Cheap and Easy

Phone games have been silly for, you know, forever. Characters used to look like sticks. Games were shallow and dumb, like Paris Hilton.

Yet, here comes a slew of legitimately fun games that even Paris Hilton could get the hang of. I’m focusing for the moment on Electronic Arts games, because they’re around $5 each through EAmobile.com, and EA is a leader in the field.

The most obvious winner is "Tetris Mania." My "Tetris"-aholic mom would love this little phoner. It plays exactly like any good "Tetris" does. Differently shaped boxes fall from the sky. You arrange them. Before you know it, two hours pass.

"Tetris" is a puzzle game, so it looks very simple. If you’re looking for something more complex, "The Sims 2: Pets" is a pleasant surprise.

You begin by picking a golden Lab, a Chihuahua, a mutt or another dog. You play ball, feed them — the range of missions you normally carry out in pet simulators such as "Nintendogs." It’s very cute, although if you’re not into simulators, it might bore you.

Even EA Mobile’s "NASCAR ’07" looks pretty good for a phone. The imagery is on par with car games from the 1990s. You see the same basic aerial view of your racer as you speed around a track.

The downer of "NASCAR ’07" is you don’t wield much control. You decide when to change lanes and speed up, but you’re not really driving. Still, its simplicity might appeal to people who aren’t hard-core gamers.

These mobile games take game playing back to basics. If you’re sick of buying superhard video games that make your brain work as if it’s playing "Jeopardy," phone games offer much more stripped-down diversions, akin to older games from the 1990s.

Here’s a good comparison. "Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’07" is a much simpler beast than its brethren on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It looks rudimentary. But the mobile version uses the same, fun dynamics of targeting fairways and perfecting backswings.

To the contrary, "Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’07" for the fancy and interactive Nintendo Wii severely tests your ability to stand in your living room and swing the interactive remote control like you would a golf club.

I’m an OK golfer, but I can’t get this Wii "Tiger Woods" to read my swing correctly. I’m sure the problem lies with my impatience to perfect a virtual drive, approach and putt. But the cell phone version is more entertaining.

For that matter, "Tetris Mania" is more compelling than the Wii’s new "Wii Play," which asks me to use its interactive remote control to play air hockey, billiards and other traditional games. "Wii Play" is popular, sometimes a delight, and fun to play against other gamers.

But "Wii Play" lacks what better mobile games present: an addictive quality. After all these years, when those "Tetris" blocks rain from the sky, I still want to put them in their place, like I was Martha Stewart (not Paris Hilton).

 

("NASCAR ’07" retails for $3.50 for mobile phones — Plays OK. Looks OK. Easy. Rated "E." Two stars out of four.)

("Tetris Mania" retails for $5 for mobile phones — Plays fun and addictive. Looks fine. Easy to difficult. Rated "E." Three and one-half stars.)

("The Sims 2: Pets" retails for $7 for mobile phones — Plays fun, if limited by the appeal of its being a simulation. Looks good for a phone. Easy to moderately difficult. Rated "E." Three stars.)

("Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’07," will retail for $5 or more for mobile phones — Plays fun. Looks fine. Moderately difficult. Rated "E." Three stars.)

("Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’07" retails for $50 for Wii — Plays confusing. Looks fine. Difficult. Rated "E." Two stars.)

("Wii Play" retails for $50 for Wii — It plays fun most often when you’re competing against other gamers. Looks OK. Easy to moderately difficult. Two and one-half stars.)