ScummVM – Classic Adventuring With Symbian

To install ScummVM you need to make sure you have enabled your device to allow you to install unsigned software. Other than that it’s the standard installation procedure of downloading the application and installing using the binary file per usual.

Upon first starting ScummVM you will be greeted by what is called the landscape mode. This is where you can select a game, add a game, edit a game and set various options about your game from within a menu. This landscape mode will show any games you currently have saved. The Options menu allows you to set different graphic, audio and other settings.

To install a game you will be required to copy the games directory from your personal computer to the mobile device. To add the game to ScummVM is very easy and will open the folder you downloaded the game to when you go to add a game. It then adds it to the main menu automatically.

By using Edit Game you are able to modify the settings to suite each game. Many classic games are supported and there is a compatibility list on their website to check out.

Clicking the game in the main menu starts whatever game you have installed, and you will be ready for boogie.

To test the limits of this program I decided to give the game Zak MaKracken a shot. I found the performance was excellent and the midi sound that is played is of quite a nice quality and kind of humorous due to excellent job of catching the golden age of computer game sound.

The saving and loading, including the auto saving and loading, works perfectly if you have a save path selected.

Learning how to handle this application is bit of a steep curve. However, it’s not too steep. You move the cursor using the D-pad keys. Using the left button you can click, and right key cancels sequences. Pressing the number nine key on the keypad while using the cursor allows you to jump to three different locations; this allows for quicker navigation of the cursor. By pressing * you open the ScummVM menu that allows you to perform saving, quitting, loading and other similar functions.

Console is opened by pressing #. Pressing C will then close the ScummVM menu. By pressing the call button you can control advanced options. If you are in the advanced menu 2 turns landscaped mode off, 3 inverts the screen and 4 turns off the full screen. While also in this menu you can press 1 to switch the inputs for the device. It is not recommended to change the D-pad keys as you will not be able to control the cursor then. You can also change different keys to use for yourself.

There were some crashes, which oddly occurred during the installation but not during play.

To be able to use alphabetic characters in your default input type would definitely aid in selecting which actions you want to perform.

The only other weakness is that this game can become very addictive, so be careful!

ScummVM allows customization, fun and is a unique application to boot so I think it is worth checking out. I rate ScummVM 5 out of 5. Just don’t get addicted...

ScummVM application screenshots by ScummVM