First off, the N-Gage is smaller than you'd expect. Actually this is pretty much the norm with electronic gizmos, they always look bigger in screens. The unit itself looks sleek, a sort of dull silver on the front with metal buttons. the back of the system will feature interchangeable covers, much like Nokia's range of mobile phones.
The N-Gage is actually pretty comfortable. Sporting a horizontal orientation like the Game Boy Advance, the N-Gage felt pretty good and shouldn't pose a problem to most people's hand size.
You boot the system by using the mobile phone-style on/off button located at the top of the right hand side of the unit. You won't be able to switch the unit off by accident, as it gives you optional settings when you try and do so, e.g. sleep, silent etc. As for the other buttons, they work fine when navigating the menus, but for games...I'll come back to that in a bit.
Starting up the game is not instantaneous; you must press the game button on the lower left hand side of the N-Gage and then 'open' the file on screen which will be marked with the game name. It seems that the N-Gage's memory will be able to store a few smaller games in its memory, but only one 'big' game at a time.
I had the chance to play two games, Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Moto GP. Both games look far better than a handheld game should, especially on the N-Gage's excellent screen. A backlight features here and works like a mobile's light in that it will shut the light off after a period of inactivity. The screen is of a better quality than the GBA, but the dimensions are far inferior. I must say I prefer the wide-screen, horizontal display of the GBA to the N-Gage's vertical one.
So to Tony Hawk. This version of the game is based on THPS 3. It features a re-written, fully-3 dimensional engine and a simplified trick system. While the game looks good for a handheld game, the framerate was actually quite poor. It looked like a Mega Drive 32X game. the controls were unresponsive and it wasn't much fun to play. The isometric version of the game on GBA is easily the better game.
Moto GP on the other hand was decent. It looked okay, handled well and was pretty satisfying. I cannot say if it is based on the console versions or not, but Moto GP showed off the N-Gage quite well, save a glitch or two here and there.
The main problem I have with the N-Gage are those controls. The buttons feel rather cheap; cheaper than plastic buttons would have been. The two main game buttons (numbers 5 and 7 on the numeric keypad) have wide, raised bumps to indicate this. It is VERY EASY for your thumb to slip off and accidentally hit the pause button. however, it is something that you can get used to, but for quick bursts of gaming, you're bound to make a mistake.
The D-pad is similar to the one on the Xbox's controller, but is metallic and much more defined. Pressing an angle is quite simple and all-in-all it is comfortable to use. The two games above only used the D-pad and the 5/7 buttons. Theoretically more buttons could be used for games and I think at least two more should be earmarked for them. Two is just not enough, especially for a game like Tony Hawk.
Keeping in tradition with handheld systems, the small speaker featured is utterly awful. It may be good enough for using the phone, but it definitely is not for gaming. Earphones are a must.
Of course, the N-Gage is about more than gaming. It comprises of a games console, mobile phone, radio/music player, VERY basic organiser and it even has Bluetooth in it! The software builds of the game did not support Bluetooth, so I can not rate that aspect of the system.
The downside to having all of the above in one unit is that battery time suffers. On a single charge using the N-Gage for gaming alone and assuming the light stays on for the most part, gamers can expect a total battery life of 4 to 6 hours. Using other features sporadically will change this figure but really, that is a major drawback to the N-Gage.
Another limitation of the handheld relates to game media. The 'big' games will come on a medium not unlike a mobile's SIM card, although it will be slighter bigger over all. If you fancy changing your game though you must do the following:
1.) Switch off the N-Gage
2.) Remove the back cover
3.) Remove the N-Gage's battery
4.) Insert game card
5.) Replace the battery
6.) Replace the back cover
7.) Turn over that sand timer
8.) Switch on the N-Gage.
Nokia: this is stupid. how are we supposed to do the above, 'on the go'?
So with the October release looming, you have to consider those two huuuuuge design flaws and think if this is the game system for you. What N-Gage has done is an achievement, giving us all of the features of a mobile and a game console and a music player and e-mail all in one, but the integration of technology is not advanced enough to give the consumer the kind of value he/she deserves.
As far as the games go, the potential is there. Red Faction and Sonic N are titles on the horizon.
The N-Gage will launch on the 7th of October at a retail price...that is to be confirmed for PAL ($299 in the USA).
---UPDATED---
One important aspect of gaming on the N-Gage is the length of loading times. Hang on a minute...loading times on a handheld?!? Yep, both Tony Hawk and Moto GP sported fairly long load times on boot-up and between menus. ALL menus. Hopefully this can be put down to the fact that the software and hardware are still officially incomplete.
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