Ghost Ball

I will be shocked if there is anyone out there who actually enjoys this game. It's not even worth the time to download it to your mobile device. With literally millions of games and fun applications out there, there is just no reason to play Ghost Ball. Let me tell you why: You control a white ball. You move it with the pad or arrows. Meanwhile, colored balls crash into you. You need to try and avoid them. If you hit them or one of the sides, you lose. That's it. You can hit "retry" all you want, but I highly doubt you will ever last more than ten seconds. The game may pretend to be based on skill, but it is really blind lick that controls how things operate. The speed is simply too fast for anyone to be able to control. Especially if you are playing on a mobile device, you will break your thumbs before you get beyond the first level. Why anyone would design such a game is really beyond me. It is just not fun and even though it doesn't take much time to play and lose (and believe me, you will lose), it is still a waste of time that you could be using to play something actually fun. I mean, why not play an online blackjack game or anything in which you can use your brain rather than you thumb to try and win. Blackjack can be won, Ghost Ball can only be played until crying in frustration, you turn off your mobile in disgust and actually go back to work (or whatever you needed to do).

Bandit Ludo

Let's be honest. Bandit Ludo is nothing more than a video version of Parcheesi. While it may come in handy to have Parcheesi on your mobile device, is that really necessary? I mean I have never fully understood the concept of turning all board games into video games. The reason board games tend to be fun is that they are played on a board with competitors gathered around. Taking that experience and putting it on a cell phone is something else. Parcheesi and cell phones just don't seem to go together.

But enough of my rant, on to the game. The game is played on a board that looks like your standard Parcheesi board with I guess what you would call a "Mexican" look. Yes, you guessed it. Sombreros and guitars dot the background and add, well I have to be honest, absolutely nothing to the game experience.

You roll an animated die and move your pawns around the board. If you land on an enemy pawn, that pawn goes back to his start. You need to roll a "star" to move out of your home, and the first one to move all his pawns to the home territory is the winner. Now, since you re playing against the computer, this just means that if you move your pawns before the computer does you win.

There are a lot of free mobile games out there, perhaps too many. I think that Bandit Ludo may prove that point. It backs the maxim: Just because a game is fun, it may not be fun as a mobile game. Sorry, but playing Parcheesi on a cell phone? I have better games to play (see my review of Absolute Zero for something more fun).

First Light

First Light is a clever game. I have to admit that much. It is a simple concept, but it is very fun and will keep you coming back for more. Unlike most games that record scores, your score rises when you do well, but sinks when you mess up. Keeping a high score requires constant effort.

How does it work? Simple. You control a large white ball. You use the arrow keys to navigate around the screen. You bounce off the walls that frame the playing area. Small white balls appear at random bouncing around with you. If you can hit a small white ball with your large one, you get one point.

At the same time, there are small black balls that are also bouncing around with you. If you hit a black one, you lose a point. The point total is always shown in the center of the screen. It can get real frustrating as you chase down the white balls only to run from the black ones.

In the beginning, there is only one black ball. But each time you hit a white one and get a point, another black ball rolls into the playing area. When you have more than ten points, the playing area is crowded with black balls and navigating to the one white one that can win you a point takes patience, skill, and a quick hand. One small slip, and your point total starts to fall.

In this game, within a few seconds you can go from a personal best record to almost nothing. That's why when you have a large total and you want to end the game and record your score, you press the space bar. Otherwise, the game will keep going forever.

Absolute Zero

Absolute Zero is a modern update of the classic game Asteroids that can be downloaded to a cell phone, PDA, or other mobile device. It is really fun and does what games like these are supposed to do: It makes time fly by. After all, the reason you are playing on a mobile device is that you have some "down" time during the day. Playing Absolute Zero makes this down time just fly by (pardon the expression, it is a flying game.)

What are the differences between Absolute Zero and Asteroids. Well, first the graphics are nicer. In Asteroids, you just have three crude lines forming a triangle. This is supposed to be your spaceship. In Absolute Zero, your spaceship actually looks like a spaceship. You don't have to try that hard to imagine your ship flying through space blasting at asteroids.

Also, you have a double gun which gives you a slight edge in shooting. What is really different however is that the asteroids are no longer the main target. You have other ships going around trying to take shots at you. If you get hit you lose health. As you fire, you also lose ammo. Unlike Asteroids, there is no unlimited ammo available. Luckily, you can replenish both your health and your ammo.

To move your spaceship, just use the arrow-keys and watch your ship zip through space. The "Z" key turns on the tractor beam to pick up astronauts. The spacebar is what you need to press continuously to fire on enemies and asteroids. Asteroids will sometimes be hiding health packs or ammo. Run them over with your ship and you can reload and bring yourself back from near dead.

The gaming experience is both fun and challenging. Look, it's been thirty years since Asteroids was released. A new design every thirty years isn't so bad when you think of it.