Everything is Teetering on the Edge of Everything

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Where have you been all my life?

This weekend, you may have noticed a short story, written from the perspective of the main character in Sniper Elite III (me) and my Co-op buddy in life, Illestrader. It was fun to write, but factually disproved as apparently snipers don’t hold their breath between shots. Who knew. I’m over it though. This example of a short story is something that I’ve wanted to do, and will continue to do, as it was a lot of fun to write. I’ve played plenty of games, single player and co-op, that can lend themselves to this hybrid personal-reflection/still-in-a-game format, so keep an eye out for more. Weekly or monthly, who knows.

Last week I mentioned an idea about some achievement hunting segments. Still working on the logistics, but I think it it’ll focus around a weekly segment towards a solitary achievement challenge, and my progress towards it. Maybe aiming for a specific achievement that week, or a gamerscore amount. New challenges every week. We’ll see.

Last week, in review: I spoke more about Cities: Skylines, the new games of the week, current games I’m playing, a Review for Never Alone, and a short story. I also discussed the purchase of an external HDD for my Xbox One to allow more games to be installed (this I will talk about today). And of course, the daily news. This week I expect more of the same.

As mentioned, I purchased an external HDD for my Xbox One. a Western Digital 3TB USB3 drive. Setup was extremely simple as it’s fully supported, and I transferred all the games off of the internal drive over to the external, hopefully relieving some of the stress to improve overall console performance. Including the Telltale Games Collection, I now have 44 games installed, with 2.3TB remaining, so this drive will keep me going for a while. The games load just fine, and I have yet to experience any problems playing a game off the hard-drive. As a result, I’ve also had the opportunity to try out some of the games I’ve been sitting on, due to space shortages. I’ve started playing Grand Theft Auto V and Far Cry 4. I’ll discuss those more in detail on Wednesday for the What I’m Playing segment.

I’m also continuing to optimize the site as I get used to WordPress. One section is the page functionality. A page I’ll be adding soon, is my screenshots page. I already have quite the collection of Forza Horizons 1 and 2 photos. Coming soon is Far Cry 4, and shortly after, Shadow of Mordor photos. Xbox One has a screen shot functionality, but currently no way of exporting them. But soon, I’ll be able to flesh out this idea further.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the new games, Wednesday we’ll discuss what I’m playing in more detail (Tales from the Borderlands ❤ *wink*), Thursday I’ll have a review for #IDARB, and then we’ll talk about the week in review, and the joyful weekend.

Executive Vice Janitor

Executive Vice Janitor

But, I have some news to catch up on, so on-wards.

Oldies first:

Star Wars: Battlefront News and Views

EA has confirmed that the highly anticipated Star Wars: Battlefront will be shown off next month, between April 16th and 19th.

Remastered Wake?

Microsoft may be looking to release a remastered version of Alan Wake on the Xbox One. I really enjoyed the 360 version, but neglected to play any of the DLC, so if this pack includes it (which I’m sure it will) might be worth playing through again. We’ll have to see what the offer includes.

Hideo Kojima Leaving Konami 😥

Late last week, news starting breaking that Hideo Kojima was planning to leave Konami after Metal Gear Solid V was completed. Unfortunately not a lot of information was released besides the fact that Kojima confirmed that MGS V will be complete come September, and that this will be the last MGS game in the Snake story ark. Konami indicated that there will be more Metal Gear games in the future without Kojima’s involvement, and Metal gear Reveangence 2 was hinted. This is upsetting to me. I’ve always been a fan of Kojima and his MGS games. They are not, and will not be the same without him.

Kojima offered a few words, saying, “I am 100% involved and will continue working on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; I’m determined to make it the greatest game I’ve directed to date.” – Somewhat reassuring.

Konami has begun hiring developer to start work on a brand new Metal Gear series. No news on the Silent Hill game. Less reassuring.

Physical Wolfenstein

Back on March 4th, it was announced that a digital stand-alone sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order was being released this May, titled The Old Blood. It has since been reiterated that a physical edition will be available on PS4 and PC, but will remain “digital only” on the Xbox One.

God of War 3 Remastered

One of the best looking games to be released on the PS3 is being re-released on the PS4 with the HD treatment and other improvements. Its a shame that it’s not a remastered trilogy. Maybe they couldn’t do it for technical reasons. Who knows. God of War III already looked beyond good when originally released, it’ll be interesting to see a comparison.

Batman and Arkham Knight News

Two playable DLC packs have been announced for Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady’s epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy. Red Hood has been announced as a playable character, likely for the challenge mode, and now Harley Quinn has been announced as the second DLC pack, which includes stand-alone story.

“With this exclusive Story Pack experience events in the lead-up to Arkham Knight as you infiltrate Blüdhaven to rescue your partner in crime: Poison Ivy. Delve deep into Harley’s demented nature and utilize her devastating baseball bat to smash, crash and bash your way to a friend very much in need.”

Also announced was that Arkham Knight has received a slight delay. The game is now scheduled for release on June 23rd.

How Dare You Make The Bat Wait

How Dare You Make The Bat Wait

In other remastered news (enough already), Batman Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are reportedly being remastered for the Xbox One and PS4.

Raven Software Tweet/Teases More Singularity

Singularity came out in 2010 and dealt with time travel, as one of the abilities of the player was to rewind the effect of time on objects. Neat concept and a really cool game to play. Raven Software has hinted that maybe they’re making a sequel, or is this another remastered edition?

The tweet reads “We’re going back,” followed by the hashtag #Katorga12 — a reference to the Russian island that served as the setting of Singularity.

Phew, lots of news to get caught up on.

See you tomorrow.

-iRogan

SHORT – Through the Looking Glass

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This is a short story about the frustrations of co-op gaming. In this case, within Sniper Elite III.

The STEN MK II weighs a ton on my back, resting between my shoulder blades. I’m in the sniper nest, prone, in this god-forsaken desert, and I can’t breathe because of this gear. I’m choking on this dust, as I lie here for what feels like hours. I’m a sniper, you see.

"2 lines you should never cross....horizontal and vertical"

“2 lines you should never cross….horizontal and vertical”

A shot echoes off the rocky hills and I know that ILLESTRADER has removed another enemy. I hold my breath for 2 seconds, willing my senses to feel the enemies around us, to see if they’ve noticed. Squinting through my binoculars, I watch the men at the tent continue their patrol.

Whew. 68BPM.

The headset buzzes. “Are you in the nest?”

I am. But I don’t respond. The stock of the M1 GARAND is nestled against my shoulder. I suck in and hold my breath anticipating the buck.

73BPM.

The soldier in my sights finishes his patrol along the fence line and lights up a cigarette and I take my-

BANG!

-shot. The world slows and spins as the bullet explodes from the barrel. 68 meters. Headshot. Not bad.

“Nice” the headset buzzes again. I exhale.

70BPM.

Two more targets get tagged through my HUD, and I have my binoculars out again. ILLESTRADER is prone underneath a truck spotting the camp ahead. Two soldiers are sitting around the camp fire, settled in the weathered remains of some house. A third I can see coming down the rocky slope. He’s 110 meters out, but at this angle the trees are in the way.

I groan as I get to my feet, stiff. The dust is sticking to me in this heat and I don’t have any water. I try to clear my throat as I jump down the ladder.

“Shit, shit, shit!” The voice screams through my headset, and the chatter of gunfire echoes off the stones. ILLESTRADER must’ve been seen. The alarms start and suddenly the canyon has come alive. I don’t think I’ve been seen yet but I know they’re looking.

Sitting behind some sandbags, I go to check my map, but a jeep pulls up, and a soldier on his walkie-talkie steps out. I lay the M1 down and check my MK II. 32 bullets. I raise the gun over the bags and spray him with MK II fire, and he goes down before he can see me.

90BPM.

I’m sure they know where I am now. “Idiot.” I curse ILLESTRADER as I vault over the next set of sandbags, heading towards our objective. “Where are you?”

“I’m Fine, by the way-” More gunfire. “So much for stealth, eh?” He laughs.

God damn it, I hate it how he makes my life so difficult. I wish I didn’t have to rely on him so heavily, but I know he’s the better shot. Stealth just doesn’t suit him. The alarms are still ringing but I don’t see any more movement. This area must be clear. I know the Commander is in the next canyon. So says the map. But we’ll need to get through the tunnels up ahead. At least it’ll be cool there.

ILLESTRADER steps over his kills and heads up the path. I stop, check them for ammo, smirking, knowing he’ll complain about his own ammo shortages soon enough. I reload the MK II and head on through the dark, chilled tunnel and reach the bloom lighting at the other end.

I find him on his stomach with the binoculars out, tagging enemies. Two guys already dead, beside him, at the opening to the tunnel. I crouch, bring out my map and look for the closest sniper nest. This new area seems pretty quiet. I guess these guys didn’t hear the gunfire, or get the message that we killed all their buddies.

I head off, up the nearest path, sticking to the bushes.

"A sniper is the worst romancer, they never make the first move"

“A sniper is the worst romancer, they never make the first move”

60BPM.

I’m at the sniper nest when I hear ILLESTRADER finally chirp up, “OK, so I think I’ll head off to the left and take out the two near the tent and you can head towards the—oh you’re already at the nest…”

As I climb the steps, I start to wonder if me, doing my own thing, my lack of patience with him makes him angry, if maybe I need to work on my communication. I think the only reason I’m here in this desert is because he’s here, for better or for worse. ILLESTRADER, the friendly nametag proudly proclaims above his head. Wherever I find myself, he’s somewhere near.

I’m moving the boards out of the way and going prone, stabilizing the M1 when I lose interest again. My main focus is the objective ahead. My Commander gave me a gun and maps, said go here, and kill this guy, finish the Objective. So I’m here, not really aware of where here is. Somewhere bland and hot.

Sliding another round in the M1 chamber, I right the gun. Looking through the scope, I spot the three sentry units that ILLESTRADER has tagged. I dial the scope to 150 meters. This’ll be quite the shot, I think to myself, from my safe little window on the world.

Deep breath and hold. 70BPM.

I squeeze the-

BANG!

-trigger. The gun bucks up, I lose sight of the sentries briefly, but I don’t exhale. The gun steadies and two soldiers remain.

80BPM.

They heard the echo but they didn’t see their buddy go down. I line up the next one, smoothly ejecting the bullet, clearing the chamber. The world is still moving in slow motion, everything blurs outside my scope, but this shot-

BANG!

-rings out clean. I exhale and inhale quickly.

90BPM.

The last guy is in complete shock as he wipes the remains of his friend’s face off his own. He’s dropped his gun and he’s green. He’s looking around frantically, afraid to move, when-

BANG!

-his body rag-dolls off the sentry post and falls to the ground below.

100BPM.

I get the notification that ILLESTRADER has taken out the Commander from 113 meters – “TOO SOON” I hear myself. Does he enjoy creating this chaos? Is it on purpose? – and suddenly all the alarms are blaring, the campgrounds around the sentry towers come alive with soldiers, who have also just located my recent kill. I’m-

Everything around me explodes in gunfire. You hear it before you see it, but not by much. Then you can’t see anything at all, and pretty soon you can’t hear anything either.

110BPM.

I leap off the sniper nest, and roll when I hit the ground. I have no idea where the shots came from, or even if there’s any cover nearby – all I can sense is a hot beige world of loud noises. I get up and immediately come face to face with a scout who was searching for me. I wrestle out the easiest gun I can find. My WELROD comes up and I shoot him in the face. Lucky. If I had missed, he for sure would have killed me mid-reload.

In retrospect he was probably more surprised to see me than I of him – he was probably there just to confirm the kill. It was a fair bet I was dead.

The bullets start up again and I’m grazed, but I’m not ducking this time. Weaving between tents and stone walls, I head towards my partner, breathing hard.

115BPM.

ILLESTRADER is down!

“Shit, I’m down-”

I’m sure he’s got his pistol out though, picking off anyone nearby. It’s up to me now, to reach him before they do. “I think my area is clear but it was a Sniper that-”

BANG!

My world turns fuzzy and red and I’m hit square, and stagger – I didn’t hear anything else that ILLESTRADER said. I know he’s 20 meters away, indicated by my HUD, as I crumple against a wall. He’s got maybe 30 seconds for me to reach him before he bleeds out, and I don’t know where the shots are coming from. God damn it, I hope ILLESTRADER learns his lesson after this is done.

I check my gear. Close range, the MK II is my best bet to fight my way to him, but the sniper is my biggest concern.

“Do you know where he is?” I ask eagerly, fumbling with my headset, and with some gauze and bandages. I don’t know how this will help me in this situation, but I start wrapping. I also know I need to relocate soon, as I’m likely getting surrounded just sitting here.

“Nope,” he responds casually as I start to grind my teeth.

I leave a smoking grenade at my feet as I vault through the nearest doorway in ILLESTRADER’s direction. Meant as a distraction, the explosion was likely deafening but I don’t hear it or feel it. My HUD informs me that two enemies sure as HELL felt it. Gloriously and loudly I’m sure. A fantastic sight that I don’t have time to admire.

I reach ILLESTRADER and find him slumped over. I grab my medikit and start to revive him. He jumps up and heads towards the door of the shelter we’re in and-

BANG!

ILLESTRADER is down!

Jesus Christ! I frustratingly grab another medikit and revive him once more. He’s learned his lesson and he sticks beside me as shots thwack into the stone walls and a grenade explodes in the room above us.

98BPM.

Dusty and bloody, I limp to the door, crouching below the window. On the other end of the room a sentry enters and ILLESTRADER sticks a knife into his skull. He has his uses, I suppose, always has my back, even if it was his fault that we’re in this mess. I don’t thank him. Another failing of mine.

"One mans fate comes from another mans wait"

“One mans fate comes from another mans wait”

“How many more are out there do you think?” He asks. “I’m out of ammo.”

I laugh because my eyes are too clogged with dust to cry. At least One. The remaining sniper is out there, waiting, like I would be if I wasn’t here, trapped with my partner.

“Head to the gates to meet the tanks, the route should be clear. I’ll take out the sniper and then we should be done.” I wish I could believe or stop myself from saying that.

I rest my M1 on the window and look out towards the canyon walls. The smoke from the grenade is still thick but I can just make out the gleaming white reflection off the enemy sniper’s scope. He’s prone, hidden. Smart.

My much-killed battle brother starts sprinting up the hill, which means the sniper will likely be tracking him. I have only a moment. Breathe. Slowly exhale. Aim small, hit small. Take the-

BANG!
BANG!

-shot. My bullet rips through the canyon and catches the sniper in the scope and tears through the eye socket. Bullet and glass makes a mess. Too late though.

ILLESTRADER is down!

Fuck! The kick from the gun leaves me woozy. Too much blood loss. My HUD tells me I need to relocate. But I can’t. We missed one of the targets. He’s in the room with his own MK II pressed coldly against my neck. This mission has not gone the way I’d-.

iROGAN is down!

100BPM.

83BPM.

41BPM

13BPM.

0BPM.

-iRogan

“This is my idiot.
There are many like him,
But this one is mine.”

iReview – NEVER ALONE (Kisima Ingtchuna) – Learning CAN Be Fun

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Title: Never Alone (Kisima Ingtchuna)
Developer: Upper One Games
Publisher: E-Line Media
Platform: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, WiiU
Reviewed on: Xbox One

I wish I played this game alone…

Another side-scrolling platforming game made on the Unity engine, so, visually it’ll looks nice, but it’s not gonna stand out. Bland gameplay aside, the Alaskan Native history and folklore is the selling point behind this title.

Wanna play co-op?

Wanna play co-op?

In conjunction with Cook Inlet Tribal Council, a non-profit organization that works with indigenous groups in Alaska, E-Line Media and Upper One Games developed Never Alone as a means to share and celebrate their native culture. Proceeds from the game will help fund the Council’s education programs.

We, the player, play as Nuna, an Inupiaq girl, and her arctic fox. Played in single player, we have the ability to swap between the two characters, but Local Co-op is an option as well. The game is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer. Nuno has the ability to move crates, climb ladders and ropes, and throw her Bola to open new areas or fend off enemies. The arctic fox has the ability to scramble up walls, fit through low tunnels, or control the guiding spirits and trees for puzzle-centric gameplay.

Alaskan Native history and folklore is the selling point behind this title.

The story of the game takes place in the harsh Alaskan environments, during a constant blizzard. The wind itself plays a large role in the platform gameplay, as Nuna occasionally has to jump large gaps using the wind’s strength to propel her.

The game is slow-paced and methodical, with few action sequences. The highlights being a few chase scenes, where Nuna and the fox must escape a polar bear, or a flame throwing enemy, but the core of the game has Nuna climbing up rock faces, riding spirit platforms, or going prone into the snow as the howling wind powers overhead.

The game is broken up into 8 chapters, separated by beautifully illustrated cut-scenes telling the folklore story of The Blizzard Man, the Little People, the Manslayer, the Rolling Heads, and the Sky People. Also, unlocked through the gameplay and hidden collectables are education video insights to further our learning of these indigenous stories, and this is the motivation to keep you pressing on.

Never Alone is a charming game

The game has a message, but it’s short, and may even be overlooked and tuned out while worrying about making that next jump. It’s unfortunate. The game is narrated by a storyteller in the spoken Inupiaq language, and displayed as subtitles. It’s supposed to tell the tale of Nuna braving the Eternal Blizzard to save her village, but by game’s end, I felt like nothing was accomplished, save outsmarting and defeating a few enemies.

Never Alone is a charming game, with cute interactions between Nuna and the Fox. It has expansive environments that are simultaneously lovely, quiet, fierce, and ominous. The platforming is completely competent, and may have you laughing as a blast of wind flings your character face first into a wall, or groaning, as you jump too early and plummet into the chilly arctic waters. The fascinating video interviews are relegated to the menu, and you won’t really catch much of the story by playing the game.

Maybe if played Alone, you’ll learn more.

Follow me if you want to live...

Follow me if you want to live…

For those who like easy achievements, educational video games, and platforming foxes.

Notable Achievements:
Highs and Lows (Nuna and Fox kept their heads in the Northern Lights) – 50G
Insightful (You found and viewed all the Cultural Insights) – 200G

-iRogan

Games Needing to be Played, and News Needing to be Read

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…But not really. News is not important. It’ll be there tomorrow too. And the next day.

Some times I go through weird phases where I’m just absolutely addicted to playing games and everything else suffers. Currently I’m playing the following:

  • Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag –  To fill my 3rd person, open world, platformer void. To play an Ubisoft open world game, requires somewhat of a balancing act in priorities. Their games are typically filled with activities to complete, sights to see, side missions to pursue and stories to experience. The struggle is trying to balance these equally. Focus on one, and you start to get the feeling you’re missing out on the world around you, or your perks and upgrades are falling behind. Or, the dread of missing something entirely, which can’t be recovered. It’s stressful.
  • Battlefield: Hardline – To fill my FPS void. This is currently the freshest game on the market, and I don’t typically play games fresh. Normally to avoid bugs or server issues, or just my back-log of games. In this case I’m playing it for the single player campaign. And enjoying it! Stealth Battlefield, who knew! Continue to check back for my impressions, and Review.
  • Cities: Skylines – These type of games are great, but they’re a time sink. So going forward, to ensure I don’t lose focus on my other endeavors, I’ll probably just have to set a timer. Play the game, improve my city. Take a break until tomorrow. Continue to check back for my ongoing impressions and Review.
  • Sniper Elite 3 – Currently playing this in co-op with a friend. We’re about half way through, and we are not the stealthiest bunch.
  • Forza Horizons 2 – Still playing through this, wrapping up the Storm Island DLC, some achievements, and will check out the Fast and the Furious DLC  next week.

    I usually don’t like to overlap games of the same genre (or more than one Ubisoft game), so Shadow of Mordor and Far Cry 3 are currently on hold, and currently waiting on a fourth, to try out the GTA V Heists, but luckily nothing else new or notable is on the immediate horizon.

neveralone

Tomorrow I’ll be posting a new Review, of Never Alone, and I’m thinking about a new weekly feature centered around Achievements. Just gotta think of the concept and logistics – pretty much everything actually. Achievements are a pretty big deal to me.

And now, this:

OneDrive Supports Music

Microsoft announced today that the free cloud storage, OneDrive, included with Microsoft products, and Xbox, will support music uploads, which can be streamed through the Xbox Music app. The only issue I still have is that the app needs to be snapped to the side. Once minimized, the music stops. This is disappointing, as the 360 has the background music functionality. Hopefully this potential update comes soon, if they’re even working on it?

Nintendo Mobile Clarification

Further clarification came out today about the enlightening news regarding Nintendo’s mobile plans. As reported yesterday, Nintendo has partnered with DeNA to develop a mobile platform and service. Nintendo confirmed that they will be the ones developing the mobile games, with hopefully their first releases later this year, and DeNA will be developing the services to run on multiple types of devices.

Star Craft is Ending?

The Star Craft story is coming to an end. Revealed today, Blizzard has stated that the next expansion to Star Craft II, Legacy of the Void will be the conclusion to the Star Craft story, started way way back in Star Craft 1. They stated that the franchise will continue on, but the characters for now, fates sealed, will see a satisfying conclusion to their story.

Halo: Nightfall Blu-Ray

I haven’t actually had the chance to watch this series yet. I did enjoy Forward Unto Dawn, for the most part, but this new series has received mixed reviews, even with a notable producer in ridley Scott, and a larger budget.

The Master Chief Collection, however, is finally more stable, and I’ve been able to plug through more of the Halo 1-4 campaign missions in weekly late night co-op. 343 Guilty Spark in Halo: CE is still the buggiest level, nearly game breaking at points, but we made it through, thankfully, and we’re now able to complete the campaign.

Forward Unto Games!

-iRogan

New Games, New Cities, New News

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“Cities has a weird way of making me forget to blink, or watch the clock…” I say absently, clicking away, creating trees along a gravel path between houses.

“Don’t you have to work tomorrow? It’s 2AM.” She replies.

“Just need to add a bus depot and map the routes…” I mumble. “This traffic is brutal.”

I wish my city creation was this pretty.

I wish my city creation was this pretty.

Continuing with my review-in-progress of Cities: Skylines, my 2nd play through last night was definitely more successful as I slowly learned the hidden intricacies of the game. The game will tell you how to build a road, but skips on the minutia of creating a successful highway off-ramp. Go figure it out, I guess? It’ll tell you how to paint districts, and glaze over the district specializations, but how about letting me know how to find the resources on the map for specializations?

*4 hours later* Oh there’s an Info Pane for that. Wait WHAT, there’s an info pane that shows me all this? You didn’t think to maybe mention this first, Game?

My city did survive the night this time. Didn’t need to skip town as Mayor like last time, while the power was out. Check mark in the positive column.

Stay tuned for further impressions throughout the week.

Out today, new and notable, for March 17th, 2015:

  • Battlefield Hardline (Xbox One, PS4, PS3, XBOX 360, PC) – Started playing this last Thursday during the EA Access trial on the Xbox One. I’m excited that it’s now out fully and I can play through the campaign. You can read my first impressions: Here
  • Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 2 (Xbox One, PS4, PS3, XBOX 360, PC) – Titled Atlas Mugged. The  Telltale Bundle is still sitting on my “ready to be installed” list, waiting to be played. Thursday I’m picking up an external HDD so I can install my full library. Man, that’ll feel good. Much bandwidth. I do think the first series I play will be Wolf Among Us. Starting to get worried about my ever-growing list of unplayed games. Might need to hire an intern to play my games for me.

There is absolutely nothing of interest to me, out there, on Earth, at all. Save these tidbits of news today:

Nintendo’s New Partnership and New Hardware?

Nintendo announced today a new partnership with DeNA to develop a mobile platform, to bring their library to mobile devices. They were also quick to point out that they’re not out of the console market, stating that they are developing a next-gen dedicated gaming system, code named “NX”. No further details on the console till next year.

The Last Guardian Trademark Filed Again

Announced back in 2009, Sony’s The Last Guardian is vapourware at this point. Sony has filed for the trademark for a 3rd time, and stated that the game is still in development. Whether that means it’ll be the same envisioned game, still on the PS3, now on the PS4, who knows. It’s gone the ways of Prey 2 for all I’m concerned.

Weekly Deals With Gold

Grand Theft Auto takes the front line this week for Xbox’s game sales.

On the Xbox One you can purchase the in-game credit card, which included $500,000 in-game currency for $10 off the retail price. $59.49 USD. Gross. OlliOlli is on sale as well.

On the Xbox 360, GTA V, GTA IV, San Andreas, and GTA IV expansions are on sale.

All for naught, you should probably go outside…

-iRogan