Xbox Live

Very seldom does an Xbox for Windows Phone game get cancelled after its announcement. In fact, Microsoft hardly even announces new mobile games in advance any more, making practically every game that materializes a surprise (if its Achievements haven’t been discovered first).

It’s hard to imagine nowadays, but back in August of 2010, Microsoft announced a whopping 50 Xbox Live WP7 launch titles, most of which eventually made it to the Windows Phone Store. That said, several games on that list have never been released. A few stragglers like Real Soccer continue to trickle out even now, but we can safely assume that most or all of the rest have been quietly cancelled either by Microsoft or the original developers.

Now that the lengthy introduction is over, head past the break for our exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one such cancelled Xbox game: Loondon, from Indonesian developer Flip-n-Tale.

Xbox Live Arcade is heating up to a boiling point lately, with top-shelf titles coming out pretty much every week (sometimes more than once a week). We’ve just posted impressions of SEGA’s latest releases, and the quality train doesn't look to be stopping anytime soon.

So what’s in store for next week? Well, on Wednesday, October 10^th Team 17’s Worms Revolutions comes along, continuing the awesomely addictive Worms series. Even more exciting, Happy Wars (the first freemium XBLA game) launches Friday the 12^th for all Xbox Live Gold members. Head past the break for details of both titles!

This week’s Xbox Windows Phone release is a title we didn’t know was coming, but it comes from fan favorite publisher Chillingo and sells for a low price, so let’s call it a good surprise. Extraction (also known as Extraction: Project Outbreak) is now available for just 99 cents – less than the iOS version!

As the game’s title sort of hints, Extraction is a military-themed game about fighting zombies. But unlike Zombies on the Phone or Gun Bros, it’s not a twin-stick shooter. In fact, you could almost call it a strategy game due to the unique control method. Don’t skip the tutorial like I did or you’ll be totally lost.

In case you missed it, Electronic Arts’ Tetris recently dropped to $2.99 (AKA the maximum price it ever should’ve cost). That’s all well and good, but how about a price drop on something today’s gamers really want to play? That’s just what developer Press Play and Microsoft have given us, as Tentacles now costs only 99 cents.

It’s Gameloft week on Windows Phone, folks. Not only do we get a long, long, long-awaited new Xbox release from the big G (Real Soccer), but another one of their titles is going on sale as well. Let’s Golf 2, normally priced at $4.99, drops down to an affordable $1.99 this Wednesday. This continues the awesome trend of greater-than-50-percent discounts on Xbox titles.

Let’s Golf 2 is an arcade-style golf game modeled after Sony’s popular Hot Shots Golf franchise. Features include cartoony players, clean 3D graphics, six 18-hole courses, and both Career and Challenge modes. Even if you don’t care about the sport of golf at all (like me), the game is actually very enjoyable and easy to learn. Check out our full review for more details.

Rocket Riot was among the first Xbox Live games released on Windows Phone, way back at the end of 2010. Despite the game’s age, developer Code Glue continues to pump out updates for it, with a new one arriving within the last few days. The previous patch, version 1.4 was fairly substantial as Windows Phone updates go, and yet this latest, version 1.5 actually manages to top it by adding Avatar Awards, asynchronous multiplayer, and more.

Check out the full release notes and our impressions after the break.

Update: Game is now available. See link below.

If you’re like me, you’re still plugging away on last week’s Xbox Windows Phone release, the awesome Crimson Dragon Side Story. But shooters aren’t for everybody, and some people might crave a more casual or thoughtful experience. This week’s release should catch their attention then: Contre Jour from Chillingo.

Let's get ready to...wait, wrong sport

When you’re done pounding down your scotch, you may want to watch some brawny guys beat the heck out of each other—if so the official UFC companion app for Windows Phone may just be your next download.

We say 'companion' because it expands upon the official Xbox UFC Live app for the 360--that app allows you to watch UFC fights through your 360 to your TV and more. (Of course you can use the app without an Xbox 360 too).

The app just landed on the Store for Windows Phone and it’s not half bad (though it does have the default load screen for a split second). Actually, the app had a really gorgeous Metro layout and logs into your Xbox Live account automatically.