The purpose of most of the reviews I write here is to give my take on a product in order to help you decide whether you should pick it up yourself. This one is a little different, because there’s really no reason for you not to pick up this week’s Xbox Live game releases on the Windows Phone 7, short of your not actually having a Windows Phone 7 device. Both of this week’s releases are freebies but still support all the Xbox Live features we’ve come to know and love.
Sudoku and Minesweeper are mobile phone staples, and many people have complained that these two games (along with some flavor of Solitaire) were not included by default with the phone from the beginning. Earlier non-free Xbox Live releases (the two Game Chest titles that sell for $2.99 each) did add all three of these, along with Chess, but this week’s duo is the first time there’s been an official release of these games from Microsoft for free. It’s also only the second time Xbox Live games have hit the phone marketplace for free (the first time was Flowerz, way back when the phone was first getting its legs).
Microsoft managed to get these two out by supporting them with some ads that honestly aren’t too obtrusive. Getting a couple of free games like these is worth putting up with some Bing icons every now and then. Both games support the Achievements system, each bringing 50 points worth of potential gamerscore into the mix. Anytime the words “free” and “achievements” go together, you can bet I’ll be singing up.
You can grab both Sudoku and Minesweeper now in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace for free, and the new Deal of the Week game is Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, reduced in price to $2.99.
