14 DAY TRIAL // Codenamed Mango, the next flavor of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system should arrive on the market this fall, with a wide range of enhancements included into the mix, some of which will affect the experience users receive from the Games Hub on their devices. The Xbox LIVE functionality of Windows Phone will be enhanced in Mango, through an update to the Xbox LIVE Extras app, new a new Avatar Marketplace, and more.
Microsoft plans on including more native support of Xbox LIVE features in the Games Hub as soon as Mango arrives.
Among these enhancements, we can count the possibility to see played games and unlocked Achievements, to compare Achievements with those of other Xbox LIVE members, to search for friends that are online, or to view Xbox LIVE messages and Send/Accept/Reject friend requests.
But this is not all, it seems, as some new games will also be included into the mix. A new line-up of Xbox LIVE games for Windows Phone should become available later this year, exclusive on Microsoft's mobile operating system.
Some of the said games, exclusive on Windows Phone, would include:
“Beards & Beaks”: Developed by the award-winning team at Microsoft Game Studios, “Beards & Beaks” is an all-out turf war between gnomes and crows that knows no bounds. A race of treasure heisting, a ballet of gnome flicking, and a natural disaster of very unbecoming behavior, this game is unlike any other!
“Hasta La Muerte”: In this unique 2D world, you are the emissary of death responsible for freeing souls of those whose time has come. Encounter trials, bosses and enemies in more than 30 worlds with the aid of “soulpets” in this thrilling quest.
“Tentacles”: From Press Play, the creators of “Max & the Magic Marker,” this beautifully crafted game features Lemmy, a creepy yet adorable creature who navigates through 40 levels of madness attaching his tentacles to the environments with the tap of your finger. Enjoy groundbreaking, intuitive gameplay as you guide this eyeball-eating creature through boss fights and challenges and outrun Dr. Phluff’s acid attacks. “Z0MB1ES (on teh ph0ne)” (Windows Phone exclusive!): This is not a typo. It’s an epic 3-pack of musically charged shooters from Ska Studios which includes: “I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMB1ES 1N IT!!!1,” “Time Viking,” and “ENDL3SS ZOMB1ES!!!1” – including original music and the ability to upload a friends (or foes) face onto your zombie enemies from your photo library! Other games set to arrive on Windows Phone with Mango would include Gameloft's “Let’s Golf,” or “Splinter Cell,” as well as “Top Gun” from Paramount.
“Let’s Golf” brings eight fun 3D characters that have super powers, as well as 108 holes across 6 locations, in-depth Career mode, various customization options, and more.
In “Splinter Cell” user will play as Sam Fisher, a skilled Special Forces operative fighting a corrupted secret agency to get his daughter back. An action game, it would offer you the possibility to use a handgun, shotgun, AK47 or bazooka.
“Top Gun” will offer you the possibility to defend the skies in the first person jet shooter game fro Microsoft's mobile OS. You will have to shoot down enemies, dodge incoming air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, and do much more.
All in all, it appears that Microsoft is indeed preparing some appealing new games for the Windows Phone Mango platform. Stay tuned for additional details on the matter.
