Catan

Catan is not only the first Capcom game to grace the N-Gage, it's also based on the award winning board game, Settlers of Catan. Did I mention it's also an exclusive to the N-Gage platform? Being a big fan of the original board game and of Capcom games in general, I about wet my boxers when I found out I would have a chance to preview this baby. But enough about me, lets take a trip down to the pristine island of Catan...

For those who aren't familiar with the game or are simply board-game-phobic, the premise is to stake your claim on an island in an attempt to be the first player to earn 10 points. This is done by building settlements, cities and roads by combining resource cards you get, based on your settlement locations on the board. There are five different resource cards available, covering your basic needs as a settle -- like wood, ore, wheat, ect. An integral part of the game is trading these resources with other players, because who has ever heard of building a civilization by yourself?

Now, if this is sounding a bit bland or dull to your typical gaming sensibilities, I can assure you the gameplay picks up the pace. The preview version of Catan is already incredibly addictive and habit forming, especially with its four-player Bluetooth support. Once you get it, you'll have a really hard time putting it down. The board is quite unique in that it's made up of hexagonal pieces that are randomly placed before each match. This makes the board totally different every time you play, breaking the monotony some similar titles can suffer from. A full-fledged tutorial system gets the uninitiated up and building in no time too.

Catan features the excellent character design of Susumu Matsushita -- whom you might remember created the infamous cast for the Maximo series. The graphics as a whole are vibrant and well conceived with plenty of eye-candy throughout. I was curious how Capcom would pack the fairly sizable board down to the N-Gage display. This is achieved admirably by using distinctive colors and designs representing each space on the board, making it easy to identify what's going on.

In addition to multiplayer support via Bluetooth and N-Gage Arena, there are several single-player modes available including a nifty Quests mode that challenges you to win the match while meeting certain requirements, such as having the longest road. Then more difficult quests are unlocked as you progress. A Free Game and Tournament mode round out the selection nicely, giving you plenty to sharpen your brain on when you aren't locked in a multiplayer grudge-match.

When Catan hits the street this August, I know I'll be the first in line to pick up my copy. I think Catan offers up exactly the kind of new and innovative gameplay that I'm always on the lookout for. I can only hope this is the first in a long library of Capcom titles on the horizon for the N-Gage.