Conclusively Concluded: Final Thoughts on the N-Gage

by Louis Bedigian

The grand finale of our N-Gage Blowout highlights the unit’s most prominent features. 

Every night was awful, I felt so alone

Till I found a console, not just a cell phone

I stay up late, I never sleep

My high score is too hard to keep!

I had a blind date with a girl named Katrina

But I cancelled it for the N-Gage Arena

On October 31st my friends were so mean

“I can’t go outside, it’s just Halloween!”

My best friend dressed up as lord Darth Vader

But I was consumed by the port of Tomb Raider

They offered me candy but I said, “Later.”

‘Cause I was too busy with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 

As the story always goes, this blowout must come to a close.  I didn’t know what to think when I first saw the N-Gage.  It’s a game system but it’s also a phone.  That sounded intriguing, but dozens of game-playing phones were already on the market.  The early screenshots made it hard to tell whether not the games would be set in the third dimension or use a pseudo-3D effect like the one seen on Game Boy Advance.  Content information was scarce, too.  And while the advertisements were interesting, they didn’t reveal many details about the games or the console itself.

Nonetheless, this was the first game console from Nokia, a leader in cell phone manufacturing.  Sony was once a leader in electronic entertainment manufacturing (TVs, CD players, etc.).  Now they’re the dominant force in the video game industry.  Nokia was not to be underestimated.  The N-Gage would have to be analyzed like a rat in a box before anyone could honestly love or loathe it.

I spent the last week examining, analyzing, and even fantasizing about the N-Gage.  Whether you liked the idea of it or not, you won’t be able to stop yourself from falling in love with it.  N-Gage is a wonderful piece of machinery.  It’s got the most gorgeous screen I have ever seen on a mobile game console.  It looks small, but once a game starts you don’t even notice a difference.  N-Gage is much more powerful than the “other” mobile game consoles, so every game looks bigger and more realistic.  There are more polygons in one character in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater than there is in all of the versions on Game Boy Advance.  They’re great games – I loved playing Tony Hawk on the GBA.  But once you go N-Gage there’s no going back.

The keypad is great – each key is as firm as a button on a game controller.  Considering how many times you’ll hit the keys playing Tomb Raider than calling a friend, it’s good to know you don’t have to worry about the buttons breaking. 

More importantly, the buttons feel good.  I feared that it would be awkward to hold the N-Gage and press buttons that are placed so close together.  But after playing with the machine for several hours I found that the buttons don’t really seem that close at all.  I never had any trouble pressing the right key to perform a huge combo in Tony Hawk.  The keypad does take some getting used to (nine gameplay-potential face buttons as opposed to two on the Game Boy Advance).  Give it an hour or two and you’ll be handling the thing like a pro.

The game lineup is really promising.  So far, the majority of the releases have been ports of PSone games.  But that’s how every mobile system begins.  It gives game developers the chance to test the new hardware and see what it’s capable of.  It also gives them a chance to let us relive the past with small versions of several unforgettable classics.

Beyond the announced games no one except Nokia knows what the system’s future holds.  It’s likely that we’ll see Madden 2005 on N-Gage (as long as Sony hasn’t snatched an exclusive deal for the PSP).  It’s almost guaranteed EA will release a one of the earlier Need for Speed titles on N-Gage, as well as the original Medal of Honor.  Could we see Grand Theft Auto in the future?  Rockstar’s a tricky one to predict.  No one saw the Xbox double-pack coming.  You could have assumed, but did anyone really expect it to happen?

More than ports I want to see brand-new games developed for the system.  Brand-new RPGs, fighting games, sports, action/adventure, etc.  Nokia could use the Bluetooth and N-Gage Arena features to create a multiplayer RPG with an Internet ranking system.  Maybe if Square got on board they could co-develop FiNal Fantasy.

N-Gage’s processing power is perfect for developers because it allows to explore and go just as far as they did with the PSone.  Just think of all innovation that was created during the 32/64-bit era.  Nearly every genre jumped into the third dimension.  The world was introduced to the first cinematic RPG (Final Fantasy VII), the first truly horrifying game (Resident Evil), the first true 3D action/adventure, and the first 3D fighting game (Tobal No. 1).  N-Gage isn’t just a console to develop games for.  It’s an opportunity to be innovative.

N-Gage’s phone feature surprised me.  The speakerphone clarity is excellent.  That’s really all that matters when it comes to a phone – how the other person on the line sounds.

One little-known N-Gage feature is its use of SIM cards.  A SIM card holds all your cell phone data (your phone number, your account info, etc.), thus enabling you to transfer the data from phone to phone just be inserting your card.  Most of Nokia’s new phones are using SIM cards to store data, so if you need to have more than one, be sure to get ‘em from Nokia.

Closing Comments

It was fun getting N-Gaged for the first time.  It was such a unique opportunity to be able to go online with a cell phone, check out other gamers’ stats and attempt to beat their high scores.  Even cooler is the games themselves, which are full-3D replicas of their home console counterparts.

When your little brother asks you take him to see Santa, say yes.  I know it’s boring waiting in line for hours just to sit on a fat guy’s lap.  But while you’re there, you might want to ask him for an N-Gage.  It sounds crazy, but Santa is magical and dreams do come true.

You could also drop hints to your relatives.  “Uncle Bob, what a pleasant surprise!  You know, I’ve been meaning to call you lately but my phone hasn’t been working right.  If only I had an N-Gage…”

Or you could shell out the money yourself.  Whatever you do, you’ve gotta try the N-Gage for yourself.  Hold it in your hands, play all of its games, sign online, etc. – the whole works.  Then it’ll begin to feel like a marriage, because no matter what you do, you won’t be able to separate yourself from it.

Click here for Part One - Getting N-Gaged: Saying "I Do" To Nokia's New Platform

Click here for Part Two - What’s On The Menu?: A Look At The Games

Click here for Part Three - Having Cake and Eating It Too