This year has been a great one for mobile games, with fun titles coming out for every platform. Faster processors and bigger screens meant a more engaging experience, while improved communications options let us battle with other gamers across the world.

Any of the games listed in this article would make a great gift for the holidays. Many more can be found in the sofware sections of the PDAStreet family of websites.

--Palm Games
--Windows Mobile Games
--Symbian Games
--BlackBerry Games

Palm OS
Palm users saw more gaming releases this year than people who use other platforms for the simple reason that they buy more games. While Windows Mobile users are largely focused on business, Palm users are known for enjoying some downtime.

The biggest news for Palm was the release of the Zodiac, the Palm-powered gaming device from TapWave (see Review: TapWave Zodiac is a Mobile Gamer’s Paradise). With its high-speed processor, it can run games that standard palmOne devices can't, and its design and button layout make it feel like a console game controller.

Since it has Bluetooth, users can wirelessly take on their friends in multiplayer games. The development community is focused on creating new games for it, noted Larry Berkin, the director of Developer Marketing at PalmSource.

Faster ARM processors and better displays mean that the latest palmOne handhelds can play games that have better visuals and more animations. Stephen McDonnell, the Business Development Manager for E-Marketing at told us that games liketold us that games like Medieval Heroes and Aggressive (a variation on Risk), provide colorful animated sequences between other parts of the game.

But while games are becoming more detailed, he also notes that nostalgia is bringing classic games to the Palm OS. Namco just released Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, and Galaxian for Palm devices, and already they're huge successes.

Sometimes cultural trends drive game sales. The TV popularity of poker, especially Texas hold 'em, has crossed over to the Palm OS and made Aces Texas Hold 'Em a top seller. Simple, addictive games like Bejeweled and Tetris are always popular, since they're ideal for quick sessions when you need a break. PopCap recently released Bejeweled 2, which has better graphics and transitions.

Palm users will see even more action in 2005, when the release of the highly-anticipated Cobalt OS bring more power and multiplayer excitement to Palm OS games.

The Palm Arcade
Something old is new again and the biggest star in mobile gaming is that dot-eating yellow globe, Pac-Man. He may be one of the oldest arcade stars around, but today's handheld users are discovering that yesterday's arcade games are ideal in mobile devices.

Certainly, nostalgia is driving much of the sales, but it's also true that these games are perfect for short breaks. As for us, we just love that we can play them without putting a quarter in the machine.

Namco Games has recently released Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaxian for the Palm OS. All three require OS 4.x or 5.x, although the faster the processor, the better. Pac-Man and Galaxian each take about 500k of space, but the more demanding Ms. Pac-Man takes nearly 800k.

What you'll get, though, is an exact port of the arcade classics, with all of the original music and animations that you grew to love. Learning to steer with the Palm's circular navigation pad takes getting used to, but the games are great for short breaks.

You'll have a little more control over these games than the ones in the arcade, though, since you can set how many lives you get, when you earn replays, and how loudly the music plays.

A fourth arcade classic, Mappy, about a police mouse recovering loot from a gang of crooked cats, is due out later this month from Namco.

Hot Palm OS titles:

--Sega Classics ($19.99)

--Bejeweled 2 ($19.95)

--Madden NFL 2005 ($39.99)

--Aces Texas Hold 'Em - No Limit ($14.99)

--Chess Tiger ($14.95)

--Galaxian ($14.99)

--Warefare Incorporated ($29.99)

--Pac-Man ($14.99)

--Ms. Pac-Man ($14.99)

--Microuquad ($14.95)

--Table Tennis 3D ($10)

--Introduction
--Windows Mobile Games
--Symbian Games
--BlackBerry Games

For more titles, check out Palm Boulevard's free Software section.

Windows Mobile
This past year brought an important change for the Windows Mobile platform that should provide plenty of gaming payoffs in 2005. Microsoft introduced Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, which brought Windows devices the landscape orientation and VGA resolution. It also allowed for more advanced multimedia functionality, noted Jason Gordon, the Product Manager for Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Division.

The first devices to take advantage of this were Dell's Axim X50 line , which offered fantastic 3D capabilities. They ship with two games, Enigmo and Stunt Car Extreme, that are certainly the best-looking games we've seen yet on a mobile device. There is also Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ hx4705, and Asus MyPAL A730. Hot Windows Mobile titles:

--Pocket Mini Golf ($14.95)

--Age of Empires ($25.49)

--Monopoly ($19.99)

--Everquest ($19.99)

--Introduction
--Palm Games
--Symbian Games
--BlackBerry Games

For more titles, check out PocketPC City's free Software section.

Symbian
This has actually been a big year for gaming on the Symbian OS. Surprised? Then you didn't know that Symbian powers the Nokia N-Gage, the gaming phone that allows players to join in massive multiplayer games with people from around the world.

This year saw the release of the N-Gage QD, the second version of the device with greatly improved upon the original. With its signature game, Ashen, the N-Gage QD captured fan interest from the start.

According to Bill Pinnell, Product Strategist for Multimedia and Games at Symbian, the N-Gage's 3D graphics and the N-Gage Arena, which allows thousands of people to join in a game at once, have been the reasons for its success.

The key to creating great portable device games, he told us, isn't just porting console games over and making them smaller, but using the connectivity options that the devices offer.

Pinnell is now working with a variety of companies to bring 3D graphics to standard Symbian-powered smartphones. The recently released Nokia 6630 was the first to use Symbian version 8, he said, and with OpenGL ES, it allows developers to use existing 3D standards when creating cell phone games.

Hot Symbian OS titles:

N-Gage QD:

--Pocket Kingdom ($34.99)

--Pathway to Glory ($34.99)

--Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell ($5.99)

--Tomb Raider ($19.99)

Symbian Phones:

--I Robot

--WackoBoard Games for Series 60 ($9.95)

--Introduction
--Palm Games
--Windows Mobile Games
--BlackBerry Games

For more titles, check out SmartPhoneToday's free Software section.

RIM Blackberry
Understandably, Research In Motion's BlackBerry platform has seen less gaming action this year than the other mobile platforms, but that doesn't mean the busy executives who buy them don't enjoy a little downtime now and then.

And when they're not busily thumb-typing e-mails to their brokers, Blackberry owners follow the same trends that captivate the rest of us. Poker games, especially Texas Hold 'Em, are especially popular, notes Phil Giroux, Vice-President of Business Development for Magmic, a company that creates games for the platform.

Specifically, Giroux recommended the title Texas Hold 'Em King created by his company. While it's certainly a coincidence, he had god things to say about other Magmic titles, as well, which include Breeder's Cup 2005, Medieval Kings Chess, and Disco Bowling.

Multiplayer options are also popular on Blackberries, letting users pit themselves against their friends or even against strangers. About five Magmic titles have multiplayer options. In the year ahead, Giroux foresees faster processors coming to the platform, which will not only mean speedier business apps, but better games, as well.

Hot RIM Blackberry titles:

--Texas Hold 'Em King ($6.95)

--Breeder's Cup 2005 ($7.95)

--Introduction
--Palm Games
--Windows Mobile Games
--Symbian Games

For more titles, check out RIM Road's free Software section.