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/