As mobile Xbox gamers probably know, Halfbrick recently released a new version of Fruit Ninja and Square Enix’s Chaos Rings became available to all Windows Phone 8 users last week. Beyond that however, we aren’t aware of too many game developers with plans to support Xbox Windows Phone in the future. Microsoft has been dark on the subject all year, and nobody else is really talking…

Nobody except Gameloft, that is. Last year, the publisher announced 12 Xbox Windows Phone 8 games– 10 of which have launched so far. Today Gameloft has reaffirmed its commitment to mobile Windows platforms by promising 15 more games for Xbox Windows Phone and Windows 8! Only four new Windows Phone games have actually been revealed, but it’s exciting news regardless… especially for Windows 8, which will be seeing much more support from Gameloft in the near future.

Head past the break for exclusive details on today’s announcement!

Coming to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 in 2013

As I just mentioned, Gameloft has largely been cool towards Windows 8 since the tablet and PC OS launched last year. The publisher has released only two games so far: physics puzzler Shark Dash and arcade racer Asphalt 7: Heat, which is currently exclusive to Asus VivoTab tablets. Luckily Asphalt 7 will become available to all Windows 8 users within the next month or so. After that, the 15 games in the announcement are due out as well.

News of those games coming to Windows Phone and Windows 8 would be great enough on its own, but it doesn’t stop there. Gameloft also promised that several of the announced games will feature cross-platform multiplayer between phone and tablet! We don’t know if Play/Pause/Resume support via cloud saves is on the table, but let’s hope so. And let’s also hope that hit MMORPG Order & Chaos Online makes its way to Windows 8 with cross-platform multiplayer. Dare we dream?

Asphalt 8: Airborne

Previous series entry Asphalt 7 made a huge splash on Windows Phone 8 for a variety of reasons. One, it was the first game for the platform to feature 3D impressive graphics and real-time online multiplayer. Two, it cost only a buck, ensuring a large online player base. And three, Asphalt 7 is one of the fastest, most intense racing games on Windows Phone.

Thankfully we’ll be getting the sequel as well, presumably with cross-platform multiplayer between Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. Asphalt 8 boasts the best mobile racing graphics yet, with new particle effects including dust, snow, and rain. That’s right, weather effects – and they will impact car handling. A new physics engine promises to provide more realistic handling to boot.

Asphalt 8 is set to include 8 brand new tracks and one returning track from the last game: Monaco. Online multiplayer returns with two new game types: Gate Drift and Infected. Multiplayer won’t be limited to real-time, either; this one adds asynchronous multiplayer to the mix. Asphalt 8 won’t be a sim-style racer, but it certainly should entertain arcade racing fans (like me!) for hours on end.

Despicable Me: Minion Rush

On top of cloning popular console and PC games, Gameloft also produces some quality licensed titles. Amazing Spider-Man, Dark Knight Rises, and Ice Age Village were all good-great games. Despicable Me: Minion Rush should maintain that same pedigree when it comes later this year.

As the name implies, Minion Rush is a 3D endless running game similar to Temple Run. It will be the first Xbox-enabled game of its kind on Windows Phone. Players will control one of the Cheeto-like Minions from the animated films as he dashes through the city and former supervillain Gru’s lab. Any good endless runner needs long-term goals to complete, and this one brings plenty. It promises tons of costumes and weapons to unlock and over 300 missions to complete.

Minion Rush has already been downloaded over 50 million times on other platforms. Let’s see how Windows Phone and Windows 8 can add to that tally. It will of course be free.

Dungeon Hunter 4

Windows Phone and Windows 8 aren’t exactly overflowing with action-RPGs; only The Harvest comes to mind. Soon the latest entry in the popular Dungeon Hunter series will take care of that problem. Players will take on the roles of amnesiac warriors who are forced to defend their kingdom from a demonic invasion. Think of it as a mobile clone of Diablo.

On top of a strong story and four playable classes, Dungeon Hunter 4 boasts strong combat, item crafting, and character customization. But most exciting of all are the four-player online co-op and PvP modes. This one should certainly give Order & Chaos Online players something to do while they wait for the next content update.

Dungeon Hunter 4 will be free to play. That’s mostly a good thing, especially as far as creating a large online player base. Expect more than a few encouragements to purchase premium currency though.

Total Conquest

This one is a clone of Clash of Clans, a popular iOS city building/RTS game that has yet to arrive to arrive on Windows platforms. It takes place during Roman times. Players must build and fortify their own city, populating it with citizens and gathering resources.

Unlike your average city building game, this one also has a strong focus on combat. You can hire a variety of warriors to join your army and then take them out to raid other villages. The combat happens in real-time, allowing players to direct their army in the heat of battle. Total Conquest should be a hit with history and strategy buffs.

Six Guns

We already knew Six Guns would be coming to Windows Phone 8. In fact, I’ve played the Windows Phone version and can testify to its greatness. The news today is that Six Guns will arrive on Windows 8 as well!

Six Guns closely resembles popular Wild West open-world console game Red Dead Redemption. You’ll play as a gunslinger who takes on missions for the citizens of frontier towns. The West is vast, so thankfully you can call a horse to ride at any time. A map and radar will aid in navigating those distances as well.

The combat will be easy for gamers accustomed to using a virtual stick and buttons. Auto-aim makes targeting a snap, and you can also lean against objects for cover. You won’t just be fighting NPC banditos, either. Like the game that inspired it, Six Guns has a full online multiplayer mode.

Six Guns will be free to play when it arrives on Windows platforms

Kingdoms & Lords

Again, Kingdoms & Lords was already announced for Windows Phone 8 and will now be coming to Windows 8 too.

This game resembles Total Conquest in that it blends city building with combat. But Kingdoms & Lords is a less serious, more mainstream game. The graphics are much cuter and medieval themed; and the combat resembles an RPG more than an RTS. It also has some social elements like challenging friends or coming to their aid when called.

Like most of the games announced today, Kingdoms & Lords will be free to play.

UNO & Friends

Were you disappointed that UNO & Friends for Windows Phone can’t play against other versions of the game? Well, now that it’s coming to Windows 8 we should have even more players to compete against.

UNO & Friends is a free online multiplayer version of the popular card game. Check out our recent review of the Windows Phone 8 version and you’ll know what to expect from the tablet/PC game. Hopefully Gameloft adds chat to both versions by the time the Windows 8 game rolls around!

Bright time ahead

Gameloft promised 15 new games for both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, but today they only revealed the seven titles above. The other eight games will arrive in 2014. Xbox fans with Windows 8 now have a lot to look forward to, and thank goodness Gameloft is keeping Xbox Windows Phone alive and well!

Yesterday we ran our final Casual Connect USA news item for the year: a preview of upcoming games Animal Park Tycoon and Yeti Rising. Now its time to look back at how Windows Phone and Windows 8 fared at the show. Did they live up to our predications, and has Windows Phone gaming prospered since Casual Connect 2012?

Microsoft's showing

Hey, it's me! You couldn't tell very well who it belonged to, but this was the Payment wall booth.

We didn't expect Microsoft themselves to have much presence at Casual Connect. The Windows platform holder went all-out at GDC earlier this year and of course E3, but didn't make any advance announcements for Casual Connect.

As it turns out, Microsoft did have a small, understated booth dedicated to Windows 8 at Casual Connect. Poor Windows Phone got left out for some reason. Justin Saint Claire, Product Manager (pictured at top) did hint that both platforms will make a stronger showing next year.

Game developer support

This year Windows Phone saw so much more support from game developers than last year. For comparison, we only learned about six different games at Casual Connect Seattle. At this year's event in San Francisco, we learned about 14 brand new games, to say nothing of app announcements and interviews concerning existing games. Established indie developers are lining up to bring their titles to Windows Phone (and Windows 8), and they're excited to talk about them.

Interest in mobile Xbox games however has dwindled to near nonexistence – such a huge shame. Yes, today's announcement of 15 games (technically 12 newly announced titles for Windows Phone 8) from Gameloft is fantastic. But one publisher - no matter how impressive and varied their games may be - cannot sustain the Xbox lineup on Windows Phone. We need developers like Artifex Mundi, Handy Games, and Flare Games to care about Xbox support as well.

Hopefully Microsoft has a change of heart and decides to promote Xbox Windows Phone once again. If they revamp the mobile Xbox certification process and policies in order to make Xbox support appealing, developers will come around.

Now here are all of this year’s Casual Connect stories for you. If you missed any, please check them out, watch the videos, and leave comments!

Windows Phone only stories:

• Puzzle Retreat coming to Windows Phone 8
• Handy Games announces 1941: Frozen Front and Townsmen for Windows Phone 8
• FreePrints photo printing service comes to Windows Phone 8
• Sic’em Studios bringing Rambledam’s Escape and Detonation to Windows Phone 8
• Behold the inside story behind Carcassonne for Windows Phone

Windows 8 only stories:

• Delicious: Emily’s Wonder Wedding looks extra wonderful on a huge touch screen
• Hands on with FBX Review at the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco
• Sketchbook Express for Windows 8 really shows off what the Surface Pro can do

Windows Phone and Windows 8 stories:

• WPCentral heads out to Casual Connect USA
• Solar Warfare coming to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
• Royal Revolt developer reveals Windows Phone and Windows 8 download numbers, sequel plans
• Game Insight brings Rule the Kingdom and My Country to WP8 and Windows 8; more on the way
• Artifex Mundi announces three games for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
• Fling Theory developers big on Windows Phone and Windows 8, ready for Xbox Live
• Hills of Glory 3D arrives on Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8; new Babel Rising 3D soon to follow
• Animal Park Tycoon and Yeti Rising headed to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8

Out of all the games we covered from the show, which ones are you fine guys most excited for?

The original Tetris for Windows Phone is a fair port of the classic puzzle game, albeit overpriced at $4.99. But the world has moved on, and vanilla Tetris doesn’t excite gamers any more. That’s why Electronic Arts jazzed the old game up with the Bejeweled Blitz treatment and turned it into Tetris Blitz earlier this year. A faster paced Tetris designed for mobile play – what’s not to love?

Windows Phone gamers certainly didn’t love the lack of Tetris Blitz on their platform of choice; that’s for sure. But Nokia has just announced that Tetris Blitz will finally be coming to Windows Phone next week. So soon!

A blitzkrieg of Tetrominos

Tetris Blitz games last for exactly two minutes. The goal is to score as much and earn as many coins as you can within those two minutes. Enter Frenzy mode and you’ll score double for each line cleared, which can really add up. New control option such as “One-Touch” and “Drag-and-place” facilitate the high-speed gameplay and make it easy for casual gamers to join in the fun.

The coins earned in-game can be spent on 15 different power-ups. These provide beneficial effects like an extra burst of time, removing random lines, lowering the stack of blocks, and more. As you might expect, power-ups are key to achieving really high scores on the global leaderboard.

Tetris Blitz is a free to play game. On iOS it’s supported by ads, which players can pay $4.99 to remove. We’re not sure whether the same payment model will apply to Windows Phone as well. Similarly, impatient gamers can buy coin packs via In-App Purchase rather than grinding for coins. Previous Nokia-published EA games have removed the IAP option, but since IAPs feature so heavily in Tetris Blitz, it would be strange to see them taken out.

Windows Phone questions

Besides the issue of IAPs, we still have a lot more questions about Tetris Blitz for Windows Phone. Will it be an Xbox Live game? EA has yet to publish a non-Xbox game on Windows Phone. And the release date announced by Nokia – Wednesday, August 28 is also the traditional day for Xbox Live releases. So the prognosis looks very good for Xbox Windows Phone support.

Now look at who made this announcement: Nokia. The Finnish phone maker and Electronic Arts have worked together in the past to release a number of games as timed exclusives for Lumia phones.  As far as we know, that agreement is nearing its end with only two games left to go: Madden NFL Football and Dead Space. But Nokia and EA could always extend that agreement and make Tetris Blitz a Nokia exclusive as well. It would disappoint non-Nokia owners, but Nokia exclusives do eventually become available on other manufacturers’ devices.

Then again, Nokia has announced non-exclusives in the past. News of several big name titles like Angry Birds Rio came from Nokia’s website as opposed to the actual game developers. Maybe Tetris Blitz will be one of those non-exclusive games.

Finally, will Tetris Blitz require Windows Phone 7 or 8? Given its online features and probable IAP component, I’m guessing Windows Phone 8. But Nokia and EA could have retooled the game to work on Windows Phone 7… I just wouldn’t get your hopes up on that.

We’ve reached out to Electronic Arts with all these questions and will let you know if they respond. In any case, all should become clear on August 28.

Source: Nokia Facebook; via: WP Area; Thanks, Daniel, for the tip!

There's no denying it, Doodle Jump is (or rather was) an incredibly popular title. Previously available on Windows Phone, Doodle Jump was pulled and has since been missing for those who have not yet downloaded it on their handsets.

Today we're pleased to relay news that the cute, little game has returned to Windows Phone 8 with many improvements included. Only one problem: it's no longer a Xbox Live title.

We've had a small play with the new version on Windows Phone 8 and we're impressed by how good it looks on the HD screens (720p, of course - ain't no 1080 'round 'ere). The gameplay also feels smoother and it's indeed optimised for the latest version of Windows Phone, which is a positive as we're not simply looking at the old builds being re-published.

As well as the included support for Windows Phone 8 with HD resolutions and the wide tile, it would appear as though Lima Sky (the creators of Doodle Jump) has taken back their title from GameHouse Live, who previously had the game published with Xbox Live support. We're not entirely sure what the situation is, but we're sure glad the little hopper is back for some more platforms.

You can download Doodle Jump from the Windows Phone Store for $0.99 (even though the app description says it's free, boo - Windows Phone 8 only). Cheers, Jason, for the heads up!

Windows Phone Centralfirst brought you the news about SongArc, a music game that’s reminiscent of Guitar Hero and Audio Surf that will utilize your stored music for exciting gameplay. The game is the brainchild of Turtle Games, who make the popular game Rum Run and András Velvárt, who is the mind behind SurfCube 3D Browser and is an extension of the AppCampus project.

Tonight, we can give you an exclusive first look at the game in action.

We’ll be forthright: this game has all the makings for a hit arcade game on your phone. For one, it’s very well polished in the graphics department, with an eye catching and intuitive UI. Next up, you can bring your own music to the game—who doesn’t want that? Finally, if your song isn't programmed for play, you can just make a “sheet” for it and you’re good to go.

Music, fun and creativity? All checked off.

As you can see in our video above, the game is simple to understand: you play your favorite song and tap the arc when the “notes” (colored shapes) cross the barrier. By holding down for extended notes or tapping for short staccato ones, users have a rainbow of colors to access for visual cues. You can even quickly tilt the device for bass/drum effects, which adds yet another method for interaction.

Toss on a pair of headphones and firing up your favorite tunes with this game? Awesome. Yes, SongArc could be the next big thing for Windows Phone and is perfect for when you’re on the train, airplane or just want to make your music much more interesting.

Do you want in on the beta? Head to the developer’s Facebook page here and follow their directions!

Stay tuned to Windows Phone Central as this game nears release—we think you’re going to love it.

Crazy Horses: Unstabled! is the latest Crazy Horses game installment from Nice Touch Games. The Windows Phone 8 title is a fast paced game where you are tasked with lassoing and guiding those crazy horses into the stable.

Sounds easy enough but you have angry bulls, trains, tornadoes and other dangers that will try to take out your horse herd. Lose too many horses and the game's over.

Crazy Horses: Unstabled! is a fun, casual game that has a little kick to it.

The main menu for Crazy Horses: Unstabled! you can jump right into the game, mute the sound, view the "about" screen and access the game's store. You can also access Nice Touch Games Facebook and Twitter pages from the main menu.

Your first level of play is a tutorial that will walk you through all the ins and outs of the game. From there you currently have three additional levels of play with more to come. Levels are progressively unlocked based on the number of points/coins you earn over time.

The game screen has your score in the upper left, your number of lives in the upper right (hearts), your carrots in the bottom left and lighting strikes in the lower right.

Game play with Crazy Horses: Unstabled! is fairly straightforward. You have a bunch of crazy horses running around the screen. You lasso them by drawing a circle around them with your finger and then trace a path for them to follow to the stable. You can lasso as many of the same colored horse together to increase your points. Points that will eventually be converted to coins at the end of the game that can be used in the store to buy power-ups.

While game play sounds fairly simple, you have wild bulls that will charge on to the screen and try to take out your horses. You can defeat the bulls by tapping on them but for each horse taken out you lose a life. Lose all your lives and the game's over.

Crazy Horses: Unstabled! can get a little crazy when you have several different colored horses running around. To help slow them down so they can be lassoed, you can tap the carrot button to toss out a few carrots into the game. The horses stop to eat the carrots, making them easy to lasso.

If the bulls become overwhelming, you have the lightning strike button that will take all the bulls out on the screen.

Graphics are nice, game play can be rather challenging and Crazy Horses: Unstabled! makes for a fun Windows Phone 8 gaming title. Crazy Horses: Unstabled! is a free game with in-app purchases for coins if you want to get a jump on buying upgrades and power-ups from the game's store.

You can find Crazy Horses: Unstabled! here in the Windows Phone Store.

If you're a fan of the classic arcade game Missile Command, you'll enjoy the Windows Phone game Vectored. Just like the classic game, with Vectored you are tasked with protecting a collection of cities from waves of incoming missiles.

Vectored is now a free game for our Windows Phone (down from $.99) making Vectored all the more attractive.

The game calls on you to protect six cities from forty-five waves of incoming missiles, spread over nine levels, with your own stockpile of missiles. You tap the screen where you want your defensive missile to head in hopes that they will destroy the inbound artillery.  Vectored does support multi-touch which allows you to quickly put more defensive missiles into play.

Along the way you'll have the opportunity to take out bonus targets that randomly scurry across the screen. The more missiles you take out, the higher your score and when all your cities are turned into a pile of ashes, the game's over.

Vectored has a clean appearance with rather peachy graphics. Game play is fast paced and will keep you on your toes. Overall, Vectored is a appealing arcade game for your Windows Phone gaming library.

Vectored is a free game for your Windows Phone 8 and 7.x device and you can find Vectored here in the Windows Phone Store.

Thanks, Sicnus, for the tip!

The lineup of Xbox One launch game announcements began with a trickle during the May reveal event and didn’t start to really flow until Microsoft’s E3 press conference. Electronic Arts and other publishers chimed in, and soon gamers began to have a decent idea of what software to expect when Microsoft’s new console rolls around.

Still, for all those title announcements, you never really know exactly what games will launch alongside the system until the console’s release date draws near. The Xbox One’s nebulous November release date (Microsoft still hasn’t named the date yet) is still a few months away, but Microsoft has just revealed the lineup of games that will be available at retail and via download on launch day. With 23 titles to choose from, early adopters are in for a treat this holiday season.

Xbox One launch day games

1. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
2. Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
3. Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
4. Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios) – Downloadable, exclusive
5. Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft) - Exclusive
6. FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
7. Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft) - Exclusive
8. Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios) - Exclusive
9. Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
10. Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios) – Downloadable, exclusive
11. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
12. Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios) – Downloadable, exclusive
13. Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
14. NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
15. NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
16. Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
17. Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts) – Downloadable, exclusive
18. Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios) – Downloadable, exclusive
19. Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios) - Exclusive
20. Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
21. Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) - Pictured at top
22. Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios) - Exclusive
23. Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)

Next generation versus last generation

Project Gotham Racing 3

For comparison, here’s the American Xbox 360 launch lineup:

1. Amped 3 - Exclusive
2. Call of Duty 2
3. Condemned: Criminal Origins - Exclusive
4. FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
5. GUN
6. Kameo: Elements of Power - Exclusive
7. Madden NFL 06
8. NBA 2K6
9. NBA Live 06
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
11. NHL 2K6
12. Perfect Dark Zero - Exclusive
13. Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
14. Project Gotham Racing 3 - Exclusive
15. Quake 4
16. Ridge Racer 6 - Exclusive
17. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
18. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
19. Bankshot Billiards 2 (XBLA)
20. Bejeweled 2 (XBLA)
21. Gauntlet (XBLA)
22. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (XBLA)
23. Hardwood Backgammon (XBLA)
24. Hardwood Hearts (XBLA)
25. Hexic HD (pre-installed on the hard drive)
26. Joust (XBLA)
27. Mutant Storm Reloaded (XBLA)
28. Outpost Kaloki X (XBLA)

By my count, that puts the Xbox One at five retail and five downloadable exclusives on day one, whereas the Xbox 360 launched with six retail and 8 downloadable exclusives (we’re not counting Joust and Gauntlet as exclusives). While the new system’s numbers are slightly smaller, I would argue that the Xbox One’s retail exclusives, third-party retail lineup, and downloadable lineup all look much stronger than the games the Xbox 360 launched with in 2005.

Select launch game breakdown

Some of the games on the launch list we’ve covered before, others we haven’t. Everybody knows what to expect from the first-person shooters, Assassin’s Creed, and sports games. Let’s take a brief peak at the remaining titles:

Crimson Dragon

At long last, the big brother of Windows Phone exclusive Crimson Dragon: Side Story will appear on Xbox One. Crimson Dragon was originally announced for XBLA, but Microsoft mysteriously pulled it only weeks before release in order to retool it for Xbox One.

This spiritual successor to Panzer Dragoon has benefitted from the extra year of development time with improved graphics, a greater scope, and the addition of physical controller support in addition to Kinect controls!

Dead Rising 3

The Dead Rising series is known for its mixture of zombie horror, oddball comedy, and massive hordes of enemies on-screen at once. Part three suffers from an unfortunate brown color scheme, but otherwise everything players love from previous games has been improved upon.

The world is completely open now and filled with drivable vehicles, which should make for gory road kills galore. Two-player online co-op and extremely robust SmartGlass support further round out this impressive exclusive. Check out our E3 preview for more details.

Fighter Within

One of the two exclusive Kinect retail titles, Fighters Within allows two players to battle each other via highly accurate Kinect controls. Throw a punch or kick and your character does so instantly, without the lag that Xbox 360 Kinect games experienced.

This is the kind of game that could either be surprisingly solid or completely underwhelming. We’ll have to see how it shapes up in the months to come.

Forza 5

The Forza series is known for its hyper realistic simulation aspects. Hundreds of cars are recreated down to the tiniest detail, and each one drives like the real thing. Forza 5 will of course be the most beautiful racing game to date, with more track detail and livelier spectators than ever before.

Online players will benefit from the cloud processing-fueled drivatar support (AI racers based on your actual driving style), while offline players can still play the game after downloading the day one patch. Madcatz also gas a wireless racing wheel in store that should create an even more immersive simulation.

Killer Instinct

A cult 2D fighting series from the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 days, Killer Instinct is back at last. Not only does it look and play quite faithfully to its predecessors, the new Killer Instinct also boasts an unusual payment model for a fighting game.

One character is completely free and can be used in offline and online play. The other seven characters cost $5 each, or players can grab the whole roster for $20. Hardcore Killer Instinct fans may opt for the $40 deluxe edition. It includes all the characters and a slew of bonus content, including the original KI arcade game!

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

Last year’s LEGO Batman 2 provided a vast playground and assortment of characters to entertain kids and comic fans alike. LEGO Marvel Superheroes should easily recapture that magic, thanks in large part to a playable roster of 100 Marvel Comics heroes and villains.

Warner Bros. quietly announced this game would come to Xbox One in addition to current generation systems back at E3, but that detail was largely lost in the sea of news from the show. We don’t know what enhancements (if any) the Xbox One version will feature, but enhanced graphics and special effects are a given. Give our E3 preview a look to learn more about the game itself.

Lococyle

This quirky combat racer comes from Twisted Pixel, the folks behind Ms. Splosion Man and the original Gunstringer.

It was announced as an XBLA game at E3 2012, but like Crimson Dragon got held back in favor of an Xbox One upgrade.

Peggle 2

Poor Windows Phone never got a port of the original Peggle, but the XBLA version was tops. Peggle 2 will launch as an Xbox One exclusive, which almost makes up for Plants vs. Zombies 2 being iOS-exclusive.

Expect a more pleasing art style complete with animated characters, increased background detail, and tons of peg-busting fun from this one.

Powerstar Golf

Did you like Let’s Golf 2 on Windows Phone? This cartoonish golfing game should evoke much of the same fun. Each character has a unique ability that he or she can use a limited number of times during a game.

Golf games are hard to screw up, but I hear this one currently suffers from severe UI issues. Hopefully those clear up before launch.

Ryse

This epic action game takes place during the times of the Roman Empire.

It will include an online Gladiator mode on top of the single player game. You’ll use the money earned in multiplayer to purchase booster packs of cards that unlock random rewards. Sam and Michael are pumped for this one – how about you guys?

Skylanders: Swap Force

Activision recently announced that the newest Skylanders game will arrive on Xbox One in addition to current gen systems! Swap Force will work with all the Skylanders toys you already own; it’s awesome to see characters we bought for the Xbox 360 game transfer over to next gen as well. The Xbox One version will look much nicer than the 360 games, which should help keep parents’ attention a little better as they play co-op with their children.

Zoo Tycoon

Not long ago I said that Animal Park Tycoon would have to hold Windows Phone owners over since Microsoft wasn’t taking advantage of their Zoo Tycoon license. It turns out that Xbox One is getting the first-ever Zoo Tycoon game for consoles!

This one comes from Frontier Software, the developers behind Kinectimals and Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Expect lots of animal-themed Kinect minigames, highly realistic animals, four-player co-op, and of course: zoo management. We’ll also be able to visit each other’s’ zoos via the cloud.

That's it, guys! Barring last minute delays, these are the games you'll have to choose from on Xbox One launch day. Which ones are you excited for?

Rovio has announced that the next instalment in the Angry Birds Star Wars series of games will be launching on Windows Phone. Angry Birds Star Wars 2 puts the player in control of slinging birds at pigs to battle through levels in a galactic setting. There's a twist, however. You'll also be able to play as the piggies on the pork side of the force and teleport figurines into your game. Sounds rather cool, right?

Showing off the above video, voiced by Ian McDiarmid (Emperor in the Star Wars films), Rovio goes into some detail in an official blog post as to what we can all expect to see in the next title. Angry Birds Star Wars 2 will include bird and pig versions of more than 30 characters from the Star Wars universe, who will be announced as the team counts down to the launch of the game - the first batch of character reveal gameplay videos will be published next Monday (26th).

The game itself will be released on September 19th and will be loaded on iOS, Android and Windows Phone for $0.99. What's possibly most interesting (as noted above) is the ability to play on the pigs team. Not only that, but Rovio has teamed up with Hasbro to bring you TELEPODS. This essentially enables you to teleport physical Angry Birds Star Wars figures into your game. Pretty neat. The team appears to be really making a deal out of this sequel.

Here's a quick video on the TELEPODS:

If you're super excited about the upcoming title, be sure to follow the Angry Birds team on Twitter to be in with a chance of winning an exclusive "Join the Pork Side" poster, signed by The Emperor. So which side of the force are you most looking to play?

Source: Rovio; thanks, Tapio, for the heads up!

The Windows Phone title Glow Arkanoid is currently available for free on the store, thanks to a partnership with MyAppFree. The game puts you in control of a paddle, much like Breakout, and you're tasked with destroying the glowing blocks. Multiple balls are included in the gameplay to really make thing interesting and gesture or motion sensor controls can be utilised.

From the developer who brought us HexaLines for Windows 8 and Windows Phone, players are able to enjoy Arkanoid in space. Each level is slightly different when played, with a tutorial to boot if you're just starting out. Once you've got some matches under your belt, be sure to get involved with the leaderboards to see where you stand against other players.

If you're interested in keeping on top of what's being made free on the store, be sure to check out MyAppFree (right QR code). You can download Glow Arkanoid from the Windows Phone Store for free (available for Windows Phone 7 and 8 - free for August 23rd).

If you have yet to receive the memo, Games for Windows Live Marketplace has been shut down for good as of yesterday. Microsoft states that userswill no longer be able to purchase new content through the marketplace, but previously purchased software will still be available to re-download. As Microsoft’s Xbox platform switched from Microsoft Points to local currency, the Games for Windows Live Marketplace was left behind in the dust.

In-game downloadable content offered in some games will still be available, but users should first check with the specific game publisher to confirm. Users who had a remaining Microsoft point balance in the Games for Windows Live Marketplace before it was killed, have now lost their funds (You can complain to Microsoft about that one).

Games for Windows Live was originally launched in 2007 and struggled to keep up with other game distributors including Valve’s digital distribution service, Steam.

Has the shutdown of the Games for Windows Live Marketplace affected you or have you been using Steam to download your favorite PC games?

Source: IGN

Yatzy Online is a turn based, online Windows Phone 8 game based on the classic dice game Yahtzee. Yatzy Online is also available over on Android and IOS which should give you a healthy player pool to compete against.

Yatzy Online is laid out in a straight forward manner with three variations of Yahtzee, International, Scandinavian and a six dice version. Yatzy Online is a decent version of the dice throwing game for our Windows Phone 8 devices but does have a few annoying features.

Being an online, turn-based game you'll need to register with Yatzy Online to play. Registration is free and only takes a few seconds.

Lets go ahead and get the first annoying feature out of the way. Yatzy Online is a free, ad supported game and the banner ad is so annoying that it will force you to buy an upgrade to get rid of the ads (in app purchase of $2.49) or give up on the game all together.  The banner ad runs across the top of the screen blocking the top portion of the screen which blocks your settings and statistics buttons and gaming header.  What you can see is the button to start a game and a listing of any games in progress and a list of your recent games.

When you go to start a new game you have a few options. First you'll need to choose your gaming mode and then your opponent. You can choose an opponent at random from registered members, choose a specific registered player to play against, play a multi-player game (up to four), choose a practice game against the computer or a solo practice game.

Game play is identical to Yahtzee in that you have five (or six depending on the game mode) dice you roll three times. The first roll is done as you start your turn and the next two are done by tapping the "roll" button. After each roll you tap the dice you want to hold to complete one of the many score sheet categories. Categories range from the total number of "ones" collected to collecting a full house of dice to Yahtzee (five of a kind).

As you build your collection, the point total is reflected on the bubbles on the scorecard. When you have completed your three rolls, just tap the bubble of the category you want to complete. Each category or collection has a points value which will eventually make up your final score.

Now lets get to the second annoyance with Yatzy Online. Randomly, as you begin your turn a pop-up screen will appear giving you the option to upgrade to the ad-free version or wait a few seconds and proceed to play for free. The windows serves as a reminder that you can upgrade to the ad-free version.

I can understand the concept behind having an ad-supported app and there are plenty of games and apps that do so in more of a subtle way.  I can also understand using ads to steer customers to the paid version but whatever the motivation for placing ads in a game or app, it shouldn't take away from the user experience.  Yatzy Online just seems to beat you to a pulp with the ads and the pop-up option to buy the upgrade. It really takes away from a decent Windows Phone game.

As far as the gaming experience is concerned, Yatzy Online is not unlike any other turn-based, online game. If you get an opponent that is on top of things and takes their turn promptly the gaming experience is enjoyable. End up with an opponent who takes hours on end to complete a turn and the gaming experience takes a turn for the worse.

Yahtzee is an entertaining game for your Windows Phone either played in a solo match or online against others. Yatzy Online isn't a bad version of the game but the ads really detract from things. I would have rather seen a more subtle ad banner that didn't detract from the gaming experience and an upgrade button on the main menu to serve as a reminder.  Either that or a straight forward trial version that is limited to local play with the full version opening up to online play.  As is, the free version can get rather annoying.

Yatzy Online is worth trying if you like this gaming genre.  If it end up being your cup of tea, upgrading is a must just to get rid of the ads and have a more pleasurable gaming experience. You can find Yatzy Online for your Windows Phone 8 device here in the Windows Phone Store.

Earlier this week, Gameloft announced they will bring their latest arcade racer Asphalt 8: Airborne to both Windows Phone and Windows 8. Phone owners have enjoyed its predecessor for quite some time now, but Microsoft’s tablet and PC operating system has gone without – until now.

Asphalt 7: Heat has just launched on Windows 8 and RT with full Xbox support. It includes some impressive features such as Xbox 360 controller support, glitchy Play/Pause/Resume connectivity and even cross-platform multiplayer with the Windows Phone 8 version! We’ve put the Windows 8 game through its paces in order to bring you this timely review.

One big racing game

Asphalt 7’s career mode consists of 13 tiers with 12 events each; that’s a whopping 156 events for players to race through. Those events come in quite a variety, such as traditional races against five opponents, arcade races against timer, elimination races in which the last racer gets knocked out of the race, and more.

Of those race types, I found knockdown races by far the most enjoyable. In knockdowns, you’ll have to literally knock your opponents out (temporarily) by smashing them into a wall or hitting them while in Adrenaline mode (this game’s advanced form of Nitro). Knocking an AI racer into the air and cruising on for new prey just never gets old.

Depending on how well you perform in each career race, you’ll earn up to three stars. Hitting star milestones unlocks new licensed cars and upgrades for purchase in the shop. Win or lose a race, you’ll always earn money to spend.

Completing single-player or online races and performing various actions like drifting also earns you rep. Rep is basically XP, as it contributes to leveling up. Reaching certain levels unlocks new cars to buy, but your level is mainly a way for other online players to see how far you’ve gotten in the game.

As if earning stars, money, and rep didn’t provide enough goals already, Asphalt 7 also has lots of optional missions to complete in single- or multiplayer. These goals give you something extra to shoot for during a race or series of races such as knocking down a certain number of opponents or drifting for a set distance. At any given time, you’ll have three missions to work on – just like in Jetpack Joyride. This game really keeps players busy!

Cloud racer

When I first downloaded and started playing Asphalt 7 on Windows 8, I figured I would need to take on the massive career mode all over again. Imagine my surprise when I signed into Xbox Live in-game and it informed me that I already had save data on the cloud. I didn’t even know it used cloud saving! Users can choose to download the existing cloud save or start with fresh data.

The cloud save restored my old career progress, level, money, and cars appeared on my Windows 8 system. Actually, the save recovered from the cloud was only on tier 11 of the campaign as opposed to my actual phone status of tier 13. But slightly old save or not, it still saved me hours and hours of time in the Windows 8 game.

The only question is: will progress from the Windows 8 game transfer back to Windows Phone as well? Unfortunately, on the phone I’ve hit that bug in which the game crashes after the title screen, so I can’t test it. The phone game is excellent but awfully buggy that way. It would be great if we could jump back and forth between both platforms at will. Until we do more testing though, it might be safer to assume the transfer is a one-way operation.

Crossing the platforms in multiplayer

Asphalt 7 was the first Windows Phone 8 game with true real-time online multiplayer, and now we can say the same about Windows 8 as well. As far as we know, Microsoft has never provided the libraries needed for online multiplayer on phone or tablet, leaving the work completely up to developers.

As such, the phone version of Asphalt 7 used Gameloft’s online service Gameloft Live for its multiplayer instead of Xbox Live. Subsequent games like UNO & Friends have switched over to Xbox Live, but Asphalt 7 still relies on Gameloft Live. Creating a Gameloft account isn’t much work though, and most Windows Phone 8 gamers probably already have one anyway.

This version’s multiplayer performs very well, with only the occasional dropped connection to mar the experience. You can join or host a game for up to six online racers, selecting the race type, track, and tier of cars. Car upgrades can’t be toggled off by the host however, meaning high level players have a significant advantage over low level players. And sadly, this version lacks any form of chat, just like the phone game.

The real treat with Asphalt 7’s multiplayer is that both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 players can race against each other! You needn’t do anything special. Any players can join any matchmaking game, with no differentiation between platforms. The new influx of Windows 8 players should breathe new life into the phone game; and the existing phone users provide a player base for new tablet and PC gamers to race with.

Windows 8 controls

Since Windows 8 runs on both tablets and PCs, it’s capable of supporting a variety of control options. Thankfully Asphalt 7 takes advantage of all the important ones: touch, mouse and keyboard, and Xbox 360 controller. You will need to select Control Scheme F from the Options in order to enable the control pad.

As you might expect, the controller offers the greatest degree of precision. Steering with a stick and accelerating, braking, or activating Nitro with buttons are all a snap. The controller acts as a virtual mouse pointer in the menus, which makes cup selection cumbersome in career, but otherwise it really improves an already fantastic game. It also functions as a preview of what Gameloft’s Windows Phone 8 games would be like if they worked with the MOGA Pro Controller.

Achievements

Since Asphalt 7 on Windows 8 is basically a direct port of the Windows Phone 8 game but with better graphics and more control options, it also has the same Achievement list. That means that reaching level 80, earning a total of twenty million dollars, and buying all cars and upgrades will be the most time consuming Achievements.

I feared that recovering my phone save data might cause Achievement difficulties. Thankfully it didn’t! After pulling my save from the cloud, all of the Achievements I earned on Windows Phone popped in the Windows 8 game as well. What a time saver! You could potentially get 400 GamerScore by playing both versions. Not bad given the total investment of three bucks for both games.

Overall Impression

It might be late in coming, but Asphalt 7 still impresses on Windows 8. The Surface RT runs at it a low but playable frame rate (probably about the same as a Lumia 920), but on beefier Windows 8 hardware the frame rate is perfectly fluid.

With a lengthy career mode, copious amounts of cars and upgrades to buy, and actual online multiplayer, Asphalt 7 also provides a tremendous value for an amazingly low price. Cloud saves and cross-platform multiplayer are just the icing on one delicious cake of a racing game. Don’t miss it.

Warning: according to reader reports, the game crashes on the Windows 8.1 preview. If you're running 8.1, be sure to download the trial and see how it does before purchasing.

• Asphalt 7– Windows 8 and RT – 0.99 GB - $1.99 – Store Link
• Asphalt 7– Windows Phone 8 – 512 MB – Store Link (QR tag below)

Thanks to Bilal Khan for letting us know about the release!

The Toughest Game Ever is a collection of mini-games for your Windows Phone that are designed to test your concentration, speed and reactions.  The multi-level game can be challenging at times, a little frustrating as well as a little humbling at times.

Is this Windows Phone game the toughest game ever? Hard to say but the Toughest Game Ever will keep you on your toes and isn't a bad game to have in your Windows Phone gaming library.

The Toughest Game Ever has three difficulty levels (the hardest level is still in development) that you can switch between by swiping to the right on the main menu.  Each difficulty level has unique gaming challenges that are progressively unlocked as you make a passing grade.

When you tap the level, you'll be presented with instructions and then you can proceed to the actual game. Read the instructions carefully because if you're not careful you may miss an key element.

For example on the Wac A Mole game you are directed to use the three colored buttons at the bottom of the screen to hit the mole as often as you can within the alloted twelve seconds. You aren't being asked to hit each mole once as they pop up but hit them as often as you can as they pop up.

The games are rather simple but that doesn't mean they aren't without challenge.  I'm not sure if the Toughest Game Ever can hold up to marathon gaming sessions but for short bits, it can be rather entertaining. I can also see it being a fun pass/play type game to see how your friend's gaming skills matches up to yours.

The Toughest Game Ever is a free, ad supported game for Windows Phone 8 and 7.x devices. You can find it here in the Windows Phone Store.

A couple of weeks ago we interviewed Canadian indie developer the Coding Jar about their premiere Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 game, Fling Theory. We discussed the game’s origins, how it plays, and the studio’s future plans.

What Coding Jar didn’t reveal was that the game would be getting an update soon. They’ve just published a major update to the Windows Phone version that makes the game entirely free to play, with no need to pay for new levels. The update for the Windows 8 version is still pending. Full details and the download link after the break!

Lots of fixes

Before we outline the big changes in the Fling Theory version 1.3 update, let’s reveal the smaller ones. Several areas of the game received minor improvements:

• Performance
• Tutorials
• Aiming

I’m not quite so familiar with the game that I can spot exactly how these aspects of the game have changed, but the tutorials that pop up whenever a new puzzle mechanic gets introduced do seem spot on. Aiming works well too, with a nice guideline showing the path your particle will take when you fling it.

A new payment model

Originally, Fling Theory launched with 23 free levels for players to enjoy. To get more levels, a user could buy an extra level pack for a buck. The game also displayed ads which could be disabled with another In-App Purchase (IAP).

The pre-update IAP prices were quite low, but they still functioned as a barrier towards completing the game for some players. Hence the latest update drops the need to pay for additional levels. It also changes the way levels are accessed and adds a new coin-collecting mechanic.

Now the game’s level sets are divided into seven themed worlds. Each world after the first costs coins to unlock. You’ll find coins scattered throughout every level. Sometimes they line the proper path to completing the level; other times they take more work to collect.

I finished the first world with enough coins to unlock the second level set and a few left over. Subsequent worlds cost more coins to unlock however. Coins can only be collected once, so you’ll have to replay levels and discover new solutions in order to get them all.

In-App Purchases and Advertisements

Players who’d rather progress to the higher levels immediately can opt to buy coin packs via IAP. They come in packs that cost either one or two dollars. Finally, just like before the update, you can still disable in-game advertisements for a dollar.

The ads don’t show up all the time, but when they do they’re kind of obtrusive. It’s like the game wasn’t designed around showing ads, so they clutter the display up more than necessary. You can close an individual ad to get it out of the way though, which is cool. Still, I’d rather just pay once and get them out of my hair.

Get flinging

Fling Theory is a physics-based puzzle game that takes place on an incredibly small scale. Instead of flinging birds around, you’ll play as a microscopic electron in a scientist’s lab. The goal is always to get from one side of the test chamber to the exit on the other side. Will you be clever enough to solve every puzzle and grab all the coins?

• Fling Theory – Windows Phone 8 – 16 MB – Free – Store Link
• Fling Theory – Windows 8 and RT – 14 MB – Free – Store Link

Windmill is a puzzle game for your Windows 8 computer that doesn't have many bells and whistles but doesn't lack challenge.

The gaming screen is presented in straight forward fashion with a windmill styled grid of flour sacks hanging on a hook. There are 32 sacks with one empty hook. You're goal, jump the sacks to remove them and end up with one remaining sack hung on the center hook.

The game reminds me of those peg styled games that you find at Cracker Barrel restaurants. Just a little more difficult to solve.

Game play with Windmill is simple as well. Tap a sack to select it then tap an empty hook. The empty hook must be two hooks from the selected sack in a horizontal or vertical direction. The hook between the selected sack and the empty hook can not be empty, essentially jumping a sack which removes it from the playing board.

As you remove sacks from play, a counter will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. You win the game by ending up with only one sack left. The last sack must be placed on the hook in the middle of the playing board.

It's not in the Help Section but as long as I have jumps available, I was able to jump sacks over empty hooks. Not sure if that is a quirk in the game or a move that was simply not mentioned in the Help Section.

Regardless, Windmill is a challenging puzzle game for your Windows 8 tablet, laptop or desktop computer. You may be able to remove all but one sack of flower but getting that last sack on the middle hook can be tricky.  I wouldn't mind seeing something added to give the game a little pop such as animations (sacks could explode when removed) or maybe a game mode where the game board rotates like a windmill.  Regardless, if you're looking for a simple puzzle game, Windmill is worth a try.

Windmill is a free Windows 8 app that you can snatch up here in the Windows Store.

Good news for those who enjoy Halo: Spartan Assault, which was released for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 back in July, as the game is set to receive its first upgrade this week. That falls in line with earlier reports that August would see such an update.

The details for the Windows 8 version were revealed on the official Halo Waypoint site with an August 29th release availability. It’s not clear if the Windows Phone 8 version will be updated at the same time, though presumably they will be tied closely together. That version for Windows Phone 8 should also bring support for 512MB devices, as previously reported.

So what can users expect? There’s three big new features here: new missions, new achievements and Xbox 360 joystick support.

• Operation Hydra including 5 new missions
• New Achievements (50 points) including Archeology, Silvertip, Tour of duty, A for Effort and Vidmaster Challenge 2.0
• Support for Xbox 360 wired controllers– We knew this was coming from our earlier coverage, but now it’s confirmed that users will be able to plug in their Xbox 360 controller to their Surface Pro or desktop to get a new way to interact with the game

Overall, it sounds like a pretty comprehensive update for such an A-list title. We’ll keep an eye out for the corresponding Windows Phone 8 version as well, especially for those with 512MB devices.

More reading: Halo: Spartan Assault review

Source: Halo Waypoint; via WP7Forum.ru

We made mention of Polyhegrams a few months ago. It's a Windows Phone game from LateNight Apps that was developed through the AppCampus and it just went live in the Windows Phone Store.

For those not familiar, the AppCampus is a joint venture between Microsoft, the Aalto University of Finland and Nokia to promote quality platform development of apps such as Polyhegrams, Dark Lands, and Project Tripod.

Polyhegrams is a word game for our Windows Phones and represents the efforts of the AppCampus in stellar fashion. You have several gaming options but the general gist of things has you building words from letters scattered about a three-dimensional, multi-sided object.  The game can be rather challenging, frustrating and overall an entertaining experience. If you like word games, Polyhegrams may very well be a must have title for your Windows Phone gaming library.

The main menu for Polyhegrams has options for Single Player games, online Multi-player games, Timed Games, Head to Head games (more on these in a second), as well as options to view your gaming achievements (awards) and view the tutorial. Just rotate the 3D cube to pick your poison.

Polyhegrams Settings and Single Player Game

Up under the three dot menu on the main page you will find options to view the help page, send feedback to the developer, rate the app, view the about and access the settings. Settings cover sound, music, and touch sensitivity levels as well as turning on/off hints, location and live tile.

Each game option is slightly different but the concept is fairly consistent. You have a floating, 3D shape, the polyhegram if you will, that has letters on each side. You rotate and tap the letters to create words. The game modes break down as follows:

Single Player Game: This is a multi-level game where you are given a clue to what the letters on the object creates. Your job, build the word as quickly as possible. The Single Player game follows a storyline and has hundreds of puzzles to solve with each level getting more challenging than the last.

Multi-player Game: This game is a lot like Wordament but instead of having a 4x4 grid of letters to build words from, you have a multi-sided object full of letters to work off of. Letters used to build a word must be adjacent to each other and you try to build as many words as possible within the time limit. Longer words earn more points and at the end of the round, your scores are ranked against the other players.

Polyhegrams Multi-Word, Boggle, and Word Search Games

Timed Game: Here you have a few options, all played under the clock (represented by a ring of fire that slowly closes in on your polyhegram). You have a Multi-word game where you have to find a given word, its opposite or a similar word on the polyhegram. The Boggle game is a single player version of the Multi-player game. The Word Search game has you finding a specific word on the polyhegram. The Surprise Me game is just that, a random assortment of spelling tasks. From the Timed Game menu you have a difficulty meter that you can adjust to keep the games from becoming too easy.

Head to Head: The Boggle styled game played head to head against on online opponent or a local opponent over WiFi using a local network.

As you can tell, there is a lot of gaming involved with Polyhegrams. Plenty to keep the game from getting stale.  Graphics are appealing, game play challenging and overall, Polyhegrams puts a little life back into Windows Phone word games with it's unique approach to the game board.

The screen sensitivity can be a little touchy but you can fine tune that in the game's settings. The only real nit I can find with Polyhegrams deals with correcting a misspelled word.  If you make a spelling mistake, there's no "backspace" function other than swiping to the left to erase the entire word. This can be frustrating but adds to the challenge when you're racing the clock.  Still, a back button to erase the last letter put into play would be nice.

If you like word games but feel they've gotten a little monotonous or are looking for a challenging word game to add to your Windows Phone, Polyhegrams is a must try. It may drive you nuts but in a challenging way.

There is a free trial version available for Polyhegrams that has some gaming limitations. The full version is currently running $1.49 and you can find Polyhegrams here in the Windows Phone Store. It is available for both Windows Phone 8 and 7.x devices.

Surge is a Windows Phone game that is a unique version of the board game RISK but with an arcade game replacing the dice throws with the combat phase of the game. It mixes the strategy of RISK with the action of an arcade game.

Game play is very similar to what you would find with RISK and just as challenging. The game pace is a little slower due to the transition from board game to arcade which may not appeal to everyone. Surge has multi-player support for up to six players that can be a combination of computer or human (pass and play)

Surge is an interesting twist on a classic board game but isn't for those looking for a fast paced game for their Windows Phone.

Jumping into the main menu of Surge gives you options to start a new game, load a saved game, play a skirmish (the arcade mode), create a Photo Fight, access the game options, and view a help screen that details the various units, munitions, bonuses, and medals involved in the game.

Skirmish's have several variables that can be adjusted that includes the number of players, number of vehicles, the environment you battle in and the style of vehicles used (classic, modern and future). Surge's gaming options include turning on/off on-screen tips, munitions tracking, auto complete by the CPU and limiting the graphics to 30 frames per second.

Photo Fight is an option to load one of your own photos as the backdrop to the arcade game. You can take a picture, trace the area that you want to use as the terrain to create the battle arena.

When you launch a game you'll be given two options for opponents. There is a multi-player game that supports up to six opponents that can be any combination of human and computer players. The computer players have four levels of difficulty (easy, medium, hard and insane). Human players will have to compete in pass and play fashion.

The main game plays just like RISK. You have a global map where your armies are scattered about. There are three map layouts to choose from that have your armies distributed in various fashion. From there you are presented with a global map where you perform troop transfers between adjacent countries and attack adjacent enemy territories.  The strategy of Surge comes with your troop movements and allocations.  Keeping your forward territories well armed while avoiding your other countries defended too thinly.

The goal is similar to RISK in that you attack adjacent territories, defeat them, move your troops to occupy the territory, and repeat these steps until you achieve global domination.

When you attack a territory, unlike RISK where you roll dice to determine the outcome of the battle, you are sent to the arcade game. The arcade game is an artillery battle where armies are represented by tanks that trade shots at each other. You control the trajectory of your shot, position of the tank, and ammunition choice through the various on-screen controls.

You trade shots until you wipe out the enemy or they take you out. During the battle bonus supplies will drop from the sky and you collect them by driving your tank over them. The arcade battle is a nice touch but graphics are a little on the small side. You can touch zoom into the battlefield but that narrows your view considerably.

A couple of nits to the game. Nothing critical but noticeable by those with fading eye sight. The text is very small and can be hard to read. The same can be said of the artillery vehicles in the arcade game. I wouldn't mind seeing larger fonts and game graphics, especially with the battle stages.

All totaled, Surge is an entertaining version of RISK. The arcade game aspect is more challenging than a roll of the dice but does add a considerable amount of time to the game. RISK was already a marathon type game and Surge is no different. If you're looking for a quick strategy type game for your Windows Phone, Surge may not be  your cup of tea.  If you don't mind games that take a while to play out, Surge has its appeal.

There is a free trial version available for Surge to let you try things out before buying. Surge is compatible with both Windows Phone 7.x and 8 devices with the full version running $1.29. You can find Surge here in the Windows Phone Store.

We've covered MyAppFree deals in the past so you already know the drill, folks. This week we're looking at Fly Johnny Fly, a humorous indie Windows Phone game that's currently available for free. You're tasked with aiding medical science development by flinging a test dummy, called Johnny, around multiple levels with interesting hardware available (dynamite, etc.) to get Johnny in between two designated flags.

Graphics are sweet, gameplay is both fun and addictive, and the game is free until the day is over. As well as having the opportunity to battle through multiple levels, Fly Johnny Fly also sports a shop where coins can be spent. These coins are earned by collecting them in each level, much like what's implemented in other indie games. Stars are used to unlock said upgrades, but you'll need the right amount of coins to purchase them.

Just be careful not to rip too many limbs off or your score will suffer. More features are on the way in future updates, so this is definitely a title worth your time investment. You can download Fly Johnny Fly from the Windows Phone store for free - available for both Windows Phone 7 and 8. The deal is only covering today (August 28th) so act quickly.