[General Topics] Menneisyys:
I couldn't post games-related news lately because I've been VERY busy with the initial Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine’s Annual Best Software Awards nominations, recategorization and the complete redesign of the Communication, Emulators, Multimedia and System main categories. Some of the preliminary results can be seen HERE; note that as we're still urging developers to enter their product info in the PPCMag Encyclopedia of Software databases, some of the brand new categories are still empty. Developers, please PLEASE enter your titles into the Encyclopedia of Software & Accessories so that we can easily nominate it for the Awards (if it’s worthful enough)! Right now, we have to track down each and every developer, which can be particularly complicated with freeware / public domain authors, particularly if they have gone out of business for years (see for example YameCE). For example, last year it took us weeks to, finally, find the contact address of the authors of PocketGBA and Qmail, two excellent, free programs for Windows Mobile. Now, if ANYONE knows n0p’s contact address, please let us know – via his ICQ handle, I, so far, haven’t been able to contact him.

(Yes, this work is MUCH harder than many people would imagine, particularly when you need to review hundreds of different programs - just as I've done with the brand new Emulators categories in the last month - so that you have a clear picture of what should be nominated and what not. Now that I have some free time, I list what has happened in the last month. And, of course, finding and contacting the original developers, in cases, isn't easy either.)

AximSite reviewer Bryan Eley (breley) has just published a really decent review of Mobisation's new platformer game, Boneyboy. As the game has also been highly recommended by both me and Allen Gall (and I've also picked it for the initial Awards 2007 nomination), it's certainly worth a read - and the trial version giving a test ride.

MoreGames Entertainment, the developer of Orions: Legend of Wizards and Enslave, have just released another HIGHLY recommended title, Azgard Defence. Related reviews are HERE and HERE. The second review is HIGHLY recommended: it's been published by the same author, Doug Goldring, as the previous, highly recommended Orions review.

There was another eagerly waited-for release this month: that of PDAmill Game Studios' Rats!!. See for example THIS PocketGamer.org thread for more info. David, owner of PocketGamer.org, has also been promising a review of the title - make sure you keep an eye on his excellent site!

And yes, another PDAmill Game Studios release: Maggot Attack Pinball. Another cool pinball game, worth a test ride (albeit I haven't personally tested it myself as yet so I can't comment on the feedback at the related PG.org thread).

Speaking of forthcoming pinball games, the well-known developer of one of the best text-based adventure games (Fade), Fade-Team, still has no news on their forthcoming(?) Bump Revenge - except for a year-old screenshot. Unfortunately, the same stands for their other, promised title, Keeperbane. And, as far as still-not-released, highly anticipated titles are concerned, the release date of Bonanza Interactive's Prehistoric: Road to Hollywood has still been pushed back - again.

Larry Bank of HanaHo Games (see his blog HERE) wasn't lazy either. He both released Space Invaders Trilogy (see THIS for the PPC and THIS for the Smartphone version) and, even more importantly, a brand new version, 0.24, of his kick-butt multiplatform emulator SmartGear, which is one of the best desktop / handheld gaming console emulators for both the Pocket PC and the Smartphone. Make sure you check it out - or, wait for my thorough review and comparison to the previous version reviewed in several of my emulation-related articles. It's available HERE for download.

IonFX (developers of some 3D hardware accelerated titles like GeoRallyEX) have announced another 3D acceleration-enabled game, Project Outlands. Related PG thread HERE.

C2Matrix has released Fire Hawk, a vertical scroller shooter. Haven't tested it yet so I don't know how it compares to for example SkyForce Reloaded, currently the BEST top-down scroller (if you don't take into account the emulated CPS-2 titles like 1944 - The Loop Masteror 19XX - The War Against Destiny, that is)

Another 3D gaming news is SkyZone Entertainment porting the well-known multiplatform (PC, XBOX 360 and Mac - the latter by no one else than Aspyr Media!) Prey (which is based on the Doom3 engine) to mobile devices. See the related PG thread HERE.

If you like Tetraedge's adventure titles, make sure you check out their latest title, Secrets of da Vinci.

In case you haven't noticed, I've published several kick-butt mostly game emulation-related articles last month (and will also publish some in the near future!). Many of them have been frontpaged by industry-leader PocketGamer.org and Michu, author of the most widely known Emupage, has also made all (!) these reviews sticky in the AximSite Emulators forum, showing these emulator roundups are of indeed exceptional quality and thoroughness. Make sure you read them if you are into gaming on Windows Mobile!