I get a chuckle out of media/entertainment that's self aware. You know what I'm talking about; the moment in a movie where the actors look into the camera (gah don't look into the camera...jeez), tap the glass and address you. Most times it's pretty crappy, but when done well it's kind of cool when the movie knows it's a movie. Actually, that always sucks, but the concept can sort of work in videogames. The .hack series excelled at this and now we have Sega's Pocket Kingdom: Own the World for the Nokia N-Gage. It's an MMORPG that knows it's an MMORPG, and while there really isn't a whole lot of gameplay to be found, it's still pretty enjoyable, if you don't mind your troops breaking character.

Now personally I think the dialogue in this game's hilarious. In fact, it's one of the primary reasons to own it, but I can already see some of you, who love breaking out the old speak with fantasy games, revolting in disgust as your noble knocks down an enemy with a fireball and arrogantly proclaims that, "Pimpin' ain't easy, but it's necessary."

Ain't that the truth.

The story behind Pocket Kingdom involves this guy names Griefer Ulgress, this bad dude who "OWNED THE WORLD" in the Pocket Kingdom RPG. In fact, he was so good that the map you play on, The Map of Ulgress was, as you may have already guessed, named after him. But all has not been stable in Ulgress-ville. Our golden boy's account has been banned and as a result the kingdom is up for grabs. So this is where you come in. As a hungry Pocket Kingdom player, you have the opportunity to OWN THE WORLD, and become the supreme Mack daddy playa of the megaverse. All you have to do is assemble units of warriors, outfit them with gear like armor, swords, and maces, and explore the world of Ulgress, engage enemy troops, beat their @$$, and steal their loot. You'll then be able upgrade your units and buy and combine new goodies, and along the way your guys will level up and all that good stuff. The cool thing is you can do this both on and offline since the game supports N-Gage Arena play, so no matter where you are there's someone to fight.

I'd go into more detail but the game's just that simple. However, your enjoyment of this game is going to hinge on two factors. First, since the game knows it's a game, all of the characters talk like they're five year olds. This includes the beefy menacing warriors in your parties (you can assemble several at once) and your Fabbis (which stands for, Fabulous Assistant). So expect lines like the pimpin one above, "w00t", and "I'm about to bust a cap in this piece"! Even the game terminology is "hip" because when your guys lose their energy they don't die but rather get OWNED! So if you like your fantasy characters to actually sound stoic and make Braveheart-like quotes, you won't find that here.

The second potential issue with Pocket Kingdom is how it's almost not a game, because you have no control during combat. All you do is equip your units and send them out to explore. When you decide to attack someone, you just watch everyone/thing hack away. So Pocket Kingdom's combat system is even more disembodied than your standard RPG. You never select attacks or change things mid battle. It's like watching TV.

Personally, I think the game's rather addictive, but it's nothing special. The graphics are simplistic and colorful sprites, the music's decent, there are over 100 different characters for you to mix and match, and there's a host of monsters to beat down, so exploring the world of Ulgress kept me busy for longer than I thought it would. Also, the inclusion of multiplayer is a huge plus because you'll be able to show everyone that you truly do OWN THE WORLD. But the game isn't a killer app for the N-Gage at all. It's more for "coach-style" players who would rather watch the action instead of participate.

Pocket Kingdom's a decent RPG that's both addictive and humorous. It doesn't necessarily have any flaws (other than slow menu navigation), so whether you'll like it or not depends on if you can adjust to and appreciate its quirks. Oh, and whether you understand the intricacies of Big Pimpin. You'll definitely need to grasp the concept.