User:ViperSnake151/Microsoft Minesweeper

Microsoft Minesweeper is a minesweeper game for Windows 8 and RT developed by Arkadium and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Distributed through Windows Store as a free app, it serves as a de facto replacement for the previous Windows minesweeper game, and is no longer bundled as part of the default installation of Windows.

In comparison to its predecessors (and following the lead of the new solitaire and mahjong apps introduced alongside it), Microsoft Minesweeper was revamped with upgraded graphics, optimizations for touchscreen play on devices such as tablets, the ability to zoom on the game field, Xbox Live integration (providing support for achievements that count towards a user's Gamerscore), and additional game modes.

Gameplay
Microsoft Minesweeper contains three main game modes, Classic, Adventure, and Daily Challenges. Adventure mode combines minesweeper mechanics with elements of adventure games; players take control of a miner, exploring and excavating randomly-generated caves to find treasures concealed under dirt. Traps are also concealed on each map, but using a similar gameplay mechanic to traditional minesweeper, numbers are marked out on the floor to help the player deduce where the traps are. The miner can also pick up keys to open locked doors, arrows to shoot at monsters, extra shields, and dynamite to blast through dirt and traps. Daily Challenges feature different missions, such as exploding a certain number of mines in a set number of moves, or marking a certain number of mines.

Reception
Ars Technica felt that Microsoft Minesweeper's Adventure mode was a novelty that "[wasn’t] strong enough to be a long-term draw" due to the lack of variety in its maps and other flaws, but that Daily Challenges provided a good diversion from the classic game (despite its use of video advertisements, which were criticized for monetizing games that were previously viewed as "bonuses" for buying Windows), and that the classic mode still maintained the familiar gameplay of its predecessors while providing enhancements (such as zoom) for the Windows 8 environment.