games

Galactic Reign was quite the revelation when it appeared on Windows 8 and then Windows Phone 7 and 8 last month. Here was an exclusive strategy game for Windows platforms with cross-platform asynchronous multiplayer, and Microsoft basically forgot to tell anybody about it before release. But it’s definitely worth playing if you enjoy competitive strategy games. Check out our review to learn just how the game works.

One of Galactic Reign’s most unique aspects has to be its large-scale space battles. See, the fleets of ships that clash against each other in the game can number in the thousands. Instead of rendering these battles in-engine, the details about each side’s armada are sent to the cloud. From there, a cinematic video gets constructed and sent back to the game for players to watch.

The technology for those cloud space battles comes from Canadian developer Slant Six games. Last week at GDC 2013, we chatted with Paul Martin, Director of Technology and James Ricker, Cinematics Director about Galactic Reign’s videos and Slant Six Games’ experience working with Microsoft. Head past the break for the full video interview!

Things have certainly been picking up for Xbox on Windows Phone lately. Not only do Nokia and Chillingo continue pumping out exclusives like Vampire Rush and Storm in a Teacup, but there have been two non-Nokia Xbox releases for several weeks now. The trend continues today as the long-awaited Ms. Splosion Man from Iron Galaxy Studios finally debuts alongside Amazing Alex. That’s the good news.

The bad news? Just like Chaos Rings last week, Ms. Splosion Man is only available for Windows Phone 7 devices! It staggers the mind to think that a Microsoft-published game would launch without Windows Phone 8 support in 2013. Color us all highly disappointed. Of course, Rovio’s Amazing Alex is actually a Windows Phone 8 exclusive, so things sort of balance out… Sorta.

One of the biggest surprises coming out of GDC 2013 for me was undoubtedly PowerA’s announcement that its MOGA Bluetooth controller SDK would be coming to Windows Phone. On iOS and Android, videogame controller accessories are becoming increasingly popular with core gaming fans. Such peripherals can add more precise control and a console-like experience to smartphones. Sure, they can impact portability but they’re great at home and other places where you’d be playing for an extended length of time.

Windows Phone has always been a bit behind on peripheral support. We don’t have a Bluetooth keyboard, for instance. But Windows Phone 8 does add the ability for apps to communicate with Bluetooth. That ability now makes it possible for hardware add-ons like the MOGA Pro Controller to work with Windows Phone 8 games!

Head past the break for full details on the MOGA Pro Controller and a hands-on video.

iOS screenshots

Bejeweled Live isn’t the only Xbox game coming to Windows 8 and RT this week. As another GDC celebration, Microsoft has just announced a horde of Windows 8 tablet and PC games that should start becoming available this weekend, plus six more that are planned for the future. Most of these will be Xbox-enabled, but we’re not sure about a few of them. The biggest news is that Windows 8 will have its own Temple Run game to brag about!

Head past the break for the full list!

This week has been golden for Windows Phone, especially those of us who enjoy pouring some hours into available games on the platform. Microsoft teased a number of upcoming titles yesterday, one being Ruzzle. If you're not familiar with the name, it's a Boggle-style word game with online multiplayer capabilities. Think of it as a 1- or 2-player version of Wordament. 

The other day we shared that Chaos Rings from Square Enix was headed to the Windows Phone Store. Well... the Xbox title is now available over at the Windows Phone Store but only for Windows Phone 7 devices.  While a bit of a head scratcher, it is nice to see our older phones getting some exclusivity tossed their way.

Another couple of eye turners with the Chaos Rings release is that the game requires about 1GB of memory and is running $9.99. Due to the size of the game files, Wi-Fi is required for installation and it takes forever to download.  Thankfully, there is a trial to let you try things out before paying the ten bucks.

Subway Surfers doesn’t look to be coming to Windows Phone anytime soon (the teaser image was just a hoax), but worry not. Windows Phone 8 will soon have a 3D endless runner to its name. Speaking of names, that runner is none other than the original game that started the genre craze: Temple Run from Imangi Studios! We knew it was coming, but this is the first time we’ve actually played the port for ourselves.

Not only that, but in celebration of GDC week, Microsoft is releasing a number of indie games for Windows Phone 8 today. Read on for actual Windows Phone screenshots, video demo and quick impressions!