Stargate SG-1 for mobile is based on the television show (and consequently the movie) of the same name about a team of Americans that explores the galaxy through ancient "stargates," which effectively serve as wormholes. The game is not particularly complex, but fans of the franchise will appreciate getting a chance to explore the stargate environments with members of the elite Stargate SG-1 team. You control only Colonel Jack O'Neill, but you'll encounter Daniel Jackson, George Hammond, Samantha Carter, and Teal'c among the game's four missions. While the gameplay is effectively that of a 2.5D side-scrolling shooter, the emphasis is on the story, which is developed primarily through text, although there are a few primitive cutscenes. The action is not the strongest, but you get a real sense of the Stargate SG-1 atmosphere, which will be a big draw for the series' enthusiasts.
The four missions can be completed in any order, although taking the list from top to bottom seems to make the most sense in terms of gameplay. The events in the missions are not all directly correlated, but you will progress from one mission to the next, encountering increasingly difficult enemies, as well as the recurring SG-1 villain, Apophis. Ultimately, Apophis seeks to destroy the SG-1 team for its role in protecting other planets that he wants to take over. Your goal is to stop him, his Goa'uld troops, and anyone else he teams up with. You begin each mission with a briefing of some sort. In each one, the premise is unique. So on one occasion you're investigating the presence of a hostile Goa'uld mothership, while on another, you're attempting to just visit the Abydos harvest festival. No matter what the pretense, the end result is the same: You're always going to end up fighting a bunch of hostile aliens.
After the framework for the mission is laid out, you take a stargate to your intergalactic destination. The details from the show are retained, as you must wait for all seven chevrons to lock (the seven chevrons indicate the coordinates in three-dimensional space, as well as your starting point, which is necessary for stargate space travel) before being able to warp through the stargate. If you miss it, you must wait for the stargate to load again before being able to progress. On foreign planets, while you will interact with some friendly characters and objects, the majority of your busywork consists of killing aliens. You have 100 bullets to use before being required to reload (even still, the bullets are truly unlimited), and you can pretty much fire continually, as the game will do most of the aiming for you. Even if you pass your enemies and continue to shoot, O'Neill will automatically face his enemies and shoot them. There is a little bit of strategy involved, as you can walk a little up and down on the screen, which lets you avoid enemy fire. However, combat is fairly easy given the numerous bullets and the auto-aim.
The game looks fairly good on the LG VX7000, although there aren't really any likenesses to any of the characters from the TV show. Nevertheless, the environments are diverse, and the lighting looks very good. Likewise, while it's disappointing there are no voice samples from the show, the theme music is very well done. The menus are quite bare, and they look worse when juxtaposed against the fairly rich-looking gameplay.
The whole presentation of the game would have improved with an even more comprehensive use of the license, especially since the license-oriented aspects of the game are the real draw here and are much stronger than the regular gameplay. As an action game, Stargate SG-1 only rates as slightly above average. Still, however, fans are likely to find it a decent choice.
