Amoebas Preview

Every mobile gamer loves online multiplayer. Witness the success of Bejeweled Multiplayer or JAMDAT Bowling 2, each of which makes great use of over-the-air gameplay functionality. Still, even the best gameplay, like the finest stoned wheat crackers, grows stale after a while. That's why we're totally ready for Chasma's Amoebas to come along and revitalize the genre. Judging by a recent build, it could happen in the very near future.

Amoebas is a slightly more complex version of Othello. Play pieces of various colors fill the board. You and your opponent begin with only one piece, at opposite corners of the screen. At each turn, you are given a choice between two colors. When you choose a color, you claim all pieces of that hue that are adjacent to the pieces you currently own. Additionally, your opponent cannot choose the color you currently control, thus giving you a strategic incentive to block him. The object is to own the most pieces when no more moves can be made. Each player has a cute, animated, single-celled avatar--hence the name "Amoebas."

Using such simple, yet addictive, gameplay mechanics ensures that Amoebas will be suitable for casual play. Chasma is determined not to let play get too casual, though. All too often in online multiplayer games, players mysteriously leave the game when they're losing. As a result of this unsportsmanlike behavior, I've hardly ever gotten to play through the fourth quarter of an Xbox Live game of NBA 2K3. Fortunately, Amoebas provides a solution. Chasma promises that players who constantly drop out of play accumulate "bad karma." Later, when they attempt to join a game, they are automatically paired with others of similarly bad karma. Maybe now I'll actually be able to register some wins online.

The other major problem with the current selection of online games is finding someone to play. In the case of games like Mforma's Mobile Bowling, I was forced to play with myself...using two different handsets. The creators of Amoebas assure me that I'll never again have to "hone my cone alone." The game will automatically uses your phone's contact list as an Amoebas "friends list," so it's possible to invite a buddy for a game. It's a known fact that kicking your buddies' asses is way more fun that bumping heads with strangers, so the friends list should be a welcome innovation. The makers of online games know better than anyone that being antisocial is only fun in a social environment.

In addition to its online features, Amoebas lets you play against a CPU opponent. You can challenge the computer at one of three difficulty levels. If you triumph over the machine on hard mode, you're treated to a bonus level, the object of which is to reach a special square in the middle of the board.

Although the UI wasn't final, and the game still crashed occasionally, Amoebas is already shaping up to be some high-quality, competitive puzzling. We look forward to the final version.