California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush is an arcade game all about gold-mining in the American old west. You have to get as much gold as you can while avoiding such hazards as cave-ins, bats and exhaustion.
How To Get It:
You can download California Gold Rush from Ovi Store by selecting your phone's Ovi Store icon, or by going to store.ovi.mobi on your phone's web browser.
Alternatively you can go to store.ovi.com on your computer's browser.
If you can't see the game displayed on Ovi Store, it probably isn't compatible with your phone model.
For more info about using Ovi Store, see our Unofficial Ovi Store FAQ page.
Ovi Gaming Review:
Phone Used For Review - Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (games may be different on different phone models)
Gameplay - California Gold Rush looks like an arcade game but is really more of a puzzle game or board game. It's mostly turn-based, you move your character one step at a time through various gold mines trying to look for treasure while avoiding dangers such as cave-ins, bats, lava etc. You have to climb back to the surface from time to time to bank your treasure, as you can only carry a certain amount with you, and the aim of each level is usually to bank a certain amount of money (though there are other tasks too such as rescuing trapped miners, discovering archaeological artefacts etc). There's a shop where you can buy extra equipment and maps to guide you to treasure.
The main catch is your stamina, which works as a turn limit: if you do a lot of digging you use up your stamina more quickly, and when the stamina runs out the level ends, so you have to choose your moves carefully if you want the highest scores. There are two game modes, the main story mode which contains varied missions, and a simpler timed quick game mode where you just dig as far as you can within a time limit.
Graphics - Simple 2D animated sprites reminiscent of the Amiga era. They're colourful, cute and clear but not exactly cutting edge.
Sound - In keeping with the American goldmining theme, the soundtrack has a very strong Wild West feel, with music playing throughout the game.
Multiplayer & Online - None.
Overall - This game is fairly simple but there's just enough variety to keep it interesting, and it should suit casual players quite well. The one drawback is the tedious control system on touch-based phones, which requires you to tap next to your character for every step they take, so simply walking down an empty corridor can involve half a dozen separate taps. In general though, this is fairly pleasant to play and there are a lot of levels to work through (over twenty five main levels and several hidden levels along with other secrets).
Score - 75%
Ovi Gaming Video:
Ovi Gaming Screenshots (taken on a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic):
