A few Xbox 360 Indie Games have made the transition to Windows Phone 7 games so far – Twin Blades (now sadly MIA) and Protégé Production’s upcoming tower defense game Armored Valley come to mind. We can now add Gnomic Studios’ Square Off to the list.
Square Off started its life as an entry in Microsoft’s 2009 Dream.Build.Play Competition, where it scored second place for Australian entries. Development continued after the contest, with the full game debuting on the Xbox 360 Indie Games platform in December 2009. Soon it will also be a Windows Phone 7 indie game, though Gnomic is still hoping for Xbox Live approval.
So what’s Square Off like? Its story involves a prolonged alien invasion of Earth. In order to combat the menace, a scientist implants alien DNA into cells taken from his own brain. He straps a rocket pack onto the resulting square creature and a defender is born. The lighthearted setting is accompanied by a cartoonish hand-drawn art style with 3D backgrounds and a nice soundtrack.
Square Off is a twin-stick shooter that plays like a simpler version of Rocket Riot. In both games, players use rockets to fly around closed levels, blasting away at enemies until none remain. Whereas the console versions of Rocket Riot and Square off are multiplayer deathmatch-centric, the Windows Phone 7 versions remain single-player affairs. To compensate for the lack of multiplayer, the mobile version of Square Off will include a new survival mode in addition to the full 7-level single-player campaign of the original.
Gnomic Studios’ Square Off is scheduled for an April release. Mobile gamers who aren’t too busy with the 6 Xbox Live heavy hitters announced back on February 24 should give it a look.
Head past the jump for Gnomic Studios' full press release.
Square Off Coming Soon, Square Off for Windows Phone!PERTH, Western Australia – February 28 - Gnomic Studios are proud to announce their critically acclaimed game Square Off for Windows 7 Phone, coming soon.Level Artist Adam Matera explained why Gnomic chose Windows Phone for their next release. “Having released Square Off for Xbox Live Indie Games, we were looking for a smaller project to develop before starting on a larger game." he said. "Since Microsoft recently released the Marketplace for Windows Phones, which allowed existing Xbox Live games to be easily ported across, this was the perfect opportunity for us to delve into the exciting challenge of Mobile Game Development.”The game will include the full single player campaign from the Xbox version, complete with statistics and scoreboards to keep track of your progress. And of course the survival mode is back to test your stamina against the horde. The control system has been streamlined to suit to mobile gaming, but still retains the feel of the original game.Square Off for Windows Phone is scheduled for an April release, and there are plans to have a demo and free version available as well.For additional information about Square Off, please visit our website at www.gnomicstudios.com/squareoff or contact us directly via email at admin@gnomicstudios.com
