Over the past couple of months, I’ve been searching for the top ten Pocket PC games. I’ve gathered feedback from gamers through Pocket PC magazine’s Games Central forum, solicited feedback from my Week in Games newsletter, and done a lot of thinking about what games I consider to be the best. Here are my picks. I’ve picked games from several genres to please different tastes, so everyone should check these out.
Snails (strategy)
Snails is still the best Pocket PC strategy game available! What makes it a winner? Loosely based on the desktop game Worms, Snails was built from the ground up to be just as good as the original, but optimized for Pocket PCs. The game pits two teams of well-armed snail warriors against each other on a variety of landscapes. Taking advantage of terrain cover and using various weapons, Snails is entertaining from beginning to end, thanks to the attention to detail and quality of production. Multiplayer capability and tons of add-on levels will keep this title at the top for some time to come.
Snails is a strategy game that has enough action and humor to appeal to a wide range of gamers.
Snails is priced at $9.95 and works with all Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile Smartphones. The full version and a free demo is available on the Snails Web site (http://www.snailsgame.com).
RocketElite Gold (arcade)
The game that started it all for Digital Concepts, and still Doug Beck’s best effort to date. Blending elements of Choplifter and Lunar Lander, RocketElite is a fantastic-looking game that plays well on newer devices as well as older ones. Special graphical effects and innovative game play make this one an all-around winner. A recent revamping of the game into the “Gold”version includes optimizations for each device type, and even multiplayer capability. One of the greats, or as one reader commented, “THE game to have.”
Rocket Elite Gold is a classic Pocket PC game that shouldn’t be missed.
RocketElite is priced at $18.99 and works with all Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile Smartphones. The full version and a free demo are available on the RocketElite Web site (http://www.rocketelite.com).
Cubicle Chaos (arcade)
This one was developed by Rapturetech for Microsoft and was originally designed to promote Pocket PC 2000. It’s still available for free, it works on new devices, and it’s still the best ball-and-paddle game I’ve seen. Newer games like Bust ’Em may be flashier, but Cubicle Chaos has just the right balance between level difficulty and power-ups to make it a much better title overall. The Dilbert-like office theme is a nice touch, especially if you’ve ever worked in that kind of environment.
Cubicle Chaos is the classic break out game in an office setting.
Cubicle Chaos is available for free, for all Pocket PCs, on Microsoft’s Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e0a17af8-b9fc-4e2f-a71e-c50726135ce7&displaylang=en).
Gilbert Goodmate PDA (adventure)
See review in Games Roundup on page 19.
Rayman Ultimate (platform scroller)
I don’t usually consider ports of desktop PC games to be the best games on the Pocket PC, but I’m making an exception for Rayman Ultimate. The original PlayStation game was nearly flawless, and the Pocket PC version has incredible graphics, good music, smooth game play, speedy performance, and great level design. Rayman Ultimate is by far the best platform scroller available today.
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