Earlier this year Microsoft launched its first game designed to be paused on one Windows device and resumed on another—the turn-based strategy title Skulls of the Shogun.
Today a new cross-platform title makes its debut. Galactic Reign, a cinematic sci-fi strategy game, just showed up in the Windows Store for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices. The Windows Phone version, which costs $4.99, is scheduled to roll out by late morning. Once available, you’ll find it here.
Like its predecessor, Galactic Reign is also turn-based. You and an opponent go back and forth designing ships, building fleets, and colonizing planets in a head-to-head race to dominate the galaxy. (The game also has options for solo play.) Check out the video below for a nice overview of how it all works.
Galactic Reign features Xbox achievements and leaderboards, but its most buzzworthy highlight—by far—are the absolutely eye-popping battle scenes. These fiery, full-motion combat sequences look like they were created in Hollywood, but their real secret is that they’re actually rendered in the cloud and downloaded to your device. The mini-movies are more than just eye candy: Savvy players can mine the footage for key insights into their opponents’ strategy and strengths. Another plus: You can share them with friends via Facebook.