Games

The developer of ARMED! has released an update for the title, which is now available on Windows 8 as well as Windows Phone. We previously looked at the strategy game when it was bumped to version 1.6, and before that when a Windows 8 preview was available for free. It's yet another large update so let's jump into it.

Draw Something!

We knew for sometime now that Nokia was getting the hit social game Draw Something developed by Omgpop (later acquired by now troubled Zynga). The Pictionary-esque game involves users trying to draw a word remotely on their phones, while another friend attempts to guess that word. The game is cross-platform and has rocketed to the top of mobile social-gaming.

Many users have begged and pleaded with Omgpop to bring it to Windows Phone and it looks like they have, albeit it limited to just Nokia Lumia phones. (Cue the battle in comments over whether this helps or hinders Windows Phone).

WPCentral's Readers Roundup of games for your Windows Phone

Last week we posed the question, "What is your recommendation on Windows Phone games?" and you, our readers, tossed out your top three gaming recommendations.  We tallied up all the recommendations and this week's roundup highlights the top five games from these recommendations.

The results weren't too surprising but dragon themed games scored two of the top slots. The other three included two Xbox titles and one game that is a gaming library within itself. If you didn't get a chance to offer your recommendations in the WPCentral Forums discussion, feel free to sound off below in the comments.

Platform exclusivity isn’t what it used to be these days. Several Windows Phone-exclusive Xbox games have moved to iOS in the past, including Kinectimals, Tentacles, Rocket Riot, Max and the Magic Marker, and more. Microsoft has even published Halo Waypoint and Xbox Live companion apps for Apple's competing platform. We can now add WP7’s sole Japanese-developed exclusive to that list as well. Dodonpachi Maximum from CAVE hits iOS on October 26.

Adding to the release of FourSquare, Nokia and EA Games has released the Xbox Windows Phone game Risk and Connect 4 to the Lumia line of Windows Phones. Both can easily be considered classic board games and the Windows Phone version represents the originals very well.

The game of Risk is one of global domination where you battle your opponents from country to country. The Windows Phone version allows for you to battle with up to five opponents or computer adversaries. Risk has Xbox Live achievements and leaderboards.

Way back in June, Windows Phone Central teased that Xbox game Gerbil Physics would be receiving a substantial update. In fact, we even suggested some of the changes that made it into the update, which is now live. Head past the break for update details and exclusive screenshots, plus a mini-interview with Pencel Games.

The Xbox on Windows Phone lineup is starting to amass a fair selection of racing games. We’ve got street racers, kart racers, and one awesome boat racer (Hydro Thunder GO). Now a new entry has come along: Cracking Sands - published by Microsoft and programmed by Swedish developer Polarbit, who also made Reckless Racing for Windows 8. If you’re looking for a racer that looks and plays differently from the others, Cracking Sands might just fit the bill.

For those of you who weren't lucky enough to land a spot in the public beta test of the new Xbox 360 dashboard, fear not. The official version has begun rolling out to about 3 million consoles around the world and will continue for the next week. Once that first batch is finished, more and more LIVE subscribers will be added to the rollout over the next couple of weeks. Much like Windows Phone updates, the deployment was spread out over time and across different regions to make it go as smoothly as possible.