We’re nearly done with our Casual Connect gaming coverage. At the San Francisco-based gaming industry event, I interviewed a number of Windows Phone and Windows 8 developers. One of the largest of those developers is Advanced Mobile Applications (AMA). Founded in 2004 and based in London, AMA is a sister company to Ubisoft, who publishes some of their games.
During the event, AMA’s VP of Sales Jean-François Denis took the time to show us several of AMA’s Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 titles. Today we look at two of those: the recently-released Hills of Glory 3D (also available for Windows 8) and the upcoming Babel Rising 3D. Yep, a new Windows Phone 8 version of Babel Rising 3D is coming. Learn more and see both games in action after the break!
Hills of Glory 3D
Please note that the version shown in our video is an older build and that the final game runs at a smoother frame rate. It’s also perfectly smooth on Windows 8, depending on your hardware and display settings.
Hills of Glory 3D takes place in a cartoony World War II setting. Players must defend a bunker from an invading army using eight different weapons. You can tap to fire guns, swipe to drop fire from a helicopter, press and hold to drop a circular artillery blast, and more. The more powerful guns take time to recharge, but they make it easy to kill multiple enemies at once and get combos.
During battle, downed invaders will drop crates. Shoot them to receive their contents. You’ll find health, coins, instant ammo refills, and even collectibles. Get enough collectibles to unlock new upgrades in the shop. Each time you play you’ll earn coins for that shot; you can also buy more coins or a coin doubler via In-App Purchase (IAP).
In my brief time with Hills of Glory 3D, it seems like a good, engaging alternate to traditional tower defense games. No sitting and watching the fight here! It includes 21 highly replayable missions and an endless mode to keep war-loving players busy.
The game is already available on both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8:
- Hills of Glory 3D – Windows Phone 8 – 99 MB – Free – Store Link
- Hills of Glory 3D (Free) – Windows 8 and RT – 105 MB – Free – Store Link
- Hills of Glory 3D (Paid) – Windows 8 and RT – 105 MB – $3.99 – Store Link
Babel Rising 3D
iOS screens
The original Xbox Windows Phone 7 release of Babel Rising 3D is not exactly a beloved game. A poor port, the campaign actually becomes impossible to complete at a certain point. It’s also incompatible with Windows Phone 8.
Well, the good news is that Advanced Mobile Applications and Ubisoft are set to release a Windows Phone 8-specific version of Babel Rising 3D in the near future. The previous version was handled by a different studio and got rushed to release. This new version comes directly from AMA and will match the iOS game in quality and features.
For those who haven’t played it: Babel Rising allows players to play as a vengeful god. Your worshippers have decided to build a tower to the heavens – a tower of Babel, if you will – and it’s your job to smite them into ashes and not allow them to use birth control no matter how much it makes sense to do so. You’ll smack them down using a variety of destructive powers including lightning, floods, earthquakes, and even meteor showers.
Now, the bad news: the new Babel Rising 3D won’t be Xbox-enabled! Many developers we spoke with at Casual Connect didn’t see the benefit of the laborious Xbox certification process, something they are unaccustomed to on iOS and Android. But at least Windows Phone 8 will now have a chance to play Babel Rising, even without Achievements.
Babel Rising 3D will be free-to-play when it launches on Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 later this year. We’ll have more to share from Advanced Mobile Applications soon!
