games

Windows Phone Game Review: Jewel God

Games

By George Ponder, Monday, Mar 5, 2012 at 8:55 am

"Bejeweled on steroids" is an easy way to describe the Windows Phone game Jewel God. If you like the Bejeweled-styled games but are looking for something with more of a quicker pace to it, then Jewel God should be right up your alley.

The concept of Jewel God is very similar to Bejeweled in that you are searching for combinations of three or more of the same jewels but the pace is fast. Some may say frantic. Jewel God is a entertaining, addictive game for your Windows Phone that will definitely keep you on your toes.

Check out the sights and sounds of DoDonPachi Maximum [Xbox Live]

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Monday, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:59 am

As we mentioned last week, Japanese developer Cave’s new shoot-em-up DoDonPachi Maximum comes to Xbox Live this Wednesday. To help promote it, Cave has opened up the game's official site. It's packed with new screens, details, and even a soundtrack sampler video.

As the teaser video hinted, Maximum is supposed to be a virtual reality simulator within the DoDonPachi universe. We had already anticipated that it would be a best-of remix of classic series stages and enemies – and indeed this version is based on DoDonPachi Blissful Death and DoDonPachi Resurrection, both of which debuted in arcades before transitioning to iOS. The music from those games has been remixed by WaSi303 and sounds great.

The graphics will take some getting used to, though. Backgrounds seem to consist of simple wireframes while enemies are rendered in GameBoy-esque dot matrix patterns. Previous games featured much more detailed visuals, making this look like a budget title in comparison. Still, gameplay is what counts and that’s one area in which Cave always delivers.

DoDonPachi Maximum arrives on Wednesday, March 7 and will cost $4.99.

Doodle Jump leaping to Xbox 360 with Kinect motion controls

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Saturday, Mar 3, 2012 at 10:51 am

Doodle Jump was quite a hit when it landed on Windows Phone last summer. Casual audiences loved the intuitive tilt controls, simple gameplay, and endearing artwork, and some hardcore players dug the heinously difficult Xbox Live Achievements. Kinect owners will be pleased to learn that Doodle Jump is coming to Xbox 360 this year too. Will it translate to motion controls as well as last year’s Fruit Ninja Kinect?

Kotaku has posted an exclusive video (non-embeddable unfortunately) of Xbox 360 Doodle Jump in action. It provides the first concrete details of how Doodle Jump will work on XBLA. First off, it requires the Kinect to play. Gamers will control the Doodler’s hops by stepping left and right. Pointing your arms fires at enemies, while flapping works Doodler’s Icarus wings. While you'll be moving around a lot, this game looks less strenuous than Fruit Ninja Kinect.

Interestingly, the developers at Lima Sky and Smoking Gun Interactive didn’t just paste in motion controls and call it a day. Whereas the original Doodle Jump’s levels are random and completely endless, the 360 version now has non-random levels with a beginning and end. A meter at the right side of the screen shows the Doodler’s progress as he climbs the level. The video also reveals new platforms, hazards (such as landmines), and backgrounds. These additions make the Kinect game look more like a sequel than a port; I’m definitely excited for it.

Doodle Jump comes to Xbox 360 as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game later this year. No specific date or price has been set. WPCentral will be sure to let you know when it arrives.

Source: Kotaku

Chromatic updated, adds an online tournament

By George Ponder, Friday, Mar 2, 2012 at 8:22 pm

Chromatic is a fast paced, 2D shooter game for your Windows Phone. In a nutshell, you defend against wave upon wave of enemy ships. As you progress through the game, you unlock a wide variety of weapon types that will help you defend against the armada. We liked the game in our review and found it to be an entertaining, addictive game for your Windows Phone.

Chromatic was updated today to version 2.0. Along with a few performance tweaks, the update adds an online tournament mode to the game.

In the online tournament you play against other Chromatic players to see who can score the highest within a two minute round. Every competes with the same weapons types, which appear to be selected at random. At the end of each round, your scores are tallied and a ranking summary is displayed. You'll have sixty seconds in between rounds to catch your breath.

The tournament or Play Online mode of Chromatic is a nice touch. I like the randomness of the weapons. It levels the playing field and adds a bit of challenge to the match.

Chromatic comes in two versions. There is an free, ad supported version of Chromatic that you can find here at the Marketplace. Chromatic Pro is an ad free version that will run you $.99 that you can find here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

After the break, catch a demo video from the developer showing the online tournament in action. And feel free to join in on the discussion about the new tournament mode here in the WPCentral Forums.

Xbox Live - Marvel at these Sonic 4: Episode II Screenshots and Concept Art

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, Mar 2, 2012 at 3:15 pm

Now that SEGA has revealed Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II to the world via a gameplay footage trailer, they’ve releasing more and more information and assets for the game. But these details are spread out all over the place online, and who has time to find them all? I do, of course!

First up, the Sonic 4 website has been updated to provide story, character, and background info about the new game. The official Episode II story:

"The fierce battle from Episode I was only an overture…

What was Dr. Eggman searching for in the Lost Labyrinth?

What was Mad Gear built for?

They were all a mere puzzle piece of a grandiose project schemed by Dr. Eggman.

As Little Planet, where “Sonic CD” took place, approaches Sonic’s world once again, Dr. Eggman’s whole scheme will be revealed!"

I love how it ties both Episode I (which had no in-game story) and Sonic CD into Episode II’s events (which Ken Balough mentioned in our interview last year). The site also reveals what happened to Metal Sonic after his defeat in Sonic CD, details about several of Episode II’s new robotic enemies, and descriptions of two of the game’s expected four zones, Sylvania Castle and White Park Zone.

The SEGA blog is also a great source of Episode II news. They’ve posted a ton of shiny new screenshots. Remember, the screenshots are from the Xbox 360 version of the game; SEGA is playing the mobile versions close to its chest for the time being. Concept art is shared across all versions though. The aforementioned blog has a few bits of artwork here and here. Want more concept art? The Sonic Facebook page has seven more pieces, mostly depicting Sonic’s enemies.

Sonic 4: Episode II has no official release date yet, but the XBLA and PSN versions will likely launch in May. We expect the Windows Phone version to arrive several months later. In the meantime, SEGA will surely keep pumping out more Episode II art and details. WPCentral will keep you posted!

DoDonPachi Maximum flies to Xbox Live next week

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Mar 1, 2012 at 3:32 pm

Speak of the devil! Just yesterday we were sharing the DoDonPachi Maximum teaser trailer, and now it’s going to be next week’s Xbox Live release. Yes, Cave’s Windows Phone-exclusive shoot-em-up comes to the Marketplace on Wednesday, March 7.

The game’s official description:

Dodge and destroy your way through 15 unique stages routes that branch according to your skill. Accurate touch controls guide your ship with ease. Touch the screen with two fingers to activate the all-powerful "Laser Bomb" and clear the screen of enemies! Unlock new ships to beat the game with! Blast your way to a full achievement list. This is bullet hell in the palm of your hand!

DoDonPachi Maximum, the first Japanese-developed mobile Xbox Live game, will cost $4.99. Shmup fans, prepare to enter bullet hell on March 7. The week after that, Gerbil Physics!

The Sims 3 is the Xbox Live Deal of the Week once more

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:54 am

Ready for a repeat Xbox Live Deal of the Week? The Sims 3 is now on sale for $4.99 – for the third time. Not only does that make it a pretty unexciting sale, but they might as well just drop the price to $4.99 already. It'd be silly to buy this one for seven bucks when The Sims Medieval is coming eventually.

Anyway, The Sims 3 is a mobile version of the hit life-simulation game. Players create and customize a Sim and then try to complete various goals with him or her, such as getting a promotion at work and kissing another Sim. It makes for a great game, on PC and consoles at least. But the Windows Phone version doesn’t quite match up. As our review points out, the character customization is extremely limited. Load times are lengthy and frequent and menu navigation is clumsy. On the plus side, EA did update the game for Mango and fix many of its bugs at the beginning of the year.

The Sims 3 is on sale for $4.99 for one week only. If you didn’t buy it the last two times it was on sale, now is the time to move! Hurry up and get over here to the Marketplace, before you miss it and have to wait for the next time it goes on sale.

DoDonPachi Maximum trailer teases bullet hell shooting on Xbox Live for Windows Phone

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:22 am

Japanese shoot-em-up maker Cave officially announced DoDonPachi Maximum for Windows Phone last month, but they didn’t reveal any assets besides the game’s logo. Now we have a bit more to go on thanks to a teaser trailer.

The trailer reveals a bit of cinematic art – unlike some shmups, the DoDonPachi series has always had something of a story surrounding the arcade-style gameplay. It’s also subtitled by someone who clearly doesn’t speak English as a first language... The translation should give the game a distinctly Japanese flavor when it finally makes it to the Marketplace.

A bit of background: DoDonPachi is Cave’s most popular shmup series. It’s your basic vertically-scrolling bullet hell shooter, packed with intense gameplay and large, impressive bosses. Strangely, the only American release up until now has been the excellent iPhone version, DoDonPachi Resurrection. The Xbox 360 version of DoDonPachi Resurrection did come out in Europe though, and it’s mercifully region free, so it will play on US consoles. Resurrection’s European publisher, Rising Star Games, recently opened a US branch and promised to release another Cave shoot-em-up, Akai Katana, in both Europe and North America.

DoDonPachi Maximum doesn’t have a release date yet, but it will cost $4.99. That’s not a bad deal considering its iOS predecessor goes for $7.99.

PlayPhone adds Windows Phone support

News

By RedNBlack77, Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:21 am

PlayPhone Social Gaming Network announced at Mobile World Congress yesterday that they now support Windows Phone. And in doing so, it appears to have become the first social gaming service to support all major operating systems. PlayPhone, which already supports Android, iOS, HTML5, Adobe AIR and Unity, is an online community for multiplayer and social gaming. It allows its 35+ million users to interact, play games and consume virtual goods in a cross-platform environment.

“Microsoft and its partners have put extensive resources toward the rapid adoption of the Windows Phone 7 platform worldwide” said Anders Evju, SVP and GM of PlayPhone. “PlayPhone is committed to cross-platform mobile gaming. Gamers on all leading mobile devices – Android, iPhone, iPad, WP7, etc. – can jump into the PlayPhone SGN to play some of the best games out there with their friends. We call this the PlayPhone advantage."

The PlayPhone Social Gaming Network SDK for Windows Phone is now available to developers. Visit their website for more info.

Source: Mobile Entertainment

Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp wages war on Xbox Live for Windows Phone

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 at 8:59 am

The Must Have Games 2012 promotion comes to a close with the highly anticipated Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp from Krome and Microsoft Studios.

Boot Camp is the mobile companion to Toy Soldiers: Cold War, an excellent XBLA game featuring a war between rival toy factions. The mobile version simply consists of three minigames taken from its big brother: ‘Fly Swatter’ (by far the most fun), ‘Cardboard Theater,’ and ‘Thread the Needle.’ All of them sport 3D graphics that closely match those of the original. Control options include swiping, tilting, or a virtual d-pad. The game also has a built-in screenshot function and global Leaderboards – two features we’d love to see used more often. You can check out our developer interview to learn more about both Cold War and Boot Camp.

Having earned all of Boot Camp’s Achievements already, I am a bit concerned about the game’s controls. While the variety of options is nice, none of them felt right to me. I highly advise trying the demo and judging for yourself. That said, the Achievements are almost entirely easy; you can get them all in an hour if you’re good enough.

Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp costs $2.99 and there is a free trial. Get it here on the Marketplace.

Windows Phone Game Review: Marble Slalom Free

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 8:05 am

Here's a painfully difficult, yet challenging, game for your Windows Phone. Marble Slalom Free is a nicely animated game for your Windows Phone where you have to navigate a marble through a wickedly evil slalom course.

I say "wickedly evil" in that the slalom courses are not just a bunch of flag sticks that you navgigate around. You do have the flag sticks (or red dots in this game) but you also have pinball bumpers, holes, and other obstacles that will actively hinder your progress.

Don't get me wrong. Marble Slalom Free is a nice game for your Windows Phone but it's not for the faint of heart.

Zombies!!! update adds ringtone - PDLC with new Xbox Live Achievements on the way

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 7:10 am

The first 'Not Dead yet!' image reveals the new Meat Cleaver item.

Babaroga’s been hard at work updating their mobile Xbox Live titles, as evidenced by the recent Minesweeper and Sudoku updates. Now Zombies!!! - the developer’s only self-published Windows Phone game so far – has received a new update as well.

Zombies!!! version 1.2 release notes

Added a free ringtone (found under Options)

Free ringtones are always nice, but the really exciting news is what the next update will bring. The first Zombies!!! PDLC expansion pack should debut within the next month or so. ‘Zombies!!! 3.5: Not Dead Yet!’ adds 18 new cards, new animations, five new Achievements worth 50 GamerScore, and more. Yes, this officially makes Zombies!!! the first Windows Phone game to break the 200 GamerScore barrier.

All five new Achievements are worth 10 GamerScore each:

Blunt Force Trauma: Player unlocks this Achievement by killing 3 zombies while the card “No Guts. No Glory.” is in play.
It’s Me! Let Me In!: Player unlocks this Achievement by playing the “There You Are” card to move their pawn from an outdoor square into any building. Zombies update adds ringtones - PDLC with 50 GamerScore of Xbox Live Achievements on the way
Shop Smart: Player unlocks this Achievement by using the “Hey, I Got One of Those” card to gain a Shotgun.
Night Drive: Player unlocks this Achievement by playing the card “The Keys Are Still In It” while the card “Too…Tired…To…Run” is in play.
Fresh Meat: Player unlocks this Achievement by killing 50 zombies with the Meat Cleaver.

We don’t have pricing details for the expansion yet, but 240 Microsoft Points ($3) seems likely. More expansion packs are planned for the future, each of which can be toggled on or off after purchase.

Asynchronous multiplayer (announced in WPCentral’s developer interview last year) will not debut with the ‘Zombies!!! 3.5’ expansion, though it should come along in the next update. Will Carcassonne beat Zombies!!! to the punch as the first mobile Xbox Live game with online multiplayer? Only time will tell.

Zombies!!! is a faithful adaptation of the horror-themed board game of the same name. See our review for more details. The game costs $4.99 and there is a free trial. Pick it up here on the Marketplace.

Thanks to everyone who tipped us about the Achievements.

Xbox Live: Minesweeper and Sudoku updated with Mango flavor

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 at 4:11 am

A short while back, Babaroga updated their free, ad-supported Minesweeper and Sudoku Xbox Live games. At last we’ve got the details for both updates to share with you.

Minesweeper version 1.2 and Sudoku version 1.3 release notes

Added Fast App Switching support
Increased the maximum number of tokens players can earn to 110
Switched ads around based on user feedback
Minesweeper: Fixed a bug that stopped players from earning more time when resuming Speed games
Various bug fixes

Nothing major there, but Fast App Switching is always appreciated (especially if you’re cheating at Sudoku). The new token limit allows players to use powerups more freely, highlighting the unique powerup feature these games have while making the game a bit easier to boot. Gamers now have even less excuse not to earn each title’s 50 GamerScore of Achievements.

You can pick up Minesweeper here and Sudoku here on the Marketplace.

Nokia reaches agreement with Tencent to replace Xbox LIVE with QQ Game Hall

News

By Rich Edmonds, Saturday, Feb 25, 2012 at 2:44 pm

Nokia has reached an agreement with Tencent, China's top online social portal / network, for the company to provide their multiplayer gaming service QQ Game Hall for Windows Phone "Tango" handsets, according to a report by the Shanghai Daily. This service will replace Microsoft's Xbox LIVE, enabling access for consumers to connect with friends and play online titles (think: Apple's Game Center).

"It will allow users to log in through their QQ accounts and find their QQ friends immediately."

The above quote is according to an unidentified source. Tencent's gaming platform, has recently surpassed 200 million registered users, but Microsoft hasn't released much information detailing "Tango", which makes MWC 2012 an event to look out for. While Chinese consumers aren't able to download apps and games from the Marketplace, developers are able (and encouraged) to submit content.

Via: Eastday

Gerbils Physics Exclusive Preview (Xbox Live for Windows Phone)

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, Feb 24, 2012 at 10:21 am

The Windows Phone version of Gerbil Physics was officially unveiled on Wednesday as part of a big batch of upcoming Xbox Live titles. Now WPCentral is pleased to bring you this exclusive preview of Pencel Games’ Gerbil Physics.

Gerbil Physics is a physics puzzler. In each level, players are presented with one or more stacks of gerbils and an allotment of bombs. The goal is to use careful bomb placement in order to knock the gerbils below a yellow line. If a gerbil remains above the line when you run out of bombs, you’ll fail the level and have to try again. Some levels throw addition kinks into the mix, like structures that must not be knocked over.

Pinball FX2, Carcassonne, and more Xbox Live games coming to Windows Phone

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012 at 4:33 pm

The Must Have Games 2012 promotion is nearly over, but that doesn’t mean the Xbox Live games will stop coming once March rolls around. Microsoft has just announced several new mobile Live titles.

Splinter Cell Conviction sneaks onto the Xbox Live Marketplace

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Splinter Cell: Conviction was announced back around the Windows Phone launch over a year ago. At last, Gameloft’s mobile port of the popular Ubisoft franchise has made it to Xbox Live.

This version of Splinter Cell tells the story of series lead Sam Fisher’s investigation into the death of his daughter. Gorgeous console-quality cutscenes narrated by Sam’s pal Victor Coste bookend each level. Conviction is actually a port of the popular Xbox 360 game (minus the multiplayer) and feels very much like a console title.

Being a phone game, it uses a virtual stick for the controls. They’re a tad clunky (much like Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles, also from Gameloft) but the difficulty is forgiving enough that it doesn’t harm the experience. If you’ve been wanting a meatier Live title (complete with shooting and sneaking), look no further. Still not convinced? Check out our video preview.

Splinter Cell: Conviction costs $4.99 and there is a free trial. Get it here on the Marketplace.

Thanks Saket for the tip!

Orbital bounces off the walls and ends up Xbox Live Deal of the Week

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012 at 2:56 pm

Splinter Cell: Conviction may not be showing up on the Marketplace just yet, but the Xbox Live Deal of the Week has at least gone live. Orbital from BiteForge and Microsoft Studios is now on sale for $1.99, down from $2.99.

Orbital is all about shooting orbs into other orbs, destroying them and causing chain reactions. It’s got 3 modes of play, each of which changes the rules and aiming around a bit. The neon graphics are pretty enough. As I stated in our review, I really wanted to like Orbital, but it just never clicked for me. The aiming needs work, the game is unforgiving, and there’s no metagame tying it together. But a lot of people enjoy the game anyway, so you may want to give it a shot too.

Orbital is on sale for $1.99 for one week only. Shoot on over here to the Marketplace to get it.

The Bullet Asylum desktop theme offers a safe haven for your computer

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:13 pm

Windows 7 users (i.e. most people with a computer) who also play Windows Phone games can enjoy an abundance of desktop themes based on WP7 games. Last week we showed you the Chickens Can’t Fly theme, which is certainly good for a few laughs. Now a Bullet Asylum theme joins the fray.

Like Chickens Can’t Fly before it, the Bullet Asylum theme includes includes wallpapers, sounds, and colors based on UberGeekGames’ Must Have title. To be honest, the backgrounds don’t remind me of the game all that much. Do you see any trippy explosions in the pics above? I didn’t think so. But they do capture a nice sci-fi vibe, at any rate.

You can find the Bullet Asylum Windows 7 theme pack here at the Windows download page. As for Bullet Asylum the game, it costs $2.99 from the Marketplace.

Introducing Doodle Invasion, from the makers of Spider Jack

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:14 am

Windows Phone gamers should already be familiar with Russian developer MaxNick’s Xbox Live title, Spider Jack. What you might not know is that MaxNick has also published several indie games for the platform, the latest of which is Doodle Invasion.

In Doodle Invasion, alien invaders are attacking one of our beaches. Players must stop each wave of invaders by firing missiles at the alien mothership. You also have to keep aliens off the beach, which involves drawing lines to bounce the aliens into your boats. As the game goes on, new types of weapons and alien threats spring up, always accompanied by a friendly tutorial message.

Doodle Invasion has quite a unique play style – juggling the need to attack the mothership, keep the aliens off the beach, and optional tasks like protecting a windsurfer will keep you on your toes. The Parachute Panic-like art style is super cute, too.

The Windows Phone version of Doodle Invasion has all the features of its iPhone counterpart, plus some additional language translations (EFIGS, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean). In the future, I’d like to see an online leaderboard and maybe a way to read over the tutorials at your leisure – I accidentally skipped them sometimes because I was already tapping the screen.

Doodle Invasion costs $1.99 and there is a free trial. Pick it up here on the Marketplace.