Being one of the world’s best loved franchises, Lord of the Rings has been made in to quite a few different games on various formats, each with varying degree’s of success.  Will we ever get bored of the massive world J.R.R. Tolkein created? EA Games don’t seem to think so and to be honest, I don’t either. 

The news was leaked recently that Lord of the Rings: Conquest is set to be the latest installment of the fantasy series. The game is being developed by Pandemic for Nintendo DS and various other formats.  

An action-based game, Pandemic promise us that you can play though each of the games epic battles in the series as the good guys or more excitingly as the forces of evil.  

Being that this is the first time in a LOTR game that you can play as a cave troll, the Balrog or if your feeling particularly evil – the Dark Lord Sauron himself, net nerds (like myself) will be jumping up and down in anticipation at the thought of burning down a hobbit village with a horde of Ura-Kai.   

With Pandemic developing the game we can be assured that the license is in safe hands. Star Wars Battlefield 2, Full spectrum Warrior ad Mercenaries are some of the title’s they’ve worked on in the past. 

Gameplay details have not been released but (a clearly excited) Josh Resnick, Pandemic’s co-founder and general manager said,  

“We’ll freely admit that we’re rabid fans of The Lord of the Rings fantasy. Our experience creating massive, rich, action-packed games means that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will give fans exactly what they want: full control of the blade, bow and magic to fight its epic battles any way they want – even if they choose to play from the evil side.” 

How the game will look and work on the DS is a mystery, but it’s on my shopping list already. Other than this, details are scarce sadly, and the only screen shots are of the Xbox 360 version. 

Lord of the Rings: Conquest will be released on DS (as well as PS3, Xbox 360 and PC), during the autumn this year.

It’s small, lightweight and could very well revolutionize mobile gaming. I am of course talking about the rather cool Zeemote JS1 Controller.

Is this going to be the next big thing to shake up mobile gaming over the next few months? At 95×35x20mm and only 47g (including batteries), the JS1 Is ergonomically designed for comfort and has been setting mobile gaming forums on fire.

Looking not to dissimilar from the Wii-mote, the controller uses an analog thumbstick and multiple trigger buttons enabling users to, according to their website, “truly engage with mobile games.”  This should sit well with console gamer’s used to using thumbsticks to control their on screen actions. The JS1 is small enough to fit in your pocket next to your phone but its durability will need to be tested before I’ll be totally convinced.

The Zeemote controller uses miniature wireless remote technology that interacts with your mobile phone via a Bluetooth connection and has been validated for use by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and Motorola.

Already game developers and publishers such as Finblade, Eidos, sega mobile and Fishlabs have adapted some of their popular games to use the technology such as Helistrike 3D, Sonic the Hedgehog and Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Finblade has also recently launched Fireworks, a two player game specifically designed for use with the Zeemote Controller.

I really do want to play with one of these. Not only do they look nifty, you don’t need to use the buttons on your mobile phone so it’ll help anyone with fingers that, shall we say, are a little on the large side.

Sadly there is no release date set as of writing, but it should be sometime this year.

Mobile phone giant Nokia have launched the second version of its SNAP Mobile SDK and they reckon it’ll be easier for developers to create connected Java games. 

The program is available for free and has a big focus on accessibility for developer’s all thanks to it’s object-orientated API and improved UI framework.  

The SNAP Mobile SDK 2.0 provides tools for creating connected mobile games for a broad range of Nokia and non-Nokia devices that comply with Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0 and Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 1.1. The SDK includes the SNAP Mobile Client API libraries, an Emulation Environment application, a handset and network compatibility test tool, and sample applications and documentation that can be accessed from any Java Integrated Developer Environment (IDE). 

SNAP

Mobile enables features like online communities, full multiplayer and massively multiplayer gaming, buddy lists, rankings and in-game messaging. 

The whole idea of SDK 2.0 is to make it easier to use and more efficient which means more developers may use the technology.  

Randolf Wu from PocketNet has said: “The SNAP Mobile SDK 2.0 makes it easier for developers to write and debug a connected mobile Java game, and brings fun to development. I had the SDK up and running on my desktop within minutes of downloading. It’s invaluable as it provides a realistic game play environment for a cellular network. For example, it can simulate error conditions so that we can check that our games will respond appropriately when an error occurs. The SNAP Mobile SDK is a mature toolset to the point where bugs are not really an issue, and it just gets better and better with each release.” 

There are currently 13 SNAP-enabled games available which include chess, 3-D Pool Hall, Jelly POP and everyone’s favourite – Sudoku.

Coolest Girl in School is getting an international release on the back of the very public Australian release last year.  The game’s website boasts “Lie, bitch, flirt your way to the top of the high school ladder. Become the Coolest Girl In School NOW” and has been condemned by a group called the Family Association – Something the maker’s of the game appear proud of, “Some articles bring up really interesting points for debate while others go for the predictable sensationalist angle. Labelled as ‘toxic’, a ‘game that encourages girls to be slutty bitches’and ‘grossly irresponsible’, the Australian Family Association even called for Coolest Girl in School to be banned.” The game was made by two Adelaide based companies, Champagnefor the Ladies and Kukan Studios and has a clear target market. 

Champagne for the Ladies states that in the game “teachers exist to be manipulated,” a “looming parent signals potential social death,” new clothes are “procured by stealing from the mall”, and “bribery is an exit strategy for sticky situations”.

Champagne for the Ladies producer Holly Owen said, “Unlike other areas of gaming, well over half of casual mobile gamers are women, but very few games are made specifically for female audiences.” adding, “It’s not GTA for girls, its better!” Gamers can now purchase the game via their paypal for about £3.35 from the official website.

While there has been much chat about the best mobile games and whether the sector will ever be able to compete with the games console sector, many people seem to have forgotten about the hi-tec mobile phones on the market today. So is the Nokia N81 your dream gaming mobile?

Those who follow the industry will be aware that the Nokia N81 handset is one of the few games on the market which can accommodate the N-Gage gaming platform, but it seems as though the Nokia N81 really does have it all. So what has it got to offer?

The Look

Sleek, sturdy and a very smooth slider mechanism which ensures that you can open the handset in a second. A little larger than some handsets on the market the Nokia N81 is packed with everything you could ever need.

Screen Size

The main screen is a very useful 240mm x 320mm and offers 16.7 million colour variations – enough to cover the vast array of mobile games available now and set to come to the market in the future.

Memory

The Nokia N81 comes with a more than adequate 8GB of memory which puts the handset on a par with the infamous iPhone.

While there are many new and exciting handsets coming to the market it seems that the Nokia N81 and the iPhone are currently head and shoulders above the rest. Nokia’s N-Gage is the latest gaming platform to hit the market and the big hope for the future. Nokia believe that they can take on the might of the iPhone and, while it will not be easy, there are signs that consumers are starting to look elsewhere, away from the iPhone.

The battle between Nokia and Apple seems set to continue for some time and while the iPhone has a stolen a head start, Nokia is starting to catch up.

While the 2007 version of Tennis Open by Gameloft is still one of the best selling mobile phone sports games of all time, it seems as though Wimbledon 2008 could actually better the earlier version. As we approach the run up to Wimbledon what better time to start putting the rumours around? What better time to put a ground breaking tennis game into the market?

Even though the connection with Wimbledon is there for all to see, the new game will also offer the chance to test your knowledge about the most famous tennis tournament in the world and the great history of the game. The new Gameloft game itself will offer much more than the earlier Tennis Open 2007 with both doubles and singles now catered for, as well as grass, clay and synthetic surfaces.

The fact that it is the official Wimbledon game, with the full backing of the tennis club, is sure to see the profile of both the game and Gameloft rocket sky high as the launch date draws ever closer. The game itself will allow the user to play five training mini-games, taking in the vast array of shots available in the sport. Players will then be taken on to play an official tournament where they can use all of the skills and tricks which they have picked up during training.

Can you imagine playing the best in the world on your mobile phone? Can you imagine dinking that little lob to the back of the court and grabbing the winning point?

Wimbledon 2008 looks set to be one of the best sporting games available to the mobile phone market and while it may not be the easiest to play that is part of the challenge. While we have not received exact details of the launch date, it does not take a mind reader to guess when it might happen!

While the Far East is well ahead of most of Europe with regards to internet technology it seems that the same can be said for mobile phone games. Nokia has announced plans to introduce yet more mobile phone games via their SNAP Mobile subsidiary in China, but it seems as though this is only the tip of the iceberg and more than just a testing ground for new games and new technology.

Even though the likes of the UK mobile phone games market is a lot more developed than many other areas of the world, it pales into insignificance compared to the Far East. This is the area where new technology and new platforms regularly appear and has proved to be a very useful and lucrative testing ground for many new ventures.

The global mobile gaming market is growing year by year and is currently one of the fastest growing technology markets seen for some time. The likes of Nokia and the other main handset manufacturers are desperate to ensure that they are at the head of this lucrative market which has the potential to supply the Holy Grail of ecommerce, repeat income – i.e. subscription money.

In years gone by the time gap between technology launched in the Far East and Europe could be a few years, but the technology cycle has very much been reduced over the last few years and the new services could well hit Europe within 12 months. The mobile phone companies are now desperate to ensure that have a continued presence in the market and looking to rush their services out to the mass market as soon as possible.

Quite what direction we can expect the market to take in the medium to longer term is not clear, but this is very much seen as the future for many mobile phone manufacturers and the network providers are also very keen to join the party.

You have played it on your consoles, now is the time to take the latest in the Crash Bandicoot series mobile and play the game on the move. Vivendi Games Mobile, part of the massive gaming business which is Vivendi, have today launched Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart and Crash Bandicoot Nitro Cart 3D for the mobile phone sector. The Crash Bandicoot series of games has been a multi-billion dollar earner for the company, with earlier mobile phone releases selling 3 million units alone!

The 2D (JAVA release) and 3D (Symbian release) offer the chance to take on 16 new tracks in 8 different environments, under water in outer space and many more weird and wonderful situations. The race is on to be number one and while many mobile games have lost their appeal during the transfer from the console sector, the Crash Bandicoot series is one which has retained the core of the game.

Vivendi has taken the mobile gaming sector to a new level with the release of these latest versions and when you consider that it has taken nearly 4 years to transfer this game to the mobile sector, it shows how much work and effort it has taken. While the mobile sector is unlikely to overtake or even come close to the games console and video game market, in which Crash Bandicoot has seen more than 40 million units sold in total, it is still a very interesting and lucrative area for the future.

While there are many games in the mobile gaming market that are struggling to match their performance in the main games console market, the Crash Bandicoot series is one which seems to have made the jump better than most. We are now starting to see some of the larger gaming companies reporting mobile phone game sales in the millions, which is a reflection of a changing attitude by the consumer.

While the gaming news for the last few weeks, and no doubt the next few weeks, will be dominated by the launch of GTA IV, many people are wondering if these complicated games will ever make it to the mobile screen. There are concerns that unless we see some major improvements in mobile gaming hardware, we may never see games such as GTA IV grace our handsets.

There are many issues which continue to cause problems when looking at transferring successful console games to the mobile handset arena. These issues include :-

Memory

The memory usage for many of the top draw console games is absolutely enormous and in the eyes of many it will be very difficult for the mobile phone industry to replicate the exact environment. Let us not forget what the handset is actually for, with much of the available memory already “spoken for”.

Graphics

As yet no handset manufacturer has really been able to get anywhere near the capacity and sharpness which we see with the likes of the Playstation 3, Xbox and Wii. They also have the problem of playing catch-up with the console industry, something which will prove very difficult at the current speed of development!

Speed

While the likes of GTA IV are very much in a league of their own, even the simplest of console games have a “need for speed”. At the moment the mobile phone gaming industry is struggling to match this necessity.

While we may well look back in a few years and wonder what the concerns were all about, it seems that the games console market is developing at a rate of knots, while the mobile equivalent is very much lagging behind. Whether they will be able to make up the gap is debateable, but they will sure be trying their best!

As we approach the launch of what is possibly the most eagerly awaited game of all time, many gamers are chomping at the bit to get hold of their copy of GTA IV. But is it as good as they say? Can it take the crown from earlier games in the series?

Many games stores have let it be known that they will be opening at 12:01am on Tuesday so that gamers will be able to buy their copies as soon as they are launched. Rockstar Games, who produce the GTA series, have hit the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 first to get maximum publicity and allow maximum pricing – but it is sure to be launched on the other gaming platforms some time very soon.

Those who have followed the GTA series will know that it has attracted more than it fair share of criticism due to its often violent content and bad language, but apparently it is what the gamers of today want to see. The Series has sold over 70 million copies so far and while they continue to push gaming technology to the limit each time, they have not failed to deliver so far.

The latest in the series brings in an interesting partnership with Amazon whereby you can “pickup a phone in play” and order the song which you are listening to. This will then be delivered direct to your email box for download as soon as you have paid. So far it is believed that the tunes on offer will include :-

• Soviet Connection (Theme from GTA IV) by Michael Hunter
• Dirty New Yorker by Mobb Deep (feat. Havoc & Prodigy)
• No Sex for Ben by The Rapture
• No Fraid A by Munga
• Where’s My Money by Busta Rhymes
• I Want You by C.J.
• Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh
• Stand Up Jamrock by Bob Marley & The Wailers and Damian Marley
• Liberty City: The Invasion by Seryoga
• Vagabond by Greenskeepers
• On a Journey by Electrik Funk
• Nickname by Qadir
• Holy Thursday by David Axelrod
• War is Necessary by Nas
• Zombie by Fela Kuti

With more to follow.

The game itself is expected to sell up to 9 million in the early days of launch and become the best selling computer game of all time.