In case anyone of you wants a Samsung i600 and lives in the USA or the UK, Expansys is your friend.
The box pictured above runs Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone and has 64MB of RAM/128MB of ROM. It includes a HSDPA radio, has BT 2.0 and a 1.3MP camera - other than that, there is little else to see here…a solid QWERTY phone…
Anyways, the purchase links are here:
Expansys UK - 99.95GPB
Expansys USA - 177$
P.S. Don’t ask me why their German sub-branch doesn’t match these prices…
Use the discount code FUNNYHEX to get 20% off Hexic in the TamsShop!
AstraWare recently ported a few puzzlers from MSN Games to the Windows Mobile platform. Hexic is the second application(coming after Mozaki) that is unleashed onto Windows Mobile Smartphones - can this Bejeweled clone stack up?
Like its sister product Mozaki, Hexic can be played in timed and untimed modes at varying difficulties:
Astraware also gave the program a ‘puzzle’ mode - here, you are assigned specific jobs that must be solved by clearing the board:
Anyways, the goal of Hexic is rotating tiles to form three adjacent ones which then disappear. For example, look at the marked tiles below:
Similar to Mozaki, the game includes a detailed tutorial and in-game help system.
This review looked at version 1.02 of Hexic on a QTek 8500 running its stock Windows Mobile 5 ROM. The program needs 2796KB of RAM and can be stored on an external memory card.
In the end, Hexic is little more than Bejeweled for people with a good spatial sense. People who like Bejeweled will probably like Hexic, as will people who have played it on MSN Games. Get the trial here and see if you can cope with the controls: the full version can be purchased for 9.95$ in the TamsShop.
Use the discount code FUNNYMOZ to get 20% off the list price of Mozaki in the TamsShop!
People frequenting MSN Games will probably know Mozaki - a simple puzzler that is insanely amusing. Now, AstraWare has ported the game to WMS’s - can it stack up here?
Mozaki can be played in two modes - it supports both timed and untimed modes:
However, the game principle remains the same. Bricks appear randomly at the right side of the screen; they must then be moved onto the screen to create lines from the border to the center:
Tiles can be rotated on-screen with the 7 key:
If a line of matching colors is established, it disappears:
Ganging up tiles leads to cubes which are worth more points when being removed:
The tile at the bottom right provides with special tiles that are colorless(match all colors) or remove tiles around them:
Replayability is achieved due to the level system. After a few lanes are cleared, the colors at the borders are swapped(adjacent tiles also swap colors); eventually, new colors appear.
AstraWare included a little on-screen-help system - it proved to be extremely useful for me:
This review looked at version 1.02 of the game on a QTEK 8500 running its stock Windows Mobile 5. The program needs 1595KB of memory and can be run from an external memory card.
In the end, Mozaki is an excellent and amusing puzzler - but like many other games for Windows Mobile Standard, suffers from the lack of a touchscreen. Puzzle fans should definitely download the free trial from here - if you like it, get it for 9.95$ at the TamsShop!
Blizzard has been mentioned on our sister site TamsPalm quite a few times due to the incredible mess also known as World of Warcraft customer support. WoW, however, has had a predecessor known as Warcraft 3. This program was popular especially because of its rich map creation possibilities. Tower defense(aka keep critters from reaching a point by building guntowers) has been a recurring topic in these self-generated maps - Resco Defender brought the game to the PocketPC. Now, a smartphone version is available - can it stack up?
Most tower defense maps are designed for XGA screens; Resco thus had to redesign the gameplay a bit. The boys divided the screen into two parts - the bottom part contains the castle, the top part contains a grid.
Selecting one of the grid cells allows you to build various structures - if you can afford to do so:
Each tower has special capabilities - some attack all critters in a defined area, while others slow critters down without actually damaging them. All towers can be upgraded to become even stronger.
Once the first structures are built, the first wave of critters comes in:
Should your towers fail to eliminate all of them, the remaining critters damage the castle. After 20 critters reach the castle, the game is over:
The waves(called mobs) are mostly balanced - however, some of them have special and annoying capabilities. For example, flying critters don’t care much about your walls; bomb critters just tear them down.
At higher levels, the grid can become pretty crowded with literally dozens of critters and towers.
Last but not least, the game also contains a tutorial that teaches beginners how to play:
This review looked at version 1.20 of the game on a QTek 8500 running Windows Mobile 5. The game needs approximately 3MB of memory and can be run from an external memory card.
Overall, Resco Defender is one of the few games that are really really dangerous and should be prohibited by law - once you start playing, there is no way you will put your smartphone down. The folks did a great job at adapting the game’s controls to the smartphone platform. If you love great games, get the game over at the TamsShop!
Further reading:
Interview with the developer
AstraWare’s pirate-themed TradeWinds 2 game brought a fresh twist to “travel-and-trade” games on PDA’s…most of them were set up in a space environment before. AstraWare has now ported it over to Windows Mobile smartphones - can it stack up?
TradeWinds is centered around “ports”, which are arranged on a map. Your task is sailing from port to port with goods which can then be sold for a profit:
Each port looks different, but contains more-less the same buildings(some aren’t available in every port):
For example, a marketplace allows you to buy and sell goods(the exchange rates vary from port to port):
The money gained in trading can be invested into your ship’s armament at the shipyard. Alternatively, you can use it to buy more goods and get even richer(:)):
While traveling, pirates can attack you. The battles happen in “real-time”, you just click the target that shall be attacked.
Special ammunition can be fired by clicking its icon in the “toolbar”:
In Story mode, “tasks” are assigned to you that must be completed in order to unlock new characters, ships and ports. Additionally, completing a task gets you a nice cash bonus:
This review focussed on version 1.00 of the program on a QTEK 8500. The program needs approx 4100k of memory and can be run from an external memory card!
Overall, TradeWinds 2 is a must-have for everyone who loves “turn-based” strategy games. One can’t imagine how much fun trading and fighting can be…until one has played this game. The first version of TradeWinds was a bit “shallow” to play, but TradeWinds 2 is much more challenging and less repetitive. It’s graphics and background music are quite nice, too - the price of 19.95$ is a bit steep but justified!
Use the discount code TRADEWINDSWMS to get 20% off the purchase price at the TamsShop