One-hundred and seventy-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
Microsoft released a new Insider Build yesterday, the first with support for Microsoft Edge extensions. Extensions will be offered through Windows Store once they are rolled out to all users.
App of the week is Disney Magic Kingdom, a quest-driven adventure game in which you rebuild the Magic Kingdom after disaster strikes.
As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.
Discounts This Week
The following discounts are provided by Red Stripe Deals, a weekly changing list of offers, and the Deals Hub application.
The following is this week's selection:
App of the week
Disney Magic Kingdoms
An evil spell has been cast on the Magic Kingdom taking away all of its magic. It is the player's task to bring back the magic by lifting the curse with the help of popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald and Daisy.
The game is not a "city builder" game even though it shares several mechanics such as resource collection and quests with it.
Instead, it is a light adventure game in which you follow leads and complete quests. While you do build attractions such as Mickey's Fun Wheel at times, it is just one part of the game.
Other apps
Dawn of Steel
Dawn of Steel is a real-time strategy game in which you command mechs and establish your own base.
The game is divided into a build part in which you add structures to your base, and a fighting part in which you control mechs and attack enemy bases in real-time.
LiveBeard
LiveBeard is an unofficial Twitch client for Windows 10 that is currently available as a beta.
It features Cortana integration, a search to find channels, a feature's listing, full screen playback, and options to pin favorite channels to the Start screen of the operating system.
Draw-A-Way
Use the mouse or touch to draw lines on the screen to direct a ball from start to finish, and to collect the five stars on each level with the ball as well.
The physics-based game is challenging at times but it is easy enough to restart the game to try another strategy. Video ads are loaded regularly between levels of the game.
Mediafire
The official Mediafire application for Windows 10 lets you manage your files directly from within the application.
Load files directly using the application, or upload new files to your Mediafire storage.
Boltstorm
Boltstorm is an action game in which you control a knight in an area. Your task in the game is to survive, rescue other knights, and defeat the executioners that come rushing at you in increasing numbers.
Knights you pick up increase your firepower but they decrease your maneuverability at the same time.
In the end, it all comes down to surviving for as long as possible.
Office 365 Admin Universal (Beta)
The Microsoft app provides options to manage Office 365 accounts. Features include adding, blocking, editing or deleting users, resetting passwords, assigning product licenses, and contacting Microsoft support.
Dungeon Hero
Dungeon Hero is a classic dungeon crawler that uses the same mechanics as Dungeon Master or Legend of Grimrock, but instead of controlling a party of adventurers, you control only one character.
The visuals are great but controls are a bit wacky especially if you are using the mouse to control the game.
You can only play random or custom games while hand-designed maps are only available for a price in the built-in store.
Windows App Studio Installer
A helper application for apps created with Windows App Studio.
The application configures the Windows device and deploys the package created with Windows App Studio.
Mini Metal ($4.99, free trial available)
Mini Metal is a fast paced arena shooting game in which you control a battle tank equipped with different kinds of weapons and extras.
Your task is to survive for as long as possible by defeating wave after wave of enemies.
Notable updates
Line has been released as a universal application.
OneNote updated with options to play videos from TED, YouTube, and Office Mix among other options.
Simply Text, a text editor for developers, is a universal application now.
Twitter is a universal application now. It features a new dark theme and other improvements as well.
Uber app stability improved significantly.
Wikio for Wikipedia features updated with a new dark mode, an auto-mode that switches between light and dark based on the time of day, and Spanish/Russian translations.
Continue reading...
Microsoft released a new Insider Build yesterday, the first with support for Microsoft Edge extensions. Extensions will be offered through Windows Store once they are rolled out to all users.
App of the week is Disney Magic Kingdom, a quest-driven adventure game in which you rebuild the Magic Kingdom after disaster strikes.
As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.
Discounts This Week
The following discounts are provided by Red Stripe Deals, a weekly changing list of offers, and the Deals Hub application.
The following is this week's selection:
- Snap-Link Mobile for Windows, turn Windows 10 into a remote control, for $15.99
- My Notes, note-taking application for $0.99
- Freda+ Ebook Reader, for $0.99
- Rails and Metal, train game for $0.99
- MagiCraft Balance, a strategy game for $0.99
- Mahjong Secrets HD (Full), a mahjong game, for $0.99
- Tennis in the Face, an action game, for $1.49
- PDF Annotation, a PDF editor, for $2.99
- Readiy Pro, RSS feed reader, for $1.99
App of the week
Disney Magic Kingdoms
An evil spell has been cast on the Magic Kingdom taking away all of its magic. It is the player's task to bring back the magic by lifting the curse with the help of popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald and Daisy.
The game is not a "city builder" game even though it shares several mechanics such as resource collection and quests with it.
Instead, it is a light adventure game in which you follow leads and complete quests. While you do build attractions such as Mickey's Fun Wheel at times, it is just one part of the game.
Other apps
Dawn of Steel
Dawn of Steel is a real-time strategy game in which you command mechs and establish your own base.
The game is divided into a build part in which you add structures to your base, and a fighting part in which you control mechs and attack enemy bases in real-time.
LiveBeard
LiveBeard is an unofficial Twitch client for Windows 10 that is currently available as a beta.
It features Cortana integration, a search to find channels, a feature's listing, full screen playback, and options to pin favorite channels to the Start screen of the operating system.
Draw-A-Way
Use the mouse or touch to draw lines on the screen to direct a ball from start to finish, and to collect the five stars on each level with the ball as well.
The physics-based game is challenging at times but it is easy enough to restart the game to try another strategy. Video ads are loaded regularly between levels of the game.
Mediafire
The official Mediafire application for Windows 10 lets you manage your files directly from within the application.
Load files directly using the application, or upload new files to your Mediafire storage.
Boltstorm
Boltstorm is an action game in which you control a knight in an area. Your task in the game is to survive, rescue other knights, and defeat the executioners that come rushing at you in increasing numbers.
Knights you pick up increase your firepower but they decrease your maneuverability at the same time.
In the end, it all comes down to surviving for as long as possible.
Office 365 Admin Universal (Beta)
The Microsoft app provides options to manage Office 365 accounts. Features include adding, blocking, editing or deleting users, resetting passwords, assigning product licenses, and contacting Microsoft support.
Dungeon Hero
Dungeon Hero is a classic dungeon crawler that uses the same mechanics as Dungeon Master or Legend of Grimrock, but instead of controlling a party of adventurers, you control only one character.
The visuals are great but controls are a bit wacky especially if you are using the mouse to control the game.
You can only play random or custom games while hand-designed maps are only available for a price in the built-in store.
Windows App Studio Installer
A helper application for apps created with Windows App Studio.
The application configures the Windows device and deploys the package created with Windows App Studio.
Mini Metal ($4.99, free trial available)
Mini Metal is a fast paced arena shooting game in which you control a battle tank equipped with different kinds of weapons and extras.
Your task is to survive for as long as possible by defeating wave after wave of enemies.
Notable updates
Line has been released as a universal application.
OneNote updated with options to play videos from TED, YouTube, and Office Mix among other options.
Simply Text, a text editor for developers, is a universal application now.
Twitter is a universal application now. It features a new dark theme and other improvements as well.
Uber app stability improved significantly.
Wikio for Wikipedia features updated with a new dark mode, an auto-mode that switches between light and dark based on the time of day, and Spanish/Russian translations.
Continue reading...