A blog about a guy, his cellphone, his dogs and everything else in between.
I have taken the plunge and updated my website’s version of Wordpress to 2.6.
Now I can update my site using my iPod Touch. So much for listening to music on this awesome, little device.
After it’s trial run on Nokia N81 devices and then it’s lackluster launch, the gaming world still snickers at N-Gage. Why do I say this? After reading Konami’s announcement to back the N-Gage platform and bring solid titles to it, including Metal Gear Solid, I was dismayed to read the comments left after the article.
Bearing in mind I read the release on Joystiq which I’d like to believe is a site for informed gamers, the comments that followed the article really shed some (dim) light on the lack of promotion of the N-Gage as a gaming platform (at least here in the States).
For example, the first comment to start the thread was "…Does anyone here even have an N-Gage?".
Obviously, people and more importantly, gamers, still believe that the N-Gage being referenced is the N-Gage Classic QD and gamers are unaware that N-Gage is now a platform that is available on numerous N-Series devices. Bad Nokia !
One commenter did clear it up for the person who made the comment above, explaining exactly what N-Gage was and that it was no longer a device but a platform, much like Xbox Live.
To this, the once under-informed commenter posted, "That clears it up…I don’t think I’ve seen any advertising for N-Gage as a service ever." And on this side of the world, this is very true. There is no advertising for the N-Gage (or N-Series phones) anywhere. The only reason I know is because I am a self-informed consumer. I chose the Nokia N82 because of its camera and gaming abilities. And I knew where to purchase the handset online.
To everyone else though, the N-Gage platform might as well be a unicorn or sasquatch.
I really enjoy seeing the Nokia Beta Labs’ updates for new applications that enhance what my Nokia handset can do. I use Nokia Sports Tracker from time to time to map out my jogging routes (but try to jog lightly, so I don’t jog with my Nokia N82 often). It’s a great way to utilize the N82’s GPS and being able to save your routes and share them with friends and fellow joggers is a treat.
When the Nokia Beta Lab released the Step Counter I was very much intrigued. I enjoy seeing data about my personal fitness right on my handset as soon as it happens. I just started the application and my first qualm rears its head: Why can’t the Nokia Step Counter use the same user profile that I created to use Nokia Sports Tracker?
Let’s face it: The Step Counter was derived from the Nokia Sports Tracker. Just by using the application, one can tell that it is very similar to Sports Tracker. So why am I entering a new user profile to use the Step Counter?
It is really that hard to have some consistency amongst Nokia applications and the user profiles that we create for them? I see no reason why I couldn’t use my Sports Tracker profile with Step Counter. I even searched the menu to IMPORT my profile from Sports Tracker because that just seemed RIGHT.
I’ve ranted…now it’s time to step.
As an informed consumer and a gadget lover, I was definitely happy when I got my Nokia N82 in January. It is a powerful device: 5MP Camera, GPS, Wifi and 3G and N-Gage compatibility made it the device that I needed.
As I continue to learn more and more about my phones many abilities, one thing does baffle me: why is there no single login for all of my Nokia Services. I have signed up for Share on Ovi, N-Gage,Nokia Sports Tracker and Mosh and I have to remember every login for each of my Nokia Services. If the hardware device is supposed to unify my end-user experience by giving me all of these great features, why am I encumbered on the software end because I have to remember logins for multiple services.
For each of these services, all of my login information is stored on my phone. I can easily login from the N-Gage client with a few key presses and the same goes for Ovi and Sports Tracker and Mosh. The agony comes when I am on my PC and I need to venture into Ovi, for example. I understand that each service is different but if Nokia is building communities around each of these services, why can’t they intersect for the users who use them all (or use more than one) and why can’t a user login with ONE username and password for all of these services.
I am JadedMoon on Ovi, jadedmoonstudios on Mosh, jadedmoonstudios on Sports Tracker and JadedMoon on N-Gage. With one single login, I could just be me on all of my favourite (yes, european spelling) Nokia Web Services.
As far as handheld gaming devices goes, I think that the PSP fits the mould of what I was looking for: a robust handheld that has a solid library of games that take advantage of the system.
Final Fantasy Tactics, Puzzle Quest and Tekken are but a few titles that make the system worth purchasing. But some titles (and this is VERY subjective) which should be Grade A titles are just parading as Grade A titles.
I say this because I am currently playing Crisis Core and the experience is bitter sweet. Crisis Core is remarkably stunning visually and the audio is not far behind. From start to finish, the game seems to be worth the money I paid for it. It’s nice to see the game compared to Final Fantasy 7 and realizing how much more pretty Crisis Core is.
Then you compare game-play (which I believe to be the most important part of any game !!!) and you’re left with a very shallow gaming experience. I keep pressing ‘X’ to progress through the game. And it has not failed me yet. Crisis Core feels more like an interactive story than it does a Square-Enix game.
Does anyone remember "Bouncer" on the PS2? It was a side-scrolling fighting game that showed off what early PS2 games could do on the system. It was a nice but short and shallow gaming experience. I feel the same way about Crisis Core. It shows off what the PSP is capable of but there isn’t much more.
Why all of this blasting of such a decently reviewed game? I played one of the side-missions yesterday and the objective was to kill 1000 shinra soldiers. This mission took me about 3 hours to complete and all I did was press ‘X’. All of my attributes, Health, MP and AP were on ‘break’ (unlimited) and all I had to do was press ‘X’ to finish the mission. I had no opportunity to die during the mission. It became a boring quest of pressing one button just to finish it.
In addition, the DMW (Crisis Core’s roulette system that enables special attacks, summons etc) was no help. With 1000 soldiers killed, the DMW did not initiate one summons. You’d think that the DMW system would some how assess what you’re trying to accomplish and help you out (since you cannot initiate a summons yourself) but it did not. And to add insult to injury, after killing all 1000 enemies, I was rewarded with a Phoenix Down.
So I continue to rant but I’m going back to playing the game. Like I said, it’s bitter sweet: I need to finish what I started, I need to finish this game. But all in all, I really dislike Crisis Core’s:
- DMW system: The player has no control over it so there is no strategy to how you play. Just attack and hope for the best.
- DMW effect animations: Even after you kill an enemy, the game may still play AND can only press ‘X’ to skip summons animations, nothing else.
I may change my mind later on but currently, Crisis Core is the PSP’s equivalent of "Bouncer".
I’ve been enjoying the mobile gaming that my N82 has been offering and I’ll be reviewing the following N-Gage titles very soon: EA Sports FIFA 08, Brain Challenge, Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep and Space Impact Kappa Base.
Although these games have been reviewed elsewhere in the blogosphere, my perspective will be different in 2 aspects:
1. My reviews will analyze the game’s based on the Design, Play, Experience framework (that I have encountered in my studies in Serious Game Design)
2. My reviews will be based on actually playing the games on a Nokia N82.
I am a big football fan. I watch it more than I play it but I think I play the video games more than I watch it. I stumbled across an article on the Symbian Weblog said Nokia was giving away 15,000 free licenses for FIFA 08 on N-Gage.
I was overjoyed until I realized that the offer did not extend to America and was limited to Europe. Nokia, in future, do recognize that your product base is growing on this side of the world (not everyone is in bed with Apple and rocking and iPhone) and you need to show us some love too !
Initially disappointed that I could not secure a license for FIFA 08, I selected the United Kingdom as my region and got my activation code sent to my sister’s phone in London ! After scribbling down the 3-line URL and checking it twice, it failed when I used my N82’s browser but I was successful in downloading the license onto my pc. Go Firefox !
So regardless of what happens on this week during Manu’s match against Barcelona, I can relive Manu’s glory on my cellphone, anywhere, anytime !
Ever since I got my Nokia N82, I’ve always wondered about the utility of the Barcode application. I’ve seen a lot of bloggers generating Mobile Codes for their websites but other than that, I haven’t seen much utility from it.
The Barcode application utilizes your Nokia’s camera to "scan" the barcode and extract data that is embedded into the barcode image.
If you have the Barcode application on your phone, you can scan this barcode to link to jadedmoonstudios.com
You can also check out Nokia’s mobile code site here.
Hey all,
I’m currently undertaking a design course and my group and I have generated a survey that we hope you would take some time out of your busy day to fill-out. The general idea of the survey is to view a video-game trailer (that we will provide) for an up-coming game and fill out our survey after. You do not need to know anything about the game before hand, we just want you to react on what you see and answer the questions that follow.
This survey will only take you 5 - 10 minutes. If possible, we would appreciate if you can help us out and fill in our survey by Sunday April 13th, 2008 by 11:00pm.
Let’s Begin !!!
Please watch this video:
And now for the fun part, please proceed to our survey.
Thank you all for your help ! It will be most appreciated !
***Update***
Some of the survey takers commented that the acronyms used were not expanded and non-gamers did not know what they meant. Here they are for your info:
R.T.S. : Real Time Strategy (e.g. Warcraft, Starcraft)
F.P.S. : First Person Shooter (e.g. Halo, Quake, Doom)
Nokia has released a new version of the N-Gage client for N-Series phones. N81/N81 8GB, N82, N95/N95 8GB are all getting the N-Gage treatment this time around.
After installing, I ran into a "system error" when trying to run the app. A few posts on the N-Gage forum later, I found out that the error was caused by having access point names with apostrophes in them. After deleting those, the client ran perfectly.
Now the question is, do I want to pay $13.49 for my first N-Gage game?
Check me out on N-Gage.
N-Gage Gamertag: JadedMoon