Best Apps for Windows Phone, September 2011

Hydro Thunder Go

Speed boat racing across a beautiful, dangerous world.

In Hydro Thunder Go, you race a super-speed boat across nine different multi-path tracks, jostling for the number one position.

Unlike most racing games, you are reliant upon the ‘boosts’ scattered throughout the course. It’s actually impossible to win without them, and they are in such strong supply that – in an ideal race – you will be constantly boosting. Also, the boosts don’t re-generate, so on the multi-lap tracks, you are forced to take a different path every lap.


You can control the game using the tilt sensor, or – if you’re not into that sort of thing – on-screen buttons.

The courses are all rather active, too, with things like alien invasions and sea battles throwing obstacles out for you to avoid.

The game is fast, fun, and stunningly beautiful. The beauty, however, is not without its problems, as the frame rate isn’t as high as it could be, and there is occasional stutter, usually when you’re fighting neck and neck with several opponents.

You gain more points the higher you place in a race, and points unlock new tracks, vehicles, and game modes, like the Hydro Blaze mode, where you must jump between floating space platforms while collecting boosts and avoiding obstacles.

AU$6.50 > Microsoft Game Studios > Link

Revolution

I dig cogs, maybe I’m really a steampunker at heart, but those little spinny discs of metal represent something more than their form conveys. Maybe it’s the thoughts of Swiss watchmakers that they conjure up, or maybe it’s just the hypnotic way they spin in different directions, but, either way, I love cogs.


So maybe I’m biased, but placing cogs in amongst cogs to make all the cogs spin across 75 levels sounds like a great game to me.

US$2.99 > Playful Art > Link

Windows Phone 7 Backup

I like backing up. Despite being a dog person, I still believe that redundancy is a geek’s best friend.
Windows Phone 7 Backup is a Windows app that creates full backups of your phone whenever you want. Usually, you can only backup your phone when installing a new image, which is not geek-friendly. Best of all, the backups created can be restored using Microsoft’s own Zune software.


Restoring the backup will make your phone exactly as it was when you backed it up, including settings, apps, documents, texts, contacts etc.

Free > hx4700 killer > Link

Wordament

In Wordament, you’re given 90 seconds to find as many words as possible on a 4x4 grid of letters. It’s a simple idea for a game, topped off with a killer feature: you’re playing in real-time against every other player at the same time. There are no upgrades, levels, challenges, just you, the board, and countless other challengers vying for the top spot.


The fun is in the speed and competition, and is topped off by the low, low price of free.

Free > You vs. the Internet > Link