Windows Phone 8 users received an awesome new Xbox release this week: Order & Chaos Online, officially ending the recent release drought. But Windows Phone 7 gamers still need stuff to play, and some people just want games on the cheap. Namco Bandai and Firemint’s Flight Control will have to do, as it makes its second appearance as the Xbox Red Stripe Deal this week. Not the most exciting game, but the sale price of a dollar is fair!
In non-Xbox Red Stripe Deal territory, Sketch Taxi is a fun old school game on sale for a dollar as well. The GPS Voice Navigation app rings up at $3.49. Details and store links after the break.
Flight Control (Windows Phone 7 or 8)
Regular price: $2.99 Sale price: $.99 Download size: 16 MB Store Link
Flight Control is the progenitor of the line-drawing genre of casual games. Created in 2009 by Australia-based Firemint (now owned by EA), it became an instant sales phenomenon. The goal is simply to direct an endless array of incoming planes and helicopters to their matching colored runways, all while avoiding crashes.
The Windows Phone version lags behind the iOS and other versions in terms of features (no HD makeover and only six maps here), but remains a fun and addicting title. Check out our review for more details. Still, if you have a Nokia phone I highly recommend skipping this one and getting its much improved sequel Flight Control Rocket instead.
Sketch Taxi (Windows Phone 7 or 8)
Regular price: $1.99 Sale price: $.99 Download size: 41 MB Store Link
Space Taxi was a fun little arcade-style game for the venerable Commodore 64 computer. Developer Vernal Equinox has created a nice little Windows Phone clone with doodle/sketch-type artwork. The goal is to safely land your flying taxi and pick up passengers and then take them to their destinations. Swiping controls your thrusters, and bumping anything crashes the taxi. It feels like a more natural Lunar Lander except without the fuel depletion and with easier landings.
Sketch Taxi seems like a fine adaptation of a classic game, though the loading times for levels are too long for a game with such simple graphics, and the voice work could give you an infection. See George’s review for more impressions.
GPS Voice Navigation (Windows Phone 7 or 8)
Regular price: $6.99 Sale price: $3.49 Download size: 16 MB Store Link
The default Windows Phone GPS apps are pretty useful, especially Nokia’s version. But they could be a lot better, hence the market for paid GPS apps like GPS Voice Navigation. This one’s claim to fame is obviously its turn-by-turn voice driving navigation. It offers four different map sets (Google, Bing, Nokia, and Mapquest), and the Nokia maps can even be used offline. People who are reprehensible drivers will appreciate the traffic camera positions indication as well.
GPS Voice Navigation offers both Windows Phone 7 and 8 versions, so people with newer and more powerful phones will get a few extra features and better performance. Considering how expensive the good GPS apps tend to be, this sale looks like a great deal. George delivered a head-to-head review of this one and Turn by Turn Navigation a while back, but keep in mind the app has progressed quite a bit since then.
