Nokia’s award-winning game takes on a sequel and emerges victorious once again!

Aaron Gray

Any N-Gage owner would have at least heard about Pathway To Glory, developer Red Lynx’s secret weapon that won many strategists’ hearts back in 2004. The formula for Pathway To Glory was simple yet compelling: it’s World War II and the European Allied forces were commencing a counter-attack against the Axis forces. The game followed the historic battle with authenticity and accuracy, and Nokia brought that to you via an interactive strategy game on a handheld device with easy controls, lush graphics and sound effects. Even the background music got you into specific moods, from feeling stealthy to fleeing for your life.

A year later saw the Red Lynx team announcing a sequel to the first Pathway To Glory. So how does a true-to-life game based on history have a sequel, you may ask.

The sequel, Pathway To Glory: Ikusa Islands, takes players to another scenario not featured in the first game. The Pacific Theatre is where you’ll be commanding your troops to push back the remaining Axis forces that are still very adamant in continuing the war. The opponent in question is the Japanese militia, which had made the Pacific Islands its stronghold.



Gone are the dreary European streets which are replaced by lush vibrant environments and some new weapons and vehicles to rain down death on your opponents.

Pathway To Glory: Ikusa Islands (PTG: II) will immediately feel familiar to players who have played the first instalment. In certain missions, you get to choose up to eight troopers, each with their own ability and special capabilities. For example, some might have more movement points, while some might possess the capability of using specific weapons with deadly accuracy.

Like traditional turn-based strategy games, you get to plan your moves and attacks on one turn. When your turn has ended, the opponent moves next, and so on. Choose what your troops carry wisely. Each armament they lug along weighs them down and decreases their move/attack points. Since mobility and attacks require action points, it is best to choose your inventory sensibly. Or, you can always opt for handguns only and nothing else if you need the extra challenge and lots of movement and attack points.

Bear in mind that the Japanese AI also has access to a vast variety of weapons, so watch your back. You might think you’re safe behind a steel-reinforced wall, only to be dismayed to see it crumble in seconds as their tanks blast it with a couple of shots.

The N-Gage’s controls are spot-on. Commands to bring up the map, scroll to the next soldier and change weapons on the fly are mapped to the numeric keys. This allows players to immerse themselves into the gameplay without any distractions. Graphics and sound effects have been tweaked; both looked and sound sharper and cleaner.

For some real challenge, the 4-way Bluetooth battle should spice things up with three other N-Gagers. You can battle two-on-two, or go for the ultimate challenge and take on three of them at once. The skirmish also allows free-for-all, which the last team standing wins.

The N-Gage Arena is also good for locating other players from around the globe to start a battle, but the GPRS lag is still very much a problem. Your movements would register after a couple of seconds, and since each player’s turn is timed, this can be a turn-off to some (especially yours truly).

Once you have completed the game, you will be presented with a Hard Mode. This is where the fun really starts :) .