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| Phone 'n Games | | By Nate Heasley for Screenager Central |
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Your mobile phone is capable of much more than just allowing you to chat it up with friends. Sending short messages (SMS) and Web surfing are popular pastimes, but sometimes, you just want a quick diversion. Games on your cellie are an increasingly popular way to fill the time between calls or while waiting for the bus. And you may not know it, but there are a lot more games available than the ones that came on your phone -- and they're free! |
Whether your cell phone can support many of the free games available turns on two questions. First, does your phone support "J2ME", which stands for "Java 2 Micro Environment?" This is a programming language based on the Java language found on desktop PCs, but it's designed to work on smaller devices like phones. If your phone supports Java/J2ME, or the similar "Brew", then you'll be able to download games to it.
The other question is whether you can actually get games into your phone. Most phones are designed with limited communication ability with other devices. In order to get the games into your phone without going through your cell provider, you'll need one of three things: infrared communication (between your phone and PC), Bluetooth wireless (ditto), or the appropriate phone-to-PC data cable.
Once you're armed with a capable phone and a means of getting the games from your PC to it, you can download a whole bunch of cool games without owing your cellular provider a dime. Here are just a few of the games we really like:
- IceBlox is a maze game played in a field of ice. The main character, a cute penguin, must find her way around the maze collecting frozen gold coins while avoiding bits of moving flame. The walls of the maze, which are made of ice, can be moved and crushed, and even used to extinguish the pursuing flames!
- MIDP-Man is a clone of the original PacMan, right down to beloved Blinky. While there are a few bugs in it, and it's a little challenging to play on a cell phone, it is one of the most entertaining ways to show off the capabilities of your phone to your pals.
- Puzzle Bobble is a classic puzzle/action game that requires the deft placement of bubbles, which explode when connected to other bubbles of the same color. The object is to eliminate all of the bubbles before you're buried under a mountain of them.
Keep in mind that not all games will work on all phones. You'll have to find the right games designed to work with your phone, since each game (and each phone) is designed a little differently. But for the most part, if you've got a fairly recent Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Nokia, you've got a phone that'll keep you entertained for hours, and give your thumbs some wicked cramps.
For information of what types of connectivity options are available to you, check out the manual that came with your phone or go to your cell provider's Web site.
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