If your thumb's not already sore from all the mobile text messages you send out each day, you should give Orange Pixel's new game a try - Thumb-It. Heavily reminiscent of arcade and console rhythm games, the title transfers this gameplay to mobile phones with a unique two-thumb control system. Starting out easy, Thumb-It will put thumbs all over the world to heavy use as players try to complete the harder challenges with their reflexes.

It's also possible to upload the player's high scores to rumbleX.com, which offers global rankings for the game. Additionally, players can unlock a host of new characters and earn special bonus rewards.

Thumb-It is available now for a variety of mobile phones, either from Orange Pixel's RumbleX service or your local mobile carrier.

Many older gamers should fondly remember Marble Madness, a vividly colored arcade game that had players carefully rolling a marble along dangerous terrain, avoiding traps and gaps in the landscape; all while forced to obey the basic laws of physics. Timing for the right momentum was the key back then, and so it will be in Freefall, the new mobile game by Alten8 that brings some of the old arcade memories to your phone.

Freefall offers 50 levels spread over 3 different worlds to players, laid out on intriguing 3D isometric maps. The levels can often be only completed by knowledge of world topology and the use of special areas, reachable through accelerating and bounding grounds. All kinds of dangers need to be avoided, like fixed and moving bumpers, to magnetised enemies. More experienced players are challenged by finding secret areas in many of the levels.

Freefall is launching now for over 250 different phone models through distribution networks worldwide. So if you're in need of some old-school marble action on the go, this could be your game of choice.

More of the screens await after the jump!

Nokia has announced a deal with entertainment industry giant EA to bring an assortment of popular EA and EA Sports video game brands to next-generation Nokia devices. Through the Nokia Content Discoverer, an easy software delivery system for phone owners, both companies plan to deliver high-quality mobile games to millions of Nokia customers.

The first wave of games under this deal is scheduled for a launch at the end of the year, and will bring users titles like Tetris, Tetris Mania, The Sims 2, Doom, FIFA 06, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 and FIFA Street 2. In the first half of 2007, the mobile gaming offensive is then expected to continue, with more franchises seeing their conversion to a mobile title.

About the deal, Jaakko Kaidesoja, director of the Games & Multimedia departments at Nokia commented: “Nokia and EA have a common vision regarding the opportunities in mobile games and how to turn them into a reality. When you combine Nokia’s leadership in hardware, usability and software platforms with EA’s brands and quality thresholds, the results will speak for themselves.”

By bringing in a major console publisher, Nokia hopes to raise the quality bar for mobile games even further, making their devices more attractive as entertainment platforms.

There are those who want to have as much space as possible, not caring for the size or design of an external HDD; then there are those who want to have their HDDs not bigger as a fingernail. Formac's new line of portable, lightweight hard drives are a bit of a compromise between the two extremes. The recently launched "Disk Mini" drives come in an elegant white or black finish and have the pocket-size measures of 129mm x 92mm x 22mm, while weighing no more than 124g.

The Disk Minis are bus-powered and thus do not require any external power source. So how how much stuff can they hold, you ask? Well, depending on the money you put down, you'll get either a 60, 80 or 120GB version - certainly more than enough for storage on the go, especially when it's so light on the pocket. The cheapest version is available for £70 (about $130), while the biggest Disk Mini will cost you a hefty £160 ($242). But we guess it's never been a question of money for the lovers of luxurious gadgets...

With a little delay, Sony is now shipping out the new Memory Stick Entertainment Packs we've reported earlier. They come in 1GB or 2GB sizes, together with a launcher DVD. You'll use an unlock code to transfer the movies contained on the DVD to your PSP.

In the newest edition of the Memory Stick Entertainment Packs, four movies are included - "S.W.A.T.", "XXX: State Of The Union", "The Grudge", and "Hitch". The 1GB pack is going to cost you $47, while the 2GB one retails at $77. The packs are also usable with other devices utilizing the Memory Stick format - Sony's digital cameras, camcorders, and Sony Ericsson phones.

It's likely that Sony will release even more Entertainment Packs in the future, albeit their price point is of course debatable. Still, you can't complain about having more variety available when it comes to PSP software.

The Mighty Troglodytes, developers of mobile games such as Yu: A Warrior Tale and Lucky Luke Outlaws, have announced their newest title, called Crazy Dog. Supposedly, it's the first game in the "Garden Stories" series and puts players into the role of Crazy, a dog that has been bitten by a Frenzy Mosquito. Because of the bite, Crazy will attack anything he sees and so his owners have decided to leave his food bowls far away from him. Now, Crazy must defend his food from starving neighbourhood dogs while being chained to a post in the middle of the garden.

Gameplay consists of moving Crazy in 8 possible directions using 8 keys on the mobile phone. Crazy automatically barks as he approaches his enemies, to frighten them away. As players progress, more and more dogs are closing in on Crazy's food, obviously making the game more difficult.

While it's a simple concept, the developers claim that Crazy Dog will put the player's reflexes to the test like no other mobile game. The unique graphical style of The Mighty Troglodytes will also help in giving the game a more unique identity.

Crazy Dog will be available in May 2007 for more than 200 handsets, with the two other games in the "Garden Stories" series, Smash The Mole and Gob 'n’ Frog will be following up in July and September of next year, respectively.

If your mobile phone is in need of a little more "oomph" in regards to games, Bandai America might have the right solution. The company just launched the first three titles in their planned "long list" of 3D titles for mobiles. The games are called Karate Spirits 3D, Blade Slayer, and Brunswick Billiard Challenge.

With the first two, Bandai hopes to make every fighting game fan happy. Karate Spirits 3D has already been met with critical reception on related mobile gaming sites and promises "well-balanced, customizable fighters that perform a whole arsenal of attack moves and strike styles". Chain and combination moves are entirely possible as well, only limited by the player's skills and imagination. By ascending belt ranks, higher levels of attacks, which make the characters even stronger, are gained. With a development team that has its roots in arcade and console game development, Bandai intends to reach a new level of quality for 3D fighting games on mobile platforms.

Blade Slayer offers fluid character animation, fast-paced gameplay and more than a dozen fight combinations for each character, all of which utilize unique weapons. Promising multi-angle 3D fights and vivid 2D visuals at the same time, Bandai hopes to create a never-before-seen mobile game experience.

Brunswick Billiard Challenge marks the first foray into the mobile gaming world for the well-respected billiard brand. The game introduces a variety of 3D backgrounds to play on, as well as an intuitive shot set-up mode that allows players to adjust overall aim of the shot and cue angle and height for adjusting spin. Because of the 3D engine, the camera is fully customizable and allows the player to view the table from any angle.

All of the titles sound very promising, and while the 3D engines used in the games look a bit rudimentary, we have to remember what platforms they're intended for. We don't know yet how these games will actually play, but if Bandai has spent as much time developing the gameplay as they have developed their 3D technology, the three games should provide a few fun hours for mobile game fans. Bandai has even more games up their sleeve, and we'll let you know about them as soon as we can.

YDreams has announced Cristiano Ronaldo Underworld Football, a soccer game for mobile phones with a rather unusual combination. This time, world star Ronaldo isn't just playing against another club - he's facing a whole realm of demons in a wacky, action-packed mobile experience. Players take command of Ronaldo, and using his skills, defeat the unscrupulous hoards of skeletons, ogres and ice trolls that make up the opposing team. Of course, monsters and demons aren't familiar with the term "fair play", so the challenge will be greater than players might expect.

Besides bringing along the Portuguese soccer player's name and appeal, publisher YDreams also promises innovative graphics and smooth gameplay. The title is currently in final development stages and will be released later this year.
While the game's concept sounds rather unusual, it's quirky and unique, and should be infinitely more interesting than just another mobile sports game. To give you an idea of what Cristiano Ronaldo Underworld Football will look like, YDreams has also released some character art.

 

Vivendi Games' mobile division announced today the release of Delta Force Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre for mobile phones. Based on Novalogic's PC game and inspired by Ridley Scott's award-winning motion picture, the game is just a part of the on-going mobile game publishing partnership with Novalogic.

Team Sabre is a squad-based shooter, featuring 10 missions across the deserts and villages of the Persian Gulf and the jungles of South America. Gameplay is divided between ground action and helicopter combat, with 20 action sequences. Players have team members with different skills under their control, such as snipers, gunners and engineers. The precise point-and-click controls are supposed to provide flawless maneuverability, even in the most hectic situations.

Delta Force Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre will be available on over 500 mobile phone models in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, from a variety of mobile carriers throughout Europe.

Abandon Mobile has announced the release of NBC Sports Real Golf, billed to be the "most realistic golf game" available for cellphones. Debuting in North America on Cingular Wireless and other J2ME carriers, the game attempts to bring an exciting, complex version of golf to players.

In an attempt to attract both casual and hardcore crowds, NBC Sports Real Golf offers a variety of club selections, as well as customization abilities - for example, setting variable course conditions, such as wet and slow or firm.

NBC Sports announcer Dan Hicks will be complementing the game with video commentary, and with the addition of photorealistic images and unlockable items, NBC Sports Real Golf is going to be the definitive golf game for mobile players. For players who complete a round in par or better, the ultimate challenge is offered through a daunting 19th hole, par 8, 1320 yard hole.

Abandon Mobile is the only mobile publisher holding the NBC Sports license, so we can expect other titles in the series to follow. For now, give Real Golf a try and tell us what you think.