You’ll probably like the graphics and screen layout when you start the game, and the challenging levels in Queue will keep you coming back for more.

It’s harder than it looks, and you’ll have to get the pieces where they need to go without disturbing the ones that are already in place.  Higher levels up the stakes with obstacles, bulldozers, and power-ups.  It’s a satisfying game thanks to clever, eye-catching graphics and a custom interface.  The game features a healthy 100 levels, and since any given level has a variety of successful approaches, all but the most hardcore puzzleheads will find a lot of entertainment value here.  Island Labs just released what it calls the “Flatiron Levels,” an add-on which features 100 new levels.  All in all, one of the better puzzle games I’ve seen.  A-

Sea Strike

I’m betting you’ve probably already looked at the screenshot and are thinking, “SubHunt, right?”  Well, you’re mostly right--this game is actually SubHunt in reverse--this time you’re the sub. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a game like this on the Pocket PC.  A year ago, a game called Battle Marine was released with a similar concept.  It wasn’t a bad game, but it was a little tedious and didn’t get much more difficult as you progressed through the levels.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

You’ll probably like the graphics and screen layout when you start the game, and the challenging levels in Queue will keep you coming back for more.

Sea Strike  seems to have corrected these problems, and you’ll have your hands busy from the beginning.  Your little sub fires both horizontally and vertically, which is a good thing, since you have a lot to contend with:  Aside from the ships which launch generous amounts of depth charges against you, you’ll also have to contend with other subs.  And your oxygen supply is limited, so you’ll have to collect oxygen from bubbles to avoid running out.  Game play is fast, furious, and generally enjoyable. 

The game also has nice visuals, with some nice use of shading and color and decent backgrounds.  In many ways, it’s similar to some of the coin-op games of the early 80s--you’re so busy trying to stay alive that before you know it, the game’s over and it’s time to insert more quarters.  Still, it’s a better bet than the more tedious Battle Marine, and it’s fun to look at to boot.  A-

Overall, these two titles are quality efforts and are worth taking a look at if you’re want something that’s enjoyable if not groundbreaking.  One word of warning, though--the value of the demo for each game is a little questionable.  The demo of each game is basically the full version with a limited number of plays unless you enter a serial number.  Each new game you start after loading the program counts as a “play” (Most demos that use this method just count the number of times you’ve loaded the game.)  Depending on how adept you are, you can exhaust your number of plays in a couple of minutes.  Island Labs should really consider a different approach to give gamers a more thorough feel of how the game plays before they decide to take the plunge (limiting the game to the first couple levels or so would work well here, I think.)