Reviews

Halfbrick Studios supported the launch of Windows Phone 7 with the release of Fruit Ninja and the promise of Age of Zombies. But Fruit Ninja never got content updates (unlike on other platforms) and Age of Zombies never showed up, having caught a bad case of the vaporwares. Many feared that the popular Australian game developer had jumped ship from Windows Phone entirely.

Then in October 2012, Halfbrick’s Jetpack Joyride suddenly showed up as an Xbox Windows 8 game. Microsoft teased a Windows Phone 8 version shortly thereafter, but months passed without the game showing up. Miniclip’s clone Gravity Guy 2 actually beat Jetpack Joyride to market in March! Thankfully Jetpack Joyride finally cleared the perils of Xbox certification and landed on Windows Phone8 earlier this month (and for free). Turns out it was worth the wait!

Wordness is an interesting Windows Phone 8 word game. It has a Scrabble feel to it in that you have to create words from a 5x5 tile board of letters. It has an Othello feel to it in that you compete for ownership of the letter tiles. You take possession of the tiles (or own them) when you use them in a word.

On top of challenging game play, Wordness pits you against online opponents. You can challenge your Facebook friends or find an opponent at random from other Wordness players.

Wordness is a fairly simple game for your Windows Phone 8 device to pick up but it is very challenging to master.  Wordness is a peachy addition to the Windows Phone gaming library.

Splice is a trying little game for our Windows Phones. Splice is a rubik cube styled puzzle game (just in 2D) that has you maneuvering puzzle pieces around to connect two arrows of the same color with the puzzle piece segments.

There are over ninety-five levels of play with three degrees of difficulty. Splice starts out almost too easy but after the first few levels, the game begins to really test your concentration.

Doors is a challenging puzzle game for your Windows Phone were you are presented with a wide range of puzzles. You have to solve the puzzle to open the door and advance to the next level.

Doors has sixty-five levels of play, all that can be re-played. The puzzles range from mathematical puzzles, matching games, and hidden keys type mysteries.  The game doesn't have a lot of flair but the puzzles can be challenging. All totaled, Doors isn't a bad option if you're looking for a game to pass short bits of time with.

Location Reminder is a Windows Phone 8 app that is a convenient way to tag locations and set location based reminders about them.

For example, you order a birthday cake at the local bakery you drive by daily. With Location Reminder you can save the location of the bakery and set a reminder to pick the cake up. As you drive near the bakery, a toast notification will pop up reminding you to stop and pick up the cake.

Location Reminder can be a handy app to help remind you to pick up that loaf of bread as you pass the grocery store or remember to take your clothes to the dry cleaner as you leave the house.

If you're in the mood for utter destruction the Windows Phone 8 game Death Worm might be your cup of tea.

You control a man-eating, camel-eating, "devour everything that moves"-eating worm who has to work it's way through sixty levels that spans four worlds. And it's not all destruction. You have dangers to avoid and power-ups to collect. The death worm can take on damage and too much damage results in...well...death.

Death Worm is an entertaining and addictive game for your Windows Phone 8 device.  There's room for improvement but overall, Death Worm is worth a try.

Windows Phone Central's review of the budget-conscious Nokia Lumia 521, exclusively on T-Mobile US

While Nokia has been busy unleashing the Lumia 520 Windows Phone to various global markets, T-Mobile has landed an exclusive variation, the Lumia 521. It's a compact, budget oriented Windows Phone that reminds me of the Lumia 710.  Maybe a little more refined that the older Lumia.

The scaled back Lumia 521 lacks a front facing camera, camera light and isn't that bountiful on RAM or storage space. While the Lumia 521 may not be a "high end" Windows Phone it fills a niche.  In combining the low-cost of about $150 and T-Mobile's "no contract" plans, the Lumia 521 is a good choice for the first time Windows Phone owner, parents looking for a reliable Windows Phone for their teenager, or anyone else just looking to save a few dollars.

After spending a little time with the Lumia 521, we've found it to be a rather solid addition to the Windows Phone family.

Royal Revolt is a wonderfully animated game for your Windows Phone 8 device that has you on a quest to become King.

You play the role of a young Prince sent away to boarding school. Upon your return you learn that your Aunts and Uncles have taken over the kingdom. Your job, conquer the various castles and retake the kingdom as King.  A Medieval family feud of sorts.

Game play is challenging, animations great and all totaled, Royal Revolt is a nice addition to the Windows Phone 8 gaming library.

Windows Phone developer extraordinaire Rudy Huyn, the mastermind behind TVShow, Fuse, Wikipedia, and soon Vine (unofficial) has a new app out that has blown us away with its design.

Counters is one of the simplest Windows Phone 8 apps we've seen and if even if you don't have a need for it, you'll want to gaze over it's UX. It's designed to help you keep count of things such as days until you vacation, number of invites to a party, or anything else that can be counted or counted down.

Counters also takes advantage of our Live Tiles by letting you pin individual counters to your Start Screen for easy access.  This really comes in handy if your counting down the days and need an easy reminder.

In a nutshell, Counters is a very clean, simple and straight forward Windows Phone 8 app to help you count.

Instagram has been a hot topic of late with the Windows Phone community. We have Instagraph that was the first to find a work around to let us upload photos to Instagram by loading images to their servers first, then to Instagram. Instance (formerly known as Itsdagram) was the first to crack the code and allow for direct uploads.

While all this was going on we had another Instagram client following along in the shadows. #2InstaWithMassiveLove is a fully featured Instagram client for Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices. You can view your feeds, view your profile, upload images and even order prints.

We did run into a few bumps in the road while giving #2InstaWithMassiveLove a try, but overall it's a fair option to consider when looking for a Windows Phone Instagram client.

We've taken a look at Gibbage Cases before with the HTC 8X and recently the designer behind these 3D printed cases, Kevin Miller, expanded to offer similar cases for the Nokia Lumia 920.

The cases are skin like but don't completely cover the sides and backing of the Windows Phones. They offer a stylish alternative with minimal protection from scuff, nicks and dings. These cases may not tickle everyone's fancy but they can make your Nokia Lumia 920 stand out.

Aces of the Luftwaffe is a relatively new game for Windows Phone 8 and is quickly becoming one of our favorites. Aces is an arcade styled game with an RPG touch.

To say Aces of the Luftwaffe is a fast paced game may be an understatement.  If you blink you'll be over run with enemy planes.  Game play is challenging enough to avoid getting stale and graphics/animations are just ducky. If you're an arcade game junky or just looking for a fun game to pass the time with, Aces of the Luftwaffe is definitely worth checking out.