Nokia is justifiably proud of its green credentials throughout the company, and its latest Windows Phone exclusive, Climate Mission 3D, wants to make sure that smartphone users are also aware of what they can do as individuals. But like any good lesson, it's far better to hide the education inside a game.
Seriously, Battleship? A flagship (pun intended) title on Xbox Live, in the three dollar price band? That game where you call out co-ordinates to see if your opponent has a ship there? Well, if they can turn it into a film, they can turn it into an Xbox Live premium title. But is it any good?
To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about MonstaFish. It's a collection of five mini-games (two of which are available in limited form in the trial version), and none of them would really stand alone as quality titles, even at the 99c/79p minimum level in the Marketplace. So bundling them together makes sense, even more so when the title itself pops up at the same 79p mark.
Look at that title. It has everything you need to get everyone interested. It mentions pirates and it mentions cats. Throw in one of the cutest possible icons, and you have a winner before people start playing the game. When they do, they're going to get an overload of cuteness.
Feeling more like a web-based Flash game than a full blown commercial title, GameHouse's Droplitz Delight has the Xbox Live branding, the lowest pricing band in Windows Marketplace, and a bundle of bight colours and simple gameplay. It's also the ultimate snack game, missing any attempts at longevity.
Following on from the success of the Xbox Live title geoDefense, geoDefense Swarm expands the concepts presented in the original title based around the 'tower defense' genre, and manages to improve on the original title without destroying the core concept.
Burst balloons. That's all you have to do. It's not the most glamorous role for a ninja and his throwing stars, but when you have a job to do, that's what you do, because you are a ninja. If you can't immerse yourself in this game, then you're bursting bubbles on well designed levels with a fair amount of physics going on. And it's a good distraction.
There are many puzzle games out there that have a very simple concept, but fail to bring enough complexity to the table, making each level incredibly easy to solve. Thankfully Feed Me Oil doesn't all into this trap. Perhaps it's a little bit too complicated, but to be honest I like being stretched mentally in a game such as this, so a big thumbs up on the design.
Oh dear. Last week's release of a comedy kart driving game in the Xbox Live store caught my eye, as it's a genre that I enjoy. It's got a huge amount of branding over it so you never forget that this is a Pac-Man game (no I'm not going to capitalise it all the way through the review), but it's missing many elements that could make it an acceptable game.
How do you fancy seeing the world through the window of a food truck? For some reason that's the dream of Bonnie, the titular character in Bonnie's Brunch, now available for Windows Phone. Preparing and serving food has never been as colourful or fun, as this time management game from Funny Lab Studios proves.
