Verizon provided a Kyocera 2235 mobile phone for the game test, a model not yet available to customers in this area. It has a direction pad that can be pushed to move an object in any of four directions, a plus in game play. The screen was the normal small size, though.
The Nokia phones provided by Cingular and Cincinnati Bell had only up and down arrows. Games that require movement in four directions are controlled by pushing numbers on the number keypad.
Cingular's Web site features the Cingular Arcade with several games, but Cincinnati Bell's system doesn't provide automatic links to games.
Any mobile phone with Internet service should be able to access games through sites such as www.wiregames.com if the phone is equipped with a browser using the standard wireless access protocol (WAP).
Game playing can be addictive even on the smaller screen common on typical mobile phones if you find a game you enjoy. But playing a game on a small screen may require a little squinting and a lot of scrolling up and down.
As for the games themselves, some are more fun than others.
Some are reminiscent of arcade games that were popular more than 20 years ago. Space Impact, for example, came loaded on the Nokia phones provided by Cingular and Cincinnati Bell. The game involved piloting a space ship to blast enemy ships that constantly fly toward it.
The majority of the games, though, are menu driven. Instead of moving a character around a screen in real time, the games are played by selecting options from a menu.
Typical is Star Trek: First Duty, a game offered through the Sprint system. Players take on the character of cadets attending the Starfleet Academy, and they advance through the game by making menu choices such as a) fire phasers; b) conduct a scan; c) take evasive action.
Star Trek: First Duty is played over the wireless Web, which means players are using air time they'll eventually have to pay for. A few of the games are considered premium services, and players must pay a small fee, usually about US$1, each time they play.
Particularly interesting are interactive two-player games played using wireless links. In games such as Gladiator, you can battle opponents across the room or on another continent by logging into the same game room at the same time.
Menu-driven games are not nearly as fast-moving as those on handheld game systems. In an online game, each choice the player makes must be transmitted to the wireless Web server, which sends a message back to the phone telling it the outcome of the choice.
Perhaps the games that are best suited to mobile phone play online are trivia games, and there are plenty of those available. The variety of games available means you'll always be able to find new questions in your favorite categories, and the lag time associated with playing online just gives you extra time to think.
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