I own an Ngage. For those not in the know, it's a phone which double as a little handheld games console, like Nintendo's Gameboy. The following is my review, opinions regarding the phone, just in case anyone cares.

As a phone, the Ngage works pretty well. The sounds quality and battery life are acceptable to me, though by no means am I a heavy user of the phone. The address book and message functions are far superior to my old phone (a Nokia 8210 by the way), and allow me to quickly and easily find people and write messages, as well as customising ring tones, etc.

The main selling point of the Ngage is the fact that it plays special Ngage games. Functionally, the unit works pretty well, though a few design flaws regarding the way games are inserted are a minor pain in the neck. This can be worked around buy using some techniques of dubious legality.

The Symbian Operating System offers a large amount of software, so which is good, some which isn't and a whole range in between. Most of these programs I've tended not to use, generally due to the restrictions of typing into the phone. Generally all I've kept using are the games and some World Time keeping tools.

I've had the opportunity to play Super Monkey Ball and Tony Hawk, and these worked well with the controls that the Ngage had to offer. I have also play various Java and SIS games, and again these worked well, and generally easier to control than other Symbian phones I've encountered, mainly due to the control pad.

The real issue with the games is not how they work. In my opinion the games that are offered, and more specifically the Ngage games are all pretty ordinary. Several of them seem to be not much more than examples of 3d technology on a phone, which look good but don't play so well. Several are simply versions of old Playstations games, which I'm sure work well in the lounge room, but not so great on an Ngage.

There seem to be far too many 1st person shooters, which in my opinion don't really work on such a small screen. They are also pretty hard to control, especially for those used to using a mouse for FPS games. Almost all of them try to push the limits of 3d graphics on the phone. This is fine on the games that well desgined and implemented, but there are so many which just don't, either due to the controls or the technological restrictions inheirint with the phone.

My suggestion to game developers is to forget using 3d. Take a look at some games for the Gameboy Advance. There are plenty of non-3d games available for this console, many of which are great, offering fun gameplay and excellent longevity. Why is there nothing like Ogre Tactics on the Ngage. Or even a decent version of Mario? I understand the copyright rules on the specific characters, but surely some decent games in the same vein could be created.

Potentially the Ngage has the ability to shine, but it's really let down by the lack of decent games for it. Come on Nokia, pull your fingers out, and all you game developers out there, think outside the square and create some games with depth, and don't think porting Old Playstation games will do the trick.