Retro Gaming

“We are watching Fox.”

This year, mobile football simulations seem to have come of age. Jamdat, THQ, and now Sorrent have all released football simulations within a few weeks of one another. These games approximate the console football game experience to various degrees, each making certain compromises to accommodate the mobile platform’s smaller screen size and inferior control. Fox Sports Football 05’s compromises include doing away with special teams entirely and, like Jamdat’s offering, limiting your squad to seven players. What’s been included is a decent passing game, a slightly less-impressive running game, and a create-a-team feature. The resulting game is good, but it cuts too many corners to make it your first choice for football.

When you start a game in the exhibition mode, you...

Any real sportsman knows there’s nothing miniature about minigolf. Dealing with clown windmills, uneven terrain, and the constant bear attacks isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Even dedicated weekend warriors sometimes can’t make it to their battlefield of choice. Super Putt lets you play in such varied and–as the name would imply–extreme locations, like a lifeless desert, or even the planet Mars. Super Putt has a neat, cartoonish look, and features play enhancing power-ups that distinguish it from other games in the genre.

In Super Putt, you can choose between four distinctive characters, each of which obviously hails from one of the game’s several minigolf locales. For example, Zub–the bobbleheaded, Spielberg-style alien–likely comes from the Outer Limits course, or at least Cactus Creek...

Cloudy with a chance of fun

Magic Clouds, the new platformer from indie Aussie developer Mobstar Games, follows in the gameplay tradition of such golden oldies as Mario Bros., Bubble Bobble, and Burger Time by keeping its play simple, thus making the game fun, and, above all, keeping those gamers coming back! Magic Clouds isn’t a very ambitious game, but you wouldn’t necessarily want it to be; the game has everything it needs to offer enjoyment, without delving into the deeper mysteries of game design. Magic Clouds essentially offers bold graphics, good controls, an interesting gameplay hook, and plenty of challenge.

Your hero in Magic Clouds, Max, has a tough row to hoe. Dr...

Being evil is so rockstar!

A sequel to the original Fantasy Warrior, for which Sumea received relatively high marks, Fantasy Warrior 2: Evil represents a qualitative leap in every area that counts. While in the original game players took on the role of the heroic Rento, FW2: Evil gives you a look at the nocturnal machinations of the other side of the force (players looking for another Lawful Good experience should check out Fantasy Warrior 2: Good). Boasting a great graphical style, a compelling intrigue, and tunes you might actually want to listen to, FF2: Evil is easily one of the best action role-playing games on mobile.

The game begins when you, Vera the Vampire, are resurrected by the recently released Devin the Demonlord...

Girls can beat ’em up too!

If Golden Axe and Double Dragon had a child, Dragon Stone, an ambitious action game from Funmobile, would be their offspring. Its graphics sparkle, but repetitive play and high difficulty level keep the gameplay subpar.

Dragon Stone stars a pink-haired, bikini-clad Amazon, not unlike the female lead in Golden Axe. The action also apes Sega’s arcade classic in that the five areas of brawling and swordplay have the depth of a kiddie pool. The main character has a short sword, so short that it could almost be considered a prison-grade shiv, and the aggressive enemies attack with maces and, well, even more shivs.

Unfortunately, the action in Dragon Stone doesn’t provide any depth...