Ideaworks 3D Mile High Pinball v2.58.N-GAGE.SymbianOS9.1.5000th.Release.Cracked-BiNPDA
Mile High Pinball is a first party game published by Nokia, developed for the original gen N-Gage by Bonus.com and ported to the new N-Gage platform by the ever-reliable Ideaworks3D. The new version plays pretty much like the original, but has higher resolution graphics. Some of the original's levels have been removed (there are no Snakes or Ashen levels for example), but the new version is much cheaper too (7 euros compared to the 20 or 30 euros that the original cost).
The game is only playable in vertical/portrait mode, with 1 and 3 operating the flippers and 5 opening the bonus menu (you can redefine these if you want).
Graphics & Sound
Mile High Pinball's graphics are weird and slightly psychedelic, as if some hippy technophile has decided to make a scrapbook of their favourite photos and drawings all blended together.
It works, the different backgrounds give each level a distinct atmosphere, and this is further enhanced by the absolutely excellent music (see below). The scrolling within each level is smooth and fast, though there's a delay between moving from one level to another which also breaks up the music. This delay feels very annoying at first, but you soon get used to it and on the later levels you hardly notice it because you're spending so much time within each level trying to solve the puzzles.
One nice graphical touch is the ability to choose a skin for your ball, and as you earn points more skins are unlocked. This is great if you're bored of the traditional silver model, and we've used the acid house smiley ball in our screenshots.
N-Gage Arena
Mile High Pinball has three online modes: Rankings, Duel Score and Duel Altitude.
Rankings are pretty much like those on other N-Gage games, your game stats are posted to an online league table and you try to improve them to rise up the table.
Duel Score and Duel Altitude are real-time multiplayer modes where you find a partner in the Arena lobby and race to see who can get the highest score or who can get to the highest altitude within a time limit. You can see your opponent's progress next to your own, so there's a real tension as the timer gets closer to zero. The winner gets an Arena point, the loser loses an Arena point, and both players' positions on the Duel league tables are updated after the contest has ended.
Incidentally, the ordinary offline version of the game is called "practice", so the developers seem to expect people to be play MHP primarily as an online game.
TV & Keyboard Test
Some N-Gage-compatible phones (e.g. Nokia N82, N95, N95 8GB, N96) have a TV Out feature which lets you connect the phone to a television set. This can be used for playing N-Gage games, or for any other phone function.
All N-Gage phones are compatible with Bluetooth keyboards that use the HID Bluetooth standard, and such a keyboard can be used to control games or any other phone function.
Mile High Pinball looks nice on a TV set, though it being vertical-only means you're using just the middle-third of the television screen. Some of the sprites look a bit pixelly, but on the whole the game looks rather good.
The game worked fine with a Bluetooth keyboard, there were no problems in controlling it. You may possibly want to redefine the controls though, as 1 and 3 aren't in the most logical positions on a QWERTY layout.
Overall
Mile High Pinball is very original, and perfectly suited to a mobile phone's screen and key layout. As you make your way up the table the puzzle and strategy elements become more prominent, and the game starts to become very addictive. This reviewer played through the entire game in two multi-hour sessions, not because there was a deadline to meet but simply because MHP has such a strong "Just one more go" factor.
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