Propel Man, a popular iPhone and iOS gaming title, is now available on Windows Phone 8. In the game you use an adjustable catapult to send the titular Propel Man flying through the air, with the aim of landing safely, by parachute, just across the finish line. The controls are simple and the game play is a little repetitive, but the visuals are charming and there's a decent sound track.

The key to the game is getting the right settings for the power and trajectory of the four types of catapults included in the game, but there are also various upgrades such rocket boosters, jet parachutes and laser guns, which become important in later levels (when you need to travel further). You also need to make sure you deploy your parachute in enough time, or you will automatically fail the level.

Propel Man draws on the same love of parabolas as Angry Birds, although its fair to say it doesn't reach quite the same heights. Nonetheless it's still a decent game and should bring a smile to your face during the commute home.

Propel Man is also notable for being one of the first games for Windows Phone 8 developed using the Marmalade cross-platform gaming engine. Propel Man is a good example of a game that would not have been ported to Windows Phone without the support for native code and gaming middleware (engines) that was introduced in Windows Phone 8. Commenting on the porting process, Mohit Sureka, CEO of Spiel Studios, said:

"Windows Phone 8 platform will become a natural progression for all developers in the coming times who would like to see their games reach a wide and global audience. It was pretty easy to port the game using Marmalade and the support we received was very good. Since our code base is the same across all platforms it will be easier to update future releases at the same time."

Propel Man can be downloaded from the Windows Phone Store. The game costs £0.79 / $0.99 / €0.79. No trial is available.