Byline: Toby Weber

I hate the Xbox. My loathing doesn't arise from some general animus toward Microsoft or Bill Gates - the damn thing's just too complicated. For $200, you get a controller with at least half a dozen buttons, 3-D graphics that make it impossible to understand what's going on, and games that take at least two hours to learn.

With lots of people betting lots of money that wireless gaming will take off big time, undoubtedly these games will be just as monstrous as their modern wired counterparts. But I want old school. Pac-man. Galaga. Space Invaders. These were the games of my youth, the games I still long for - easy to learn, easy to play and easy to enjoy. These are handsets, after all, not big-screen TVs, meaning the more simple the graphics and user interface, the better.

At least one company is showing signs of getting it. Software developer THQ is introducing to wireless devices a host of old games from Intellivision, an early '80s rival to the Atari 2600. Nextel subscribers can download the games onto Motorola handsets, and Sprint PCS customers will be able to get in on the action later this summer.

Adapting old video games for mobile technology makes a lot of sense, especially with so many twenty- and thirtysomethings jonesing for a fix of '80s-era nostalgia. But how will Intellivision translate on a mobile phone? There's only one way to find out.

After fiddling with the handset for a few minutes, I finally open Astrosmash, basically a cross between Space Invaders and Asteroids. The graphics are good, especially on a high-end handset with a color display. I begin to play, and it's just what I've been looking for: fun and easy.

But after a few minutes, I find it's in fact TOO easy. The gun fires automatically, so all you have to do is move back and forth - and you can die about 10 times before you actually lose. After one or two games, I'm out-and-out bored with this. On to the next game, baseball.

This one has more potential. You choose the pitch, swing, bunt, steal - all sorts of things. It's more involved, so it has more staying power than Astrosmash. The main question for baseball is the user interface. Trying to control any game where you have several players on your team is difficult, especially on a small handset with small buttons. Happily, though, I find I can operate the game rather easily. The numbers on the handset correspond to players on the field. After a few minutes of tossing the ball around, I get the hang of it and start playing.

But again, like Astrosmash, it doesn't hold my attention. A nine-inning game goes on way too long, and the boxy graphics are getting on my nerves. The same happens with soccer, hockey, basketball - just about every game available. These games just aren't as fun or as exciting as I remember. This is fast turning into a debunking of fond childhood memories.

Of course, these games are meant to help pass idle time, not provide hours of entertainment during reruns and sleepovers. For that purpose, the games are great. And eventually, these are the types of games that will come standard with every handset, a step up from the current offerings of Snake and Brick Attack.

But as far as good fun in its own right, you might want to look somewhere else.

Me, I'm thinking of getting back into Transformers. Does anyone know if they still make those?

COPYRIGHT 2002 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group