N-Gage QD Report / Review – When the original N-Gage was released I wasn’t the least bit excited about it, which is unusual because whenever a new games machine is released this girl gets excited (ok calm down). I then saw it in a pod at a toy store chain and it had Tomb Raider on it, then my interest was peaked. It was like seeing the original PS1 Tomb Raider title on an itty bitty screen, a screen way too expensive for my pocket, after all I was in there to buy a present for someone else… honest…..

Time went by and I needed a mobile phone for work, I’d read a lot of reviews of varying models and they weren’t kind to the N-Gage so I stayed away…. Well away. As time went on Nokia took a lot of flack for the N-Gage’s faults, people complained about the screen, but mostly they complained that you looked like a moog whilst you were talking on it… and no one wants to look like a moog do they, as you answer your loved ones with the phone side on to the side of your noggin giving you ‘elephant ear’.

Not even Angelina Jolie can make elephant ear look funky
Nokia then did something a lot of companies don’t… they listened, stranger still they then acted. You have to give them a high five for this effort alone, it’s not often the buyers complaints are heard and then the company in question goes back to the floor to take into account these complaints only to appear months later with a new machine, face it, we’d be playing smaller Xboxes, GameCubes that don’t resemble ladies handbags and a PS2 less industrial if things like this were a regular occurrence (and we’re not talking end of lifespan changes). And so the N-Gage QD was born… did people think, wow impressive? Of course not, we’re a fickle bunch, now it was time to find something else to pick on since the last lot of complaints were no longer there, let’s make up jokes about the name QD.. ooh I know “Queer Design”.

Is it Queer?
Well it’s certainly dressed better and more stylish, Carson Kressley would be impressed, so perhaps that QD abstraction isn’t far from the truth. When I was told I had to write this piece I wasn’t sure what to say because it seems so implausible that the N-Gage could be anything other than what the mass negative hype machine has made it… a big mobile phone with as much gaming potential as a digital watch.

Oh how wrong they are. I feel it is a crime that all the negative marketing has affected the N-Gage the way it has because a lot of gamers are really missing out, mostly because they’ve listened without actually looking. It’s like not going to see a movie because it scored a 1 in the local rag and your friends all said it was rubbish, then one night you can’t sleep, it’s 2am so you flick on the TV and a movie’s already started (it’s sky so there’s no adverts), you sit, you watch and you thoroughly enjoy it, only to be horrified when at the end of the credits you realize it’s the piece of tripe your pals warned you about, if only you’d not listened… if only you’d had a mind of your own… now count those SHEEP and go to sleep.

Size Matters…
What’s all this about it being huge… come on it’s small, I’m not a big girl and it’s small even to me. The screen is a good size considering the overall dimensions of it. Of course the irony here is that although folk complained the N-Gage was too big, now they’ve made it smaller (by approximately 15mm wide) people are bitching it’s harder to hold… oh come on!!

Changing games is a dog!
Well it was…. before Nokia listened and changed it…. now it couldn’t be simpler. Whereas you used to have to turn the unit off, remove the back cover, take out the battery and then insert the game (ok so that was a really dumb idea, I assume the spark who thought of that is now working in McDonalds), now all you have to do is open a little rubber door and slot the game in.

Technically speaking….
I’ll not bore you with a plethora of techno babble, I’ve read it all and my eyes are watering. In essence the QD is still pretty much the same animal as the original N-Gage with a few alterations. The phone is no longer tri-band, a stupid move in my opinion, but apparently this makes it work better for our American friends so I’ll forgive them that error. Visually speaking the screen is now sharper and brighter (LCD 4096 colors / 176 x 208 px). Audiophiles will be non impressed that the N-Gage QD is stripped of the MP3 and FM radio, this was apparently done to cut down the price (well you can’t have it all), and the argument goes it’s a games machine so these functions aren’t all that important. I personally find the sound fine, it has the usual wav / midi phone tones when in phone mode and the sound in games I find sharp and even surprising despite its overall technical negatives.

WAP me baby one more time….
Thought I’d quickly cover the other QD features briefly so your eyes don’t bleed. It’s got WAP, Bluetooth Multiplayer, GPRS and Internet, MMS and email (POP3, IMAP4, MIME2 and SMTP protocols) and access to N-Gage Arena which is essentially an online gaming arena allowing gamers to meet up, check out news, upload scores and lots of other cool things.

Play it Sista!
Okay let’s cut to the chase, this is NOT just a phone, it’s a games machine and that is what you’re here on Thumb Bandits for…. share a love of gaming and find out more about gaming. I can safely say I have been completely surprised by the quality of the N-Gage’s games. I’ve only played a couple, but I can honestly say they’ve been good, the sound especially I was pleasantly surprised by. Obviously I’m used to playing java games and there’s a world of difference between a java outing and an N-Gage game, but then you’re paying a lot more so there should be. The size of the actual games leads me to worry I may lose them, or a mouse may think it’s a chopping board and be off with it to chop his cheddar, but that little worry aside I’m a happy bunny!

Be Concise!
Okay I’ll cut to the chase and sum up for you. Negative press is NOT always right, even if it is most of the time, sometimes the woolly masses get it wrong and they baa up the wrong phone. I’ve nothing bad to say about the N-Gage and its appeal to the gamer should be apparent, you can take it with you AND it’s a phone. I know the old argument of “but I can buy a GBA and I have a phone”… ok so that’s two pocket spaces instead of one and should you make a fatal error and flip out your GBA SP and put it to your ear just as the girl or boy of your dreams walks by you’ll regret the day you didn’t buy an N-Gage QD.

Longevity!
I don’t see the Nokia N-Gage lasting and this is its main downfall. Sure it’s a brilliant little machine at the moment and it seems to be getting some big franchise game titles behind it. However with mobile phone technologies changing as rapidly as they presently are, it wont be long before some brightspark comes out with something that features a bigger, brighter screen and of course better sound and image. You might want to keep this in mind if you’re considering a purchase, sure its a cool machine, but it will be superseded a lot faster than the next Nintendo handheld, purely because it is a mobile phone.

Article by Angela.. she’s not available for comment.. she’s playing her N-Gage QD
Published July 2004.

Following a massive battle between the forces of Magneto and an invading Apocalypse, the city of Genosha lies in scarred ruins, its people all-but destroyed, and a desperate Magneto left with only one choice: seek help. And so, the nefarious Brotherhood of Mutants form a fragile alliance with Professor Xavier’s X-Men in an attempt to rid the world of a common evil that threatens all. Meanwhile, Apocalypse is abducting individual mutants and performing mysterious genetic tests on them, sampling their DNA, searching for something specific—but what? Join the X-Men and the Brotherhood in their quest to thwart Apocalypse and discover the unsettling truth behind his relentless pursuits.

ThumbBandits.com is primarily a girl-gaming site. A safe haven for gaming’s female demographic, where all things girl-related concerning videogames can be discussed, admired, and criticized without fear of stunted discrimination. Yet, the site’s ‘Latest Reviews’ page rarely contains titles that offer the female demographic a true girl’s adventure in terms of character content—and this is not down to coverage choice, but publishing trend. Well, allow Activision and Raven to put that little inadequacy to rest. Here come the X-Men.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. Not a particularly good start considering the “Men” of the title, but look beyond the overtly male packaging and you’ll find an instantly accessible game that allows players to freely exercise interchangeable character favoritism from start to finish. And that’s the key. The game itself plays somewhat like Phantasy Star Online; it’s a third-person adventure that embraces progress via action more than careful exploration. And though not an RPG in the strictest sense of the word, character interaction with NPCs is certainly in evidence but not essential to the game’s evolution. At its core, the player leads a band of four on-screen mutants from chapter to chapter, and each of them steadily levels-up in strength and ability through experience points amassed by defeating foes—and here’s where ThumbBandits’ faithful female followers get their money’s worth.

If so inclined, players can elect a four-strong team of mixed sex mutants, or same sex, and for once that means choosing from a broad selection of powerful and interesting male and female characters. Though the guys still outweigh the gals, including the likes of Cyclops, Wolverine, Juggernaut, Colossus, Magneto, Nightcrawler Iceman, and more, the female offering includes Jean Grey, Rogue, Storm, and Scarlet Witch. Other non-playable lady mutants appear during the story, and it’s a shame that Mystique is not included to the playable ranks, but it’s still not often that a videogame places its entire female contingent in prime position for complete and utter ass kicking from the off—and X-Men Legends II is all the more refreshing because of this.

Progressive leveling-up can be assigned directly by the player or automatically by the game, and increases character special moves and mutant abilities, as well as providing better access to the wealth of applicable equipment options. The equipment store is situated in various ‘base headquarter’ areas within the game, where players will also find other members of the X-Men and Brotherhood who offer advice and mission tips. This is also where players can interact with Professor Xavier (voiced by Patrick Stewart), who doles out mission directives and generally acts as the fragile balance between the two bands of mutant forces.

Aesthetically, Rise of Apocalypse is slickly presented throughout. Visuals are well crafted, from the impressively rendered story sequences, to in-game design, character models, and overall animation. Frame rate levels remain constant and secure amidst often-frenetic onscreen action and the player never feels separated from the brawling. Character controls initially border on the worryingly extensive, yet soon become second nature as intuitively swift button combination’s provide instant access to great sways of impressive mutant moves. Game sound is also fabulously complementary, and ably enhances the experience with a moodily orchestrated score accompanied by snappy mutant dialogue and resonating sound effects. The central story is well voiced by all attending actors, and those players with hearing deficiencies can fully enjoy each passing event through the implementation of comprehensive subtitles.

Beyond the game’s central story mode, Rise of Apocalypse also has a co-op mode and online multiplayer options (for up to 4 players) via Network Ethernet. And, through the attainment of various hidden items in the main game, players can also unlock masses of extra content, including classic comic covers, concept artwork, character pin-ups, and ‘danger room’ missions for special bonuses. All in all, there’s plenty to hold your attention should the main game become stale—which it probably won’t.

Running against the usual flowing dirge of comic book videogames, Activision has turned in a pretty impressive year where Marvel licenses are concerned. Ultimate Spider-Man certainly swung elegantly from publisher to consumer, and now X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse offers solid third-person thrills, an intriguing plot, relentless action, progressive leveling, and mass character variety. Let us all turn a blind eye to the truly abhorrent Fantastic 4—but two out of three winners in a genre that generally disappoints is still an admirable achievement.

Review by Stevie

EA boasts that The Sims 2 is the best-selling PC title of all time, and, as the publishing giant continues in its efforts to conquer next-gen consoles it’s seen fit to release The Sims 2: Pets. As the name suggests, in this new title your Sims can have pets. These come in the form of various cats and dogs and gerbils. These creatures have individual personalities and, much like your Sims, they have wants and needs that must be satisfied. A huge aspect of this title is that you have to teach, train, discipline, and praise your pets. If it sounds like a lot of work—that’s because it is. Of course, that’s not to say that it’s not good fun too, but it just takes a lot of time and patience to get that perfect cat or dog.

Gamers who already own The Sims 2 on PlayStation 2 will realize that The Sims 2: Pets is really the same game just with a new expansion. Those gamers who haven’t owned the previous title, well, this game is for you. There are plenty of new and creative aspects that will also keep serious fans happy. There are new elements in the form of a park, and new shops, where you can buy accessories and buy your pet’s bling. In the park, your dogs can run free and socialize with other pets, your Sims will also have the opportunity to make friends and possibly find love.

As you have complete control over the characters, you can choose to be male or female. You can choose to have a large family, small family, or even be a single parent. The possibilities with The Sims 2 are really endless. The Sims 2 isn’t prejudiced and you can have same sex relationships, you can even have aliens living in your neighborhood. You can even have alien babies! To be honest, it’s great to have a title that isn’t about killing and zombies. This game is a non-violent and entertaining title.

I don’t know if it’s because I normally play The Sims on the PC, but I found the control system on the PS2 to be a little clunky and more difficult to acclimatise to. I feel that the button layout isn’t as simple and it takes a while to use the buttons instinctively. I also feel that this is the only thing that lets the console game down. I would rather suggest to someone to buy The Sims 2 on the PC; although this is a negative, it is the only negative that I could foresee.

Seeing as The Sims titles are universal in terms of dialogue, your Sim(s) will never speak a word of English. They speak in ‘Sim’ gibberish, and it is always entertaining to listen to them hold conversations with other Sims. When listening in you can almost understand what they are saying. I’m sure that in years to come there will be universities that teach Sim…much the same as universities that specialise in Klingon (oh, dear—Ed). Sadly, because of this, there are no subtitles for hearing impaired gamers. However, it’s unnecessary to have subtitles though.

The graphics in The Sims 2: Pets are fun and colourful. They also have amazing options when creating your characters too. The attention to detail that’s gone into the clothing is astounding. Not only do you have an amazing range of fashion to choose from, you can also crop the length of skirts, shirts, and jumpers. To give you an idea of how detailed this title is you are given the choice of 12 different skin tones. Each of these is lovingly detailed with moles, freckles, and other real life characteristics.

When selecting your new furry friend(s) you can create them and change them through a wealth of design options, to the point where you can even change their size and shape. You can individualise your pooch, kitten, etc, by changing its fur and colours—there are fantastic colours to be unlocked during the game. The choice of dog breeds is amazing also; think of almost any dog breed you like and it’s more than likely that you’ll find it there. There are also fantastic new animations and you have the joy of teaching your pets tricks too. I strongly suggest teaching your cat or dog to play dead, it’s hilarious.

Inexperienced Sims fans will be amazed by this title, it is a fantastic game and it offers so much more than its predecessor. However, as I mentioned earlier, fans going from PC to the PS2 might find the control system a little difficult to get used to. Other than that though, The Sims 2: Pets is an amazing title and it does then pose the question: where will The Sims take us next?

Review by Amanda