Although many of this issue’s selections are the usual puzzle and arcade games, two titles, Legacy and Gilbert Goodmate PDA, are serious attempts to recreate the experience of playing desktop games on the Pocket PC. While Legacy is built from the ground up to be a Pocket PC game reminiscent of older desktop games, Gilbert Goodmate is a successful port of a recent desktop game and sets a new standard for adventure games. At the other end of the spectrum is Stuntman Evolution, which is an attempt to create a completely original game on the Pocket PC.
Gilbert Goodmate PDA (A-)
Based on a 2001 adventure game from Swiss developer Prelusion, Gilbert Goodmate PDA is a tongue-in-cheek 2D adventure game which borrows from Monkey Island, Zak McCracken, Space Quest, and other desktop titles from the late 80s and early 90s. The plot takes place in the fantasy world of Phungoria, where a magic mushroom has been stolen and your grandfather, its caretaker, may pay with his life if you can’t recover the mushroom. The plot of the game has Gilbert travelling around Phungoria and the surrounding landscape talking to people, collecting items, and performing a series of tasks in order save his grandpa. Interacting with the game is easy thanks to a tap-and-go interface specifically designed for the Pocket PC version. The characters are a little too cartoonish and the game’s heavy reliance on dialogue make it a bit tedious at times. The gorgeous backgrounds, likable storyline, and humor make up for these limitations, though. If you opt for the full speech and music packs, the game takes nearly 200 MB of space, but serious adventure gamers will find it worthwhile.
If you’re an adventure gamer, Gilbert Goodmate PDA might just be the game you’ve been waiting for.
For more information on Gilbert Goodmate PDA, visit the Z-Logics Web site (http://www.z-logics.com). Gilbert Goodmate supports Pocket PC 2002 and newer devices. A demo is available, and the full version is $24.95.
Legacy (A-)
From Redshift (a Hungarian company) comes Legacy, a turn-based role-playing game based on desktop PC hits such as Might and Magic, Wizardy, Eye of the Beholder, and many others. Legacy is a creepy dungeon crawl and has huge maps, dozens of monsters, and a storyline involving restoring the world’s balance of power to prevent it from falling into evil. You can have up to four characters from one of seven classes (your party can be recruited at the local tavern). Redshift did a great job with the colorful graphics, which transport you to the world and its inhabitants, although some background music would help in completing the illusion. Legacy includes some of the features found in better RPGs, such as a workable automapping feature and a quest journal. Although games in this genre typically have little replay value, Legacy has a map editor and will feature an “official” expansion pack.
Legacy is a nice attempt to recreate classicrole-playing games on the Pocket PC.
For more information on Legacy, visit the Redshift Web site (http://www.redshift.hu). Legacy supports Pocket 2002 and newer devices. A demo is available, and the full version is $19.95.
Stuntman Evolution (A-)
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