Can the N-Gage coast along on the glory of titles like Reset Generation, Dance Fabulous or One? Short answer to this one.
No.
Because of the nature of the N-Gage platform, and the steady stream of games (stop laughing over there in the corner), their target is constantly moving. The games that get the most attention will be the most recent ones. Because of the casual and shorter term nature of the games (with some notable exceptions), the last few games released will be the ones that the system is judged on.
And the last few games from the N-Gage team have not placed the platform in the best of lights. This all came to a head in my head (as it were) with the last release – Guitar Hero World Tour. Now I've already reviewed this title as an Ovi store release. Let me save you reading the full review... It's bad. Really bad. Poor sound, bad controls, and it gives off all the appearance of a cheap cash in on a name (and that name probably lets it sell buckets).
And this was given pride of place for a fortnight as the latest N-Gage game. That's going to help the platform no end. Not.
You are only as good as your last release.
Yes, N-Gage has lost its way a little bit lately. There have been some staff departures that have impacted on the development side, and their departed community manager has not yet been replaced... but there must be someone inside Nokia pulling the levers. Someone had to press the web button marked 'publish' for Guitar Hero World Tour (and all the others). That person must have a superior, and somewhere in that chain is the person who is, right now, Mr N-Gage.
And that person is the one ultimately responsible for the current slide in N-Gage quality. I wonder if they've actually sat down and played these games as they go out the door? Let's assume that they are – that means they're played the game, they're aware of the goals of N-Gage (“N-Gage is mobile gaming at its best!”) and decided that yes, this 'cheap cash-in of a java title ported from a basic handset to the top of the line smartphones' is “gaming at its best” and “exceptional games”.
Really.
Because the alternative is that Nokia don't care any more about N-Gage, nobody has any professional pride in making sure that what is going out is more than just filler, and that a brand that has been placed on millions of phones and is still actively advertised is being destroyed through negligence.
To be honest I'm not sure which option I want to be true. What I know is that I look at the current state of the N-Gage and I see a poor platfrom, struggling to breathe or find an identity.
-- Ewan Spence, Sept 2009.