PLFB's PND Picks


Joined
Sep 27, 2011
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Age
32
Location
Texas, USA
This is a thread dedicated to my own personal experience with various programs and games on the pandora. As per usual this thread is aimed more at those who are new to the pandora than experienced users, but input is always welcome!


Be aware that I mostly look out for functionality and ease of use in the programs I choose over other programs and avoid redundancy whenever possible, so some programs may be left out as a result. On the other hand there are exceptions to both rules (I use both rockbox and gmu player to listen to music, and I plan on figuring out how to use qemu when I get a new sd card) so keep an eye out for various warnings and disclaimers on that.


-------PLEASE NOTE-------


I have a new pandora with 512mb of RAM and as of this post I am running on SUPERZAXXON BETA 5, so your experience may vary.


First up I'm going to drop a link to this post which has a few helpful starter programs for new users:


http://boards.openpa...ps/#entry149818


From the 8 programs mentioned in that post I am going to swear by 3 of them unconditionaly.


--FIREFOX11---


by hdonk


Firefox 11 is the best browser I have found for the pandora. It's powerful, versatile and has full flash support. Using the tips found in the thread from the link above, it can also be very minimal in (visual) design. it is also the ONLY browser I have tried that supports flash. It does have one bug where it refuses to go to gmail and other websites using the same script that prevents firefox from doing so. Still no idea why, but I head the author of the FIREFOX11 pnd (hdonk) is planning to port FIREFOX 13 later on, so maybe that will be fixed.


--ROCKBOX--


by Thomas Jorasch


Rockbox is the best music player I have seen for the pandora, namely because it manages to be so lightweight while retaining customization options. It is a fullscreen application with database support and a (not so simple but usable) playlist creator. It has the best audio playback I have seen on any music program on any system and it features full bass, treble, pitch, equalizer functions and more. Also visually customizable.


---PNDMANAGER---


by B-ZaR


This program makes it easy to manage and download your pandora programs. Both an up and a downside to it is that it features every program including those being beta tested from repo.openpandora.org. Meaning that some programs might have bugs. Otherwise a sleek and powerful way to browse programs.


Now that's out of the way I am going to go through a few of the programs that I personally have and use on my pandora.


Since this thread is dedicated to NEW users I will list here the best GAMES to play on the pandora out of the box (ie I am not getting to emulators yet).


------------------PANDORA GAMES------------------


--SUPER GEOMETRY DUST--


by wermy


This game has gotten a little bit of publicity and for good reason. I first heard about it in ASHENS review of the pandora found here:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2CA0UE6yRQ?feature=oembed
It is a combination of asteroids and geometry wars, i believe, and is a fun play all around. If you like shooting tiny 8bit spaceships and asteroids on a moving 3 dimensional sphere then play this. Also, I'm pretty sure this game is an open pandora exclusive and you can tell the author put alot of love into it.


--WIND AND WATER--


by Yuan Works


This is a direct port of a game made for the GP2x handheld gaming system and it transfers over nicely. This product of the team at YUAN Works is a fast and visually appealing puzzle game which revolves around rotating 4 adjacent colored gems in order to make groups of 4. There are several game modes to play, including a story mode that I have yet to embark on, and has a cast of characters to choose from including members of the YUAN Works team and, funnily enough, the GP2x itself.


--BATTLEJEWELS--


by skeezix


Battlejewels is an interesting game in that it is a cross between an RPG and bejeweled (that game everyone has played). I should say that it is actually bejeweled with rpg elements, but it is unique nonetheless, This is another one made originally for the GP2x and it, like Wind and Water, has production value written all over it.


--MISSION FAILED--


by GECAsoft


Here is another game with alot of love put into it. It is a sidescrolling shooter set in space! You will find in the future that I am partial to these kind of games, but more on that later. Mission faileD looks very nice and takes advantage of all of the pandoras game controls, utilizing, like, 5 different weapons, all of which are satisfying to use. It is also insanely difficult if your objective is to destroy every enemy as opposed to surviving, which is part of what makes it fun, It features actual sprites ripped from various other games that were probably like this one.


--HURRICAN--


by Pickle


This game is INSANELY good looking. It has what I assume is a prerendered 3d sprite for the main character and most of the enemies and it runs so smoothly. This being a product of Pickle is no surprise since they are one of a hanful of devs I keep an eye on at all times. Anyways, about the game. It is a sidescrolling shoot em up with an upgradable gun and reloadable grenades. Possibly special weapons as well, but I havent gotten that far in the game yet as it is also fairly difficult. Those bad guys are fast. It's level design is not locked down to the horizon and you'll find yourself navigating in all directions (namely, up and down as well as left and rght for those of you not keeping track of what the word all means).


--SKULL--


by GECAsoft


Skull is a megamanesque game (I am surprised my spellchecker did not pick up that word as a typo. must be more common than I thought...) featuring upgradable weapons via pickups. enemies exploding violently, and wonderful graphics. Also, this game has an advantage over games like wind and water or battle jewels. It has a dialogue at the start of the game for window/fullscreen mode and doesnt create multiple icons for each type of screen mode. I ove this game because its fast paced and the sheer number of explosions. Also you can kick around the body parts of your enemies. Very Freudian.


--CHROMIUMbsu--


by sebt3


I played this game as a kid all the time and it transfers seamlessly onto the pandora. It is another one of those shooter games that ripped off the gameplay from "1942" and set it in space. It has weapon pickups, excellent graphics and awesome music. GO PLAY IT. Also features nub support. Sebt3 says on the download page that using it causes the game to crash eventually but I have not experienced this problem. It does tend to skip occasionally when you use nubs though.


--POWDER--


byJeff Lait


If you like rpg/dungeon explorer type games then this game is for you. It reminds me of those old text based rpgs that had no graphics where you had to actually type in your command. This game is very touch screen oriented but I'm sure there is a way to play without it. The goal of the game is to go to the bottom level of the dungeon, kill baezlbub, and return to the surface with his heart. How hard could that be???


--AUDIORACE--


by crow_riot


This is a music game, but not one youve layed in another form before. You choose a song and the game analyses and builds a track for you to dodge obstacles on while you listen to it. Goal is simple. Collect Blue orbs, Avoid red ones. Happy score hunting! Oh, did I mention it features seamless 3d graphics? AND IT'S SET IN SPAAAAAAACE!!!


--GLTRON--


by lunixbochs


It's tron light cycles in full 3d with all the amazing special effects found in the original TRON movie! easy controls, fast paced, fullscreen fun.


--GNUROBBO--


by mcobit


This is a puzzle game based on the classic. Robbo is on a hostile planet and, using various puzzle mechanics, you have to help him get the parts for his ship and take off while avoiding obstacles, murderous chipmunks, and lazer cannons that some guy, I assume, left lying around. By the way, alot of games and programs I mention in the future will be by mcobit. That is because mcobit is awesome and his programs just work. The games he releases (but not necessarily makes) are always good fun. If you see mcobit as the author, it's probably a good download.


--HARDCORE FIGHT--


by GECAsoft


Hardcore fight is a nicely put together beat em up featuring disgruntled mexican teenagers. Did I mention they are the hardest teenagers to arrest in the world? most of the bad guys are policemen and you just knock em down left and right. Feel like a man in this game. Feel it.


--THRUSTER--


by PokeParadox


This has to be one of my (new) favorite games of all time. You play as a vector based space ship (meaning triangle) and your goal is to fly as high as possible. There are obstacles, all of which can be dissolved by your thruster. Did I mention that it' set in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE


--DOOMRUNNER--


by sirthunder5


Runs Doom. You've played doom before, right? Well play it again. Virtually no set up required.


Now, if I sit here nd list all the pandora games I have you are going to be here all day, so here are the ones that new users are probably most interested in...


------------------------EMULATORS--------------------


Note that I am listing both the ones I have and the ones that work best for me. I'm sure there are alternatves to each one but these ones just worked with no hassle.


--SNES9x4p--


by snes9x tem and sience


This is the first thing I downloaded for emulation. It has a nice snes themed menu and runs smoothly. It also has workng save/load states and options that you can alter on the fly by pressing SPACE mid game. Works. Customizable rom directory.


--DEGA-


by steve maddison


Plays Sega mastersystem/genesis games. Works, go play michael jacksons MOONWALKER. Or sonic, I guess. Whatever. Escape by pressing start and select simultaiously.


--GNGB--


by Frogus and Pepone


My favorite gameboy emulator. No muss no fuss just choose your rom and play. Can activat options menu in game, save/load states work. You can even change the color palette using the 1 2 3 and 4 buttons.


--HANDY--


by Steve Maddison


Atari Lynx emulator. Works. Play stuff on it.


--MUPEN64PLUS--


by pandoras mupen team


I think this is the only nintendo 64 emulator for the pandora right now. It works, but slows down for some games, or just occasionally for all games. Banjo and Kazooie, anyone? Also, the pickle launcher helps quite a bit for choosing what rom to play.


--PCSX REARMED R14--


by pcsx team and notaz


Plays playstation games flawlessly and has an easy menu to navigate. Pres space in game to look at options in game. Go play crash bandicoot. You know you want to.


--PICODRIVE--


by notaz


Plays Sega CD games. Supposedly als play Sega Genesis games but I wasn't able to. Besides that I havent encountered any bugs.


--VISUALBOY ADVANCE--


by Steve Maddison


Same Simplicity as GNGB, but lacks a comprehensive menu and I havent figured out save/load states yet although most gba games had internal save functions. Still my favorite gba emulator. Works.


--GPFCE--


by notaz and Pickle


Note that this is not the GP2x version. I havent tried the GP2x version of this program bu I assune it is the exact same thing. Anyways, it works. Nice menu, easy to access, runs full speed, press 1 and 2 at the same time to access menu in game.


That's all for now. I'm still in the process of discovering Emulators and games so more Games and Emulators to comeT Next time I post I will focus on my favorite Apps and programs. I'll probably throw in some more of the pandora games I currently have in there too. Have fun! I hope this was helpful.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
--CHROMIUMbsu--
by sebt3


I played this game as a kid all the time and it transfers seamlessly onto the pandora. It is another one of those shooter games that ripped off the gameplay from "1942" and set it in space. It has weapon pickups, excellent graphics and awesome music. GO PLAY IT. Also features nub support. Sebt3 says on the download page that using it causes the game to crash eventually but I have not experienced this problem. It does tend to skip occasionally when you use nubs though.
Cool story bro ;)
 
Very nice review, didn't think the video was 'painfully long'.
 
Wow, amazing amount of detail in your post! Always great to hear what PNDs people are using. Thanks!
 
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