[PRIME] Mobile/Portable Gaming Titles for PAX '09

kropotkin

MOBILE/PORTABLE GAMING TITLES FOR PAX '09

One of the most attractive elements of PAX has always been the mobile gaming element of the event. There is always a mobile gaming lounge area where people can site back on bean bags and play games on their mobile platform of choice. What is listed below is my first stab at what people may want to play at this years PAX. Please don't think this is definitive in any way. It is simply a suggestion list that I'd love to have people in these forums provide additional titles or indeed add details on the ones I suggest here, or even remove them!

Starting off with the PAX favourite then, the DS/DS Lite/DSi!



The DS is a favourite at PAX thanks to its ubiquitous nature. Listed below are some of the top favourites from years past as well as some new titles you may not have heard of. Click on the spoiler button to view them:

Spoiler:

Bomberman DS and Bomberman 2

8 player Bomberman is a big hit at PAX for obvious reasons. You're rarely short of players thanks to the amount of people in the lounge(s).

Mario Kart DS

You cannot lose with this one. Unless you're exceptionally bad at it of course.

Worms Open Warfare and Worms Open Warfare 2

The scorched earth clone continues to reign supreme thanks it being rather well suited to the DS.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Stop laughing! It's a good shooter, honestly it is. Oh please yourselves.

Puzzle Quest

The original, not the overly complex and slow Galactrix nonsence.

New Super Mario Brothers

A sublime platformer that has multiplayer functionality as well. Highly recommended.

Tetris DS

Oh for pity's sake! It's Tetris!

The World Ends with You

Bizarre Square Enix JRPG. Very popular at PAX '08.

Civilization Revolution

Perfect for those multi-hour waits in line.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

PAX without Pokemon? Are you mad??? There's usually a good deal of people dueling at any given time, and they do support 4 players.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Twin stick shooting without the sticks. Great multiplayer action that will be new to PAX 09!

N+

The brutally difficult yet fun N+. Multiplayer is limited to 2 people.

Final Fantasy Remakes and new titles

For the long plane/train/car/donkey/skateboard/jet pack/segway rides to PAX,you can't go wrong with a Final Fantasy title. Probably.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

The spirit of GTA4 brought onto the DS. An excellent game for long queue's and travelling.

Peggle DS

The fact that you are reading this blurb is troubling. IT'S FREAKING PEGGLE! *sigh*

Picross DS

Excellent and intentive puzzle game for DS. Great for long queues.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Prequel to the GameCube original that supports multiplayer. Standard dungeon hack JRPG but with the kind of TLC only Squarenix can muster.

Ouendan 1 & 2/Elite Beat Agents

The crime busting male cheerleading troop have become extremely popular over the years. The original Ouendan has always been held up as the better game that the westernised Elite Beat Agents, due mainly to the Jpop sound-track. It does support multiplayer, which is said to be quite fun.

Mario vs. Donkey King: Minis March Again!

This is a DSi only title, which can be downloaded from the DSi Store. A puzzle game, it has Mario guiding clock work versions of himself across various platforms in a similar manner to Lemmings, only they don't explode or have different jobs. It has a level editor in a similar vien to LittleBigPlanet. Great for quick 10 minute breaks.

Chrono Trigger

Said to be one of the finest RPG's ever appeared on the DS earlier this year. I personally will be finishing it off on the plane journey across to the Atlantic. If you have a long trip to and from PAX, take this along with you!

Age of Empires: Mythologies

A sound port of the PC original. Highly recommended RTS game that builds from the original Age of Empires games. Features all the usual figures from Greek mythology.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Turn based strategy that first began its life on the GBA. Highly engrossing and entertaining with a deceptively shallow learning curve. A fantastic multiplayer game to boot, A+++ to use eBay vernacular.

Ahh the PSP. Much maligned by many as having 'no games'. But fear not PSP owner, there is plenty of love for Sony's first foray into mobile gaming. Click on the spoiler button to view them:

Spoiler:

Tekken: Dark Resurrection

One of the best looking games on the PSP that also happens to play extremely well too.

Outrun 2006: Coast2Coast

Great arcade racer that is replicated well on the PSP. Highly recommended.

Burnout Legends

The PSP is home to some great driving titles and this one sits amongst the best of them.

Patapon 1 & 2

Patapon is a bit of a favourite of mine so I shall be bringing it along to PAX. The second game has a multiplayer co-op mode, which is nice.

Wipeout Pure/Pulse

One of the finest looking and fastest games on the PSP. Amazing stuff.

Resistance Retribution

3rd person shooter with 8 player multiplayer. Worth a shot. Geddit? Worth a...oh never mind.

Worms Open Warfare 2

Just as solid as the DS version and works well with the wide screen aspect radio.

Final Fantasy Remakes and new titles

For the long plane/train/car/donkey/skateboard/jet pack/segway rides to PAX,you can't go wrong with a Final Fantasy title. Probably.

Monster Hunter Freedom 1,2 and Unite

A very deep and complex Diablo clone that is the single most popular game played on the PSP in Japan. The driver behind the game is the usual quest for truth, justice and better equipment! Only supports ad-hoc multiplayer, but is said to be very entertaining when teaming up with others.

Other hack and slashers

A number of people in this thread have highlighted other Diablo clones, as it is a genre that are somewhat popular on the PSP. These include: Untold Legends the Warriors Code, Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Silverfall (EU only release) and Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony

FIFA 09

An excellent port of the home console original. Really hard to fault this one, also supports multiplayer.

Now we have the iPhone/iPod Touch. Here are my selections for iPhone /iPod Touch games. I'm sure there are many more people will want to add. Click on the spoiler button to view them:

Spoiler:

Pinball Dreams

The Amiga Classic makes a triumpant return on the iPhone. The game that launched DICE into the gaming world, this Pinball simulator had be gripped for hours on end. Highly recommended.

Vector Tanks

It's Battlezone. Only on your iPhone. YAY.

Field Runners

Rather entertaining tower defence title.

Missile Command

The iPhone and Missile Command were made for each other.

Hero of Sparta

God of War clone for the iPhone. Nice graphics and animation, for an iPhone title!

Pocket God

You are in control of all elements of this island and everyone on it. Cynical humor and a Wii look, but still fun.

Star Wars the Force Unleashed

Is fun and looks good on the screen, but it's really a one player.

Jelly Car

In Jelly Car you control a "jelly car" in a "jelly world" thru 28 levels. Joy.

Blocked

Blocked is a simple but addictive puzzle game, all you have to do is make an exit path for the blue block.

Enigmo!

Funky 3D puzzle game, highly recommended for standing in queues.

Galaxy On Fire

Wing Commander/Free Space/[insert space shooter here] game on the iPhone. A rather entertaining one at that.

iShoot

Scorched Earth clone that made someone a ton of money upon its release. Nice multiplayer game and a reasonable Worms replacement.

Drop7

Tetris like puzzle game that adds another level of complexity by adding some Sudoku like elements to the gameplay. Another one for queues.

Civilization Revolution

This game is a work of genius. It's utterly addictive and a direct port of the DS version. The only problem with it is that it will kill your iPhone/iPod battery!

Flight Control

The game that started the draw-a-trail game genre off on the iPhone/iPod Touch. Now supports multiplayer, highly addictive and recommended.

Harbour Master

Flight Control clone only with ships that drop off cargo. The player must store cargo as they guide ships of various sizes and speeds into harbor. Highly addictive and recommended.

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That's it for my suggestions for mobile gaming titles. Please respond to this thread to add more or indeed pass comment on the one's I've posted up here.

Arco

After seeing the staggering amount of DSs at last year's PAX, I'll be buying one exclusively for this year's expo. So this thread is a good thing for me. I would have no idea what people were playing otherwise.

Yay Worms!

crackgoblin

the new super mario brothers for the ds. You can only play with one other person but its always fun stealing stars from people.

ukiyo e

You forgot about Pacman. One person plays as Pacman, the others play as the ghosts. Insanely fun.

MetaverseNomad

Tetris! And "The World Ends With You" was pretty popular last year (plus it's a pretty entertaining game).

crackgoblin

MetaverseNomad wrote: »

Tetris! And "The World Ends With You" was pretty popular last year (plus it's a pretty entertaining game).

Is it the version of ds tetris where you can infinitely spin the pieces? god damn, i hate that version.

ukiyo e

Civilization Revolutions might be popular this year too, for those multi-hour waits in line.

Coldbrew

Tetris DS needs to be on the list. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum should be as well, there's usually a good deal of people dueling at any given time, and they do support 4 players.

I'll see what else I can think of...

kropotkin

OK DS games added, thanks for the feedback everyone. Now what about the PSP and iPhone? There must be more for those formats! Come on folks, don't be shy now.

Coldbrew

I'm quite positive that Resistance Retribution is multiplayer, I'm just not sure how many people it supports. It's a pretty descent game too, considering it's a third-person shooter on the PSP.

EDIT: The game supports 2-8 players, local ad-hoc and online over PSN.

Worms Open Warfare 2 is on the PSP as well and just as good. I'll keep looking around for more...

Frightfully English

Anyone else game for Geometry Wars: Galaxies on the DS? Or is that just me?

Moe Fwacky

I'm down for that, if I ever find time to actually play my DS this year.

LTAcosta

N+ for the DS is fun though I think multiplayer is only 2 people...

SuperChief

I heard Mario Kart was fairly popular last year, so i'll be purchasing that.

PeasantDave

I played a ton of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates on the plane last year. I plan to do the same with Echoes of Time this year.

crackgoblin

im probably going to get flamed for this but have you guys thought of purchasing a homebrew storage device like a r4ds? it comes as a kit and you can download programs off of a usenet-type server and load them as an application on to the homebrew that fits into the ds.

PeasantDave

crackgoblin wrote: »

im probably going to get flamed for this but have you guys thought of purchasing a homebrew storage device like a r4ds? it comes as a kit and you can download programs off of a usenet-type server and load them as an application on to the homebrew that fits into the ds.

Many of us have one for legitimate homebrew purposes. I personally don't have any multiplayer games on mine though.

Moe Fwacky

Don't mention anything that's not homebrew in conjunction with the R4 or any similar device, thanks.

ukiyo e

crackgoblin wrote: »

im probably going to get flamed for this but have you guys thought of purchasing a homebrew storage device like a r4ds? it comes as a kit and you can download programs off of a usenet-type server and load them as an application on to the homebrew that fits into the ds.

Are there any good multiplayers homebrew games?

Coldbrew

I got an older G6 card for mine, it's nice to be able to use the original DS as a media player. I haven't looked into DS homebrew too much though, but my Wii is loaded with it.

kropotkin

Homebrew is pretty much off limits thanks to the legal vagueries it has attached to it. Stick to off the shelf or legitimate downloadable titles please.

ukiyo e

What about downloadable DSi games? Are there any plans for those to have multiplayer?

kropotkin

ukiyo e wrote: »

What about downloadable DSi games? Are there any plans for those to have multiplayer?

They fall into the same category as PSN and iPhone titles i.e. legitimate downloadable titles so yes!

Moe Fwacky

downloadable games is really the only thing that makes me want a DSi

kropotkin

iPhone list added with 4 new games. Anyone else with more to add?

Dorkalicious

What about GTA Chinatown Wars?

kropotkin

Dorkalicious wrote: »

What about GTA Chinatown Wars?

Good point! I've added it to the OP. Thanks for the feedback. Anyone else got some titles to share?

Yamara

ukiyo e wrote: »

You forgot about Pacman. One person plays as Pacman, the others play as the ghosts. Insanely fun.

I was trying to track down what game this is on Gamespot. All I could find for Pacman is Pac-Man World 3, Super Pac-Man Pinball, and Pac 'n Roll. What's the title, exactly?

The_Rat

Is there anywhere at PAX where there's less wireless lag than most places? For the last 2 years multiplayer has been next to impossible for a lot of DS games, even simple games like Tetris (mostly finding and joining hosts).

Scoots

I don't think I saw it on the list, but there is also Peggle for the DS now. I want to say multiplayer is limited to 2 people, but it's still a fun game.

A few people may remember LOL from last year. If you're bored, you're doing it wrong.

kropotkin

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm going to b upgrading the OP to have links to reviews of each game so you can gain more info about each title. As for lag in games at PAX, I never encountered any...

The_Rat

Picross DS has a number of fun little game modes, if you're into nonograms I guess.

seraphex

iShoot for the iPhone/iPod Touch is now multiplayer. It should definitely make the list!

kropotkin

Massive update to OP! Links to games added to each one and N-Gage removed as I only added it in as a joke

Also added Picross, iShoot and Drop7. Keep them coming folks, PAX 09 is only 4 months away....

Scoots

quick question, since everyone is here, what would you all like to see as tournament choices for handheld gaming at PAX this year?

DaNerd

I don't know how many (if any) people play Monster Hunter for the PSP, but it would make PAX for me if there were some fellow hunters to play with.

SlickShughes

I just loaded Starcraft onto my netbook. Does that count?

rythos42

The_Rat wrote: »

Is there anywhere at PAX where there's less wireless lag than most places? For the last 2 years multiplayer has been next to impossible for a lot of DS games, even simple games like Tetris (mostly finding and joining hosts).

I had some reaaaally bad lag in the line-up room last year when it was filled up, but it cleared up once every lefted - had some terrific games waiting for the concert to open up .

I'm also bringing my Korg DS10 (not that I'm very skilled with it). While it's not nearly as common as Mario Kart, maybe there's some other folks out there who love it?

Brex123

What about Untold Legends games for the PSP? It is a multiplayer co-op Diablo clone that could be good for the long lineups. I personally have not tried multiplayer since I am still trying to finish the single player, but it should be fun multiplayer if the single player says anything about it.

kropotkin

OK I'll be doing an update later today. Added titles:

Monster Hunter 2 or 3 if its out in the West by then.
FlightControl - iPhone game that has gripped twitter for some reason

@Brex123 Untold Legends doesn't hold a candle to Monster Hunter I'm afraid and they are both of the same genre. So I'm going to go with Monster Hunter due to its popularity. I may also stick in Phantasy Start Online as well.

ukiyo e

Isn't the new Chrystal Chronicles DS multiplayer?