Strategy

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.

Skulls of the Shogun Review: Getting ahead in the land of the undead

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013 at 11:22 am

Microsoft has never released a portable console like the Playstation Vita or 3DS, instead opting to publish Xbox-branded games for Windows Phone and Windows 8… A wise choice given the modern trend towards smartphone and tablet gaming over handheld game systems. With the Xbox 360’s excellent lineup of downloadable games, Windows Phone users rightfully expected the chance to play many of their XBLA favorites on their mobile phones.

Unfortunately, the number of robust, XBLA-quality titles released for Xbox Windows Phone to date is incredibly small. I count only Final Fantasy, Puzzle Quest 2, Castlevania Puzzle, ilomilo, Plants vs. Zombies, Sonic 4: Episode I, and Sonic CD as games with full console-level production values and quantity of content. Crimson Dragon Side Story, Hydro Thunder GO, and Civilization Revolution would be on there too if not for their Playstation One-era graphics. Maybe 11 games out of Xbox Windows Phone’s over 150 titles feel like full XBLA games and not just smartphone/casual titles.

Well, add another game to the top-tier pile because Skulls of the Shogun from 17-BIT and Microsoft Studios fits right alongside the XBLA and Windows 8 versions that released alongside it.

Break some orbs, save the world in Sparkle for Windows Phone 8

Games

By Rich Edmonds, Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013 at 1:04 pm

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.

Battle 'bots with Robotek for Windows Phone 8

Games

By George Ponder, Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 at 10:14 am

Robotek is a fun, robot battle strategy game for your Windows Phone 8 device. The game is a nice mixture of strategy and action with a dash of role playing game features.

You battle your robots through over two hundred levels of game play, earning experience and coins that can be used to upgrade and advance your robot combatants. And that's just the campaign mode. You also have an online multi-player mode where you battle other Robotek players and the option to unlock a Duel Mode where you can practice battles against the computer or a friend.

Robotek is a entertaining, feature rich, challenging battle bot game for your Windows Phone 8 device. It's a great addition to your Windows Phone gaming library.

Pirates Plunder: Windows Phone Game Review

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Dec 4, 2012 at 8:48 am

Pirate's Plunder is Flight Control styled game where you direct trade ships to the appropriate port, avoid high seas collisions, pirates, sea monsters and other dangers along the way.

Along with the main objective of docking your ships, there are a handful of side games with Pirate's Plunder that crop up to keep things interesting. Animations are nice, game play challenging, but the game has a cluttered feel to it. Still Pirate's Plunder has a bit of appeal to it and is worth a try.

Rum Run now available at the Windows Phone Store

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Nov 14, 2012 at 1:02 pm

The Windows Phone game Rum Run is now available in at the Windows Phone Store. We took an early look at the game a few weeks ago and found it to be a challenging time management/strategy game set on the high seas.

You play the role of a ship captain who is tasked to deliver food to a starving village. You buy/sell rum and food at various ports to finance the operation while dodging storms and pirate raids. You need to feed 100% of the village before they run out of the food. If they run out, the game's over.

ARMED! released for Windows 8, updates Windows Phone version

By Rich Edmonds, Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 at 1:14 pm

The developer of ARMED! has released an update for the title, which is now available on Windows 8 as well as Windows Phone. We previously looked at the strategy game when it was bumped to version 1.6, and before that when a Windows 8 preview was available for free. It's yet another large update so let's jump into it.

Xbox on Windows Phone Review - Extraction: Project Outbreak

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012 at 9:39 am

Electronic Arts’ UK-based Chillingo label has been a terrific supporter of the Windows Phone platform. They’re primarily known for their puzzle games – including Cut the Rope, which remains conspicuously absent from WP7. Chillingo makes other kinds of games too, such as Extraction: Project Outbreak. It looks like an action game but plays like a strategy title, making for a unique experience. An excessive number of bugs and technical issues threaten to drag the Windows Phone port down like so many zombies, but the fun mostly manages to come out unscathed.

Babel Rising 3D bringing divine punishment to Xbox on Windows Phone this week

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Oct 9, 2012 at 10:35 am

Last week’s Xbox release, Extraction: Project Outbreak (review coming tomorrow!) was a surprising strategy title mixed with elements of action. This week, we get another strategy title, but otherwise it couldn’t be more different. Babel Rising 3D will soon be on the Windows Phone Store, courtesy of developer Mando Productions with Ubisoft publishing. Yes, this is Ubisoft’s first Windows Phone title (Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell came from Gameloft under license from Ubisoft).

Report - Samsung cozying up to Windows Phone, trying to depend less on Android

Rumors

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Aug 30, 2012 at 5:52 pm

As the fallout from the Apple v Samsung case is being realized, there is a lot speculation as to what that decision will mean for the likes of Microsoft and Windows Phone. Opinions range from it will big big for Microsoft to it won’t matter for them at all.

The Korea Times, a paper with a mixed reputation on these matters, has gone on record in saying that Samsung is looking to form a stronger relationship with Microsoft as a result of the Apple decision. But is it accurate?

Samsung and HTC changing strategies for Windows Phone. We look at who wins and who loses.

Windows Phone News

By Daniel Rubino, Wednesday, Aug 22, 2012 at 7:08 pm

Although Windows Phone 8 is not quite yet here, the ever-dynamic smartphone industry is once again churning and there are some big changes coming.

Today we’ve seen two stories that will both have an impact on Windows Phone--one about Samsung, the other about HTC--and we’ll see what that will mean for consumers this fall.

Windows Mobile game HexaLines on its way to Windows 8 and Windows Phone

By Rich Edmonds, Wednesday, Aug 8, 2012 at 5:50 pm

Does the name HexaLines ring any bells to veteran Windows Mobile owners? It should if you are crazy for competitive mobile games. HexaLines was a strategy game that saw players filling up as many paths as possible. Starting from the centre Hexagon, players are tasked with adding more hexagons to expand the available path for his or her colour.

Playing against either AI or friends, the game can get relatively busy on-screen with a number of ways to attack (or be attacked by) the enemy. Rotating the next available hexagon and strategically placing it to either cut off an enemy's flow or pour your own colour into their line is key to survival.

Xbox Live - Skulls of the Shogun for Windows Phone extended hands-on footage

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, Aug 3, 2012 at 3:51 pm

Our recent visit to 17-BIT, Seattle-based makers of upcoming Xbox Live strategy title Skulls of the Shogun included a studio tour and interview with founder Jake Kazdal. As much as I enjoyed those parts of the visit, I was still dying to get my hands on the game itself once again. We had a few minutes with the Windows Phone game at E3, but that wasn’t much time to get a grasp on the story mode. Luckily, this time I got to play through the entire first campaign level as well as set up a Skulls Anywhere online game. See our latest hands-on video after the break!

Nova is exploding with strategy on Windows Phone [Video]

Games

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Jul 23, 2012 at 7:36 pm

When it comes to games on Windows Phone we have quite a few puzzlers, lots of zombies and a plethora of tower games. But one area we sometimes overlook is the class strategy game—the one where every move counts and requires some thought akin to chess.

Nova by Jeffrey A. Voigt fits the bill nicely and for $0.99, it’s well worth the investment.

ARMED! Preview now available for free on Windows 8

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Monday, Jul 9, 2012 at 11:38 am

Just before summer started, Dallas-based Sickhead Games announced they would be porting their popular indie strategy title ARMED! to Windows 8 and iOS. They weren’t lying, as ARMED! Preview is now available on the Windows 8 store.

Why the ‘Preview’ moniker? As most PC users know, Windows 8 hasn’t been officially released yet. Lots of people are running preview builds in the wild though, and ARMED! Preview is meant for them. The build is free and basically functions as a public beta; you can submit feedback through the Sickhead website. Not a bad move, as it’s best to test online multiplayer games as much as possible before you start charging for them. Also note that the promised cross-platform multiplayer between ARMED! on Windows 8 and Windows Phone has not gone live yet, but it’s still in the works.

In other ARMED! news, Tom Spilman from Sickhead (pictured with a goatee that puts my own to shame!) recently guest-starred on episode 074 of The Metro Developer Show podcast.
Tom shares tons of great development details about the game, widely considered to be the most technically impressive game on Windows Phone. The podcast also has lots of general Windows Phone discussion, so it's definitely worth a listen.

Windows 8 users: get ARMED! Preview here. As for Windows Phone gamers (the finest folks around), the mobile version of ARMED! costs $3.99 and offers a free trial with full multiplayer support. Grab it here on the Marketplace.

Windows Phone Xbox Live Review: Civilization Revolution

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Jun 13, 2012 at 8:43 am

The Windows Phone Xbox Live lineup has long lacked strategy titles. Last year saw the release of Fusion: Sentient, which turned out to be more of a sophisticated boredom simulator than an actual game. Thankfully, 2K Games’ very first Windows Phone release is not just any strategy game. No, it’s part of the illustrious Civilization series: Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution.

From humble origins

The overall goal of Civilization Revolution (or Civ Rev as I’ll now call it to be cool) is to steer a tiny settlement from the year 4,000 B.C. into modern times and beyond. There will also be multiple NPC civilizations that yours can deal with in a variety of ways. There are actually four different ways to win the game, allowing for a variety of play styles:

Domination: Capture all of the other civilizations' capital cities and hold them for one full round.
Culture: Gain a total of 20 great persons, wonders, and/or converted cities in any combination, and then build the United Nations wonder.
Economic: Acquire 20,000 gold and then build the World Bank wonder.
Technological: Research all technologies necessary to build and launch a spaceship, and finally be the first to reach Alpha Centauri.

E3 2012 - Skulls of the Shogun developer interview and multiplayer hands-on

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, Jun 8, 2012 at 4:05 pm

One of the biggest highlights of E3 2012 for us has been playing Skulls of the Shogun on Windows Phone and Xbox Live Arcade and meeting two of its creators at 17-BIT. Skulls is an amazingly beautiful and accessible turn-based strategy game in development for XBLA, Windows 8, and Windows Phone. Yesterday we posted our Windows Phone impressions; today we follow up with an interview and in-depth demonstration of the XBLA game in action. (The color shifting in the interview video is due to fancy overhead lights on the show floor.)

Head past the break for more Skulls of the Shogun details and gameplay footage!

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Is Nokia causing fragmentation on Windows Phone with their exclusive apps? Nope.

By Daniel Rubino, Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 6:06 am

Nokia has made moves to gain some big titles (and leverage) for their hardware. Who does it hurt? Who does it benefit and is it a good thing?

With yesterday’s announcement from Nokia describing a planned set of “exclusive” apps and even more games for their Lumia line of Windows Phones (and presumably anything else they have up their sleeve), Nokia has won both praise and some scorn for their bold move.

The concern, as echoed by some in the tech press, is that Nokia’s move will cause that dreaded “F word” to happen. No, no that one, the other one – fragmentation.

Fragmentation is the boogey word of the year due almost entirely to Google and their Android OS. But as ex-Microsoftie Charlie Kindel astutely pointed out, there isn’t just one type of fragmentation. Rather, there’s at least six ways you can divide up the terms with some of it being positive and some of it negative, affecting consumers or developers. Point is, they're not the same and what is causing problems for Android is not the same as what Nokia is doing.

The real question is, will Nokia’s strategy to get these apps and games on their hardware hurt Windows Phone? We say “no” and here’s why.

Xbox Live - Sid Meier's Pirates raids the Windows Phone Marketplace

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012 at 12:45 am

It’s time to put on your black caps and eyepatches, Windows Phone gamers. Sid Meier’s Pirates! from 2K Games is now available on the Marketplace.

In Pirates! gamers play as the son of a man whose family was unjustly imprisoned by a nobleman in the 1600s. The path to rescue them is fraught with peril, as he’s forced into the life of a pirate. From there, players must form alliances with some nations while warring on others, collecting treasure, upgrading their ship, and hiring new crewmen all the while. Pirates! is ostensibly a strategy title, but it packs a wide variety of gameplay, including ship battles, sword fighting, city bombardment, and even dancing. How else are you going to romance those ladies?

We noticed last week’s Xbox Live title, Civilization Revolution, which is also a Sid Meier property from 2K Games, suffered a noticeable visual downgrade during the transition from iPhone to Windows Phone. Still an awesome game, but that’s beside the point. Pirates! comes to Windows Phone straight from iPad, having never materialized on iPhone for some reason. Thankfully this version’s visuals are quite clean and attractive, with no aliasing problems to speak of. It looks and plays like a faithful port of the 2004 Xbox version. Pirates! is also a whopping 225 MB download, thanks in part to several FMV sequences taken from its big brother.

Sid Meier’s Pirates! costs $2.99 and there is a free trial. Set your sails toward the Marketplace and grab it here. Thanks to Jimbob73 for the tip!

Xbox Live: Civilization Revolution has dawned on the Marketplace

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Apr 4, 2012 at 3:34 am

First announced at the beginning of March, Civilization Revolution is now available on the Marketplace. 2K China, who also created the iOS version, ported the game to Windows Phone for 2K Games.

In the Civilization games, players start at the dawn of humanity and lead their civilization through the ages, including modern times and even the future. You’ll need to gather resources, build new cities, research technologies, and either war against or form alliances with neighboring countries. You can choose from 16 different nations to play with as you strive to achieve one of four possible victory conditions: Technology, Economic, Cultural, and Domination (war).

After jumping in to the Windows Phone game, a few things have become clear. First, the graphics appear to have been awkwardly rescaled from the iOS original, resulting in a generally pixelated look. This version’s tutorial text isn’t as helpful as say, Civilization IV, so it’s going to be a lot harder to learn than previous Civilization games. Hopefully Revolution will be a rewarding experience once we get our heads around it. Feel free to leave gameplay tips in the comments section, clever readers.

Civilization Revolution costs $2.99 and there is a free trial. Get it here on the Marketplace.