MS lists Windows Phone 7 gaming launch line-up

Microsoft has listed the Xbox Live games that will run on Windows Phone 7 handsets when the smartphone platform launches later this year. Among them, some well known titles.

MS hopes Windows Phone 7 will beat the iPhone and Android platforms at their own app-centric game, and entertainment titles is only part of that programme, helping to encourage all those existing Xbox 360 owners to buy into the smartphone platform.

Quite a few of the 60-plus titles have been seen before on the iPhone: PopCap's Bejwelled; Gameloft's Asphalt 5 and Assassins Creed; and THQ's Star Wars: Battle for Hoth, for example.

But the roll-out also includes popular games franchises in the form of Guitar Hero 5, Halo: Waypoint and Castlevania.

All of these titles will tap into Xbox Live to allow subscribers to make use of their exiting avatars, Achievement scores, chat friends and so forth.

Windows Phone 7 is due to be launched to the public this coming Christmas, with devices coming from the likes of LG and HTC.

The fact that Microsoft chose to announce the Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live games list at Köln's Gamescon event implies, we hope, that the smartphone platform will be launched over here within the planned timeframe, something MS uttertly failed to do with Zune, its PMP platform and the forerunner to Windows Phone 7.

Here's the full launch list:

• 3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Digital Chocolate)
• Age of Zombies (Halfbrick)
• Armor Valley (Protégé Games)
• Asphalt 5 (Gameloft)
• Assassins Creed (Gameloft)
• Bejeweled™ LIVE (PopCap)
• Bloons TD (Digital Goldfish)
• Brain Challenge (Gameloft)
• Bubble Town 2 (i-Play)
• Butterfly (Press Start Studio)
• CarneyVale Showtime (MGS)
• Castlevania (Konami)
• Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst (MGS)
• De Blob Revolution (THQ)
• Deal or No Deal 2010 (i-Play)
• Earthworm Jim (Gameloft)
• Fast & Furious 7 (i-Play)
• Fight Game Rivals (Rough Cookie)
• Finger Physics (Mobliss Inc.)
• Flight Control (Namco Bandai)
• Flowerz (Carbonated Games)
• Frogger (Konami)
• Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick)
• Game Chest-Board (MGS)
• Game Chest-Card (MGS)
• Game Chest-Logic (MGS)
• Game Chest-Solitaire (MGS)
• GeoDefense (Critical Thought)
• Ghostscape (Psionic)
• Glow Artisan (Powerhead Games)
• Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
• Guitar Hero 5 (Glu Mobile)
• Halo Waypoint (MGS)
• Hexic Rush (Carbonated Games)
• I Dig It (InMotion)
• iBlast Moki (Godzilab)
• ilomilo (MGS)
• Implode XL (IUGO)
• Iquarium (Infinite Dreams)
• Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
• Let’s Golf 2 (Gameloft)
• Little Wheel (One click dog)
• Loondon (Flip N Tale)
• Max and the Magic Marker (PressPlay)
• Mini Squadron (Supermono Limited)
• More Brain Exercise (Namco Bandai)
• O.M.G. (Arkedo)
• Puzzle Quest 2 (Namco Bandai)
• Real Soccer 2 (Gameloft)
• The Revenants (Chaotic Moon)
• Rise of Glory (Revo Solutions)
• Rocket Riot (Codeglue)
• Splinter Cell Conviction (Gameloft)
• Star Wars: Battle for Hoth (THQ)
• Star Wars: Cantina (THQ)
• The Harvest (MGS)
• The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
• Tower Bloxx NY (Digital Chocolate)
• Twin Blades (Press Start Studio)
• UNO (Gameloft)
• Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet (i-Play)
• Zombie Attack! (IUGO)
• Zombies!!!! (Babaroga)