Feeling nostalgic? Miss those gray scale games with static backgrounds? Pocket Games for Windows Phone 7 brings back memories of the old handheld games of yester-year.
Pocket Games has four classic handheld games; Highway Racer, Artic Noseball, Fire Alert and Sky Diver. Controls are simple and game play somewhat addictive. The games even have a border that resembles the plastic casing and the push "start buttons" the classic handhelds sported.
To read more on Pocket Games, just follow the break.
Five Games in One
Pocket Games includes four classic games. Each game has an A and B options that changes the difficulty or pace of the game. When you first choose your poison, a cartoon graphic appears detailing how to play the game.
The layout of the games is basically the same. You have an Exit, Game Option, and Start Button to the right side of the screen. Game controls consist of a left and right button that controls your players movement (Fire Alert is a little different).
Regardless of which Game Option you choose, the further you progress the faster the game pace becomes. The four games include:
Highway Racer: You navigate through highway traffic by using the left/right buttons to dodge oncoming traffic. For bonus points you can try to pick up hitch hikers as you zip down the road. With Option A, you take on oncoming traffic in a VW Beetle and with Option B, your in a sports car and the traffic moves at a faster pace.
Artic Noseball: You play the role of an artic seal who tries to bounce balls from one side of the screen to the other. Game option A moves at a slower pace than Option B. This is one of the more difficult of the four games especially when you have multiple balls bouncing at once.
Fire Alert: In the spirit of the Bucket Brigades, here you are playing the role of a fireman who's mission is to douse fires one bucket of water at a time. You have both movement and action buttons with this game which makes it the most challenging of the pocket games. Move the fireman to the fire truck and press the action button to fill the bucket with water. From there you move your fireman left or right up the ladders and press the action button to put out the fire. The gaming options set the pace of how quickly the flames generate.
Sky Diver: With this game, parachutists jump from a passing plane and your job is to catch them in a boat then safely carry them to land. Platforms raise and lower on either side of the screen where you can dock your boat to unload your passengers. Your boat only has enough seats for three so you'll need to time your unloading carefully.
With each of the games, you have three lives. Crash your car, miss a parachutist, let a fire get out of control or drop a ball in the icy water and you'll loose a life.
Overall Impressions
For the most part, game play with all the games was good. Controls were responsive and the games challenging. I did find that the controls seemed to lag a little with Artic Noseball causing the seal to miss moves.
There is a slight addictive quality to Pocket Games. The games lack the graphic quality of more current titles but the classic feel has a certain appeal to it. They represent the original games of this type very well. I liked the variety of games Pocket Games offered and found them to be an entertaining way to pass the time with. There is a trial version available with the full version running $1.29.
You can find Pocket Games here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.
