Windows Phone 7 Puts On Its Game FaceWindows Phone 7 Puts On Its Game Face

Windows Phone 7 will be coming from way behind the iPhone and Android platforms when it launches and Microsoft is doing all it can to boost its acceptance. Right now it seems Windows Phone 7 will be second to none when it comes to the gaming experience, which is tied heavily to XBox Live. Today Microsoft shed some light on their mobile gaming plans.Gamescom 2010 is going on right now in Germany and Microsoft is showing off its initial round of XBox Live games that Windows Phone 7 will have in its library. If you don't have an XBox 360, you can still get in on the fun. You can set up a gamer tag and avatar without having a 360 and you'll be able to connect with and interact with your friends that have 360 or WP7 phone.

Speaking of avatars, your avatar will be more personal and interactive than you may be used to. Instead of a static 2D image, it will be a 3D moving figure. You can poke it and it will react. You can even shake your phone and it will fall down, get a bit angry and get back up. For all of that, you just need to be a Silver member, which is free.

As for the games, right now there are over 60 titles including Star Wars: Battle for Hoth, The Harvest, Fast & Furious 7, Halo: Waypoint, Splinter Cell Conviction and three games with "Zombies" in the title. No gaming library is complete after all if you cannot hack away at the undead.

Some games are standalone, but others, like Halo: Waypoint will serve as a companion game to your XBox system if you want.

Note that more titles will be announced each week until Windows Phone 7 launches and continue after that. XBox Live integration is one area that Microsoft has a monopoly on, and they intend to leverage that to the fullest. You can read the full press release here.