Topic: Pure Xbox Game Club - Rise of the Tomb Raider (May)

@Mr-Fuggles777 yeah it's true, it is hard to complain when everybody is in the same boat and it's affecting other people a lot worse than me. I'm lucky in some sense that I've had savings to live off but unfortunately it means I'm back at square one in terms of getting on the property ladder when this is all done. I don't have great confidence in my body's ability to handle covid so I've just become a hermit. It's fine for a few months but it's been a year now so I've had to take a few shifts here and there to keep me topped up. I suspect I'll have to go back proper before I get a vaccine so I've been trying to lose a bit of weight so I'm in better shape once I'm exposed. I still don't have high hopes as it seems it can be totally random which "younger" people can get the long covid and/or die.

It's good to get back to basics sometimes but I think I need to move on from my job. It's so physically demanding that it's wrecked my body in so many ways. I'd really like to get a job that's more mentally challenging than physically challenging. Unfortunately I've been doing IT moves for like 12 years and there's not many transferable skills. I don't think I interview well either - I am a bit too honest sometimes 😂

Cheers, yeah he's in a good home now. We had to change homes because the last one was too inattentive and he had a lot of falls. But yeah, the new one seems decent and the staff at this one seem to really care. The hospital visits he's had at this one have thankfully only been the ones he's been booked for so that's good. The staff are putting themselves at risk allowing any kind of visit so I certainly commend them for that and the safety measures they have put in place!

I know that I've already suggested a good amount of games now, but I watched a YouTuber play Mirror's Edge and it got me thinking about the fun first-person platforming and wall running from Titanfall 2. I'd love to experience more like that in Mirror's Edge and the series is on Game Pass Ultimate now thanks to EA Play.

@ralphdibny hey whats going on friend?! I hope all is well with everyone. I don't remember when the last time i logged on was. It has been a few months probably. I have been so busy with work and I took up some extra streams of income that have kept me away from Xbox. Work got really crazy with positive covid patients and staff which had me working an insane amount of hours. Anyways, enough about that boring stuff. Looks like I'm probably too late to pick up this month's game but I'll try to participate in April. I could use a bit of down time playing some Xbox. Look forward to seeing what game is chosen.

@MAC26 the campaign for Titanfall 2 is actually pretty short, it's fantastic as you've read but it's 6-8 hour's. You have plenty of time to get er done in March still.

@MAC26 glad to see you back and to know you are safe and well! Not a lot going on with me really. Ive just tried out a new hair cut which makes me look more balding than I'd like to look, so there's that I suppose 😂. Are you a nurse or doctor then? Good on you, hopefully this year let's up a bit soon and we can return to some semblance of normality.

But yeah, I will second what @Krzzystuff has said and say that Titanfall 2 is a short endeavour, we give it a month to do these shortish games for reason! You can jump in at the beginning, drag it out for a month or bang it out last minute just before April, it's entirely up to you! I literally played and completed Titanfall over night on the last night of February.

@LtSarge I've had that game suggested to me before because I love platformers including first person platformers. Im certainly intrigued by it! I didn't know it was a series though

@Krzzystuff cool cool, I'll give it a shot then.
@ralphdibny Pahaha I wasn't expecting the haircut update, that was funny. In all fairness I think we all have had at least 1 haircut that we weren't too fond of, I know I've had mine. I'm a nurse and yea things have calmed down a bit, nowhere near normal but better than they have been these past few months at my place of work. I feel like I've wasted so many months of Gamepass. I purchased a year's worth back in November and I have barely even touched it. Oh well, I'll give Titanfall a try and see how it goes.

@ralphdibny Yeah there are two Mirror's Edge games, the original on PS3/360 and a sequel on PS4/XB1. But apparently people didn't like the sequel that much because the game is more open world. The first one seems ace though!

@MAC26 haha well I only did it today! I've cut my own hair for a long time, even before the pandemic. Normally I go for like a hipster style (shaved back and sides, long on top with a harsh line and no fade), by no means am I a hipster but it's about the only haircut you can get away with when you are thinning on top. I thought I'd try something more "normal" looking this time, I've just about managed a fade but I am not keen to repeat the experience so I think I'll be going back to the more extreme hipster look next time or biting the bullet and finally trusting my hair to a barber 😅

I've not been too bad with game pass but I've had PS Plus for the last few years and that has felt like a total waste of money. I barely get through any of the games. I recently made a spreadsheet of all the ps plus games I've claimed so I can start making my way through them. I wish you could just sub to the online on PS for a lot cheaper without getting the games. I wouldn't mind paying like a quid or two for a month to play online with a mate every now and then when they occasionally ask me

I finished Titanfall 2 at the weekend and mainly enjoyed it. I wasn't a fan of the wall running but in the main I could play the game without having to do much of it. I couldn't quite get to grips with it for some reason.
The ending was good and the overall pacing was good too. I might have another run through to get all the collectables and try and get the leaderboard achievement but other than that I'm done with it. I'm not sure I could beat it on any other difficulty that normal as at times I found it a bit challenging.

@crippyd nice one, glad you stuck it out in the end!

I think the wall running was better implemented in the multiplayer from my brief time with it. I did it where I had to in the campaign but it wasn't my go to method of transport.

I played it on PS but I've been slowly playing it again on Xbox, getting one achievement a day for 50 MS reward points.

@ralphdibny Thanks for that.

Is it fine to start playing Alan Wake this weekend? I'm not completely sure if I'm going to do that or not but since I have a lot of free time now I figured I might as well start it up tomorrow.

@LtSarge it's not a problem with me if that's what you want to do. I don't think I'll be starting until mid April because I have some things to do...unless I finish up what I'm playing currently in the next few days but I doubt that will happen

@ralphdibny Yeah the reason why I want to start it now is because I'm going to become more busy starting next week, so I don't know how much free time I'm going to have. So I figured I might as well put down some hours into this game now. I also need a third game in my rotation besides Castlevania and Yakuza 5, so this one would be great for that.

Also this has been something I've been meaning to ask: are people interested in playing the two DLCs for Alan Wake as well? I don't think we've ever played a game on Game Club that has had story DLC before, so that is probably why we haven't brought it up until now. Also, I looked up if the DLC is free on Game Pass and apparently it isn't on Xbox, but it is on Game Pass PC. While I looked this up, I read a comment that the DLCs are necessary in order to see the true ending of the game since they continue the story after the main game. So if people have access to the DLCs, e.g. through Game Pass PC or if they got it free a couple of years ago like I did through some anniversary thing for Alan Wake (or maybe you don't mind buying them), then maybe it would be a good idea to check them out as well. I also apparently have an unused code for the first DLC, so if it still works after about a decade then I'd be willing to give it to someone who's been a frequent participant in Game Club and plans on playing Alan Wake as well.

There's also the stand-alone title Alan Wake's American Nightmare on Xbox Live Arcade but that one seems more like a side story to me, so I don't think we need to play it on Game Club. I already have the game though so I'm personally going to play through it after I'm done with the base game and the two DLCs.

@LtSarge if I have them I will be up for working through them alongside the main game - I have a vague idea that I downloaded them free in 360 and never got around to playing them. If not I can always play them on my laptop if they are on PC gamepass.

Can I nominate Second Extinction for next month's game club game. Some dinosaur killing coop sounds like a fun romp and we could arrange games if we are all working through it.

@LtSarge ahh I didn't know there was actual DLC as well as American Nightmare. Ideally I'd like to play all of it but had figured that Nightmare would eventually end up on game pass some day.

If you say the DLC is included on the game pass PC version, well I was planning to attempt installing windows on my Mac with bootcamp so I might be able to try that version. No idea how hard it will be to get working though but I'll give it a go at some point

@Mr-Fuggles777 Yeah they were free for a while due to some celebratory thing so it wouldn't surprise me if you already have them.

@ralphdibny It doesn't feel like American Nightmare will be added anytime soon. If I'm not mistaken, Microsoft published Alan Wake so I'm guessing it's considered a console exclusive and will therefore be on Game Pass indefinitely. The same reasoning should be applied to American Nightmare, but considering it hasn't been added yet even though it's a console exclusive then it might mean it's never coming for some unknown reason. Would be nice if I'm proven wrong though! It seems like some fun extra content with more of a focus on being a shooter than Alan Wake.

Yeah I double checked the page for Alan Wake on PC and it says under "Functions" that both DLCs are included. You have to pay for both of them on Xbox but apparently there's a 10% discount if you have Game Pass. Not that that's much in savings considering each DLC is roughly €6. But if you're having trouble getting it to work then it might not be worth it.

@LtSarge it doesn't let me check if I own DLC on the app (which is a little frustrating).

I did find out that I own American Nightmare and haven't actually played it - must have grabbed it a sake and forgot about it lol. So I might give that a go if I can get through Alan Wake and the DLC sharpish.

@Mr-Fuggles777 The reason why I was hesitant in suggesting American Nightmare is because it adds another 4 hours of content, with the base game being roughly 11 hours long and both DLCs 3 hours in total. But if more people are interested then maybe we should just call April the month of Alan Wake and play through all Alan Wake games and DLC content, lol.