My current cellphone is a Nokia N-Gage QD model, I have it for nearly a year and for me it’s a very decent phone even though it has it’s share of problems and known limitations (like all phones do).
Sure, it can be a bit big and lack a camera or mp3 capabilities but has a great OS installed (from the Nokia symbian S60 series) and several useful sofware (Todo list, calendar, built in web browser, bluetooth, MMS, e-mail, and so on) and best of all, games.

It’s true the games don’t beat the GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS or Sony’s PSP but still they’re better than most slowish and some times pixelated java games.

I have to daily commute to Lisbon from my home town, the trip takes 45 minutes so I need something to distract myself in that time and since I don’t want to carry 3 or 4 gadgets with me I’ll have to resort to my trusty N-Gage QD.
So let’s round up my top 5 favourite games/time killers for the N-Gage:

5) Sonic N
A port of the first Sonic Advance for the GameBoy Advance. All the classic Sonic gameplay elements are there, at first the screen seems awkward because it’s vertical but after a few minutes playing you’ll get used to it. Music is the same old boring midi tunes from yesterday and the sounds feature the same “boing”, “zoop” and “bling” from other Sonic games. But the charm comes from the fast paced levels with loops, rings and classic badguys.

4) Asphalt Urban GT 2
Racing game with many cars and different racing modes to enter. There’s unlockable content, you can customize your car and there’s also multiplayer action. Graphics are nothing fantastic but do the job and the music is ok, doesn’t get in the way of driving. The colision detection could be a little better though.

3) Fifa 2005
Also a port of the Gameboy Advance I think, you’ve got the usual feautures in a Fifa game. You can play a season by choosing one of the dozens of teams from different leagues, participate in Tournaments (like the English Cup), practice, go head-to-head with a friend or go to Challenge Mode, a nice addition to this version where you participate in several chalenges like recreating impressive come backs in history or score monumental goals.
The controls received a little upgrade from the previous version and are adequate for the N-Gage, the soundtrack is impressive while the sounds are just ok for this type of game. Just don’t expect any coments on your plays (ahh).

2) Mile High Pinball
Not your usual pinball game, in Mile High Pinball you have to “climb” many many tables collecting points, solving puzzles and beating bad-guys who appear in your way. The tables are beautifull and detailed, there’s also alot of powerups scattered through the levels and some diversity in the game objectives.
You can also play head-to-head with another player. A must have for the N-Gage.

1) Pathway To Glory 1 and 2
This game is amazing, it’s the ultimate Turn-based strategy game for the N-Gage, participate in World War 2 by commanding a platoon of allies and fight off the German forces through many missions which include diversified objectives like defending terrain, ambushing troops, destroying bunkers and attacking.
The game visuals are fantastic, problably the best seen on the N-Gage, there’s alot of details in the (huge) levels of the game, most objects in the battlefield are destructible and before each mission you’re greeted with a small video explaining the historical context of your mission.
The game reminds me alot of Commandos for the pc but with turn-based elements, the dificulty is adequate, you’ve got to think and layout your strategy for the level because the slightest error may result in one of your men getting killed.

There’s a alot of weaponry to use, including cannons, trucks and tanks, of course the opposing forces can use these two.
Sounds are adequate for the game, with explosions, shooting and cries of pain through the mission and the musics are well choosen and fit the game.
By finishing missions you feel a great sense of acomplisment and your soldiers can gain experience and even medals for their skills in combat.

The controls use nearly all keys in the phone, it needs a little getting used to in the beginning but later it feels natural, very well placed.
You’ve also got the possibility to play via multi-player with a friend or connect to N-Gage Arena.

Other symbian games can be bought and downloaded from the net and installed on
the phone or MMC card, some of my favourites are:

5) SkyForce
An entertaining shooter, loads up very fast and has many levels for you to play. Controls are nice and there’s lots os powerups and enemies to destroy.

4) ChessGenius

Fantastic chess game, the graphics are fine, you can view the board full screen or smaller with some helpfull data, the I.A. is tough and there’s several levels to choose from and there’s also lots of options to customize the game.

3) Snakes
Available for free at the N-Gage web site, it’s a 3D snake remake with new levels, support for 2 player action and also comes with Tron like visual effects.

2) Metal Buster 2
Action game where you control a giant mech robot and destroy everything in your sight. Nice graphics, the gameplay is good but the controls could be more responsive. In the end it’s a very fun game.

1) I.Q.
Solve several puzzles by aligning a beam of light through various checkpoints using mirrors. Very addicting (in a good way) and there’s many puzzles to go through, each with increasing dificulty.

I’m sure these might not appeal to everyone but from the selection of games I’ve played, these were the ones I most enjoyed.

And you, which N-Gage games did you most enjoyed playing?

This week I found SimpleLog by accident, it’s a blogging platform built on Ruby on Rails but what stands out it’s the simplicity in which was built:

“[SimpleLog] is a weblog application with support for tagging, archiving and quick-search. It features a simple admin section with authentication and a focus on writing over all else. The app is therefore limited by default.”

I’ve been studying the source code and it’s been very fun because everything is well documented and structured, it’s a good learning experience. I recommend everyone who wants to learn Rails to download the app and give it a go, even if you’re not planning to use it to replace your old blog.
Simplelog was made by Garret Murray and can be downloaded here.

I use Notepad2 on a daily basis, it’s one of my favourite apps. I like Notepad2 because it’s a small, fast,free and has syntax highlighting for HTML and other common languages (CSS, JAVA, C++, etc).

My only grasp is the lack of tabs, so I have to keep several windows open and things can get clutered very fast but I guess that’s the price to pay for a very lightweight app. I can even put it in a usb pen and run from there or replace Windows default “notepad.exe”.
Anyway, Pablo Hoch has made a few modifications to implement Ruby syntax highlighting, instance and class variables, keywords and other small enhacements. Overall, it’s a very nice improvement and should be downloaded over the original Notepad2.

You can download Pablo Hoch’s Ruby enhaced Notepad2 or visit the original site and view other great apps.