The 7 Deadly Sins of N-Gage

Nokia's N-Gage is a new concept in video games -- combining a telephone with a handheld gaming machine. We've already gushed about the positives in our 7 Virtues of N-Gage feature. However, we have to be objective and talk about seven not-so-peachy things regarding the game deck, too. We're fair like that.

Sin #1: Second-Hand Library

Buy the N-Gage version, or get the first three Tomb Raiders on PSone -- your choice, same price!

Since its release in October, N-Gage has only released a little over a dozen titles. On top of that, almost all can be found on different platforms. For example, Splinter Cell, Rayman 3, Super Monkey Ball, and Puyo Pop can all be found on Game Boy Advance. Others, like Tomb Raider, Pandemonium, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater are all PSone ports. Most gamers have one of these consoles -- if not both.
This isn't awful, per se, but exclusive content is vital to a platform's success. Not many gamers will want to spend $200 on some hardware to play games they can already be played on something else -- especially if it's something you own. Nokia is working on this for later in the year, but could that be too late? 

Sin #2: Screen Scream

It's true that N-Gage can produce some of the sweetest graphics ever seen on a handheld platform. The problem is, the screen where these visuals are viewed leaves a little bit to be desired.
On the plus side, it's backlit, unlike the side-lighting of the GBA-SP. However, that backlight is pretty finicky, and will go out before you're finished watching the opening demo of your game. The color palette of N-Gage can only display about 1/8th of what the GBA can show. Thankfully, that's not too big of a deal, as it's virtually impossible to notice (hey, they had to use umber sienna #3 instead of #6!).

What a waste of screen space!

The most bothersome is the dimensions of the screen. Take letterbox format and turn it sideways. It doesn't sound like a concern, but trying to play most games is a pain, as your field of vision is limited. First-person shooters are narrow enough without further handicaps. Sonic N even had to letterbox the game to keep from looking disproportionate.
Really, the only type of games that would benefit from this layout are horizontal shooters. Strange, then, that there haven't been any released on the system, and only Super Space Invaders in the Taito Memories compilation is planned. Where's Ikaruga or Blazing Lazers? 

Sin #3: Game-Change Chaos

Do you like the game that's in your N-Gage right now? I hope so, because switching to another one is infinitely more bothersome than it should be. Only Nokia knows for sure why it chose not to make a quick slot to slide games into and out of. Instead, you have to all but dissect your system.

In the architecture of the N-Gage, games lie flat underneath the battery. That means, when you're done with hitting balls with a racket in Virtua Tennis and want to hit balls with a bat in MLB Slam, you must do the following: Take the back panel off the system; remove the battery; slide out one game; replace it with another; put the battery back in place; and pop the panel back on.
For N-Gage veterans, this process takes, on average, about 20 seconds to complete. Double or triple that time for new users. That's not an insane amount of time in the grand scheme of things, but it's way more than any other game system, and way more than it should be. Plus, these are tiny games. Having to keep track of two of them and the battery -- especially in a car or on a plane -- is a dangerous task. Drop one of those little suckers, and you'll be out $35. D'oh!

Sin #4: Talking Taco

The analogy that N-Gage resembles a taco has become more tired than Janet Jackson halftime jokes, but it fits so perfectly. It's the most cumbersome cellphone you'll ever use, as you're forced to hold it the slim way.

Violent Lee looks dorky enough without the phone.

There's no way to look and/or feel cool having a conversation in public using the N-Gage. Depending on the angle, it looks like you're talking to a shoe, a glasses case, or a calculator. On top of that, it's difficult to hear the person on the other end. Getting a Bluetooth adaptor for the phone helps matters immensely, but will cost a pretty penny (see Sin #5). The only other way to go is playing Captain Kirk with the speakerphone option.
N-Gage is just too large to be a "compact" phone. You won't be able to fit anything else in a pocket containing one; and for ladies that want to keep it in their purse, be prepared to keep some of your makeup or other essentials at home, since there won't be room for them. 

Sin #5: Pricey Platform

In the hype of Nokia's press conference announcing the N-Gage at least year's E3, a girl marched out, peeled off her shirt, and proudly displayed "$299" on her stomach. Those of us in attendance couldn't believe our eyes. No, it's not because we had never seen a female's bare stomach before; it was because N-Gage was going to debut for $100 more than you could purchase any of the next-gen consoles at the time.

The price quickly dropped at major gaming outlets, and N-Gage is now running for $199 bundled with three games. That's more like it, but the damage was done. Ask most gamers, and most won't know about the bundle deal -- strange, considering the initial marketing blitz by Nokia.
Even if the hardware is more affordable, there are other ways N-Gage will suck your pocketbook dry. If you're serious about using it for a phone, you'll have to get a Bluetooth adaptor, which is at least another $100. To play MP3s, you'll need to pick up a memory card, which is another C-note. Games themselves typically release for $35, which is more than the average Game Boy new release.

Sin #6: Not A Pretty (Inter)face

Check out the alien technology!

Want a good laugh? Hand someone without a PhD in technology an N-Gage and watch him or her try to operate it. To begin with, the non-numbered buttons on the unit are extremely confusing. You've got a crackly music note, a radio-controlled robot (?), and a button with a black circle, a white square, and two curvy lines on it.
Once you figure out how to access the OS, the going is a little easier. However, trying to find things like the calculator or web browser will take trial and error to locate. Of course, these things are detailed in the instruction book, but who reads those? Also on the non-obvious tip is that you can press in the digital pad to do the equivalent of clicking a mouse pad.
These hurdles are overcome with time and patience, but like many things in regards to the N-Gage, there had to be a better way to do things.

Sin #7: N-Gage vs. Goliath

Perhaps the biggest thing going against the N-Gage is the competition. For people wanting portable game devices, the options are bountiful. The same can be said for mobile phones, but since we're GameSpy, not PhoneSpy, we'll stick with the gaming angle.
Game Boy has dominated the market since its release date in 1989. Many more powerful portable platforms have come and gone, and all had to bow down to the sheer power of Nintendo. The GBA-SP is the newest incarnation, and is stylish and sexy -- not to mention having the largest library in video games and the biggest installed base.
That isn't the only competition. The Tapwave Zodiac is a powerful dark horse candidate that has better resolution and a sleeker look. Like N-Gage, it's a jack of all trades, and can be used quite effectively as a PDA.

Sony's PlayStation Portable: You gotta have it.

Sony's PlayStation Portable is on the horizon, and just its concept design alone has people heralding it as the next big thing. Its specs rival the PS2 in many categories, and it has Sony's marketing and developmental muscle behind it. That's trouble for any handheld on the market.
N-Gage is struggling to carve out a niche for itself already -- scratching and clawing for every unit sold. Once PSP releases, and if Zodiac ever becomes more mainstream, that uphill battle will become akin to climbing a sheer wall armed with toothpicks.

**suorce : http://archive.gamespy.com/

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The 7 Virtues of N-Gage

The N-Gage has taken a bit of a beating since its October launch. No one can deny it has its share of problems and hurdles to overcome if it hopes to snare gamers. However, Nokia's game deck has a lot going for it, and is in many ways superior to the system that has dominated the portable gaming market for over a decade: Nintendo's Game Boy (now Game Boy Advance). We look at seven specific features that make N-Gage a handheld contender

Virtue #1: True 3D Graphics and Gameplay

True 3D vs. isometric? No contest!

The power of Nokia's N-Gage means the game deck can pull off true 3D games. We're talking texture-mapped polygons, very close to the graphical quality of PSOne. This is evident in games like Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Game Boy Advance, on the other hand, is stuck with either 2D side-scrollers, or the awkward isometric (three-quarter overhead) perspective.

Of course, those old-school points of view work for some games, but compare Tony Hawk on both platforms. Which would you rather play on? N-Gage captures the same gameplay and visual style of the original PSOne release, whereas the GBA's is just too tough to perceive depth on, and makes you change how you play to compensate for it.

This extends to just about every genre out there. On N-Gage, first-person shooters are more than just textured mazes with 2D enemies; racing titles don't chug along like shopping carts with three wonky wheels due to strain on the hardware; platformers are not bound by the limits of having sprite-based characters and 2D environments.

Virtue #2 N-Gage Arena

This Lara Croft is the fastest draw with breasts … er, in the West.

The Arena is a feature that definitely adds value to the games that support it. When you've fully conquered the single-player modes of Pandemonium, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, or Tomb Raider; you can log into the Arena to access a slew of bonuses -- all for free!

Shadow Racing is the main draw, and is a place where you can utilize the skills you've acquired in a game. It's basically your character competing against someone else's best run. The other character appears as a ghost while you play. Shadow Races feature checkpoints that you must cross in both Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk, and makes you collect a certain number of gems in Pandemonium. You earn points if you can beat the challenged time, but you will lose points if you fail. Another incentive to winning is being able to post a taunt along with your superior time. Rankings are posted on the site for all to see.

Other Arena features include downloading new game content and having access to walkthroughs and video clips that play right on your N-Gage. Tournaments are already starting up. These are just like the typical Shadow Races, but participants can win prizes for placing in the upper echelon.

Future N-Gage titles will feature increased Arena support. One that's particularly exciting is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. Imagine playing tournaments where hundreds of gamers are competing for the best score in multiple rounds. That will be very cool indeed.

Virtue #3: Bluetooth Multiplayer

The mission's never too serious not to pause for Chicken.

Gaming is so much better when you have a friend to play with or an adversary to beat down. In the past, an umbilical cord in the form of a link cable or some other wired connection needed to be in place for you and a friend to go at it in your favorite game. Not anymore, thanks to Bluetooth -- a new technology fully supported by N-Gage.

What is Bluetooth, you ask? You can check out our comprehensive story on the subject if you're ambitious. If not, it's a new way of wireless communication between gadgets that is making infrared and similar methods outdated. It uses radio waves, switching frequencies hundreds of times per second to avoid interference.

Bluetooth is simple on N-Gage: One player hosts a game, and the other joins it. Being within the vicinity of the other game deck is all that's needed -- and you'll be hitting balls, racing laps, sniping, or dropping blobs in no time. Cast off the chains of link-cable oppression, and free yourself with Bluetooth!

Virtue #4: Pushing the Right Buttons

The depth of a video game is limited by the number of buttons on the controller. Back in the day, when all you did was shoot or move, this wasn't a problem. Nowadays, games are complex enough to use as many buttons as possible for all their functions. The number pad on N-Gage works better than one would expect. The 5 and 7 are raised, and are used for the most obvious options (jump, accelerate, etc.). The other buttons can serve a purpose, too.

Having 12 different buttons to assign functions is a much better idea than GBA's two face and two shoulder buttons. Shoulder buttons on a handheld system are just a bad idea and are hard to reach. This problem is even bigger with the narrower GBA-SP. Think about Tony Hawk: on N-Gage, you can play it just like you do on home consoles; but for GBA, you need to hit the shoulder buttons for most tricks.

Sure, you may need a few minutes to memorize which button does what, but the same can be said for PS2, Xbox, or GameCube controllers. Besides, it's just as tough remembering the combination sequences in more complex GBA titles.

Virtue #5: Quality Audio

The Nuge sez: N-Gage needs a hunting game.

Few things hurt as much as the screeching audio of most portable games. The sound processor just can't produce much more than grainy samples or MIDI blips. N-Gage fixes this on so many angles. For one, it supports higher quality in-game sound. For example, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater features the original soundtrack, and is actually something you can rock out to while playing. It's not a "muzak" version of the Dead Kennedys' "Police Truck." It's the real song; you can hear every word coming out of Jello Biafra's mouth.

If you're not down with a particular game's sound, or if you don't feel like playing games period, there are other things to listen to on your N-Gage. There's an FM radio built in, so you can listen to your favorite hip-hop or classic rock stations while spelunking with Lara Croft or riding your crotch-rocket in MotoGP.

Another function of N-Gage is even cooler, but requires more setup. We're referring to its ability to play MP3s. You need to have a memory card and use the included PC Suite software to hook up to your computer, but then you're in business, and able to pick what you want to listen to. Take that, corporate America!

Virtue #6: It's a Phone

It's a phone, too!

You play games, don't you? You talk on the phone too, right? Why not combine the two? While it's not the most ergonomically comfortable telephone ever made, it still has some sweet phone features. It's tri-band, the contact list is easily managed, it has polyphonic ring tones, there's hands-free operation, the speakerphone works really well, and you can use it for web browsing and e-mail.

Think of it this way: N-Gage is $199 with three games. That means about $100 of that goes to the game deck itself. That means, for the same price as a GBA-SP, you get games and a phone. Most phones with this many features would cost at least as much as the unit itself. Besides, you have a built-in excuse for not answering: "Sorry I didn't pick up your call, Mom. I was defending the free world from an international spy cartel."

 Virtue #7: Download Games

Top Gun and Townsmen.

The number of commercially available N-Gage titles is pretty low so far. However, there is a bona fide cornucopia of games available thanks to that wonderful world we call Java downloads.

Currently, the library of available games to download is over 250 titles strong. Nearly every genre is represented, from shooters to sports games to ::drum roll:: real-time strategy. Most require a nominal fee to pick up, though some are available for free. Sure, there are bound to be a number of duds in the bunch, but wouldn't you rather pay $10 for something that's lame rather than the $30 you'd have to throw down for GBA abominations like SSX 3, The Incredible Hulk, and Simpsons Road Rage

**suorce : http://archive.gamespy.com/ 

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