windows 8 games

Lots of Angry Birds updates on Windows Phone and Windows 8 bring new levels and fixes

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, May 10, 2013 at 1:08 pm

Today’s a big day for Windows 8 games, what with Temple: Run Brave finally releasing (not to mention Dr. Pickaxe’s indie pinball action). On top of that, it also happens to be a great day for Angry Birds on Windows 8 AND Windows Phone. Why? First of all, I heard some pigs got knocked over and crushed by blocks. You know how Angry Birds love that.

More to the point: on Windows Phone 8, both Angry Birds Classic (still free till next Tuesday!) and Angry Birds Star Wars just got updated. On Windows 8 and Windows Phone 7, Angry Birds Star Wars got its long-delayed update too. That’s four Angry Birds games caught up!

Head past the break to find out what’s been fixed or added in each game.

Temple Run: Brave arrives on Windows 8 and RT after a seemingly endless run

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, May 10, 2013 at 11:03 am

Way back in March, Microsoft announced a big batch of Windows 8 games that would be launching the following weekend. These mostly included Xbox-enabled games, but they mixed some indies in there too. And all of those games did launch that weekend but one: Temple Run: Brave from Disney and Imangi.

We never learned what caused the holdup, but the important thing is Temple Run: Brave has launched for Windows 8 and RT at last! In our previous article I said it might not have Xbox Live features, and unfortunately that has proven to be the case. At least Windows tablet and PC users can now enjoy an installment of the popular Temple Run series… No word on a Windows Phone port of this one, unfortunately.

Head past the break for a hands-on video and our full impressions!

Pinball game The World of Dr. Pickaxe jumps from Windows Phone to Windows 8 and RT

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, May 10, 2013 at 4:36 am

Windows Phone doesn’t exactly overflow with pinball titles; we’ve got the cheap-but-buggy Da Vinci Pinball on the Xbox side, and a few indie games of varying quality. Two of those, Pinball League: The Juggler and Pinball League: The World of Dr. Pickaxe come from a Greek developer called Tainicom. The mobile version of Pinball FX2 sadly remains vaporware. We recently checked in with Zen Studios and they declined to give a status update, so it’s either cancelled or on indefinite hold.

Windows 8, however actually does have a great Xbox-enabled version of Pinball FX2 to keep pinball fans happy. Perhaps for that very reason, indie pinball games are few and far between on Microsoft’s tablet and PC OS. Still, Tainicom saw an opportunity there and has just released The World of Dr. Pickaxe on Windows 8 and RT. Despite the shortened title, it is a direct port of the phone game and was ported using MonoGame.

Read on for our full Windows 8 impressions!

The Harvest now available on Windows 8, but still no love for Windows Phone 8

Games

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, May 3, 2013 at 9:39 am

The Harvest has returned, but not on Windows Phone 8. The popular RPG is still available for Windows Phone 7, but has yet to be updated to take advantage of Windows Phone 8. Now those who are using Windows 8 will be able to enjoy the addictive gameplay as the title has just been made available on the Windows Store. What's more is The Harvest has been expanded on.

Get ahead in Ice Age Village with our Windows Phone Achievement Guide

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Monday, Apr 29, 2013 at 10:26 am

Ice Age Village from Gameloft is a free Xbox city building game for Windows Phone 8. As far as we know, any Windows Phone 8 device can run it and the game only takes up 79 MB of storage, so it should have a sizable player base already.

The city building genre is a time consuming one since many tasks involve returning to the game at a later time or date to reap their rewards. Wouldn’t it be nice to speed up the process a bit and get your village making money faster right off the bat? Darn right it would.

Windows Phone Central has a bunch of codes for free Coins, animals, and items, plus a handy Achievement guide. Don’t spend a single Acorn until you’ve read it!

World Domination updated and added to the Windows 8 lineup with cross-platform support

Games

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 at 1:45 pm

World Domination is a Risk type game for your Windows Phone. It is a turn based game where you play to... well... dominate the world.

The game was recently updated to version 2.2 that took care of a few bugs and added options for 12 or 24 hour turn durations and an option to invite players using the public chat.

iStunt 2 and more Miniclip Xbox games for Windows 8 and RT free right now

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:37 am

Windows 8 and RT gamers recently survived a dangerous outbreak of gaming deals thanks to the Microsoft Studios Sale, which only just ended. But now, another rash of Xbox Windows 8 deals threatens players’ well being – if not their wallets. Miniclip has made three of its games free for a limited time only: iStunt 2, Monster Island, and Gravity Guy. Can your Windows 8 or RT device handle so many free games at once time? There’s only one way to find out…

These games all have In-App Purchases, so Miniclip stands to profit even when giving their titles away. But you can enjoy and complete most of them without spending a cent, except perhaps for the ultra-tough Gravity Guy.

Update: All three games plus Fragger are also free on Windows Phone this week!

Head past the break for download links and our game descriptions!

Video: Chillingo announces Contre Jour and more Xbox games coming to Windows 8

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Sunday, Apr 7, 2013 at 11:01 am

Of all the offsite meetings we engaged in during GDC, the most pleasant place to visit was probably Electronic Arts’ suite at the St. Regis Hotel. Within that cozy location, Android Central’s Simon Sage and I met with Dan Tausney, PR Manager of Chillingo. As you might remember from our article about their most recent Windows Phone releases, Chillingo is the arm of EA responsible for publishing indie games from all over the world. They’ve been a major Windows Phone supporter and will soon be doing the same for Windows 8 as well.

Check out our hands-on footage with Contre Jour for Windows 8, see your favorite mobile Games Editor in action on video, and learn about Chillingo’s future Windows 8 plans after the break!

Xbox Windows Phone Deal of the Week returns with Assassin's Creed, plus Microsoft Studios Sale news

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Apr 4, 2013 at 12:06 pm

Does anybody remember the Xbox Deal of the Week for Windows Phone? It started quite humbly back in March 2^nd, 2011 with a sale on Konami’s so-so port of Frogger. The sales rolled on in the weeks to come, typically discounting $5 games down to $3 and $3 games down to $2. Only holiday event sales would grant larger discounts, until the fateful day when Gameloft’s UNO HD became the first 99 cent Deal of the Week on November 14, 2012.

King Poker for Windows Phone 8 + Windows 8, it's time to shuffle up and deal

Games

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013 at 2:37 pm

King Poker for Windows Phone 8 landed in the Windows Phone Store and offers fifteen video poker variations. What's neat with King Poker is there's a Windows 8 version of the game available that lets you sync game data and tokens between the two devices.

King Poker, on either Windows Phone 8 or Windows 8, can be played as a stand alone game. However, you can log into your Windows Live account to enable to two versions to sync together. That way your gaming stats and token counts follow you around.

Galactic Reign Review: Conquering the galaxy on Windows Phone and Windows 8

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:15 am

Galactic Reign is a Microsoft game that was co-developed with Canadian developer Slant Six Games that pretty much came out of nowhere when it appeared on Xbox Windows Phone 7 and 8 and Windows 8 and RT last week. For gamers who have yet to upgrade to Windows Phone 8, another Xbox game that runs on the previous OS is always a blessing. And cross-platform multiplayer is something we can all appreciate, regardless of which Windows Phone we carry.

Last week, we posted an extensive impressions piece about the Windows 8 version of Galactic Reign. This week, I’m back with a full review that covers both versions. Read on to find out whether or not this sci-fi strategy game has universal staying power.

Popular and addictive Puzzle Craft comes to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, beats Android again

Games

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Mar 18, 2013 at 6:40 pm

We may be picking a bit here on Android, but as many Windows Phone users know we are not familiar with getting games first or second. That’s why when we see Brotherhood of Violence and now Puzzle Craft go to Windows Phone 8 (and Windows 8) ahead of Android, we get a little excited.

Puzzle Craft is made by popular game makers Chillingo (though ported by SYZYGY Deutschland GmbH for WP8/Windows RT) and has been described as “…if The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Bejeweled had a baby”. If you’ve ever engaged in Farmville-like online games and happen to like the easier aspects of Bejeweled, this game is for you.

It’s also completely free with no ads. Yowza.

Zombies!!! escapes to Windows 8. Celebrate with this Xbox Live developer interview

By Paul Acevedo, Saturday, Mar 16, 2013 at 3:13 pm

Babaroga’s Zombies!!! was an early Xbox Windows Phone exclusive that still commands a loyal following from board game fans. I fondly remember buying it about a month before joining the Windows Phone Central staff, and subsequently advocating for an update to make one of the Achievements more easily attainable.

Jump ahead to the present, the Xbox Windows 8 and RT version of Zombies!!! has finally gone live. We previously covered some of the new version’s features and improvements, and now PC and tablet gamers can experience the enhanced game for themselves. To get everyone in a zombie killing mood, we present this interview with Andreja Djokovic, the CEO and founder of Babaroga.

Galactic Reign becomes the first 'universal' Xbox game for Windows Phone and Windows 8

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 at 4:03 am

In a recent editorial, I complained that Microsoft has largely stopped announcing or publicizing Windows Phone games in advance. Well, this week we have a prime example of that. Galactic Reign from Slant Six and Microsoft Studios has just showed on Windows 8 and RT with Xbox features and will appear for Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices (also with Xbox features) later today.

Microsoft teased the game back in October but made absolutely no mention of platforms, so nobody really knew it was coming, and especially not as a multiplatform release with connectivity features. But other than the lack of proper PR, a new game showing up on Windows Phone and Windows 8 with cross-platform asynchronous multiplayer is always good news, so we’ll stop complaining. For now.

Since the Windows 8 game launched ahead of the mobile version, we’ve already put several hours into it. Head past the break for our full impressions, plus details about buying the game on one platform and playing it from another!

NumberTap now available for Windows 8, sports synchronicity with Windows Phone

By Rich Edmonds, Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 at 11:55 am

NumberTap is a popular game available for Windows Phone. The team behind the title has now released a version for Windows 8, which is now available for download from the Windows Store. The Windows Phone game, which has been listed on Microsoft's mobile platform since 2011, has been updated since released and is highly rated on the store.