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Snowed In :: Thought of the Week |
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Christmas-themed matching:
Snowed In What with all the crappy weather we're having (at least in the Midwest) and with it being very close to Christmas, this seems like as good a time as any to talk about Snowed In, the freebie Bejeweled clone Clickgamer has been releasing for the last six years (this year's version number is, naturally, 6). According to the site, the various annual iterations of the game have been downloaded over half a million times. That's a ton of copies in terms of the handheld market. The basic game play of Snowed In hasn't changed much over the years: it focuses on making vertical and horizontal matches of Christmas-themed shapes. One of the game's hallmarks is that you can move pieces vertically in order to make matches. Snowed In has always (and I've played most versions over the years) been very fast, fluid, immersive, and a good time for those of us who like this game. Sure, it hasn't changed much, but it doesn't really need changing. Every year they've introduced small tweaks, and this year the game has a new engine and supports a number of resolutions and screen orientations. As in the past, the game has two play modes, an "easy" mode as well as a timed mode. The more competitive gamers among you might want to enter the contest, which provides a $100 Clickgamer gift certificate to the highest scorer who registers on the site by January 15th. Snowed In is an old favorite for those of us who've been in the scene for a while, and it's a no-brainer if you want to get into the holiday spirit or if you enjoy Bejeweled.
Thought of the Week: USB Batteries? Speaking of Clickgamer, they're advertising something interesting on their site: rechargeable AA batteries that can be refreshed by popping them into any USB slot. (The way it works is that the top slides to reveal a standard USB connector.) These batteries take about 5 hours to charge when plugged into a USB slot and around 7 hours when plugged into a standard NiMH charger. They're rated at 1300 mAH, which is a pretty standard rating for that size battery (the higher, the longer the battery life).Neat idea, but I for one have NOT had good luck with rechargeable NiMH batteries. I remember back in the 1980s when these came out and where a must-have item. (I can even remember what they looked like: they were made by GE and were a black and white color). I've tried using the NiMH rechargeables in several items (portable minidisc player, Minolta digital camera, and a portable GPS), and always ended up going back to standard disposable batteries. I had the same problems with the batteries when used in each device: the remaining power would drop down to about 66% almost immediately, and they just wouldn't hold a charge too well after the first few cycles. These batteries are being sold only in Europe for some reason, but I'd be very hesitant to try them in any case. |
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| Allen
Gall's The Week in Games is a free service of Smartphone & Pocket
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Michelle Talley. This Newsletter is published by Thaddeus Computing, Inc., 110 North Court Street, Fairfield, IA 52556. Allen Gall's The Week in Games Copyright © 2007 by Thaddeus Computing Inc. |
