This is GDC week, so you can count on some cool developer interviews and hands-on stories as the conference progresses. But it’s also just an exciting week for Windows Phone releases. First we had the release of Sims Medieval for Nokia devices, and now general users can look forward to two regular Xbox releases on Wednesday. We’re looking at one Windows Phone 7 game and one for Windows Phone 8. The former will also be the most expensive mobile Xbox game to date, but at least it’s a good one: Chaos Rings from Square-Enix!

Chaos on hand Given the conservative nature of Square Enix’s previous Windows Phone releases (the original Final Fantasy and KooZac), we fully expected the Japanese publisher’s next release to be the slightly yawn-inducing Final Fantasy II. In a recent editorial, I opined that it would be much cooler for them to skip ahead a bit to porting their newer iOS releases. They may not have skipped as far ahead as I’d liked, but Chaos Rings is both a newer release (dating from the end of 2010) and way more interesting than the second Final Fantasy. It’s also the first game from our 2011 reader’s choice contest to actually get released on Windows Phone! Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more The story of Chaos Rings revolves around eight people who must participate in a mysterious tournament against their wills. The winners receive eternal life while the losers unfortunately stop living. Each of the four pairs has their own short playthrough (around six hours), and finishing everyone’s story opens up a conclusion to the entire tale. Plus some equipment earned from enemies carries over between those stories. On the whole it’s a clever way to make the game digestible for mobile audiences.



iOS version screens and trailer