Mobile games, June 2008

At Gameloft, the main features in the mobile phone field (although Gameloft is also present in other sectors) is the launch of Midnight Blowling 2 and Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, as well as the mobile adaptation of the well known television show Fort Boyard and the adventure game Soul of Darkness.

The maker continues to enrich is series of Midnight sports games. After the release of Midnight Darts in April, it is now Midnight Bowling 2 which has been released on mobiles. As its name indicates, this time it is a bowling game released by Gameloft.

This second version of Midnight Bowling comes with a new career mode and new opponents to confront. The commands system has been made more accessible to the general public allowing for rotation effects for the more addicted players.

An exercise mode also allows you to improve the game speed, precision and effects that you can put on the ball. And Midnight Bowling 2 offers 6 distinct environments to become the king of strikes.

In another genre, it is a highly anticipated game which will become available on the 4th of July: the fourth installment of the Asphalt series, an underground car racing game. With 10 million games sold over the first three episodes, Asphalt 4: Elite Racing should provide the same success to the series thanks to its modeling, with the Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari F430 Spider, which you will have to control in races taking place in traffic, spread across some of the biggest cities.

It should be noted that Gameloft had the good idea of adding a Duel player mode with another human player through a Bluetooth connection, which should allow for some memorable confrontations between other experienced drivers.

The editor is also a big player in the mobile adaptations of televised games. We are therefore not surprised to find Father Fouras and the challenges from the French series Fort Boyard on the telephone.

The challenges are based on the television game, and are represented by 16 mini-games shared amongst Father Fouras puzzles. There is a wide range of challenges, with the goal being to recover the treasure..

Two game modes are offered, either by following the game show or by completing individual challenges. Of course all of the key characters are present: Felindra, Passe-Partout, les Maitres des Tenebres, and of course Father Fouras.

We also note the arrival of Soul of Darkness, a heroic fantasy adventure game in a gothic world which takes place over 11 levels, offering a certain amount of mystery and intrigue. The heroes have to make their way through this hostile world, occupied by werewolves, zombies and gargoyles.

To get to the end of your quest (as you will have guessed, it’s once again your girlfriend who has been taken), you will need to have weapons that can be improved, like the lance of sword, as well as magic spells that are continually more powerful. As often with Gameloft, the atmosphere has been well worked, with nice décor and a real sound atmosphere. But you will need to have a phone with a large QVGA screen to be able to properly appreciate all of the effects.