Windows Phone 7 devices â aka the Xbox phones â begin arriving in stores today and Microsoft is hoping that gamers will be among the first to snatch up these new smartphones.
Microsoftâs newest mobile operating system and the phones that use it certainly have much to offer gamers. After all, Windows Phone 7 comes with Xbox Live built in â thatâs Microsoftâs popular online community gaming service.
Xbox Live integration not only enables WP7 owners to create gamer profiles so they can share and compare their game experiences with other players, but gamers who own an Xbox 360 can access and contribute to their gamer profile from both their home console and their Windows Phone.
Meanwhile, as of right now, the Windows Phone 7 app Marketplace features more than 400 games â a number that will, no doubt, quickly grow ⌠though it certainly lags behind Appleâs App Store, which has a significant head start in the app department. (By the way, Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, but this post doesnât reflect anyoneâs opinion but my own.)
Iâve spent the last few days exploring the Game Marketplace, Xbox Live and the Games Hub on a Windows Phone 7 device â the HTC Surround to be specific. And here are a few things you need to know âŚ
For starters, in the Marketplace, youâll find apps you have to pay for and apps that are free. But most of the games that cost money come with a free demo so you can try before you buy. Thumbs up to that. Additionally, the WP7 free demo system is more streamlined than the Apple system in which you have to download a separate app if you want a free sample.
Meanwhile, itâs important to note that although Xbox Live integration is a big selling point, not all of the WP7 games include special Xbox Live features. So far only 26 games are Xbox Live enabled. Youâll find these games in their own section in the Marketplace. With these games, you can rack up achievements for your Xbox Live profile and add to your gamer score (all of which is great for bragging rights). You can also check how you rank on Xbox Live leaderboards and compare your progress to your friendsâ progress.
I do like the integration with Xbox Live so far but I look forward to some of the additional game functionality thatâs supposed to be coming down the road â the ability play games on your phone against friends who are playing on the Web for example. You canât do that yet, but according to Microsoft it wonât be long
Meanwhile, Iâve hit a few hitches here at launch. I canât seem to get the âGuitar Hero 5â demo to install, for example, and Iâve had trouble getting an Xbox Live friend invitation to go through to the intended party â msnbc.com phone guru Wilson Rothman.
But this is only Day One and I expect kinks like these will be ironed out in short order.
With some 400-plus games to greet you in the Marketplace, what you need to know right now is: Which games should you own and which games should you pass over? With that in mind, what follows is a guide to some of the best, worst and strangest games youâll find in the WP7 Marketplace.
(For a look at the best non-game WP7 apps check out Wilsonâs list here.)
THE GOOD
Xbox Live Extras â Free
This isnât a game, but if youâre a gamer who owns an Xbox 360 and has an Xbox Live account, youâll want to download this application which brings extra Xbox Live functionality to your phone. Fire up this app and youâll be able to see all of your achievements earned not only from playing games on the phone but from playing games on your Xbox 360 as well. Youâll also be able to see your Xbox Live friends, be able to send them messages and youâll be able to compare your game achievements to theirs. Perhaps most importantly of all, youâll be able to customize your avatar right there on your phone. And who doesnât love playing around with avatars?
âMax and the Magic Markerâ â $6.99
This award-winning indie game (previously available on PC and as a downloadable title for the Wii) is my favorite app available in the WP7 Marketplace so far. âMax and the Magic Markerâ combines whimsical platforming gameplay with the drawing mechanic that delighted so many of us in âCrayon Physics Deluxe.â Max, the boy with the magic marker, needs to stop the monster that he accidentally created. Itâs your job to help him. When he comes up against obstacles and enemies, youâll have to draw on your phoneâs touch-screen to create solutions to his problems. If he needs to cross a ravine, for example, draw a line to create a bridge for him. At $6.99, this game is pricey but worth every penny.
âThe Harvestâ â $6.99
While many of the games you can play on Windows Phone 7 devices have previously appeared on other platforms (usually the iPhone), âThe Harvestâ was made exclusively for Windows Phone 7 and canât be found anywhere else. In this top-down action/role-playing game, you fight off hordes evil Harvesters on a future Earth. The battle action is well paced, the graphics look great and the game offers plenty of a RPG depth. Clearly a lot of care and effort went into the making of this game. Itâs certainly the kind of high-quality exclusive app Windows Phones could use more of.
âCarneyVale: Showtimeâ â $2.99
Of course you should spend $2.99 on this circus-themed physics game. I mean, youâre firing a clown out of cannon and then â using these bizarre robot-like arms â youâre grabbing and flinging him through an airborne maze of electricity- and fire-laden hazards. What could be more fun than that? This game got its start as part of Microsoftâs Community/Indie Games initiative. The ragdoll physics at work here are a sight to behold and the absurd, madcap gaming is hard to peel yourself away from.
âFlowerzâ â Free
I wouldnât have thought I could tolerate yet another match-three puzzle game. And yet, I decided to try out âFlowerzâ for a few minutes ⌠and before I knew it an hour had gone by. Yes, youâll be tasked with matching flowers of the same color in rows and columns of three. But this game puts its own twist or two on the match-three thing â twists that will force you to think strategically and plan for the long term.
âFlight Controlâ â $2.99
This sleek and gorgeously designed game of airplane guidance has been a hit on the iPhone and the iPad and is equally enjoyable on Windows Phone 7 devices. Touch the screen and draw a path to bring airplanes safely to their appropriate runway. Itâs harder than it sounds and utterly absorbing. If you donât already own this unique game, now is the time.
âStar Wars: Battle For Hothâ â $2.99
I enjoyed this âEmpire Strikes Backâ-themed tower-defense game when it arrived in Appleâs App Store and it has translated nicely to the new Windows phones. Hereâs another chance to take down Snowtroopers, Viper Probe Droids, TIE Fighters and even AT-ATs as you defend Echo Base from the Dark Side. The graphics may not be the most inspired youâll find, but the gameâs ability to scratch that âEmpire Strikes Backâ itch will make up for it.
âThe Sims 3â â $6.99
The epic life-simulation gaming found in your typical âSimsâ game has been smartly streamlined for the mobile phone with this application (a version of which has also appeared in Appleâs App Store). âThe Sims 3â for WP7 is easy to jump into and yet retains plenty of depth. Create your own little digital human complete with some seriously quirky personality traits. Tend to their needs and help them achieve their wishes both big and small. The game is, as always, delightfully engaging.
âThe Revenantsâ â $2.99
This good-looking little action-puzzle game finds you playing a newly formed spirit struggling to survive and struggling to grow into a more powerful spirit. To survive youâll need to absorb the enemy ghosts that are after you. To do this, youâll use the touch screen to draw loops around your enemies. These loops create vortexes that suck them right up. The gameplay is unique and well worth checking out.
âde Blob: Revolutionâ â $2.99
de Blob â a cheerful character who brings color to a color-less world â first appeared on the Wii as the hero in a clever platforming puzzle game. But donât expect any platforming this time around. âde Blob: Revolutionâ has you helping de Blob trace trails of color through a gray world, saving its inhabitants as he goes. Trouble is, the trails he paints canât cross each other or go through obstacles. This is a maze puzzler with great graphics and a cool concept that will keep you coming back for more.
âText Text Revolutionâ â Free
This is an absurdly simple and an absurdly addictive little game and one sure to suck in anyone who prides themselves on their tiny keyboard typing skills. Here youâre given a series of words that you must type into your phoneâs keyboard as quickly and as accurately as possible. Youâll be given a score based on your speed and accuracy and you can then compare that score to other playersâ scores. Yep, thatâs all there is to it. But donât be surprised if you wind up spending a whole lot of time trying to get your flying fingers to land a top score.
âAlphaJaxâ â $3.99
The WP7 Marketplace does not yet offer the popular iPhone game âWords with Friendsâ â a superbly put together Scrabble game that you can play with your pals or with random strangers from the comfort of your own phone. Until it does, there is âAlphaJax.â It may not bowl you over, but itâs a solid enough replacement and one that will satisfy your need to put your wordsmithing skills to the test.
THE BAD
âMy Make Upâ â $1.99
This is the kind of insipid game thatâs marketed to little girls because, apparently, little girls like nothing more than to slather makeup on other girlsâ faces. This game is shallow in more ways than one. The goal here is to tart up four faces using various makeup options â lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, etc. Iâm sure that the many smart little girls out there who do love makeup will agree that the gameâs interface stinks â not only do the touch controls work only intermittently but the options are limited and the challenge is nonexistent.
âShoot Shag Marryâ â $1.29
Iâm torn as to whether I should put this game in âThe Badâ category or âThe Weirdâ category because it fits so well in both categories. This title presents you with the names of three famous people (Russell Crowe, Sylvester Stallone and Tiger Woods for example) and you must decide which one youâd like to shoot, which one youâd like to have sex with and which one youâd like to marry. But once youâve made a selection absolutely nothing happens. Iâm not opposed to goofy games that offer a chuckle or two for a buck or two ⌠but this one is totally chuckle free. Let me say this again: Absolutely nothing happens. Iâm not even sure why itâs considered a game. So, I guess if pressed, Iâd shoot this game.
âFroggerâ â $2.99
I hate to say it but ⌠meh. I mean, I loved âFroggerâ when I was a kid just like everyone else. But the swipe controls here feel a little slow to respond and the game, in general, feels outdated. You can do better than this with that $2.99 of yours.
THE WEIRD
âThe Hand of Bobâ â 99 cents
I donât quite know what to make of this game, which has you marching your fingers around a city destroying everything in your path. On the one hand, I want to recommend it purely for its name â âThe Hand of Bobâ â which I find deeply amusing in itself. And I like the quirky concept â you are Bobâs giant hand walking through the city on the tips of your fingers. You are an angry hand and you will destroy whatever you can by crushing it beneath your mighty digits (tap on things to make them go boom). But the game, ultimately, is rather shallow and the laughs only last so long. Then again ⌠what do you expect for 99 cents?
âDroppyPopâ â 99 cents
This game is weird in a really eerie and not particularly enjoyable sort of way. A ragdoll figure drops through the sky, bouncing and ricocheting off balloons, arms and legs flailing limply about. Youâre supposed to tap on the screen to make the figure grab a balloon string so it can swing across the screen and score points by popping more balloons. Hit the ground and the figure screams. These figures that you can drop through the sky â a jester, a bikini-clad woman, a Mrs. Santa Claus â are truly bizarre looking. In fact, they look like corpses. In a way, I suppose âDroppyPopâ is not so different from âCarneyVale: Showtimeâ â ragdoll physics are the selling point. Itâs just that âDroppyPopâ forgot the fun.
Winda Benedetti writes the Citizen Gamer column for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.
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