HANDMARK Warfare Incorporated

I am not a gamer, but I have very much enjoyed this very well organized and implemented game for the Palm OS (My current version also works for the Windows Mobile OS as well, but I have only fully tested the Palm OS version). There are numerous "missions" as well as many separate scenarios that make for an awful lot of entertainment with this game. It can also readily be stopped when other duties are required to be performed first. In addition, the first mission basically and carefully explains the rules of the game and its overall goals within the context of the playing of the game itself. It accomplishes this very important task for newcomers by providing examples of play behavior with sufficient and very understandable text to fully explain the expected results. It also lets you actually perform the necessary operations like buying various weapons and other desirable machines giving a real sense of how things actually work within the game itself. It is a bit more like American football than like European soccer in its play (many discrete operations with individual consequences as compared to a flowing continuum), but very much fun nonetheless. I very highly recommend it for some very entertaining and very long lasting fun!

I spend a lot of time trapped -- on the train, in airports, waiting for late starting meetings -- and I've bought a lot of PDA software to pass the time, for work and for fun. This game, however, leaves all others behind. Someone has finally ported a *great* PC game to PDA so that it keeps all it's best qualities. The graphics are outstanding, the replay factor is wonderful, and fans are constantly building new adventures that they conveniently post on the Harndmark website in the Warefare Inc forum. You can download these new scenarios for free. It's endless and addictive fun, and you'll find yourself looking for reasons to be stuck in line somewhere. My biggest condern when I bought this game was the learning curve. Some more complex games have a high learning curve and you have to find out how to play nearly by accident. However, Handmark anticipated this problem, and the first few scenarios are designed specifically to teach you how everything works. In fact, it's one of the most fun tutorials I've ever encounterd. It makes learning the game as much fun as playing it, and you don't have to read any user's guides to get going. As you progress and want to explore new game strategies, you can visit the Handmark website forum for the game and check archived messages for help or tips, or start a new discussion. You might never manage to find a way to become bored with this game. I haven't yet, and I've had it for nearly a year.

While the game was a spectacular bargain, it took over a week and several e-mails to get the access code to work. The one shipped with it would not even activate the downloaded version. The only additions I would suggest to the game is a "stand ground" feature for the units, as well as additional levels. It only took me a week of occasional play to finish all the levels. But with all that said, I would recommend it to anyone who likes realtime strategy games, and only has a PDA to play on. It is a must have game for all PDA players.