i><br /><br />The MDM compilation includes version 2.0 of the game. Handango sells the game on its own for $19.95, so its inclusion in the compilation makes a good contribution to the overall value of it. It's a fun game to play and this is as good a way as any to legitimately get it onto your Pocket PC.<br /><br />It is a bright, cartooony game that is a heap of fun to play!<br /><br /><span><b>GameBox Solitaire</b></span><br />If you are tired of the version of Solitaire that Microsoft supplies, here come 10 more - Blind Alleys, Canfield, Chinese, East Haven, Fourteen Out, Freecell, Golf, Klondike, Pyramid and Pyramid Gold. For each of the games, you can see what the layout of the game is like (Figure 3) and get a description of the rules of the game (Figure 4).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Solitaire1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 3: Previewing a game.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Solitaire2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 4: Rules of the game.</i><br /><br />On the main screen, the description of a given game is enough to get you going, but some of the versions are pretty complicated. It would be helpful sometimes to be able to access the description from within the play screen so that you can remind yourself of the rules.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Klondike.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 5: Klondike from GameBox Solitaire.</i><br /><br />The graphics are beautifully rendered in this game. I've tried to illustrate this in Figure 5 where, as you move a collection of cards from one pile to another, there is a drag effect! When you've progressed a game to the point where all that is left is putting the cards onto the foundations, the software takes over and finishes off for you.<br /><br />The undo feature is useful if you are learning how to play a new variation and you realise you've gotten stuck. Similarly, the software includes a hint feature which can help if there is a play to be made that you haven't spotted or if you aren't familiar enough with the rules.<br /><br />All in all, a lot of variety if you are into solitaire.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Kasparov Chessmate</b></span><br />It has been a long time since I played chess so I must confess it took me a while to get into playing it again :D. Luckily the game includes a set of rules and guidelines. Opting to play a game allows you to pick against the computer, a human or the Kasparov Chess Club!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovPlayOptions.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 6: Which sort of game do you want to play?</i><br /><br />Selecting to play against the Chess Club gives you the further choice of a friendly game or entering into the championship - a massive undertaking where you have to try to defeat every club member. There are three championships (bronze, silver and gold) and six rounds within each championship, finishing off with a seventh match against the current champion of that level.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovChessClub1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 7: Chess Club options.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovChessClub2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 8: Playing in the championship.</i><br /><br />Playing is, in itself, quite straightforward. The board is well drawn (as you can see from Figure 9) and you move by dragging a piece from one square to another. If you are just starting out, you can ask "Gary" to suggest your next move for you. It is also possible to turn on a feature where the software will highlight the possible squares you can move to for the piece you are dragging - this is a great learning aid.<br /><br />Another option highlights the last move that has been taken. Without this option turned on, I found it incredibly difficult spotting which pieces had been instantly moved from one square to another. Unfortunately, the rules of the software are that if you are playing in championship mode, you can't use this feature.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovPlaying1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 9: Getting a hint on what to play next.</i><br /><br />Once you've played a game, you can save it for later review. It is also possible to review historic matches.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovReview.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 10: Historic Kasparov games that can be reviewed.</i><br /><br />The review process, though, is possibly the weakest part of this software. As you can see from Figure 11, if you have the move list displayed, it almost obliterates the chess board. If you don't have the move list displayed, all you can do is let the software play through the moves, so you are then struggling to figure out the moves that are being made, again because it is so darn hard to spot instantaneous piece movements.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-KasparovReview2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 11: The moves of a game being reviews.</i><br /><br />This implementation of chess offers a lot of depth and could keep an avid chess player occupied for quite some time. However, there are some annoyances with the user interface.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Tennis Addict</b></span><br />As with the chess game, Tennis Addict offers a lot of choices, including your own player's characteristics (Figure 12), your opposition's characteristics and the court surface (Figure 13).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-TennisPlayer.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 12: Picking your player.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-TennisCourt.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 13: Choosing the court surface.</i><br /><br />The game includes a training module that allows you to practice the user interface, from serves to returns. A problem with this sort of game though, when you play it on a device like the Pocket PC, is that the user interface bears no relationship to how you would normally play the game. This means that you don't have any real feel for how to improve your play. The only indication of what you are doing is the game showing you where it thinks the ball is going to land. Unfortunately, that is dependent on your opponent sending the ball straight to you - if you've positioned your player badly, you either aren't going to hit the ball at all, or you are going to end up clipping it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-TennisPlaying.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 14: Playing on grass.</i><br /><br />The game is well drawn but I'm afraid it didn't really hold me enough to even finish a game.<br /><br /><span><b>Spellbound</b></span><br />This is a curious game - a premise that seems to be easy to achieve but one that in reality is very, very difficult. You are shown a grid of letters, as you can see in Figure 15. From that grid, you need to find letters that are touching in order to make up a word that meets the goal specified for the current round. Simple, eh? Yes, except that the letters made available to you seem to conspire to be arranged in no helpful order whatsoever.<br /><br />When you are fortunate enough to find a word, the letters are removed a new ones drop in to take their place.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Spellbound.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 15: The Spellbound grid.</i><br /><br />There are three different levels, essentially differing on whether or not the game is timed and how quickly.<br /><br />I consider myself to have a reasonable vocabulary but, as I've mentioned, I found this game very difficult to play. It might have been better if, instead of changing the difficulty through timing, the game had more intelligence built into it and put tiles onto the board that would definitely make words.<br /><br /><span><b>The Emperor's Mahjong</b></span><br />This, I think, has got to be my favourite game of the pack. The rules of Mahjong are really simple - find matching tiles and so long as they aren't blocked in, you can remove them from play. The tiles in this game are beautifully drawn as you can see in Figure 16. You can play a single game, a two-player game or work through the Emperor's Challenge.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-MahJong.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 16: Playing a game.</i><br /><br />Regardless of your choice, there is a huge choice of layouts to play. In both single and two-player games, you can pick any layout and then a difficulty level. However, it isn't really clear what the difference is in the three levels. When you are playing a single-player game, you've got undo, hint, shuffle and reset options. When you are playing a two-player game, you take it in turns to remove pairs and the winner is the one who takes the shortest amount of time.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-MahJongSelection.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 17: Six levels and twelve games per level.</i><br /><br />With the Challenge, the difficulty options go away and the aim is to play each of the different layouts. Once you've completed the first five levels, the Emperor's levels become unlocked for you to play. Each layout tells you how many tiles you must remove in a given time. The status bar at the bottom of the screen shows you the time left and the number of tiles removed.<br /><br />I found this to be a really addictive game. There were some layouts that I had to try several times in order to finish successfully. I haven't got to the Emperor's levels yet, but I will … just as soon as I finish writing this review :D.<br /><br /><span><b>Slurp</b></span><br />This game is very similar to Jawbreaker - the idea is that you tap on contiguous areas of colour to remove them and the other blobs drop down to fill the gap you've just made. Slurp goes a bit further with the added complication of leaving grey blocks (Figure 18) where you failed to completely remove the blobs from the previous level. Ultimately, this means that you are going to run out of screen space.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Colmer-MDM8games-Slurp.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 18: Slurp those blobs away!</i><br /><br />You have a bit of control over how difficult the game is by choosing the number of different colours there are, from 3 to 7. The more colours, the harder the game.<br /><br />If you enjoy playing Jawbreaker, this will be an interesting variation for you to try out.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />As I said at the beginning of this review, choosing whether or not to go for a compilation will amount to whether or not there are enough parts that you want in order to make up for the parts that you don't want. MDM give you excellent value for your money - if you add up the individual costs for the games, the total cost is a lot higher than $29.95 - it is actually $104.65, not including Centipede, which I couldn't find as a separate product.<br /><br />Whichever way you cut this particular compilation, I think that there's likely to be something in here for you, so it then comes down to whether or not that presents good enough value. For me, I'd probably stick with playing three or four of the games, which does represent good value to me.<br /><br /><i>Philip Colmer is Head of I.T. for a global electronic publishing company. In his spare time, he enjoys researching his family history, developing his videography skills and going shopping with his wife.</i>