Welcome to PDA247

I have never been a huge fan of games on a PDA, often finding them considerably lacking when compared with the PC or console counterparts. Really, this is not a particularly surprising feeling, as a PC can generally offer superior graphics and sound support, as well as more storage to contain more complex instructions and image files. I was very surprised, therefore, to notice an advert for Arvale, and actually want to download and play it- and, after several days of playing the game for well over an hour at a time, I am very glad I did try it.

Arvale is a RPG, in which you play the role of Duncan, a rather unimposing figure who would rather tend to the castle gardens than take to the road to combat a highly dangerous dragon, which has just awoken from a long sleep. Perhaps it is simply the case that the dragon is a bit grouchy when it has just woken, but, the townsfolk of surrounding villages now live in fear of being eaten, and it is your quest not only to find this dragon, but to kill it also. Quite a lot to ask of a gardener. You are not entirely on your own though, as you are able to garner information during your travels, to help you in this task, giving useful background information as well as vital clues to the path forwards.

Obviously, stepping out of your castle and slaying a dragon is not a huge chore, so you might feel inclined to attempt some of the sub-quests which are available throughout the game. As a flavour of the type of tasks awaiting you, a guard on the castle battlements (close to where you begin you quest) is worried about a young maiden currently in residence in the castle dungeons, and, upon visiting the incarcerated female, you discover that she is happy to provide you with information which will be helpful on your quest- provided that you help her to escape. I'll be completely truthful here, and say that I never did manage to find the key to release her, so, in my copy of the game at least, she is still rotting away, protesting her innocence.... Oh well.

The game's graphics are not fancy, but they are rich and detailed; certainly, they are more than enough to keep you interested in playing the game. You are not going to come across marvelous 3D rendering, but, neither would you tend to do so in a PC-based RPG, as, quite rightly, the focus is on the gameplay and the plot instead. As expected, the game does look good on a VGA machine, and, even more expectedly, the game does not work in 'true" VGA mode, a fact which no longer bothers me, as it seems to be the norm. As you move around the landscapes, soldiers, citizens and enemy creatures avoid you, attack you, or just generally go about their everyday tasks in the background- walk in to a pub, and you will find locals propping up the bar, ordering fresh rounds, or chatting up the barmaid. In order to fit large cities (and other scenarios) onto a map which remains playable on a PDA, there is a "main" map, which allows you to travel between scenarios, and other sub-maps, which load at the relevant time. For example, if you are walking on the main map, the castle will be depicted by a smal image of a castle. However, upon approaching the castle, the map shifts to allow you to explore its passageways, and interact with its inhabitants, for example. As well as this multi-level mapping system, you are able to scroll-out, so to speak, to temporarily give you a wider field of vision, which is great for planning where you need to go next- you will not think of going to the coast to visit a harbour, if you do not know that the harbour exists.

Once you are inside a particular scenario, you are able to interact fully with the surroundings- you can root through people's drawers, look into barrels in the hope of finding something useful, or talk to the inhabitants, if they are not too drunk so as to be incoherent. You need to "touch" as much as possible, in order to get as many useful items as you can hold. Pubs will allow you to replenish your health, whilst blacksmiths sell ordinary weapons and armour- you will need to go to an apothecary or magical weapons dealer if you wish to buy health-giving herbs or magical weapons. All the weapons and potions have limited uses- for example, you can strike someone 30 times with your average sword before it is unfit for use. Different weapons are good for different functions, all of which are clearly labelled- if you come across an adversary armed with a spear, the best course of action is to club them, whilst if they are armed with a club, slicing with a sword would be the way forward. During my playing of the game, making sure that you have a large amount of "fresh" weapons and potions is a necessity, as you never know quite which monsters, or, sometimes, quite how many monsters, are going to jump on you at any one time.

Fun though wandering around the terrain is, the game would not be complete without these monsters, the very reason for which you carry quite so many armaments. Monsters range from small and insignificant creatures, which can be dispatched from whence they came with one good hit, up to large and powerful monsters, who require planning in terms of ingesting potions mid-battle, or selecting the relevant magical weapon, should you have one. Fighting is performed on a difffernt screen, which is divided into two elements; the top showing you the action- you against the monster / enemy, and the bottom shows you information on the weapons you have available, and their powers. Fighting consists simply of selecting you weapon, and taking it in turns with monster to exchange blows. Drinking a potion or chewing a magic herb (medicinal only, I assure you) takes up your turn, and so you need to balance out the merits of risking death and swallowing a potion, only to have the entire benefit knocked out of you by a large monster in the very next turn.

Whilst there are sub-quests to keep you occupied, Arvale is essentially a linear game- you have to complete certain tasks before you can progress. As such, one you have completed the game, I am not sure if you are going to pick it up and play it again. What I am sure of, though, is the huge amount of thought which must have gone into the design of this game. Of particular note for me is the script- there are not many games when I can honestly say that I have laughed out loud, as I have done on several occasions with Arvale. If you accept that you may only play through this game the once, you can be assured that you will find the game entertaining and compelling. Accompanying the game itself is a nice musical score- personal preference dictated that I switched this off immediately, as I do not like background music to a game, but, if that is your sort of thing, then I do not think that you will be at all disappointed.

Conclusion

Entoque map

For me, there is a crunch test for games, because of the way in which I run my VGA screen. I have to soft-reset in order to run in a games-compatible mode; Arvale, however, ensures that this is not a chore, and is worth the wait of a shortish reboot time. There is a demonstration of Artvale available from the PDAMill site, and I heartily recommend that you give this a go, even if PDA games are not really your thing. There is enough gameplay available in the limited demo to give you a thorough test, and more than enough to ensure that you become hooked. Arvale certainly gave me the enthusiasm to look at more games for the PocketPC, which is a feat in itself- to best this game would be an even greater feat, as I have thoroughly enjoyed the hours I have lost to this game. Do look at the Arvale website, though- and not only for the demonstration version. There are maps of all the levels of Arvale (very nice ones too!), which (if you do not consider it cheating!) can help in planning your adventures. Also, there is a description of the different enemies which might face you- you have no excuse for not visiting the ironmonger enough times now!