Level-based puzzle game? Check! Physics-based with momentum, arcs, and gravity? Check! Up to three stars for completing a level? Check! Cute graphics designed to appeal to the base nature of the internet? Check! Actually adds something to the flood of apps that followed 'Angry Birds'? Check! Does -- Wait a minute, does Catorize actually do something new and interesting with the physics puzzler genre? Yes it does.
Solitaire has a long history with Microsoft, being present in almost all the desktop GUI's since a mouse was introduced, to help give basic training on clicking, dragging, dropping, and window management. It was included 'out of the box' in Windows Mobile, and looking back, it's unusual that it has taken so long to arrive on Windows Phone with Redmond's blessing.
Hot on the heels of Rayman Fiesta Run comes another very highly rated game, this time debuting on Windows Phone and coming to iOS and Android afterwards. Deadlings has very high production values, addictive and challenging gameplay and a pay/IAP model that seems fairly well pitched. Cuddly zombies, spinning saw wheels of death, occasional blood and guts, plungers and platforms, teleport beams, alien spiders, it's all here in a tale of mock horror...
And so, it's a welcome return to a beloved character. Known by many, but enjoyed by only a few, it's been a long time since we saw him around these Windows Phone parts. So it's a 'hello, where have you been?' to Xbox Live. Because Ubisoft's latest platformer release on Microsoft's mobile platform comes under the Xbox Live banner. With so many big names having skipped the Redmond retainer and gone it alone, I wonder why Ubisoft has stuck with the plan? No matter the reason, Xbox Live integration is a cherry on top of a fantastic arcade game that is very well suited to a mobile touchscreen device.
Oooh, some superhero action on Windows Phone? Play as pretty much any of Marvel's Avengers? With some onomatopoeic action in the title? Count me in! Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hasty to review this following Steve's news posting this weekend, because Marvel Run Jump Smash is an ugly, merciless slice of code.
I think 'The Tiny Bang Story', from Colibri Games and Herocraft, is going to divide opinion between gamers. It's a wonderful scenario with lush graphics, but the game play is very light and superficial. If you are looking for a gentle game to while away the time, then this is worth a look.
Start with a small town, build it up, and use a motley band of so-called heroes to defend it from the colourful cartoon hordes that surround it in the countryside. This is Adventure Town, and it starts with the standard mix of RPG and freemium, and adds in some very colourful graphics. That's enough to make the game work well, but the financial balance of the title is a little bit off.
You know the scene. It's an action movie and the hero is in traffic, speeding through by swerving violently from lane to lane, sometimes ever veering onto the opposite carriageway, against the traffic, amidst beeping horns and with a pulsing soundtrack. Well, perhaps not quite so dramatic, but it's roughly the aim here in Traffic Racer - you've seen lane-hopping driving games before, but never one that's this realistically rendered, I promise...
Driving games have always held a fascination for gamers, especially on mobile devices. A good driving game keeps players coming back for more, shows off the graphical ability of a platform, and allows developers to prove just how good they are. It's also very easy to get everything wrong. Unfortunately AE GTO Racing falls into the latter category. It is utterly average in every respect, and that's no longer good enough for a Windows Phone game.
Poki is a Windows Phone client for the popular 'read it later' service Pocket (www.getpocket.com). Pocket allows you to bookmark content while reading on your computer. This could be in a web browser, or from a desk-bound Twitter and Facebook client, or from the various extensions and apps available to download. These links are synced with Pocket clients from the central server, and are able to be read at your leisure. Which is where Poki comes in.
