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Crackdown 2 on Windows Phone 7 mixes tower defence with Bing Maps

Freak of nature

Crackdown 2 on Windows Phone 7 mixes tower defence with Bing Maps

Microsoft may be bringing signature franchises like Crackdown and Halo to Windows Phone 7, but the implementation of these game series is more interesting than Xbox 360 games squashed down to tiny screens and touch screen controls.

Halo Waypoint, for example, is an encyclopedic, one-stop destination for Halo fanatics, doling out information on the FPS series and spurting out stats based on your 360 gametime.

And Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst certainly isn’t about leaping over skyscrapers.

Instead, the Windows Phone 7 version of Microsoft’s comic-book crime fighting franchise is a tower defence game that has you fending off the game’s shambling, mutant freaks by dropping down a base, some turrets and other units.

For backdrops, though, the phone will asses your current location and grab your local area from the company’s Bing map collection. Roads and alleyways become paths for enemies to travel down, and building tops are perfect locations for weaponry.

Plus, you’ll earn extra goodies if you’ve unlocked junk in the Xbox 360 and Facebook games, and the app can be played with friends. Justin Robey, Microsoft Game Studios senior producer told Pocket Lint:

“For example, I'm up in Seattle, you're over in the UK and if we get a friend of mine in South Africa, we could activate three beacons and take out half of the United States worth of freaks.”

If you’ve hooked up with buddies, the game will continue to play even when the app isn’t running, as your pals defend your base and collect loot in your favour.

Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst is scheduled to hit Windows Phone 7 when the new, Xbox Live-integrated platform hits the market later this year.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer