Two of the titles for this issue are Pocket EverQuest and Age of Empires. While the latter is a port of an older desktop PC title, the former is based on a current PC title, but built from the ground up to run on the Pocket PC. It'll be interesting to see if this becomes a trend, with major game developers creating scaled-down companion titles to complement big-budget desktop releases.
Microsoft's Age of Empires (AoE) series of real-time strategy (RTS) games has done well for the company's gaming division, and now the first installment of the game is available on the Pocket PC thanks to ZioSoft.
With several civilizations and plenty of scenarios, Age of Empires offers hours of gaming.
AoE centers on the battle between ancient civilizations (Romans, Sumerians, Hittites, etc.) instead of the usual fantasy battles of orcs vs. humans or Earth vs. aliens. What made AoE interesting was that it wasn't just about destroying your enemies; sometimes victory depended on technological advancement and territorial expansion.
This version of the game is a little hard on the eyes since it uses the original graphics (images made of tiny little dots called "sprites")and everything looks very small. But ZioSoft managed to port the entire game over without losing the game play elements found in the original.
The fully installed game occupies over 15 MB. Fortunately, ZioSoft made the game modular, meaning that you can install and remove any of the pre-made campaign missions and scenarios at any time to save some space. If you haven't installed any missions or scenarios, the custom mission option allows you to create a mission "on the fly" by choosing from a series of options (number and strength of enemies, victory conditions, etc.)
For more information on Age of Empires, visit the ZioSoft Web site (www.ziosoft.com). Age of Empires supports all Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002 devices. (A German language version is also available.) A demo is available, and the full version can be purchased for $29.95.
BrickSlider 2 is one of the more challenging variations on the block-matching puzzle game genre. The goal of BrickSlider 2 is to eliminate all of the blocks in the center of the grid by pushing blocks from the outer edges of the screen toward the center.
BrickSlider 2 is a colorful, well conceived, and highly addictive block-matching
puzzle game
Brickslider 2 is colorful, well constructed, visually appealing, and very playable. It has 100 levels, multiplayer support, and a number of bricks and bonuses to keep things interesting. One of the best features of the game is that it "remembers" previous levels you've played, so you never have to start all over again. It runs a little slowly, and the sound effects are nothing to write home about, but it's still a lot of fun. If you haven't played this type of game before, Brickslider 2 is a good way to get your feet wet--especially since it contains a nice tutorial.
For more information on BrickSlider 2, visit the Ball Shooter Website (www.ballshooter.com).
BrickSlider 2 supports all Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002 devices. A demo is
available, and the full version can be purchased for $14.95.
EverQuest, the huge multiplayer free-for-all, is one of the more popular fantasy
games for the desktop PC. Developer Emodiv has just released a single-player
version for the Pocket PC.
Pocket EverQuest is a terrific
non-stop adventure through
dungeons and forests.
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