The most popular category of third-party software is games. This issue focuses on games, so we thought it appropriate to share comments about games from the men and women who judged this category for the Pocket PC magazine Best Software Awards 2003. The purpose of publishing these experts’ comments is to give insights about a variety of programs, not necessarily to show how the judges voted. The winners and finalists of the 2003 Best Software Awards can be found on our Web site (http://www.PocketPCmag.com/awards/). For the sake of brevity, we’ve included only one judge’s comment per product and edited each down to its essence.
Games for Pocket PCs
Action Games
Dave Burrows (
http://www.pocketgps.co.uk)
G-POD (http://www.aimproductions.be/ppc_catalogue.asp) is a great retro style game. This reminds me of The Day After back on the old Commodore 64—a game I couldn’t put down. You have a ship which you fly around tunnels, trying to find and pick up the magic G-Pod. Once found and collected, you need to find an exit. Sounds simple ? Try it, and you’ll be playing it for hours!
Jen Edwards (
http://www.pocketgoddess.com)
Marble Worlds (http://www.4pockets.com) is an insanely frustrating, yet deeply pleasing game! Frustrating because it’s hard, but the premise is so engaging and the graphics are so good that you can’t help but find yourself trying to progress, no matter how many times you fall off the edge!
Marble Worlds: Guide your marble through the 3D landscape, using bounce pads, air blowers, and jet holes to reach your goal.
Allen Gall (
http://www.pocketpcmag.com)
4Pinball (http://www.4pockets.com), with its horizontally scrolling table, great physics, and good table design, is the best all-around pinball game to date.
John Hung
Spawn (http://www.ziointeractive.com): Smooth action, high-quality graphics, and easy-to-use navigation make Spawn the best action game of the bunch. It is amazing how much the developer has managed to pack into this game for a handheld device.
Spawn: Based on the comic book of the same name, Spawn follows the battle of Hellspawn against Angels in a world where good and evil are not as clear-cut as they may seem.
Matt Keys (
http://www.pocketmatrix.com)
Bust’em (http://www.dig-concepts.com) remains one of my favorite block breaker type games. The graphics are high quality, and the game runs smoothly. In addition, it has a lot of action that you wouldn’t expect in a game of this genre. I was impressed with the variety of power ups in this game, and the odd shape of all the levels added a bit of unpredictability as to where the ball will go after it bounces.
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