Tag Archives: Xbox One

IDL NEWS – Backwards Compatibility, Call of Duty, and Definitive Islands

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Oh that mid-week lull . . . probably makes news much more dull?

So, as I pointed out yesterday, the summer months are not very interesting when it comes to video game news and releases. September is where the fun is at, but until then, aside from my hibernation holidays, it’s easiest to just keep the head down, and plug away at those games that sit atop the uncompleted list. Sigh. There’s just so many 😥

Call of Duty Black Ops 3 Multiplayer Beta

The multiplayer beta for COD BLOPS III kicks off on the Playstation 4 first, as announced earlier in this year’s at E3. Starting Aug 19 and ends Aug 23. It will then migrate to the PC and Xbox One on Aug 26 till Aug 30. Available for all those who pre-ordered the game.

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Xbox Backwards Compatibility

Speaking of Call of Duty and Black Ops, Black Ops II is currently the most requested Xbox 360 game to come to the Xbox One via backwards compatibility. Red Dead Redemption now sits in 2nd place. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo: Reach, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gears of War 3, Fallout 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Mass Effect 3 round off the top ten.

Black Ops II remains on my shelf unopened. If it’s the first game to be made available, it will be the first game I play. Deal? Deal.

Definitive Dead Island?

According to recent info, and following a growing trend, it appears that Dead Island might be the next game to get the remake/re-release treatment over to the current-gen hardware by way of a Definitive Edition. Blegh.

Speaking of islands, tomorrow will be my last day posting live news for the next little while. I’ll be rounding off the week with an article tomorrow, on my current playlist of things getting played. No review, or Achievements either, as I actually haven’t played anything this week. Sad face.

BUT! I’ve been working hard, and I’ve prepared some stuff for next week, to at least keep the posts flowing, while I’m away. Hopefully you’ll like it.

And then shortly after, I’ll return. Hopefully nothing exciting happens while I’m away. I’d hate to miss it.

-iRogan

IDL NEWS – New Games and Deals, and The Top Games to Round of the Year

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I don’t get paid on Tuesday, lest I’d be ruined come Wednesday.

New games today, and Xbox Spotlight deals. There’s also a nice list at the bottom, of the notable games still to be excited for this year. What a great year we’ve had already!

I should’ve titled this “What I Will Be Playing”.

New Games – July 21:

Zombie Army Trilogy (Xbox One, PS4) – Sniper Elite was a pretty fun game, and the first two Zombie Army games were originally released as DLC for 2013’s Sniper Elite V2. I might pick this up and play in co-op with Illestrader.

These aren't the dead you're looking for.

These aren’t the dead you’re looking for.

F1 2015 (Xbox One, PS4) – Another F1 game by Codemasters. I found these titles to be too much simulation for me, and not fun. Pass on the right. Into a wall.

Journey (PS4) – The lovely award winning PS3 indie title has finally made it;s way to the PS4.

They said I could become anything, so I became a shooting star.

They said I could become anything, so I became a shooting star.

Game of Thrones: Episode Five – A Nest of Vipers (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One) – I have the full TellTale Games game pack, which includes all the games, and subsequent episodes. I’ll wait for Episode 6 to be released before starting the story.

Hatoful Boyfriend (PS4, PS Vita) – You are a human, who lives in a cave, and falls in love with birds? Or human birds? I dunno?

Deals With Gold Spotlight Sale

Xbox One
Forza Horizon 2 and Forza Motorsport 5 Bundle 35%
Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass Add-on 50%
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Editions 33%
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood 25%
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin 40%
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 25%

Forza Horizons 2 was a great game and Forza Motorsport 5 was fun, if not limited. I’m not always a fan of simulation racers. And I have the physical copy of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood on its way. So expect opinions on that soon. The New Order was fantastic. I should do a replay and iReview of that one.

Xbox 360 (lots of sales this week. I’ve included the notables – all great)
Max Payne 3 75%
L.A. Noire 75%
Red Dead Redemption 75%
Midnight Club: LA 75%
Bully Scholarship Ed. 75%
Forza Horizon 50%
Enslaved 75%

Top Games Still To Be Released This Year

Rare Replay – Aug 4: Announced this year at E3, the Rare Replay is a 30 game collection of all the classics, coming to the Xbox One. There are also 10,000 achievements points available.

Dishonored: Definitive Edition – Aug 25: Enhanced visuals and including all the DLC. Great if you haven’t played it, but I’d have to see the videos to see if the visual upgrade is enough to justify a 2nd copy. Maybe I’ll just replay the 360 version for free when its backwards compatible.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition – Aug 25: A remastered version of the original game that kicked off the franchise. A game night staple.

Mad Max – Sept 1: Open-world post-apocalyptic survival game based in the universe that is Mad Max.

Metal Gear Solid V – Sept 1: I’ve talked about this game a lot already, and I really don’t think I can say anymore. Just that I can’t wait.

Destiny: The Taken King – Sept 15: The next chapter in the Destiny Saga. Comes as a stand-alone as well which includes the previous full release and 2 expansions. New maps and modes, new missions and strikes, subclasses, gear, items and a Raid.

Rainbow Six: Siege – Oct 13: Intense first-person shooter in the Tom Clancy Rainbow Six world. Infiltration and hostage extract modes look incredible and tense. Back to the one-life gameplay style. Online only competitive games scare me away, as I’ve learned with Evolve. But from a co-op Terrorist Hunt mode perspective, I’ll pick it up.

Assassins’s Creed Syndicate – Oct 23: The next game in the Assassin’s series.

Halo 5: Guardians – Oct 27: Sold. Obviously. Another game night staple is the Halo franchise. Now that ODST is out for the MCC, and the game is finally stable, I’ll do a review.

Need For Speed – Nov 3: How many times has the Need for Speed franchise been rebooted now? The E3 impressions looked incredible, and it’s going back to the nocturnal open world, focusing on the street life and car customization.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 – Nov 6: Another annual title that I’m usually a few years behind on. Just finished Ghosts for crying out loud. Didn’t try Black Ops 2 either. And still haven’t gotten to Advanced Soldier. Woops

Rise of the Tomb Raider – Nov 10: Loved the first reboot, and I’m super excited for the sequel.

Star Wars Battlefront – Nov 17: First impressions at E3 show promise. The online-only direction might be a deal breaker, but the co-op missions show promise. Obviously more info has to be seen, but I’ll get first impressions through EA Access.

Just Cause 3 – Dec 1: I’m holding out on this one for now. No co-op is a huge bummer, and I quickly grew bored of Just Cause 2.

Hitman – December 8: New entry in the franchise, simply titled Hitman. Very interested as the last one was a huge improvement for the franchise in my opinion, and now with the online presence and unique one-time contracts . . . definitively appealing.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some more news, and What i’M Playing.

-iRogan

IDN News – Xbox Ultimate Game Sale *UPDATED*

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The Xbox Ultimate Summer Game Sale has started.

Here’s a list of the Xbox One games so far:

  • Battlefield Hardline Deluxe – 40% off
  • Borderlands: THC – 40% off
  • Diablo 3 – 50% off
  • Dragon Age Inquisition & Deluxe – 50% off
  • Dying Light & Ultimate – 30% off
  • Far Cry 4 & Gold – 60% off
  • FIFA 15 – 10% off
  • Game of Thrones Season Pass – 40% off
  • Geometry Wars – (50% off)
  • Goat Simulator – 33% off
  • GTA 5 & Great White Shark – 25% off
  • Halo: The Master Chief – 40% off
  • Killer Instinct Complete – 60% off
  • Killer Instinct S2 – 40% off
  • Lara Croft & The Temple of Osiris – 60% off
  • Lego Batman 3 – 75% off
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – 50% off
  • Mortal Kombat X & Premium – 25% off
  • NFS Complete – 50% off
  • Ori and the Blind Forest – 25% off
  • Outlast – 50% off
  • State of Decay – 33% off
  • Slender – 50% off
  • Sniper Elite 3 – 50% off
  • Sleeping Dogs – 50% off
  • Saints Row 4 – 60% off
  • Tales from the Borderlands 1-5 – 50% off
  • Terraria – 60% off
  • ESO Premium – 17% off
  • Legend of Korra – 50% off
  • The Telltale Collection – 50% off
  • The Walking Dead S1&2 – 50% off
  • Titanfall – 60% off
  • Tower of guns – 40% off
  • Watch Dogs – 50% off
  • White Night – 50% off
  • Wolfenstein bundle – 45% off
  • WWE & Deluxe – 50% off

Notable ones for me include Mortal Kombat, WWE 2K15, and possibly Dying Light. Everything else I have :p. Pretty much. Sadly.

Here’s the list of the Xbox 360 games so far:

  • The Orange Box – 67-75%
  • Mortal Kombat – 67-75%
  • Far Cry 4 – 50-60%
  • GTA IV – 75-80%
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 67-75%
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us – 67-75%
  • State of Decay – 40-50%
  • WWE 2K15 – 40-50%
  • F1 2014 – 50-60%
  • Mass Effect – 75-80%
  • Dragon Age: Origins – 67-75%
  • Dragon Age 2 Games – 75-80%
  • Assassin’s Creed Revelations – 40-50%
  • Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – 40-50%
  • Assassin’s Creed III – 40-50%
  • Watch_Dogs – 40-50%
  • Prototype 2 – 67-75%
  • Dead Rising 2 – 75-80%
  • Sleeping Dogs – 67-75%
  • Goat Simulator – 40-50%
  • RISK – 40-50%
  • The Legend of Korra – 40-50%
  • Need For Speed Rivals – 40-50%
  • Need For Speed Most Wanted – 67-75%
  • Slender: The Arrival – 40-50%
  • Trials Fusion – 50-60%
  • Monopoly Plus – 40-50%
  • Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved – 40-50%
  • Titanfall Deluxe Edition – 40-50%
  • Crysis 3 – 67-75%
  • Game of Thrones: Season 1 – Season Pass – 33-40%
  • Tales from the Borderlands – Season Pass – 33-40%
  • Fable Trilogy – 67-75%
  • Destiny – 60-67%

-iRogan

IDL NEWS – Mafia 3, Free Games With Gold, more News, and Evolve

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The weekend is over and a new week begun. I posted a review for BADLAND, but forgot about the achievement of the week. Oh well. Maybe I’ll add an extra one during the week?

Achievement

Typically the Achievement of the Week is related to what I’m actually, currently playing, so not always current or relevant. Additionally, I already have the Notable Achievements in the iReviews, so going forward, I might make the Achievement of the Week more relevant by including it in the New Games of the Week article on Tuesdays, or keep it as its own post later in the week, but related to the new game of the week? Hmm, says I.

MAFIA3 Registered
June 25th, Take-Two registered a number of domains related to the potential sequel, Mafia 3. These include: Mafia3TheGame.com, MafiaIIITheGame.com, MafiaThree.com, and MafiaThreeTheGame.com. This is obvious fuel to the fire that is the potential sequel, Mafia 3. Mafia II was a pretty great game, and was recently one of the free Xbox 360 games with Gold game of the month.

The Last of Us 2?
More rumours surfaced today, as very recognizable video game voice actor Nolan North may have just outed Naughty Dogs sequel – The Last of Us 2. In a recent Q&A panel, Nolan North casually mentioned the sequel.

“For now, last one,” North said on the video, when asked if he has any upcoming projects with Naughty Dog aside from Uncharted 4. “I know they’re doing a Last of Us 2 but my character in Last of Us kind of had an untimely demise.”

Xbox Live Gold Now With Two New Xbox One Every Month
Starting in July, Microsoft will begin offering TWO free Xbox Games to Gold members through the Games With Gold program every month. For the month of July the games will be as follows:

Xbox One
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – July 1-15
So Many Me – July 16-31

Xbox 360
Plants vs. Zombies – July 1-15
Gears of War 3 – July 16-31

Games can be claimed through the console or through http://www.Xbox.com.

This week, Evolve and the Season 1 hunting pass was for sale on the Xbox One. I personally picked it up and started experimenting with it last night. I did the tutorials, and played a few matches in solo, and tried a couple multiplayer Hunts and Arena modes. Haven’t tried extraction yet.

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The game has been fun thus far, if not a little frustrating at times. Some matches have been slow burn, tracking the monster an exercise in futility, for 15 minutes until he was stage 3, and then just destroyed us quickly. Another match just had the monster play with us, killing all hunters save for Daisy, letting us respawn, only to do it over again, ad nauseum.

What I’ve noticed is an influx of new players due to the sale, but the veterans out there play the monsters. Playing with a pick-up group isn’t as fun either as there’s not a lot of people playing with mics.

Lastly, in arena mode, within the trapper shield is actually a small environment. It requires clear communication otherwise you’ll get stomped by the stage 2 monster. Especially facing against Behemoth, who is like half the size of the arena map :p.

Either way, I expect to keep playing, trying out new characters and classes. So stay tuned. Check out Cro0ked’s review of Evolve when the game originally released. I may do my own irrelevant iReview too ;).

–iRogan

iReview – UNMECHANICAL: EXTENDED – It’s Lonely In Here

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Unmechanical is a 2.5D puzzle video game about a robot that gets sucked underground into a new mechanical world, and the goal is to escape. It’s a lonely game.

Title: Unmechanical – Extended
Developer: Talawa Games & Grip Games
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Vita, PC, iOS
Publisher: Teotl Studios
Reviewed on: Xbox One

Originally released in 2012 on the PC and iOS, Unmechanical has now been updated and extended, and released on the consoles, with the help of Grip Games. The extended version includes new levels.

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Unmechanical is a physics puzzle game. You play as a little robot with a propeller attached to its head, that can propel himself around the levels, and is equipped with a handy short-range tractor beam to carry objects to assist with the puzzles. Just grab stuff, no need to talk about it.

You do occasionally come across another mechanical robot that is usually hindering your progress, or setting up the next puzzle, but these interactions are sparse.

Made on the Unreal Engine, the game is nice looking enough. As a 2.5D side-scroller, the game features a nice array of different looking levels, usually with interesting background and foreground detail. You’ll mainly just find lots of rocks and metal framing. The visuals are quite muted though, as you are underground for the duration of the game.

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The puzzles of the game start off pretty easy: simple, switches, or buttons to press. The physics portions of the game usually involve carrying a rock to hold down a button, or a metal beam to stop some gears, positioning these things to solve puzzles and open doors.

Later on the puzzles become more challenging, utilizing lasers and reflective mirrors. Some of the areas are quite large, with multiple exits and entrances, so it can be hard to keep track of where you left from and where to go to next. You’ll really only find where to go next by process of elimination. Luckily the game features a hint system, for those that need a little extra nudge.

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The puzzles are challenging to the point where they’re not frustrating, and some are quite enjoyable and clever, and will make you feel a sense of achievement when you move on to the next area.

The extended levels are more of the same, if a little more difficult. The addition is about 1/2 the length of the main game, and that’s because you spend a large portion of it in disrepair, unable to fly for more than a couple seconds at a time.

The game is a fun way to spend an afternoon, taxing your brain, as you navigate our little adorable robot around underground. First play-through might net you 3-4 hours, but the 2nd time, knowing the puzzles, might only take you an hour or so to sweep through and grab those remaining achievements. It’s easy enough to 100% this game.

Notable Achievements
My one complaint about the achievements is that most of them end in a non-even 5 or 0, potentially messing up my clean gamerscore. Is that OCD?

Inner Peace (Balance on object on your head for 10 seconds) – 30G
That’s Why Helicopters Need Elevators (Some things are just way too heavy) – 76G

-iRogan