New portable game system the N-Gage By Nokia
The N-Gage itself is oriented "horizontally," as the current Game Boy Advance is oriented. On the left you'll find a genuine D-pad and on the right a keyboard with a couple of hotkeys for gaming. Sitting in the middle is a somewhat large, backlit LCD capable of displaying, colors. Around back, and under the cover, you'll find a battery compartment and an MMC slot. Games will be available exclusively on MMC, but you'll also be able to use the teeny cards for compressed audio in the form of ACC.
Further, the N-Gage itself is extremely comfortable and very light - much lighter than you'd think from pictures. Oddly, you turn the unit on its side to make calls. It also packs a speakerphone and automatically pauses music/games should you receive a call while you're goofing off.
We know you want all the details. Unfortunately many of the crucial specifics went unanswered. Prices haven't been announced for either the device or games. We can tell you that it will be less than 300$ for the unit and less then 40$ for games, but not much else. When? Expect to se a full rollout by the holiday 2003 season. And that's a global launch. The N-Gage will initially be available exclusively thorough T-Mobile, but additional carriers are possible in the future. Interestingly enough, the N-Gage and games will be available through a variety of channels. You will be able to go to a local retailer, cell phone outlet, or straight to the local carrier for your goodies.
-- M. Wiley--IGN.com
Quick Preveiw---Baseball Breakdown 2003
World Series Baseball 2K3-Xbox,PS2
World Series Baseball 2K3 is now on PS2 along with Xbox. WSB2K3 has the deepest franchise mode af all of the baseball games this year,but also the best graphics and maybe even the gameplay is the best. In franchise mode you have unlimited years and you have to hire your own coaches, sending out scouts,negotiating contracts, managing lineups and the new feature of picking the percentage of time a player plays. The only bad thing about the game so far is it is the only sega sports game that's not online. You also have the deepest create-a-player with over 90 create-a-player custimze options. This looks like the best baseball game of the year for any system. This game will be coming out in March.
MLB Inside Pitch 2003-Xbox
Inside Pitch 2003 is coming out only on Xbox. Their is not a lot known about Inside Pitch other than it is online. It is the only baseball game that is online for any of the 3 main systems. This looks like the best feature for this game. The franchise mode looks like the worst for any of the games because you can only play one season. This might change since it is not coming out until late May. The graphics look nice and look like the best other than WSB2k3. There is a fantasy draft and over60 Create-a-player custamize options. This game looks good if you have Xbox Live.
All Star Baseball 2004-Xbox,PS2,GC,GBA,PC
All-Star Baseball 2004 will be available on PS2,Xbox,Gamecube,PC,and GameBoy Advance in early March. All-Star has a solid franchise mode with 20 seasons. One of the best features that will have you keep playing is the trading cards again. The graphics are alright. The player models aren't very good, but the faces might just be the best there are in baseball. Their are over 500 MLB faces, which is more than any other baseball game other than WSB2K3. The gameplay isn't the best, but is about the same as last year. Another not so good thing is that All-Star isn't online anymore. It has down loadable rosters, but that is it. It has fantasy draft and 45 create-a-player custimize options. This looks like a solid game for Gamecube, but doesn't seem to be as good as World Series Baseball 2K3. Look for All-Star Baseball 2004 in early March.
MVP Baseball 2003-Xbox,PS2,PC
MVP Baseball 2003 is the newest baseball game from EA Sports. It looks to be a heck of a lot better than its last baseball game Triple Play. MVP's franchise mode looks to be a close second to WSB2K3. It has unlimited seasons and a unique challege goals. You have to complete a certain amount of challenges in order to keep your job. Some are 7 seasons with over .600 winning%and .700% winning% verse your rivals in a 10 season period. The graphics are probably the least developed out of the baseball games this year. The player models are okay,but the faces are not very good. Another good thing is the pitching. This is the first baseball game that has realistic balls and strikes ratio. Their is a meter that strength and accuracy of the pitch in the wind-up of the pitcher. There is no fantasy draft and the create-a-player has over 60 custiomize options. This game will be coming out in March for Xbox and PS2 and June for the PC. It will also be online for the PC.
High Heat Baseball 2004-PS2,Xbox,GC,PC,PS1,GBA
High Heat has improved a lot,but I'm not sure if it is at the levell of others. It's franchise mode is average with unlimited seasons and a fantasy draft. The cool thing about High Heat is you can change every gameplay attribute,like pitching speed. The graphics have gotten better,but are still close to the worst player faces and models,and are not very realistic. The gameplay looks to still have its arcade-like feel and its authenticity. There are only about 30 create-a-player custimize options, but High Heat is known for its great create-a-player option. Look for this to be out March for the PC,Xbox,PS2,and Gameboy Advance, and out for PSX and GameCube in April.
Final Thoughts
All games seemed to improve since last season,but if you have a PS2 or Xbox World Series Baseball 2K3 is the one for you. If you have a Gamecube, All-Star is the best one. If you want an online title for Xbox than Inside Pitch is the one for you. If you want to try something new than Mvp Baseball is the one to buy.---Zach
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N-Gage--Get a good veiw of the N-Gage
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GM Tyler&AM Zach
