They might not always achieve release date parity with other platforms, but Disney Interactive is still a major supporter of Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. This year we’ve seen new releases like Where’s My Water? 2 and Where’s My Mickey arrive in fairly timely fashion, and even a few slightly older games like Wreck-it-Ralph make the trip to mobile Windows platforms.
Today Disney’s latest mobile game Frozen Free Fall has popped up on Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, just a few weeks after the iOS version’s November 21 release. Free Fall is a free-to-play match-3 puzzle game, not unlike that Candy Crush Saga game that everyone raves about. Head past the break for impressions and Store links!
Cool as ice
Windows Phone 8 version
Frozen Free Fall is based on Disney’s CG animated film that is still going strong in theaters; it took the top spot at the US box office last week. The movie tells the tale of two estranged royal sisters, one with dangerous ice powers, and their attempts at reconciliation and protecting their kingdom. It features very strong female leads, better-than-average songs, and is just fantastic on the whole.
Being a simple puzzle game, Free Fall doesn’t match up to the movie it’s based on quite as closely as Temple Run: Oz. Basically, players progress through 75 unique levels spread across a frozen landscape. During each level, you’re paired with a companion character from the film that animates according to the action. Since the game lacks actual story scenes (that I could notice), the setting and companions are about the extent of the Frozen-ness.
Let it go (and make matches)
Windows 8 screenshots
The actual gameplay involves matching three gems of the same color, just like Bejeweled and its many clones. But unlike Bejeweled, players have a finite number of moves in which to reach a target score. Fail and you lose a life. Succeed and you’ll receive a star rating based on how much you exceeded the target score. You can eventually gain access to powerups like torches and snowballs as well. Nothing revolutionary, but still fun stuff.
Being a free to play game, Frozen Free Fall needs be monetized through In-App Purchases. Players start with five lives which they can lose by exiting a level (boo) or failing it. You get a new life every thirty minutes. To refill your lives sooner, select the life counter at the top corner of the map screen. A full batch of lives costs $1.49. Of course, buying lives is optional and you could just wait it out without paying. Note that the Windows Phone version makes you sign into your Microsoft account and agree to SkyDrive access before playing for some reason, just like we saw in Memory Battle Time last week.
Frozen Free Fall is sort of a mixed bag visually. On Windows 8, the 2D background images look very low resolution and washed out. Perhaps Disney went this route to avoid distracting from the gameplay; I don’t know. The actual animated companions come to life through 3D models and fare much better than the backgrounds. The jewels and visual effects for matches don’t disappoint either.
It might not fully take advantage of the Frozen source material, but Free Fall is still a fine little puzzle game. Give the game a try for free. And if you like animated movies, don’t miss the film before it leaves theaters!
Source: Windows Phone Apps.es
- Frozen – Windows Phone 8 – 25 MB – Free – Store Link
- Frozen – Windows 8 and RT – 65 MB – Free – Store Link
