Elbow

@Brigurugi Marathon is a pretty trippy series. It started back in the 90s on Apple, their answer to DOOM. The stories in those games were surreal at times. Now it's this, which is very trippy in different ways.

Well, it's not going to set off the cheating apocalypse on certain cross-console games yet, but... give it time. The desperate will find a way to make it work, and stuff like GTA Online and Red Dead Online will be miserable. Whee....

Oh! Cool! I have this on Steam. It's a VERY neat game, if you're like me and never got to play them much in real life as a kid due to location or funds (..both me) this is a cool way to try them out. Physics for the machines are pretty accurate. The game outside of the machines is a little dry, but it's got a LOT to offer besides just coin games.

This makes me hope someday we get Tower Unite on consoles. Insanely unlikely, but I wish...

This is definitely going to impact the Outbreak games with their endless bundles. Which is a long time coming, and I actually enjoy those games for the jank fests they are.

If this is made in mind with removing all the OS bloat and is intended to be their answer to Linux inherently running games better on same hardware due to less processes/forced garbage running... then that's a huge deal.

Still an uphill battle for Xbox, but still. Huge.

@Grumblevolcano The Xbox port certainly wouldn't have that mouse mode, though, unless it's just something you can do by plugging in a keyboard/mouse. But doesn't PS5 support that? (I don't know if they do, just wondering.)

Whoever came up with it was very out of touch. As much as I like the idea of expanding where you can access your library, that marketing very much felt like the worst way to go about it.

@shoeses Not putting it past LRG. I'm glad I grabbed it when it was on sale for all of 30 seconds a few days back. Super scummy of them.

I don't suspect any NEW games from the OG Xbox/360 era. Just what's currently here. Which... I mean that IS good, but I feel like the wording should be much better. It's going to set up a lot of unmet expectations if hunches are correct.

This is pretty bad. I use Crew and that is still fine, but these price nerfs are squarely being done to wring more money out of people. Fortnite, despite a lot of flak, was THE gold standard for rewarding players. Getting nearly double what you might pay from battle passes was genuinely fantastic.

This sucks. Crew, at least, isn't losing any passes, but wow. The price changes are truly dreadful.

SIN Reloaded is pretty cool. I played through a good chunk of it ages ago, it's a real decent 90s FPS. If you've got a hankering for a shooter from that era and have played everything else, you can't go wrong giving it a go.

And BLOOD, my beloved.. I never thought we'd see the day where Death Wish became an official expansion added to the game. It's a HUGE fan expansion.

I've been playing a lot lately. Banishers, Bounty Star, Atlas Fallen, Routine, Indiana Jones, Total Chaos, Crime Scene Cleaner, The Gunk, Atomfall, Patrick Star Game, Creatures of Ava, Eternal Strands, Flintlock, My Friendly Neighborhood, and The Grinch.

That's just in two months. Really been carte blanche with this, stuff I would not have purchased but was interested in playing.

I don't think it'll be worth to sub every month to ultimate, but it's definitely good if you want to try a huge variety of games

Also to note: Every game I listed I 100%d, except Atlas Fallen. Still playing it, just slowly.

Also, Bounty Star just has stellar music. Absolutely fantastic.

FYI Jurassic Park collection is being delisted soon. If you've ever thought about it, this is THE time to bite!

Oof. I thought it might limp along longer, but.. yeah. I can't say I'm surprised. I'm not cheering for the failure, but it's not really the most shocking announcement.

Some good ones here, Dead island 2 at that price is incredible.

I will politely disagree with one statement in this article though! Saints Row 2 is most certainly the gold standard for the series. I liked 3, it just.. lost a lot of the flair the second game had. Went too far in one direction instead of towing the line between serious (plot) and over the top (gameplay/side activities.)

Yakuza found this sweet spot too, and I think that's why it exploded in popularity.

I don't think much is going to change this year. Or at least, not right away. If there are any rapid changes immediately, I think that's more a sign that the new head is rushing into things, which isn't too reassuring.

If she sticks to her words, she'll take some time-- maybe we'll see some changes or announcements in the second half of this year. Hopefully good ones.

I'm intrigued. It sounds cool!

I've sat squarely in the middle (maybe leaning a little optimistic) on how I feel about the new CEO. I want her to be a great change but we'll have to see. I hope he's right, and I do think in general it was probably time for new blood.

MAXIMUM CARNAGE! No way! I LOVE that game. Anyone who has never played it before, if this is how you're going to be introduced to the game... the band who composed the games OST, Green Jelly, took VERY liberal inspirations from Black Sabbath songs. Just thinking about the boot-up/main menu song for Maximum Carnage on SNES is getting me pumped.

If you imagine in certain stages you're hearing Mob Rules... you're not imagining it. AND IT'S AWESOME! Carnage NEVER DIES!

(Separation Anxiety being included is also awesome.. I love any Venom/Carnage media.)

Edit: ...It's LRG. aaaagggghhhhhhh

First, panic, because despite my armchair complaining over the last few years, I am definitely not fit to run a company. Second, rely on people who've been around for ages and know what they're doing.

Third, probably push for smaller games and experimental stuff. Try to reach out to creators in the Banjo-Kazooie community to make stuff, like a Banjo-Builder game or something. Indies are also vital.

He did a lot of good, though it's hard to look at the studio purchases without remembering the closing spree they had several years back, including Tango Gameworks. They were the only studio I cared for from Bethesda (played and 100%'d both Evil Within games before the acquisition was even an idea), so that torpedoed all my interest, personally..

Not trying to rain on a positive post for him, it's just the studio acquisitions definitely has a bold asterisk next to it.

Hardly a surprise. I don't know what anyone higher-up expected. I guess maybe they hoped it would take off quicker, but massive, massive damage has been done to their console brand by making exclusives, well, not exclusive anymore. I'm sure it helps their bottom line, but going that path hurts their console sales, which in turn hurts sales on their software (or rather/more importantly for them: third party purchases on their own storefront), or gamepass subs...

I dunno. On one hand I'm not against games being available anywhere, but on the other- it's inevitable that is going to sway casuals away.

Edit: clarified something a bit more above so in case someone read this earlier, sorry, I wasn't super clear on one of my points (mostly referring to sales/purchases from xbox's own storefront)

@Kaloudz I will say that I am cautiously, with a huge emphasis on cautiously, optimistic on the change. The new leader doesn't have much experience with gaming but at least is hearing out the community via twitter/X. It might all end up just being performative, but the statements so far are good.

@Millionski the only thing you can truly say @Kaloudz is guilty of is being optimistic, which can be pretty hard to come by around here

I've been very sour on him the last few years but I'm also shocked that he's retiring before the next console release. Or maybe he's doing it now so that whatever hardware may be coming won't be overshadowed by his exit.

I'm torn on xbox, but I still like them. So I hope whatever happens next is good, but... we will see.

@shiny-enzo I really hope you enjoy it! I've never played co-op myself, but I'd like to sometime.

@Nightcrawler71 Yes, that's how I've played it. I do eventually want to try co-op, but it's fully playable solo.

TMNT Splintered Fate is VERY good. Its kind of an offshoot of the IDW comics, written by Tom Waltz, and is inspired by Hades, I've heard. Never played that myself, but SF is incredible.

Just urging anyone with even passing interest to check it out, it's SO good. And my undying love for TMNT is only partly influencing my statement here.

Hours later edit: Just adding for clarification for those skimming. Splintered Fate is fully playable in single-player, and also has 4 player online co-op play via crossplatform (Nintendo Switch, Steam & EGS, Xbox, and Apple Arcade) - it's REALLY good. And the soundtrack is just WONDERFUL

@somnambulance True, that's a good point, but nowadays I think a majority of people are wary. Companies abuse pedigrees all the time now. "From the makers of Mass Effect comes Anthem, comes Veilguard, comes Andromeda." as just one example of a studio riding on coattails of those who aren't there anymore OR were severely mismanaged.

@ZYDIO Not bad, just... average, I guess, in every mark. Combine that with being a game in an over saturated genre that doesn't do anything special, AND hyped by Geoff Keighley as a new breed of shooter.. basically it would have to be someone's first pvp hero shooter to win them over, I think. The only thing I really ended up personally liking about the game was the world art/detail.

@chesheer Yeah, I'm still not sure. I thought maybe a few humble statements during the weeks leading to release would've done wonders. "We hear the reception and hope you will play to help us guide the game to a better path as it releases." etc.
Instead.. nothing. So weird all around.

Their plan was mind boggling. Hit the ground running, win over the world, be super popular, swim in the money like McDuck.

That's it. No backup plans if reception wasn't golden? So bizarre.

I do feel bad for those laid off, and those still there. Having to deal with management that is clearly out of touch.

I still have a monthly $10 auto renewal set at 8,750 points, so it seems maybe that was grandfathered in. Sucky change, though, MS can't help but make things less appealing at every turn.

This is why I finally bought a Series X at the end of December. Safe bet these will be supported until 2030.

@Hotrod74x2 I do too, and it can be really difficult day by day. There are still communities you can look around at; there's plenty of communities/groups on Reddit. /r/gamingphotography and /r/VirtualPhotographers/ are two that immediately come to mind.

KLETKA is an amazing game. I urge everyone to at least give it a look, it has so much in it and it's so fun.

@shoeses Making me think the same thing; that or Xbox 360 servers are on the chopping block so they're wringing out a few last sales.

@Jenkinss I agree with you, I loved the 360 Avatars. I was so genuinely excited when they announced they were returning for the Xbone.... and then the end result, you already covered. Not just that they flopped, they didn't even support in any game usage (that I know of.) Just an absolute mess.

I just honestly don't think I ever heard of this feature-- or I guess I have, technically, since it's used for games to post updates/news, so I'm not surprised it was shuttered.

Probably a mix of cost cutting (less server usage, moderation) and that it wasn't widely used. I'm normally one of the first to start ringing the EVERYTHING IS DOOOOOOMED bell but this one seems like a logical closure, even if it is a pity is makes the Xbox platform a little more silent.

Not exactly what I expected for Rayman, but I'll take it. We're lucky to get Rayman ANYTHING from Ubisoft nowadays.

Definitely think I'll be trying Roadside. Seems just silly enough while still having that simulator gameplay that it might hook me.

@EVIL-C I dont want to get into the habit of defending LRG especially after what I've said above, but I do appreciate them releasing B&T and Plumbers on modern devices. Not that they weren't already playable via preserved means, but I'm one of the few that thinks even bad games deserve to be easily accessible.

That's about where my defense for them ends.

(Late edit: And them funding Shantae Advance to finally be finished after 20-some years. That was cool, but that's the last nice thing I'll say. Promise.)

@Vordus Very fair point, but the Bill & Ted compilation they released a few years back (I think only on PC and Switch?) was around for ten months before being delisted. And there are arguments to be made that that compilation was very niche, and it being a less popular IP also probably made it cheaper, but LGR is starting to get a running trend of doing these and yanking them not long after.

In their defense, 3 years is way better than 10 months, but still.. doesnt really inspire confidence.

Jurassic Park Collection ALREADY? Thats insane. Their Gex collection probably isn't long for this world either. LRG sure knows how to let people down..

I assume no final sale for it either. ... gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

@FraserG That's definitely the best choice considering time constraints. I've read a few of these, though missed the Red Dead article. I'm not complaining by the way, I completely understand. Gotta make do with what you have, and I've enjoyed the site/articles for the past few years!

@Daffy-Duck Yup! I do, and will accept it when I hop on in a bit

Between this and the Choo Choo Charles article PX ran a few weeks ago, I really appreciate the callouts for these "cup of coffee" sales. These mascot horror games are a weakness for me, so.... yoink!

@darylb24 They've only got two staff members, so they seem to be stretched thin at the best of times. Likely have to pick and choose what they decide to review (besides the obligatory Xbox-published games) while juggling the rest of their duties for the site. Which I appreciate, but worth noting.

@LordDieALot Overtake the wind itself! Make the very wind itself your... well, I can't say that last part but you know where it's leading.

Also, just want to say thank you to @FraserG (been doing that a lot lately) for highlighting the game here even if not reviewing it. I don't know if the game will get much attention overall, but I LOVE Grasshopper dearly so I appreciate even smaller posts like this to help spotlight it a little bit.

...Granted I know a few of us have been pretty vocal about it (cough me a bit cough)... but still! Appreciated!

I was at my brother's last week, playing a gamepass title through cloud streaming, and popped a rare achievement. No sound, no special rare achievement jingle, and it just appeared on screen like an ad pop up before vanishing the same way. It was kind of funny, and jarring, to see. PC Xbox is kind of the same, underwhelming when they appear.

So I hope this is the start of them improving that, though granted it's not like this is very important..