And so the next big name in the 'not quite Scrabble genre' arrives on Windows Phone. In term of broad strokes, there's little difference between this title and Words by Post (reviewed here). Both titles are played on a board that's an adaption of the Scrabble standard, with more bonus squares in better positions for high scores and combinations; both games allow local play but are stronger when playing friends or random opponents no matter where they are in the world, on a turn by turn basis; and both have subtle hooks into your social networks. But which is better?
A brand new game from a UK based developer for Windows Phone? Hold us back! Electric Pixel Factory got in touch with us here at AAWP to let us know about its debut release, Gorilla Gondola. Would we like to have a look at? It has a gorilla... on a gondola... collecting fruit... Err, okay.
Fragger has a simple storyline, and a lot of life has been put into the presentation of the website and screenshots. It has a lot of military imagery around it, with armour, bunkers and grenades. But when you take this away you discover that Fragger is another "throw things to kill things" game, albeit one which is done extremely well, with a lot of challenge and longevity. And, as I wrote before when it appeared on Symbian, all you have to remember is that this is not Angry Birds.
Pixel Blocked is fantastic. You can go and read the rest of the review if you want (and I bet most of you will) but I know I've found the first puzzle game on Windows Phone that I really connect with. It may already be available for the Xbox Console and on the PC, but I've found it on Windows Phone, so it's Windows Phone Puzzle Game #1 in my mind! Here's why.
Word games seem to be under-appreciated in the gaming genre. Notwithstanding the huge amount of praise they get from reviewers and the general public, it's tough to think of a gaming title that has had success outside of the Scrabble-sequel Words By Post/Words With Friends style of gaming. Unfortunately, Text Twist 2 is not going to change that.
I have to confess that I'm something of a connoisseur of pool games on handhelds and smartphones, running firstly on my Palm Tungsten T3 early in the last decade and then on my Symbian smartphones. I've played more frames of virtual pool on handheld devices than you've had hot dinners. Discarding any prejudice about the cartoon 'look' of Doodle Pool, what really matters is whether it's a great pool game or not.
The "running" game genre has a number of variants for Windows Phone (we've looked at one recently in Tsotsi), but Running Dude is a step above others that I have seen. Why? Because it manages to be impressive in three different areas... control, game-play, and presentation.
Battlewagon is a frustrating Xbox Live title. It looks fantastic, with clear cartoon graphics, maps and cut-scenes reminiscent of the Amiga and Atari ST days, and it all feels consistent and right. Yet at the same time the game is stunningly simple in terms of complexity and level construction. There is a good game here, but it's not one that you can find without the developers working at another level.
Now this is a pretty modern slice of style in the Xbox Live arcade. Bug Village, from Glu Mobile, is another free game to download, but unlike some of the other titles, I'd be happy to show this one off as a sample of what Windows Phone can do. Neither are there any unsightly adverts on show - Glu Mobile are going to make their money out of you. Yes, Bug Village is one of the first freemium games for our phone platform.
Released just as 2011 came to a close, Spider Jack brought some great physics to the world of Xbox Live gaming, along with a maddening, challenging, addictive little game that's kept me going as 2012 dawned. Even if it is a bit like Cut the Rope (and there's a reason for that), Spider Jack is a fine mix of the collecting and puzzling genres.
