NOKIA GAMES

After suffering a setback with the original N-Gage mobile phone/gaming system, Nokia is now relaunching N-Gage as a gaming platform that works over a range of Nokia phones. The flagship title for this new service is called Reset Generation, and it will be available to play for free on the PC or it can be purchased to play on Nokia phones. Last month we took a first look at the game, which will basically run as an embedded widget on Web pages. Today, we'll discuss the actual gameplay and why Nokia believes it has a winner on its hands.

Reset Generation takes its name from the fact that it's steeped heavily in gaming culture; this is basically a game made for pretty much anyone who grew up mashing buttons on a gamepad. As we noted in our first look, the gameplay is sort of like a cross between Tetris and chess with arcade power ups. To begin you choose an avatar, all of which are based on classic gaming icons. For instance, there's the level 50 elf, the bushy-haired plumber, the cyborg supersoldier, and more. There's a single-player story mode as well as multiplayer support for up to four players. Basically, each player has a princess in a tower that they must defend (another classic gaming theme). To eliminate another princess, you must move your avatar over to her to capture her, and then return her to your tower. The winner is the player with the last princess standing.

This is a turn-based game with each round separated in three phases, and with each phase featuring simultaneous resolution, so everybody plots out their moves and when everyone is ready the game plays out the results in real time. The game takes place on a square-based grid, with each player's tower spread out throughout the grid. You can move your avatar one square at a time, but to move more quickly you have to place down blocks that look just like the ones found in Tetris. Block placing is the first phase in each round and, like in Tetris, the game randomly selects a block each turn, and you have to figure out where to place it on the board. The blocks are color-coded, so you can only use the blocks that you've laid down. Here's where it gets tricky, though, because if two or more players try to lay a block over the same square, the blocks nullify and no one gets those squares. Moreover, you'll have the added challenge of trying to connect five squares in a straight row, or preventing your opponent from doing the same. That's because if you get five in a row that turns into a combo; stars appear in those squares, giving them higher bonuses than just regular squares in the form of higher movement speeds and more. So think of it as a competitive form of Tetris.

There's much more to it than that, though, since just laying down blocks would be too easy. So the second phase is when some firepower is applied, as each player has a cannon that can be used to target an opposing player's block to shatter it. If you know where which square your opponent is going to target, you can counter their shot by aiming for the same square. Thus, both cannonballs will meet in flight, deflecting it away from its intended target. Cannons can also be used to target and destroy power ups that appear on the board, so if you see your opponent heading for a valuable power-up, you can deny them it by taking it out.

The third and final phase is the movement phase; this is when you actually move your avatar around the board to attack another avatar, make a move for a princess, or position yourself better for the next turn. For example, you might use special grenades to destroy an opponent's combo squares, or pick up a special power-up, such as the Biggest Frickin' Gun Possible. Moreover, each character avatar has a special power related to their archetype. For instance, the hedgehog can move very quickly. You can't knock out an opposing avatar if you attack them, but doing so will cause their princess to appear in your character's arms.

Those are the three phases of a round, but it illustrates the combination of things going on in Reset Generation. This isn't a game where you'll win solely on luck or skill or reflexes. It's the kind of game where the most experienced players will likely beat novice players, but that's not guaranteed due to the amount of chance in each game. It's also a game where you have to anticipate your opponent's moves and outthink them. And, finally, it's highly replayable, since no two games will unfold the same way. It has all the hallmarks of an addicting multiplayer experience.



download here