Introduction
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Features :
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User guide
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Benchmark
Reviews
 
Try before you buy
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Here are the main features of StrangeMaze:

• It's a real 3D game
  Most other games that call themselves 3D just offer a 3D perspective and either prevent you from moving or limit your movement to a certain direction. StrangeMaze allows you to explore the 3D world in any direction in realtime, with a similar 3D engine to the original Wolfenstein 3D game (pre-Doom).
   
• Global appeal
  Since StrangeMaze gameplay is based on simple established maze concepts - you're in a maze and you've got to get out - most people should already understand the game and thus pick it up very quickly.  StrangeMaze is targeted at the broadest of global audiences, young and old, from the demanding gamer to casual and even non-gamers.  It's an original game, which can appeal to people who like intellectual puzzle games as well as people who like racing and 3D games. StrangeMaze should equally appeal to the male and female audience.
   
• Replayability
  Despite it's size, a game that offers so much replayability since everything in the game is randomly generated including the mazes, landscapes and colours. The game ships with 100 levels, but these levels can be played again and again since they are different each time.
   
• A new game for a new breed of mobile phone
  StrangeMaze was specifically designed for the new breed of Java mobile phone.  Java phones are so new, so innovative, so special... so why should we grace them with second-hand decades-old 2D games that were originally designed for a different platform?  Don't Java phones deserve something new that has been designed specifically for them?
   
• Smooth performance on real phones
  Our benchmark page describes how fast the game runs on different phones.  The speed measurement is called the framerate - i.e. the rate at which the frames or still images in a game's animation are drawn to give the appearance of movement - and this is measured in frames per second (FPS).  As such, a higher speed doesn't mean that the game plays faster and is more difficult to play, but it does mean that the game delivers smoother flicker free animation and more responsive gameplay.  So far it appears that the Nokia phones give the smoothest performance with 11 FPS on the Nokia 3410 to 48 FPS on the colour Nokia 3510i (both phones are cheap value for money phones aimed at the mass market).  The Motorola phones are giving a 4 FPS performance whilst the Siemens phones start at 2 FPS - nevertheless StrangeMaze is still playable and enjoyable on these phones.  For more information please visit the benchmark page.
   
• Broad support for mobile phones
  StrangeMaze should work on all mobile phones that support the Java J2ME MIDP standard.  This includes phones with mono, gray scale, and colour screens, and phones with the minimum MIDP screen resolution.  StrangeMaze works well on mono and colour screens alike, and with colour screens StangeMaze is the ideal game to show off the colour capabilities of the phone.
   
• Broad support for customers
  It's no good hearing about the latest and greatest mobile phone game if you can't buy it because it has only been released to selected operators in selected countries on selected Java phones.  That's why we designed StrangeMaze to support most Java phones and why we have made it possible for you to get the game directly from us.  We have a free 2 level try before you buy version which you can download now OTA (over the air) via your Java phone's WAP browser (if your WAP service provider supports Java downloads).  If you like the game you can unlock it into the full 100 level version by purchasing an unlock registration code directly from us, either by phoning a premium rate number for UK gamers, or by making a secure online credit card payment from our e-commerce store for global gamers.
   
• Free try before you buy version
  As we have already mentioned in the previous feature, we have a free 2 level try before you buy version.
   
• Small
  At 32K in size, StrangeMaze is compatible with many phones and many operator networks.  Java phones have a limited storage space for games so a smaller game means that you have more space for other games.
   
• 3D first person view
  What you see on the screen, is what you would really see if you were inside the maze.  The first person perspective view immerses you into the game, making you feel like it is you who is inside the maze.
   
• 2D Map
  To help you get out of the maze, you can always look at the 2D map.  This map also displays your position and the positions of the 2 robots.
   
• Opponent AI
  Race against 2 robots to be the first the get out of the maze.  Each robot uses a slightly different AI algorithm to solve the maze, like you they don't know the way out, they wont take the same route, and they sometimes go the wrong way and have to turn around - so don't follow them.
   
• Textured walls
  The maze walls have a chequered textured brick appearance.
   
• Mountain landscape
  For each level, StrangeMaze displays a different fractally generated mountain landscape background.  The shape of the mountains on the horizon can help you get your bearings when inside the maze.
   
• 2 games in 1
  Race against computer-controlled opponents in race mode, or take your time to solve the maze in practice mode.
   
• Demo mode
  Watch as StrangeMaze navigates through and solves its own mazes in the opening splash screen. This feature is useful as an unattended demonstration tool (e.g. for phone shop windows, trade shows, exhibitions, etc.), and is also ideal for people who enjoy being mesmerised by animated screen-savers.
   
• Full screen view
  StrangeMaze displays the game to take full advantage of the screen dimensions, from small phones with landscape screen aspect ratios to colour phones with portrait screen aspect ratios.
   
• Customise the game
  You can customise the game to suit your own personal preferences and mobile phone.  Customisations include game mode, a cruise control option (to save you pressing the forward button), and the quality of the graphics (depending on the speed of your mobile phone).
   
• Game saving
  StrangeMaze remembers which level you have reached so that you can restart at any level up to your highest level the next time you play.
   
• Game preview
  StrangeMaze allows you to preview mazes at higher levels to give you an idea of the challenge ahead.
   
• Internationalisation
  The game is fairly self-explanatory and relies on very little text so the game can be used in the international marketplace.  If necessary in the future we will release international versions for non-english speaking markets.