Games

Enjoy the classic marble shooting games where you're centralised and have to shoot and match gem colours to prevent the trail from hitting the end? You might want to check out Sparkle for Windows Phone 8, which is a game that will take to your liking and offer up many hours of gameplay to pass the time.

More details on the next generation Xbox has surfaced over on Kotaku. Microsoft's next product to succeed the popular Xbox 360 is set to be unveiled later this year. What the video game console will pack in terms of specifications and features is still unknown, but rumour and speculation (particularly on DRM) has taken place.

The implementation of Xbox games on Windows Phone is riddled with problems. While these range from “Darn it” minor to “Holy crap!” major, as a whole they threaten the viability of Xbox games on the platform. We believe Microsoft can still turn things around and make Xbox Windows Phone a mobile gaming force to be reckoned with, hence this series of editorials.

Part One of this series focused on the problematic Xbox Live certification process, and Part Two looked at both the importance of Xbox games to Windows Phone and the platform’s need for popular game engine support. In this installment we’ll tackle the simple need for proper volume control, the ability to redownload purchased games, and the weak advertising presence of Xbox Windows Phone games so far.

Words with Friends is a popular online, turn-based, scrabble type game for our Windows Phone 8 devices. The word game was recently updated to version 1.1.1 to mainly deal with stability issues that caused the game to crash.

The Words with Friends update also repairs game and chat sync events as well as a few improvements to the game's notification performance.

You could be forgiven for not expecting a new Xbox release this week. After Skulls of the Shogun’s long-awaited debut last week, there really aren’t too many upcoming Xbox Windows Phone games that we actually know about. But Microsoft told us the release drought would probably end this month, and it looks like they were right. A shiny new game has popped up for all Windows Phone 7 and 8 users today: the oddly named KooZac.

Almost as exciting as receiving a new release at all these days, KooZac comes from one of our favorite mobile publishers – Square Enix, makers of Final Fantasy. We actually heard whispers of this game coming to Windows Phone at E3 last year, but the representative was so noncommittal about it that we didn’t bother to get our hopes up. Looks like Square Enix hasn’t given up on Windows Phone yet!

We're rather confused as to what's going on but it seems as though Sonic CD has joined Super Monkey in becoming unavailable on the Windows Phone store. Both titles were published in the Nokia Collection of apps for Lumia owners to enjoy for free, which was seen as an awesome move by Nokia. It's therefore come as a slight surprise that both games can no longer be downloaded.

It’s long been rumored that Nokia exclusive games and apps are just timed exclusives and will eventually become available to all Windows Phone users. We’ve been working behind the scenes to get the exact details behind the exclusivity window, but today a happy occurrence has answered one question for us. Former Nokia-exclusive Xbox game Mirror’s Edge is now available to all Windows Phone 7 and 8 users, just over six months after its original release!

The paid version of MonsterUp, the popular platormer, has been updated. The title has continuously been bumped in the past to apply fixes and introduce more functionality for players, but has since been overtaken by the sequel, MonsterUp Adventures. So what's new in the latest version of MonsterUp?

It's a little early but Skulls of the Shogun is now live in the Windows Phone Store.

Due to be released tomorrow, January 30th, the newest Xbox title not only breaks the drought of Xbox game releases but also spans the full gaming spectrum with versions for Windows 8/RT and Xbox Live Arcade as well as for Windows Phone 8 and 7.x.

With the release comes special pricing as well. The Windows Phone version is discounted to $4.99, the Windows 8 version will run your $9.99 and the Xbox Live Arcade version launches at 1200 Microsoft Point (about $15).

The recent extended release drought of Xbox games for Windows Phone has prompted both game developers and players alike to question Microsoft’s commitment to Xbox Live support for its own mobile OS. For their part, Microsoft kinda-sorta reaffirmed their dedication to mobile Xbox games, and the long in-development Skulls of the Shogun finally debuts this week. Perhaps the drought has ended and Xbox Windows Phone games will blossom anew once more.

Still, all those weeks without new games didn’t happen by random chance. There are myriad underlying problems at fault, from outdated policies to poor portfolio management to a combination of apathy and ambivalence from some divisions within the platform holder itself. To anyone with an ounce of understanding of the mobile games industry, it looks bad - and it is bad. But Microsoft can still save Xbox games for Windows Phone.