Don’t fancy investing in a Sony PSP Go or Nintendo DSi? No worries. Chances are you’ve got a mobile phone in your pocket that’s desperate to mutate into a handheld games console. But which is best for gaming? The Apple iPhone 3GS or Nokia’s N-Gage? We get our frag on to find out…

Nokia N-Gage
This version of N-Gage washes away the bitter after taste that was left by Nokia’s original, much unloved handset. Let’s be honest, that first attempt was the worst thing since the invention of the kipper tie. So by comparison this is a triumph. Nokia’s attempt at creating the Xbox Live of mobile phones might seem ambitious, but it’s one of the best sources for mobile gaming around. Nokia N-Gage is now a gaming platform available on an elite selection of Nokia phones, rather than just a range of spectacularly hideous, underpowered handsets. We’re talking Nokia E55, N95 and N97 standards here.

The players
Naturally N-Gage can’t directly compete with the Nintendo DSi or Sony PSP in terms of games. But with a host of big name players such as EA and THQ on board, its library is growing all the time, and includes titles such as Prince of Persia and The Sims 3.

3 killer N-Gage games
Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile
Are you ready to raaaaaawk? Okay pretending to play the guitar on your mobile isn’t quite the same as pretending to play the guitar with a fake axe but it’s still amusing. Plus you get 15 new tracks from the off and a bonus song each month.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed
Take a trip to the dark side as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in this LucasFilm mini classic. We guarantee it’s much better than the Star Wars film prequels.

Bounce Boing Voyage
A stupidly addictive game. The premise is simple: you guide the ball around bizarre worlds using your phone’s built-in motion sensor. It’s a classic that rivals the likes of Snake for addiction levels. We can’t stop playing it on the bus.

Apple iPhone 3GS
The iPhone isn’t a handheld gaming console, it’s a phone that sometimes dresses up as a console at the weekends because it loves the exotic feel of it. But thanks to that built-in accelerometer and handy touchscreen it copes surprisingly well with what’s thrown at it, even if the over-reliance on the touchscreen can get annoying after a while.

The players
There are plenty of decent compatible games available from the wondrous Apple App Store, as well as some amazingly awful ones. But that’s yin and yang for you. Titles are being added all the time with the likes of EA Sport’s FIFA 10 coming in at under a tenner and Lumines Touch Fusion. Graphics overall are pretty good, but they can’t match dedicated handheld consoles.

3 killer iPhone games
Doom Resurrection
It was a toss up between this and Wolfenstein 3D Classic. In the end we plumped for Doom Resurrection which recreates the inimitable Doom visual style perfectly. The game moves automatically through the levels, you tilt to move a cursor and tap the screen to fire your weapon. It’s simple and works great. Overall a top game.

Real Racing
A top multiplayer racing game for your iPhone, Real Racing allows you to choose from 48 cars in four classes, has 12 unique tracks and five game modes. But the best bit is the local multiplayer support for up to six players over Wi-Fi. Just touch or tilt to steer with manual or automatic braking and acceleration. There’s even online league play or leaderboards. Get ready to rev those engines!

Super Monkey Ball
It’s not exactly new, but the craziness that is Super Monkey Ball just couldn’t go unnoticed. You guide a monkey in a transparent ball (as you do) around a crazy world. Monkey mayhem ensues as you tilt the iPhone to balance the increasingly infuriating balls. Awesome.

Verdict:
Both N-Gage and the iPhone are pretty decent platforms for handheld gaming. Neiher can truly match the power and the might of the Sony PSP Go or Nintendo DSi, but considering these are primarily phones, they make a pretty good stab at it. But which one’s better? In all honesty, it’s too close to call. This one’s a draw!

Which do you think is the better gaming platform? Nokia’s N-Gage or the iPhone? Let us know…