Welcome to the second-ever Kotaku Windows Phone game charts. In this second installment of this thrilling series we explore how the game rankings ebb and flow from week to week.

I think it turned out rather well. In fact, I think it turned out so well that we'll maintain the same theme every week, until all Windows Phone users decide on two sets of ten games, free and paid, that they want preserved forever in these twenty numbered slots. We will call that day the great alignment, and will celebrate with freshly baked muffins and a ceremonial slaughtering of all spiders in my apartment.

Until that fateful day...

Top Paid Windows Phone Games - 10/25/2012

1. Cracking Sands
Last Week's Position: N/A
That's the joy of the Windows Phone charts—a completely unknown off-road racer can storm in and take the top spot.

Cracking Sands on Windows Phone

2. Angry Birds
Last Week's Position: 2 (0)
I won't mention that Angry Birds is only up here because the newer versions aren't available on the platform, it's too depressing.

Angry Birds on Windows Phone

3. Extraction
Last Week's Position: 1 (-2)
This top-down shooter was bumped from the top spot by a racing game and a years-old bird flinger. For shame, Extraction.

Extraction on Windows Phone

4. Fruit Ninja
Last Week's Position: 3 (-1)
The fruit slicer falls back a spot to make way for the racing as well.

Fruit Ninja on Windows Phone

5. Pocket God
Last Week's Position: N/A
Welcome to the charts, Pocket God! We saved you a spot in the middle.

Pocket God on Windows Phone

6. Babel Rising 3D
Last Week's Position: 4 (-2)
I guess people prefer their god games a bit more cartoonish.

Babel Rising on Windows Phone

7. Real Soccer
Last Week's Position: 5 (-2)
Soccer's getting real, y'all.

Real Soccer on Windows Phone

8. Civilization Revolution
Last Week's Position: N/A
Oh come on, people. This game should be on this chart all of the times.

Civilization Revolution on Windows Phone

9. iStunt 2
Last Week's Position: N/A
There really needs to be more mobile snowboarding games.

iStunt 2 on Windows Phone

10. PES 2012
Last Week's Position: N/A
I guess Real Soccer just wasn't real enough for some people.

PES 2012 on Windows Phone

Some startling shake-ups on the paid side of things. Let's see how the free market fares this week.

Top Free Windows Phone Games - 10/25/2012

1. Lucky Coin Dozer
Last Week's Position: 1 (0)
People seem to really like not technically gambling. Can anyone unseat the Lucky Coin Dozer?

Lucky Coin Dozer on Windows Phone

2. Word Search
Last Week's Position: N/A
You can never circle enough words. Never.

Word Search on Windows Phone

3. Throw the Knife
Last Week's Position: N/A
We all must train for the inevitable straw dummy invasion.

Throw the Knife on Windows Phone

4. Xbox Live Extras
Last Week's Position: 3 (-1)
For a minute there I thought Microsoft was cheating, locking itself in at number 3. I'm sorry I ever doubted them.

Xbox Live Extras on Windows Phone

5. AE 3D Motor
Last Week's Position: 4 (-1)
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it to the fifth spot.

AE 3D Motor on Windows Phone

6. AE Skee Ball
Last Week's Position: N/A
The motorcycle game is joined by its Skee Ball counterpart. Can I get an A-E? No? Okay. Thought I'd try.

AE Skee Ball on Windows Phone

7. Flow Free
Last Week's Position: 5 (-2)
I shouldn't take joy in Flow Free falling down the charts, but I revel in the loss of symmetry.

Flow Free on Windows Phone

8. Air Assault
Last Week's Position: 2 (-6)
The helicopter shooter plummets towards the ground but rights itself at the last moment.

Air Assault on Windows Phone

9. Pandas Vs. Ninjas 2
Last Week's Position: 9 (0)
The night belongs to ninjas. The nine belongs to ninjas and pandas.

Pandas Vs. Ninjas 2 on Windows Phone

10. Contract Killer
Last Week's Position: 6 (-4)
Contract Killer keeps on hanging on.

Contract Killer on Windows Phone

There now, isn't the chart much better with a sense of motion to it? I sure hope Microsoft doesn't release a flood of new product soon to screw this all up. That would suck.

While previous Professor Layton games have featured mostly static, two-dimensional puzzles, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask has more interactive, 3D fare. Which is appropriate, since it's on the 3DS. THREE DEE.

Miracle Mask is out this Sunday.

Not going to lie. I put way, way more hours into Animal Crossing: Wild World, the first DS entry in the franchise, than I ever should have. After managing to catch a coelacanth on my first day I was, well, hooked.

Catch fish, collect bugs, cultivate flowers, buy clothes, decorate your home... these are the hallmarks of Animal Crossing. It's kind of like real life, only cuter and with more gardening.

Going to a nightclub, though... that's a new one.

Today's Nintendo Direct revealed that in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, due out for the 3DS next year, your bouncy little avatar isn't just a villager; it's the mayor. And if your mayoral duties prove too burdensome, you can always go swimming on a tropical island.

And of course, the most crucial decision one can make in Animal Crossing: what pants to wear.

I suspect, though, that even the mayor has to pay their mortgage. Oh, Tom Nook. Will I ever be free of you?

Or at least one goat. And a boat. And a world map! And lots of other delightful, charming content that the Paper Mario series is known for.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star is out for 3DS on November 11.

At E3, Reggie casually mentioned (to Kotaku) that the newest Fire Emblem game will be coming to North America.

Thank god for that: footage from the game is looking wonderful. Fire Emblem: Awakening is out for 3DS in early 2013.

Maybe you've already finished Arkane Studios' critically acclaimed stealth/action hybrid. Maybe you yearn for more blinking, possession and sneaky killing through Dunwall's cobblestone streets. This December, you'll get your wish as challenge-based and story-centric DLC starts rolling out for Dishonored.

Dunwall City Trials—which will cost $4.99 or 400 Microsoft points—will offer up ten skill-centered tests where you'll be made to battles waves of enemies in arenas, perform drop assassinations and run through point-to-point races as fast as you can.

The other DLC will hit in 2013, but don't have prices attached yet. They'll focus on story including one that lets you play as a major character from Dishonored: (Mild spoilers for those who haven't finished the game)

Daud, the leader of a group of supernatural assassins known as ‘The Whalers', will be the focus of the second add-on pack, scheduled for release in early Spring 2013. Make your way through new Dunwall locales and discover Daud's own set of weapons, powers and gadgets in this story-driven campaign. How you play and the choices you make will impact the final outcome…

While bees and gardens normally go hand in hand, in the case of CastleVille's newest content update, the game's Gloom Bees are anything but productive. In fact, they threaten the very future of the Gloom Garden, so it will be up to you to complete a series of eight 'To Bee or Not to Bee' quests to help the Fairy Prince save the Fairy Gardens before it's too late. We're here with a guide to help you finish these eight quests, thanks to Zynga.

A Royal...Ish Summons
• Travel to the Fairy Realm

This first quest is more of a tutorial than anything else, as it sees you clicking on the Portal Map located just above your neighbor bar at the bottom of the screen. From there, you'll see an option to travel to "Fairy Realm: Chapter 2," which houses this quest series. Clicking on travel warps you to this new expansion of sorts, and you'll receive 1,000 coins and 20 XP for completing this first basic quest.

Un-Bee-Lievable!
• Have 3 Watering Cans
• Cast the Bug Zapper Spell
• Banish 1 Grounded Gloom Bee

The Watering Cans are earned by posting a general request to your news feed, so be sure to play the game on Zynga.com long enough to post this request. That way, you'll earn these items from strangers in a matter of minutes, and won't actually have to wait for your friends to personally be active. As for the Bug Zapper Spell, this is found in the Spellbook under the blue "Celestial" category. It requires two Amber and two each of Red, Yellow and Blue drops to create. These colorful drops are earned by tending items with matching colors within Fairy Realm.

Remember though, your Fairy Realm energy is limited to a maximum of 12 points at a time, with each point taking a very long time to recharge (as of this writing, it's 40 minutes per point). What's more, you unfortunately aren't guaranteed to receive a drop even when you tend a matching colored item, so keep that in mind. Once you've been able to cast the Bug Zapper Spell on a bee, it will stop flying and drop to the ground where it can be banished as normal. You'll receive 1,500 coins, 30 XP and a Support Quicken for finishing this second quest.

Flightfully Upsetting
• Have 3 Healed Fairy Dens
• Tend 6 Nature Items in Fairy Realm
• Have 12 Honey

The Healed Fairy Dens are those small fairy cottages that you can see in shadows within Fairy Realm. You'll need to cast Gloom to Bloom on each Den to heal it, with that particular spell requiring items like Beeswax, Red Feathers and even a stocked Falling Star quest to create. As for they Honey, this can be earned by tending flowers, which thankfully also count for the "nature" portion of this third quest. Finish this quest and you'll receive 1,000 coins and 20 XP.

Hit 'Em Where It Counts!
• Attack the Hive
• Banish 3 Gloom Bees
• Craft 1 Ice Cream

The Hive is a very large item at the back of the Fairy Gardens, and it requires building materials to "attack." You'll need four Bee Stingers, six Beekeeper Hats, three Wood Clubs and two Hammers to perform this first attack. Bee Stingers can be earned by attacking bees, while the Hats are earned through a general news item posted on your wall. As for the Wood Clubs and Hammers, these can be crafted back in your workshops outside of the Fairy Gardens. Finally, a single Ice Cream takes two hours, five Ice Chunks, five Milk Bottles and two Honey to craft, so make sure to tend some cows for the Milk as quickly as you can and stock up. Completing this quest gives you 1,750 coins, 35 XP and a Purple Fairy Flower decoration for your Kingdom.

Ouch! That Stings!
• Have 5 aloe
• Cast the Portal Energizer Spell
• Collect 8 Color Drops

At some point during the attack, the Fairy Prince will be stung by a Gloom Bee, so your focus immediately shifts to healing him. You'll need to post a general news item on your wall to ask for the Aloe, while the Color Drops can be any color, and can therefore be earned by simply tending any specifically colored item within the Fairy Garden (a Red Flower, for instance). Finally, the Portal Energizer Spell is located under the green Nature section of the Spellbook, and it requires Aquamarines, Eggs, Sugar and more to create and cast. For completing this quest, you'll receive 1,500 coins and 30 XP.

Continue Reading on Games.com

Republished with permission from:
Brandy Shaul is an editor at Games.com

Sid Meier's famous Civilization games are all about bold land grabs and spreading one's influence all over the globe. So it makes sense for publisher 2K Games to finally unveil an MMO version of the long-running series.

A press release sent out today announced that Civ developer Firaxis will be working with XLGames, the Korean studio responsible for hit online game Lineage to create Civilization Online. The online-only game will be launching in Asian markets sometime in the future. Excerpts from the press release follow:

Civilization series creator, Firaxis Games, and XLGAMES have been lending their respective expertise and vision to developing Civilization Online. Mr. Song is highly regarded for his integral role in creating the popular Korean MMORPG, Lineage, which has attracted 43 million players. For this project, he is leading a team of more than 100 people in Seoul, making it one of the most ambitious online game development initiatives taking place in South Korea.

"Over the last four years, we have been focused on creating an ambitious portfolio of online and social games with some of the most revered companies in Asia such as Tencent in China, Nexon Korea Corporation and XLGAMES in Korea, GREE and CyberAgent in Japan," added Hubert Larenaudie, president of Take-Two Asia. "The consumer response for NBA 2K All Stars and NBA 2K Online has been very encouraging. With the upcoming releases of Pro Baseball 2K and Civilization Online, Take-Two is uniquely positioned to delight gamers throughout Asia."

Markus Persson's been slowly pulling back the veil of mystery surrounding his next sci-fi-centric game. Now, you can watch him play against others in a test of 0x10c's competitive multiplayer via Twitch livestream. Seems like pure chaotic fun.

Watch live video from realnotch on www.twitch.tv

Are you ready for Blizzard's next MMO? Their first since 2004's World of Warcraft? Well, tough, Blizzard's not done making it.

The game is codenamed Titan and has been in development for a long, long time. What kind of game is it? We know it's supposed to have broad appeal. We know that Blizzard has top people working on it. Hey, maybe it's a sci-fi shooter. Who knows! All we've got is the second-ever Kotaku Timeline to show you how the game has been taking shape in the public eye.

Rumors about the game began appearing as far back as 2005. And so that's when our timeline—which we will update in the months and years to come—begins...

Chinese MMO news site MMOGameSite.com posts a purported leaked Blizzard timetable, which they've received from an anonymous reader. It shows several release dates for a few well-known franchises, plus a new one, labelled Titan, slated for Q4 2013. (Later, Blizzard China's general manager gets fired over the incident.)

Kotaku takes a look at Blizzard senior artist Nick Carver's work, who is currently working on Titan, among other projects.