Halo Spartan Assault is a top down shooter that takes place between Halo 3 and 4. Taking control of either solder Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis, you fight back against a rogue sect of the Covenant that ignored the cease fire from Halo 3. Fighting through 25 single player missions, Spartan Assault contains all the action and weapons that Halo is famous for from an all new perspective. The controls are easy to get used to, and all your favorite weapons, vesicles, and enemies are here as well. Seeing as how this was originally a mobile game, it unfortunately contains micro-transactions. Thankfully, it isn’t pay-to-win. A recent update adds new missions, new achievements, and the ability to use XP to buy certain weapons rather than currency. Spartan Assault may not be a killer app for the Windows Phone, but Halo fans will love it, and it will tide them over until Master Chief’s newest adventure hits in 2015. BTW, if you have an Xbox One and a Gold membership, you have until the end of today to download this for free.

Insider Mobile Apps reports that Microsoft may be ending its virtual currency and going to a system that will charge users real money.

The most popular platform for MS points has been the Xbox 360, where they debuted with Xbox Live Arcade releases in 2005. In the past 5 years there have been several modifications to the system, including lowering the smallest pack for purchase. When Games On Demand appeared with retail releases available for direct download, Microsoft allowed publishers to charge an actual amount to a credit card.

With the Zune and Windows Phone added to Microsoft’s virtual store fronts, the company no doubt wants to streamline their service. No indication has been made if the retail gift cards will be recalled or if existing points credited to accounts will be converted to their nearest dollar and cent equivalent.

Are you excited to be done with points? Or did you like having a little virtual pocket change rattling around your account waiting to spent?