Flux Challenge
from PDAmill and Jaybot7

PDAmill has done it again! They have released a FANTASTIC game for the Pocket PC. This one is called Flux Challenge and it’s totally awesome! It ROCKS!

You are racing a ship in a 3D tunnel along with other racers. The graphics are smooth and flowing (even on a 200 MHZ device). The game has been out in pubic beta for some time now, and based on suggestions from the beta testers, dozens of improvements have made this one of the best games for 2004.

It reminds me of an old game I used to play on my Atari 800 many years ago. Only this one is about a thousand times better. I can play this one anywhere I go! Don’t worry, you won’t blow up if you hit the walls. You’ll just slow down a little bit.

Features:

• 6 ships
• 24 tracks
• Cockpit view or larger screen views
• Fantastic music during the game
• Real speech announcements
• Career mode
• Time trials
• Practice mode
• Customizable keys and stylus play!

I found it easier to use to the D-pad to play the game. The stylus play seemed almost too sensitive. Program a button for boost and another for pause and you’re ready to go! If you are using a Pocket PC Phone edition, don’t try to map the SEND or END buttons. It’s best to use the calendar and contacts buttons. If you turn off the full screen option, you’ll see the on-screen buttons. With practice, you should be able to use those almost as easily as the D-pad.

Have I mentioned the graphics?! They are amazing! I never expected to see anything like this on a Pocket PC. The tunnel graphics are bright and colorful. There are even advertisements on the walls, but don’t try to stop and read them...! Control the ship and try not to hit the walls. This will slow you down and make it impossible to finish the race with a respectable time. Race around the track three times to complete the practice laps. You can use unlocked ships and tracks to practice all you want. In order to unlock a track, it must be paid for in career mode first. The ships accelerate automatically. It’s your job to keep it going straight and through the tunnels. Let me just add, that’s easier said than done. The basic tracks are mainly flat. Just move left and right to make it through the maze. As you continue forward, the tracks become harder and sometimes nearly impossible! It will take more than just practice to make it through this game. It will take SKILL !

Obstacles? Well, for starters on the tougher tracks, there are red bands that appear across the track. They slow you down. There are green tracks as well that seem to speed you up. Not to mention the other racers. Pick up fuel along the way and add to your boost ability. You can have a 3 second boost to jump ahead at the last minute.

The only setting adjustment I didn’t see was for gamma or brightness. This game is great to play indoors or the dark. But get the device out in the light and it can be difficult to see. I wish there was a brightness setting. There is a setting for everything else, including sound volume, audio quality, in-game music, additional sounds, cockpit view, textures, high poly models, and even engine trails. For those of you who like the up and down controls reversed, don’t worry… it’s in there too!

It's obvious this game was written to run on nearly any ARM / X-Scale device of any speed. With the ability to turn off some of the features, the game is very responsive even running at only 200 MZH X-Scale. Just for kicks I set my device to run at 333 MHZ and turned on all of the features. I’m impressed. It plays so smoothly.

Are you looking for an intense game that will get your blood flowing? Check out Flux Challenge. It’s the most awesome game you’ll see to date for the Pocket PC. 3D graphics are great and the music will keep the game alive for a long time. Let’s just hope you don’t suffer from motion sickness. This game will make you rock back and forth as you work your way through the tracks. Be on the lookout for shortcuts to cut your time. Earn winnings in the career mode and buy more ships and access to the different tracks. You’ll be on your way to becoming the next Flux Challenge Champion of 2030.

The game takes about 5MB of space and works perfectly on a storage card. I expected a game of this magnitude to take twice as much RAM. I do recommend you close any applications you have open and load up the game. It will run so smoothly, you won’t want to stop!

Try or buy Flux Challenge here. The full version costs $19.95, but trust me - it's WORTH it! ;)

Special thanks to Peter from PDAmill for sending up a pre-release to test and review. Keep up the great work!
This game was tested on a Samsung i700 Pocket PC phone edition from Verizon Wireless.
I was running the speed between 200 MHz and 333 MHz (using a speed step which makes 333 MHz actually faster than 400 MHz!)