Those of you expecting the same innovations as you would find on Halo (on the XBox or PC) might be in for a disappointment. But that's a good thing, because the N-Gage platform needs a simpler control system. There's an argument that modern first person shooters on consoles can be insanely complex, with two analogue sticks needed just to move you around and look, then all the buttons hanging off and used in combinations that are more complicated than a shadow puppet of the Golden Gate Bridge.
What you have in Brothers in Arms is a simple control set. Left/Right/Forward/Backward on the cursor, sidestepping with a pair of number keys, and hitting ‘0' to aim your rifle by peering down the barrel - being World War Two, there are no telescopic sights or laser guided bullets. You want a better view, you have to get closer.
And here's where Brothers in Arms makes best use of the Nseries platform, because the graphics are about as good as you can make them on a QVGA screen, with the technology available. You have to remember that this is on a mobile phone, with limited power and processor cycles, so no putting it next to an HD game on your 42 inch plasma TV; take that into consideration and the graphics here are impressive. I'm not going to say they're jaw dropping, amazing, or the best on a mobile platform, mainly because the look of the game seems very reminiscent of Ashen on the original N-Gage and N-Gage QD. What I will say is that everything is clear and understandable, you can tell buildings, tanks, terrains, friend or foe apart easily.
But here's the thing about the graphics on a small screen, and here's where putting a shooter on the N-Gage is a risky move. While there is an auto-aiming component when you run around the map, you can also stop and go for more precise aimed shots. Trying to do a decent head shot from more than about 10 meters (according to the in game rangefinder) in this way is a matter of pixel perfect precision. Tiny taps on the direction pad while in the aim mode are needed to get right onto the head, which may or may or may not be moving.
I'd also love to say that this slows the game down, but in all honesty it doesn't. Like the heavily laden soldier that you are, Brothers in Arms feels sluggish. Now by that I don't mean it has a poor frame rate or that the graphics and sound are a few moments behind any action you make. No what I mean is that the gameplay itself is slow.
This is meant to be combat, fast, furious, with strategic moving around terrain, taking cover as needed, circling around the enemy to shoot them in the back before they see you.
Brothers in Arms provides absolutely none of that. You run at one speed and there's no sense of urgency. When you're being shot at and running for cover, things happen at the same speed as when you're ambling down a country lane at the end of a level. There's no adrenaline rush as the bullets start flying overhead.
Oh, and forget about circling round the enemy. You map be in a mapped out area, but this is a linear route of gameplay. You're travelling down a fixed corridor created by the programmers, with no significant branching away or choice of direction possible. Sure, you have blocks of trees and boulders for cover, but do you get a choice between a frontal assault, or edging along a river bank? Nope. Straight ahead and fight, soldier!
Also, for a mobile game, the save game mechanism seems inadequate. You can jump to any level you have passed, and to the subsequent unpassed level, or return to an intermediate checkpoint you pass in the current level. It would be nice to be able to save at any point. The whole point of a mobile game is that you are mobile - pausing and backgrounding the app isn't enough in my book.
The online options is... a high score table. Which is... a nice idea. Next!
My one worry with Brothers in Arms is that it's supremely easy for people to compare this to other console versions, such as that on Sony's Playstation Portable. (fx: Ewan leans over to his shelf and picks up his PSP and Brothers in Arms). I've argued before that Nokia need to be very careful with any situation where they end up going head to head in comparison to other platforms. They need to maximize their own platform strengths, not be placed alongside the strengths of another platform.
But forget all that, because Brothers in Arms actually works well on a mobile. Sure it's not a deep game, with tactics or thinking required. Neither is it a complex 3D shooter with sculpted landscapes, deformable terrain, and massive areas to explore. It's effectively a shoot-em up. Dodge the occasional bullet, go where you need to, press fire and use up your infinite supply of ammo. It plays well, it looks good, and you do get a feeling of wanting to finish just one more level.
Most of all, it's fun! And that's probably the most important thing, despite my other reservations above.
Supported Mobiles : Nokia N-Gage Mobile Cell Phones..
Size : 29 MB
Download Link :
http://www.ziddu.com/download/1747934/oftBrothersInArmsv123N-GAGESymbianOS91Crckd-BiNPDA.rar.html
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