Warelex Games releases flight simulation shooter Sky Striker

http://www.warelex.com/games/games/game.php?id=1

It was just a few weeks ago that I welcomed DarXun (a developer house previously only producing Palm OS titles), now, we have another convert. Let me introduce another Symbian/J2ME convert, Warelex Games. Yeah, the Windows Mobile platform is thriving and certainly appealing to games developers :) The folks at Warelex Games, so far, have only released games for the Symbian and the J2ME platforms (Sky Racer, Thumbleweed, The Real Golf, Planet 3D and Sea Battle). Now, the have converted their old, known Symbian title Sky Striker for the Pocket PC platform. Note that while the in-game version dialog states it’s version 1.1 (so does the page of the game on ClickGamer), the download section of their official homepage lists exactly the same game as version 1.0. As noone has ever heard of a previous release of 1.0, I think Warelex Games has just messed up the versions or they meant 1.0 to be an in-house, unreleased version. The game has a trial version and costs $19.99, which, in my opinion, is a bit hefty, taking into account the problems and the overall quality of the title. The genre Ever wanted a beefed up version of the well-known Hellfire: Apache vs. Hind by Astraware (review for example here)? Or, did you want to play 3D Mini-Jetfight and 3D Mini Dogfight (see their reviews in the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup) or other OmniGSoft titles against ground opponents and targets? Sky Striker is what you may be looking for! It has a lot of welcome additions compared to the above-mentioned titles. This can be eapecially seen when compared to the AstraWare title, which is more of a "simple" arcade title without any in-cockpit stuff. Just take a look at this screenshot - yes, this title is definitely less arcade-like. Compatibility The game isn’t compatible with pre-WM2003 operating systems. It worked flawlessly on my WM2003+ test devices (except for the major button problems to be explained below), with the following remarks:

1. it was annoyingly slow on my 400 MHz iPAQ 2210 and almost unplayable on my 195 MHz TI HTC Wizard (I haven’t tested the game on an overclocked device because of the showstopper button/controllability problems)
2. on my A12 x51v, I’ve sometimes been presented with the usual “application error” (yeah, the A12 ROM version seems to be a bit more incompatible with current titles than A06...)
3. as the plane can only be controlled by the D-pad, you don’t necessarily want to play the game on the iPAQ hx4700 without using an external BT gamepad

The problems Major controllability problems A lot of functionalities, which require pressing one of the front-side hardware buttons (including D-pad arrays) simultaneously with the fifth button on the top left side (traditionally, the “Record” button), just can’t be used on 4-button devices like the HP iPAQ 2210. These include looking around, switching the radar view, throttling less and more, exiting to menu and dropping missile catchers. The ‘fifth button’ functionality, as far as my other test PDA’s are concerned, doesn’t work on the Pocket Loox 720 and the HTC Wizard – it’s not possible to use the “fifth” button. On the Loox, the “hold” functionality of the buttons, in addition, results in a prompt context switch (fortunately, this problem doesn't exist on the HP iPAQ hx4700, which also has "hold" functionality); on the HTC Wizard, pressing the Call start/stop and the Comm manager on the top left side results in the same. Controlling is absolutely OK on the Dell Axim x51v (Record button) and the HP iPAQ hx4700 (the Record button), however. This means if you have a different PDA from the ones listed in this section, you must give a try to all the button-based functionalities to see whether they work at all. High-res VGA? Intel 2700G support? NOPE! Many developers tend to make people think their titles make use of the high-resolution on VGA devices and/or the Intel 2700G 3D chip in the Dell Axim x50v/x51v. Unfortunately, the “Pocket PC VGA resolution (fullscreen 640x480) / Pocket PC 3D Accelerator (Axim x50v/x51v)” statement in the “Compatibility” section of the description of the game, with this title, doesn’t mean it makes use of any of them. There is absolutely no Intel 2700G support. Graphics Nothing to write home about. A typical 320*240 software rendered 3D title – no more, no less. Sound, music The game has in-game music. It’s pretty repetitive though – again, nothing to write home about. Verdict Newbie Pocket PC developers should not be criticized very hard because they are bound to make mistakes (as was the case with DarXun too). However, the major controllability problems with the game (and the high price point) make it far from being appealing (in my opinion). I recommend checking it out only if you really want a spiced-up alternative to the Astraware / OmniGSoft games listed in the beginning of the article and have a compatible device (with the right hardware buttons). For anyone just looking for an enjoyable game (not necessarily an arcade shooter simulator title), I think there are better (and cheaper) titles around. UPDATE (12/15/2006): a PocketGming.de review (German)