Gamebox Asia - PDAMill

Once again, PDA Mill has brought us a Gamebox Title and I could not wait to get it installed because I knew it would be a quality product. The Game download is about 2 megabytes so very quickly it was brought down and installed in just a matter of minutes. Once installed the game asked me for my name and then produced a menu of 3 game choices. The Classic Mahjong, where you must remove like tiles that are free on either side. Shisen-Sho, a unique version of Mahjong where the tiles can only be removed if an imaginary line can drawn betweehn the matching tiles. Nagori, a memory game where you can only see one tile at a time and must remove all matching pairs of tiles.

PDAMill has provided us with a nice history of each game and an extensive help system that explains the nuances of each challenge. The help system also gives us an "About the Tiles" section. Here you can see graphical representation of all the tile sets that are in the game and become familiar with them so the challenges ahead may be somewhat easier. There is a also a nice credits section where the all too easily forgotten programmers that have provided us with this excellent game are listed.

Under the settings menu you can change all kinds of features within the game. This includes Sound Volume, Sound Quality and Music Volume. One of three different Tile Sets and the shading of those tile sets and turning off the visual effects. Finally you can control the brightness of the game which is independent of the brightness you have chosen for your device.

Once inside the first of the three offered games, Mahjong, you're given a choice of Free Game, Tournament or Multiplayer versions. In a free game you can choose your layout, the difficulty of the game (which affects the amount of time you have) and whether or not you want time at all so you can practice for the tournement or multiplayer modes. Each layout shows you how many tiles are in the puzzle and also the best time if you have done the puzzle in time mode previously. The game itself plays in landscape mode which gives you a better field of vision and allows you to play more effectively. The tiles are rendered very nicely and are easy to see. You are clearly given progress via the status bar up top which tells you your time left and how many tiles you have left. On the bottom are several options such as pause, undo, hints and reset. You can also turn off the music and sounds from here with a simple click. I really liked the interface and found it very easy to navigate and nothing was questionable. A quick mention of Tournment mode, with Hexacto's Mahjong I played it primarily for the Emporer's Challange which consisted of a series of boards that you had to clear and were given wisdom on completion of each one. Gamebox Asia has not left me in the cold here either, in the tournament mode you're given a pyramid to reach the top of. You can choose your route to the top. Each square in the pyramid also has a really cool scroll zoom feature where you hold the stylus on the box and it'll show you the layout for that box. I like it! I'm not sure how much I like the multiplayer though because it's a single device multiplayer and you have to pass the device back and forth with each set of tiles you find. It would be nice if there was IR or Wireless type play but this is a minor complaint, it's great they added the multiplay in there!

Shisen Sho is a cool Mahjong alternative because the tiles have to be able to have an imaginary line drawn between them in order for them to be removed. This can make you really think when there's little time left as this line can't make multiple turns. As with the original, you have a set of puzzles to choose from and you can practice with free mode or do the tournement mode that gives you the already familiar pyramid to tackle. The music and sound effects of removing tiles is very nice through all of this play and doesn't get old although i'll probably eventually turn the music off.

The surprise hit of this Collection is the final game of Nagori. This is your basic concentration type game and it is really challenging and FUN! In one of the easiest puzzles, there are 18 tiles laid out in a straight line, you're given a quick 1 second glance at the start and then they are all turned over. You have to remove the pairs by remembering where they are and can only see two at a time. It keeps track of how long it took and also your accuracy, this can really help to sharpen your mind. The most difficult of these puzzles contained 40 tiles and I can only dream of getting 100% accuracy on this level! I'll have a blast trying though.

As with all PDA Mill titles, the general look and feel of Gamebox Asia is solid and is a joy to use and play. The sounds are top notch, the music, touted as being done by one of Pocket PC's very best is excellent and the games themselves are great diversions when you need some long term time killers or just quick fix to get you through a waiting line. One more thing to mention, $9.95 is the price of admission for this great addition to your PDA games library. PDA Mill has once again given us a title that no self respecting Pocket PC gamer can be without, hat's off guys, great job!

Added: February 9th 2004
Reviewer: Bill Schoonmaker
Score:
Related Link: PDAmill Gamebox Asia
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