Windows Phone 7 launch games announced

In anticipation of the international fall launch of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has announced the starting line up of games, clocking in at over 60 titles.  This includes some casual mobile classics like Uno and the always addictive Bejewelled, and mobile interpretations of console titles such as Guitar Hero 5, Halo: Waypoint, and Assassins Creeed.  For Star Wars fans there’ll be a couple of games developed by THQ – Cantina, which puts you in the role of a Tatooine bar owner, and Battle For Hoth, a tower defense game set on the icy planet.  THQ is also bringing De Blob Revolution over to Windows Phone 7.  Some of the titles are already available on other mobile platforms, while some of games will leverage Microsoft’s exclusive licenses, such as Halo.

The game that most interests me though has to be Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, a tower defense style game set in the universe of the console game.  What makes it stand out is that the battleground will be actual locations Earth that has been mapped by Bing Maps, which includes building and elevation data.  Much like the Chucks Ducks casual Facebook game, which would unlock special grenades in the console version of Crackdown 2, playing the mobile Sunburst game will also have an influence on the other titles, though details aren’t yet available.

Microsoft had previously announced that there will be deep integration between your Xbox LIVE account, and that mobile gamers will be able to boost their gamer score on the phone, and communicate with players who are online with their consoles.  Not only that, but turn based gaming will be possible between console and mobile players in games that support the feature.  We’ve also seen them demonstrate avatar customization directly on the phone.  One of the nice touches with the avatar customization app is that it’s accelerometer aware, meaning that if you rotate the phone from portrait to landscape mode, it has a gravitational effect on the character.

It’s clear with the announcement of titles that Microsoft is really pushing the Xbox integration on Windows Phone 7, which makes sense.  With the millions of Xbox users out there, offering a richer experience across multiple screens makes the new phone OS a compelling option, especially for those who want the bragging rights to the highest GamerScore amongst their friends.

In At the X’10 Canada event, we had a chance to see Windows Phone 7 in action, including some of the Xbox LIVE integration, though no games were installed on the phone.  We’ll have an interview complete with demonstration in the upcoming days.

Full list of titles:

“3D Brick Breaker Revolution” (Digital Chocolate)
“Age of Zombies” (Halfbrick)
“Armor Valley” (Protégé Games)
“Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)
“Assassins Creed” (Gameloft)
“Bejeweled™ LIVE” (PopCap)
“Bloons TD” (Digital Goldfish)
“Brain Challenge” (Gameloft)
“Bubble Town 2” (i-Play)
“Butterfly” (Press Start Studio)
“CarneyVale Showtime” (MGS)
“Castlevania” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
“Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst” (MGS)
“De Blob Revolution” (THQ)
“Deal or No Deal 2010” (i-Play)
“Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)
“Fast & Furious 7” (i-Play)
“Fight Game Rivals” (Rough Cookie)
“Finger Physics” (Mobliss Inc.)
“Flight Control” (Namco Bandai)
“Flowerz” (Carbonated Games)
“Frogger” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
“Fruit Ninja” (Halfbrick)
“Game Chest-Board” (MGS)
“Game Chest-Card” (MGS)
“Game Chest-Logic” (MGS)
“Game Chest-Solitaire” (MGS)
“GeoDefense” (Critical Thought)
“Ghostscape” (Psionic)
“Glow Artisan” (Powerhead Games)
“Glyder 2” (Glu Mobile)
“Guitar Hero 5” (Glu Mobile)
“Halo Waypoint” (MGS)
“Hexic Rush” (Carbonated Games)
“I Dig It” (InMotion)
“iBlast Moki” (Godzilab)
“ilomilo” (MGS)
“Implode XL” (IUGO)
“Iquarium” (Infinite Dreams)
“Jet Car Stunts” (True Axis)
“Let’s Golf 2” (Gameloft)
“Little Wheel” (One click dog)
“Loondon” (Flip N Tale)
“Max and the Magic Marker” (PressPlay)
“Mini Squadron” (Supermono Limited)
“More Brain Exercise” (Namco Bandai)
“O.M.G.” (Arkedo)
“Puzzle Quest 2” (Namco Bandai)
“Real Soccer 2” (Gameloft)
“The Revenants” (Chaotic Moon)
“Rise of Glory” (Revo Solutions)
“Rocket Riot” (Codeglue)
“Splinter Cell Conviction” (Gameloft)
“Star Wars: Battle for Hoth” (THQ)
“Star Wars: Cantina” (THQ)
“The Harvest” (MGS)
“The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)
“Tower Bloxx NY” (Digital Chocolate)
“Twin Blades” (Press Start Studio)
“UNO” (Gameloft)
“Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet” (i-Play)
“Zombie Attack!” (IUGO)
“Zombies!!!!” (Babaroga)