Games

Puzzle Quest 2 headlines this week's Windows Phone Red Stripe Deals

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 12:20 pm

For Xbox fans, the best part of the weekly Red Stripe Deals promotion is undoubtedly the Xbox Red Stripe Deal. Each week, one game with juicy Achievements drops its price - often as low as 99 cents. The sale price depends on the starting price though.

Case in point: Puzzle Quest 2 from Namco Bandai usually sells for a crazy $6.99, but this week it costs only $2.99. The puzzle RPG previously went on sale for five bucks way back in March 2012. Three dollars might not be as sweet as 99 cents, but it’s certainly an improvement.

Also on sale this week are Drift Mania Championship 2 (only for Windows Phone 8), the indie racing game and a musical app called Synthpling. We’ve got descriptions, screenshots and Store links after the break.

Bejeweled Live+ Review: The puzzle king returns to Windows Phone

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 10:35 am

You might not know this, but Microsoft and Bejeweled go way back. PopCap created the very first version in Flash in 2001, originally calling it Diamond Mine. When Microsoft hosted the game at its MSN gaming site, the two parties agreed to change the title to Bejeweled, a name that has now become synonymous with the match-3 puzzle genre.

Windows Phone 7 launched with Bejeweled Live, a decent but overpriced ($5!) port of the game with only three game modes. Considering that Bejeweled on iPhone and iPad each include five modes for only one dollar, the original Bejeweled Live has always represented a poor value proposition.

Thankfully, PopCap has finally made good with Bejeweled Live+, essentially a port of the iOS version. A timed Nokia exclusive, it has a two dollar markup on Windows Phone 7 and 8. But three dollars doesn’t sting too badly when we’re talking about the finest pure puzzle game on the platform.

Register for the Canadian Ottawa International Game Conference and save 50%

Games

By Rich Edmonds, Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:53 pm

The Ottawa International Game Conference kicks off in a week's time. The conference, which lasts for three days, will take place on May 29th - 31st and features new innovations and trends in the gaming industry in Canada. Numerous speakers all across the board will be present to relay knowledge and expertise.

Turbo Racing League for Windows Phone 8, nothing slow about these snails

Games

By George Ponder, Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 9:11 am

Turbo Racing League is a Windows Phone 8 companion game for the DreamWorks Studio movie, "Turbo". The story line behind the movie is about a garden snail who dreams of being a world class racer. Turbo Racing League has you playing the role of the snail, competing across nine different race tracks.

Turbo Racing League has fantastic graphics and animations, game play that doesn't grow stale, and enough upgrades to keep things competitive. As an added bonus, Verizon is sponsoring a $1,000,000 Shell-Out Contest. You have weekly contests to race and the ten fastest racers will earn cash prizes from a pool of $500,000. First place winners from each week will win trip to Los Angeles to compete for $500,00 in cash prizes during a grand finale event.

You can find all the fine print on the Shell-Out Contest here and head on past the break to read more on Turbo Racing League.

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Mass Effect, NBA Jam, Real Racing, Tiger Woods arrive on Windows Phone as Nokia exclusives

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:11 am

According to our source at Microsoft, there won’t be a general Xbox Windows Phone release this week. That could be because N.O.V.A. 3 still hasn’t passed certification yet (as Gameloft has informed us) and neither has anything else, or maybe Microsoft just wants Xbox fans focused on the Xbox One this week instead of their phones.

Don’t fret, though! Non-Nokia owners just got two new Xbox Windows Phone titles to choose from: Spy Mouse and Trivial Pursuit. And Nokia owners, boy is this a good week for you…

Nokia and Electronic Arts have just released not one, two, or even three new games. That’s right, FOUR new Nokia exclusives rolled in overnight: Mass Effect: Infiltrator (requires Windows Phone 8), NBA Jam, Real Racing 2, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. In other words, most of the big games we’ve been looking forward to since EA and Nokia first announced their partnership!

The only bad news: Windows Phone 8 users with 512 MB RAM devices can't play any of these games, while Nokia WP7 users can. Weirdness...

Drag Racing for Windows Phone 8, burning rubber and collecting pink slips

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 8:00 pm

Drag Racing is a new game for your Windows Phone 8 device that has over fifty officially licensed cars that you can race down the strip. Everything from compact sports cars to muscle cars to sedans.

Drag Racing has plenty of upgrades to enhance your cars performance that can be purchased with your race winnings. You can race against the computer or choose an online opponent to challenge. We've only messed with Drag Racing for about an hour and it comes across as a fun game for short bits of time as well as longer, marathon gaming sessions.

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Xbox One Reveal Day Wrap-Up: All you need to know

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 7:00 pm

We first began reporting on the next Xbox console (codenamed Durango) earlier this year, but the new console had been rumored for quite some time now. Earlier today, Microsoft finally announced the console during the Xbox Reveal event.

The console’s final name is not Xbox Infinity as many had expected. Instead, Microsoft has named it the Xbox One. The name stems from Microsoft’s goal of this console becoming the One device you use for all of your entertainment needs. The OS is comprised of three layers: one dedicated to gaming, one based on the Windows 8 kernel, and a third layer that interfaces between the other two. It will launch sometime later this year.

You'll find everything we know about the Xbox One past the break!

Forza 5, FIFA 14, and Call of Duty: Ghosts coming to Xbox One at launch

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6:12 pm

The Xbox One should offer an exponentially better entertainment experience than our beloved but aging Xbox 360. The gaming possibilities are greater than ever before thanks to beefier hardware (16 times as much RAM, for instance) and the new Kinect. That said, Microsoft chose to reveal precious few games during the event.

Let’s see what titles they announced and what we can expect when the console launches later this year…

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Xbox One: no backwards compatibility, no constant connection required

By Sam Sabri, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Our heads are still whirling after the announcement of the Xbox One earlier this morning. The event is over, but details are still pouring in. We’ve got two items to highlight real fast. One good, one bad.

Xbox One brings Live TV to life with new Guide and more

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 2:05 pm

Just as they did with the Xbox 360, Microsoft wants the Xbox One to be the all-in-one entertainment device in your living room. But this time the console is designed around that host of functions from day “One” as opposed to having them patched in later. Of course it will play games (and boy, do they look awesome) but like a smartphone it also does so much more.

Chief among these non-gaming functions is the new live TV integration. During the Xbox One reveal, Microsoft outlined some impressive new ways to watch TV and discover video content through the new Xbox. Seriously, the Xbox One will change how you watch TV – for the better!

Microsoft unveils new Xbox One controller, sports over 40 design innovations

By Rich Edmonds, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 1:39 pm

Microsoft has today announced the new Xbox One, but what would the Xbox 360 successor be without a controller? Fear not as the company has this well and truly covered. Reportedly sporting over 40 design innovations, Microsoft has improved the controller in many ways to further enhance the gameplay for gamers. Check out the new look.

XBox titles SPY Mouse and Trivial Pursuit now available for all Windows Phones

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 1:05 pm

The Xbox Windows Phone games SPY Mouse and Trivial Pursuit were introduced late last year as Nokia exclusives. That exclusivity ended today and both titles became available for all Windows Phones.

SPY Mouse is a puzzle game from the makers of Flight Control and has you playing the role of Agent Squeak, a super secret mouse operative. You guide Agent Squeak through over seventy levels spread out across six worlds. Each world has its own frisky hench-cat to defeat.

Squids for Windows Phone 8, an underwater adventure of tentacle proportions

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 8:39 am

Squids is a relatively new Windows Phone 8 game that has you playing the role of various squids in an under sea action adventure.

The story line has your team of squids in danger of an infectious black ooze that is corrupting the sea. Naturally, it's your job to build a team of squids to defeat the enemies and save the day.

Squids is a fun game that does grow on you and is a nice addition to the Windows Phone gaming library.

Game of Life and Parking Mania available to all, Shoot 1UP returns to Windows Phone 8

By Paul Acevedo, Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 9:52 am

Since summer of last year, Electronic Arts and Chillingo have been pumping out Nokia-exclusive Xbox Windows Phone games. Players not fortunate enough to own Nokia phones sometimes feel left out and/or upset because they can’t access those games from their phones. But we are talking about timed exclusivity here.

Six months after release, Mirror’s Edge became available to all Windows Phone users, followed by Risk and Connect 4. So while owners of HTC, Samsung, and other non-Nokia devices have to wait a while, Nokia’s deal with EA does pay off for them as well.

This week, two more former exclusives became available to all Windows Phone users: The Game of Life and Parking Mania. As if that wasn’t enough, Shoot 1UP, an Xbox game that was found to be incompatible with Windows Phone 8 has just gained compatibility. Gotta love being able to play more stuff!

Check out what real city builder simulation is like with My Country for Windows Phone

Games

By Rich Edmonds, Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:53 am

Tired of old-school construction games that lack real action? You're not alone. This very quote kicks off the description for Game Insight's latest release for Windows Phone, My Country. The game is essentially a challenging city builder with more content than one would expect. Players are tasked with developing industries, transportation infrastructure, hiring employees, eliminating ecological threats and controlling energy use.

Oh, did we mention you're building your own country too?

Turbo Racing League races onto Windows Phone 8, real cash prizes up for grabs

Games

By Sam Sabri, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:58 pm

DreamWorks Animation has a new film coming out later this summer called Turbo. It’s an animated film about a little garden snail who dreams of becoming the fastest thing around. We’ve attached a trailer below if you’re interested. Anyway, there’s a companion game out now for Windows Phone 8! Let’s check it out.

Epic Battle Dude moves on over from Android and IOS, kicks butt

Games

By George Ponder, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:58 pm

Epic Battle Dude is an action packed Windows Phone 8 game where you play the role of a king who has to battle a variety of monsters that have invaded your land and kidnapped your queen.

Epic Battle Dude has had decent success over on the Android and iOS platforms and we can see why. The game has bold graphics, simple but addictive game play, fifty levels of play and fantastic sound effects. It even has a unique approach to adjusting the volume in the game's settings.

Epic Battle Dude is quickly becoming our favorite new game and with it being free, dude, you've gotta give it a try.

Microsoft to roll out Xbox dashboard UI alterations before next-gen console

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 1:39 pm

According to sources familiar with company plans, Microsoft is preparing to roll out an update for the Xbox 360. This package will implement changes to the dashboard UI and will enter into a public beta in late June or early July. Said changes are believed to be in preparation for the next-generation console, which Microsoft will be announcing soon.

Microsoft launches official Xbox blog ahead of next-gen announcements

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 12:18 pm

Microsoft has launched a new Xbox blog for consumers to remain up-to-date with all the latest news and content from the company.Microsoft has been revamping its news sources across the board, but the video game console has been left with no official source for some time, except or Larry Hryb ("Major Nelsen").

Cut the Rope for Windows Phone gets three new level packs at last

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 3:04 pm

When Cut the Rope: Experiments arrived on Windows Phone last month, fans of the Cut the Rope series were of course pleased to see another installment on our platform. But the sequel’s arrival also reminded us that the first Cut the Rope had yet to receive an update since launch. The original game on Windows Phone had only 275 levels - 75 less than other versions.

As mobile Xbox gamers surely know, Rovio has been busy updating several of its Angry Birds games lately. Now it looks like Russian developer ZeptoLab has decided to join in the fun, because they’ve updated Cut the Rope at last! The update brings our version up to par with the iOS and Android games and gives players a great reason to rejoin Om Nom on his quest for candy.