Gamer83

Downloading The First Descendant now and will probably also download the PS5 version. Seems like a game that I can get into but if not, it's free, so not a big deal.

I still have some concerns in regards to how much longer MS will continue to support physical releases for video games and whether it will continue to produce Xbox consoles (I know Spencer and Bond have both said there will at least be a next-gen machine but plans seem to change constantly). As far as games, though, there's a lot of stuff coming from Xbox Studios that I want to play. Gears of War E-Day, Perfect Dark and DOOM: The Dark Ages, topping the list.

Dead Rising 3 is my favorite with the original being a close second. Didn't care much for 2 and had some fun with 4 but not as much as the other entries. I really enjoyed the characters and story in 3.

This is the only Forza Horizon game I never bought outright but I did play it on Game Pass and purchased the VIP Pass. Didn't expect that would eventually get a free copy of the full game but I'll happily take it. Nice gesture by MS.

I played the first one on PS3 and really enjoyed it, but the way the second has this 'on again, off again' thing happening with it, it's been difficult to get hyped. Frankly, I'm still not sure it will ever release, but if it does, and it's good, I'll buy it.

1. Gears of War: E-Day
2. DOOM: The Dark Ages
3. Perfect Dark
4. Indiana Jones

The game looked way better than I thought it would and I'm happy its first person because early reports I remember reading suggested it could be third. Still not 100% sold but the gameplay that was shown looked cool and from what can be gathered in that trailer, the story has potential. Voice acting was really good, which is a nice start.

@Scrubchub
I'd say if you want to play Perfect Dark now, get the Xbox version. Controls are much better. I tried playing it on Switch and was able to adapt but it's very annoying. Still a legitimately fun game on Xbox, though.

Mass Effect 2 Lair of the Shadow Broker

If it's the big holiday 2025 release for Xbox I'd be very happy with that. Would be much sooner than I'm expecting tbh, right now my guess would be early-mid 2026.

Gears of War: E-Day, DOOM: The Dark Ages and Perfect Dark all seem like they're going to be awesome, just sucks that they're likely not going to be out until mid-2025 at the earliest. Gears of War is probably 2026 and that's the one I'm most hyped about.

So far, it seems like The Coalition is going to deliver everything I've been hoping for since the original trilogy ended (4 is great also, but still fell a bit short of 1-3). Not sure it can reach the popularity or be the system seller the IP was in the 360 era but a true Gears of War experience could bring some much needed positivity back to the brand, and if it remains exclusive, maybe even help on the hardware front.

@Banjo-
I'd recommend anybody who says Gears of War is the same as Halo, grab a copy of Gears of War Ultimate Edition (which is still a great remaster, 9 years later) and play the game to see how wrong they are.

@everynowandben
Remember seeing that but still holding on to false hope maybe a new Deus Ex project would start. But this pretty much confirms it won't. On the plus side, it's a talented studio with RPG experience helping Playground which doesn't have as much experience in that genre so hopefully that means good things.

Perfect Dark and Gears of War definitely gave me some early-360 era vibes, which is a great thing, and the DOOM announcement brought me back to when I heard DOOM 3 was going to be on the original Xbox. Best MS game show in a long time.

Yeah... I guess at this point I should start giving up hope for a new Deus Ex.

Not completely sold yet, still seems promising. Certainly much better than I expected based on some articles about the game having a rough development so far.

Looks fantastic but that was never in doubt given how awesome the new DOOM games have been.

@Banjo-
The first 3 games I'd recommend to any new Xbox owner are Gears of War 1-3. Still hold up well, imo, and even better with the Series X upgrades.

@Banjo-
Yeah, to be clear, I'm not against open worlds, but it depends on the game for me. Works well for Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed, Yakuza, etc. For Gears of War? Just need some good, old fun linear levels where you're scratching and clawing your way through it.

@Banjo-
In my excitement about this announcement, I wasn't even thinking about the open-world segments you mentioned. I really hope that gets dropped. I don't mind a level that's maybe a bit more open for exploration than some others, but get rid of the open world hub nonsense. Don't need it.

Hoping this means Xbox isn't ready to fully give up like fearmongers have suggested. There needs to be a competitor to Sony in the 'premium' home console market, even if it's a distant second.

@Banjo-
The gameplay in the sequels was still good, but the story and new characters didn't click with most people like I'm sure the devs had hoped. The Coalition has proved it can make a game with fun combat, nail the story that's focused around already beloved characters, and this could easily get things back on track. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

I like 4 and 5 but they didn't come close to matching Gears of War 1-3, those are among my favorite games of all-time. I was just hoping for a sequel in 6 that could maybe fix some of the problems I had with 5's ending, but this... If done right, it's the new Gears of War game I didn't know I wanted. Lots of potential here.

Need a new Gears of War, big time. Hope this show is where it finally gets announced.

I respect the work Ninja Theory puts in, but the only game the company has made that I really got into was Heavenly Sword. Wish they'd do a game focused more on action (while still keeping a good story, just not making it the main course) with an improved version of that combat system.

It's almost always been about the games but hardware can factor in, too. I was a little late to the original Xbox but I bought one in 2004, mainly to play The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. But it wasn't only that game that interested me. Halo 1 and 2, Forza Motorsport, Jade Empire, Doom 3, Star Wars Republic Commando, Dead or Alive 3, DoA Ultimate Collection, Top Spin, just to name a few.

The 360 I got over Thanksgiving break from college in 2005 and it had an underrated launch lineup that got me hooked. Project Gotham Racing 3, Condemned, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Ridge Racer 6, Perfect Dark Zero and then 2006 and 2007 saw a ton of games I was highly anticipating that all delivered, Dead or Alive 4, Gears of War 1, Halo 3 and Mass Effect 1 at the top of the list. I could write about even more (the 360 is one of my favorite consoles of all time) but I'll leave it at that.

Xbox One and Xbox Series X I got a year after their respective launches. The One had Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive with the promise of more Gears of War, Rise of the Tomb Raider, etc on the way. XSX was the first time I purchased any console mainly for hardware. I wanted to once again have the best Xbox experience possible and having not bought an Xbox One X, an upgrade was long overdue. I got the XSX in late December 2021. Halo Infinite was the first game I played on it and it was a night and day difference from playing it on my 2014 Xbox One.

Unless you run a smaller indie studio that could use some extra funds, platform exclusives don't make sense. They especially don't make sense for the 'AAA' third party publishers like SquareEnix. Xbox should've always been part of the equation and Nintendo when possible as it currently has the most popular brand in Japan.

It's a bull crap excuse and I'm being kind. The 'beloved, high-impact' Bethesda franchises still would've been on Xbox had it not purchased the entire company and Tango Gameworks would likely still be around.

Industry consolidation is great.

Played each of them at launch on the 360, I'd rank 'em:
1. Underworld
2. Legend
3. Anniversary

All great games, even at full price they're worth a shot, at the sale price, easy recommendations.

@Scrubchub
Those two not being on the roster really does stick out. Hopefully that can be remedied down the line.

Got the PS5 version, really good tennis game, first since Grand Slam 2. Some of the character models don't really look like the players (Sampras is way off what he actually looks like) but as the review mentions the gameplay is great. I love playing tennis in the real and this game does a nice job capturing that feel as close as a video game can.

It also has some decent accessibility options to make the game slightly more 'arcadey' for somebody looking for that kind of experience as opposed to being more of a simulation. Wouldn't say it's a true arcade-style game like Virtua Tennis but there are enough ways to tweak things to make the game more newbie friendly.

One of my favorite PS5 games, especially at the time it launched. Definitely recommend it to Xbox owners.

More X360 and especially original Xbox games. I'd like to see more niche stuff like DoA Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Sudeki on there. The most-wanted bc game on my list, however, is the original Xbox release of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. Phenomenal game, I know licensing is an issue but hope maybe MS could work something out one day.

Couple Xbox 360 games... Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 1 and 2.

My immediate reaction is all the panic I saw recently was a nothing burger created by clowns who think they're 'insiders.' Utterly ridiculous. It's clear MS has had to make some decisions and shift course for business purposes but it really doesn't change how I'm going to interact with the brand. It sounds like Xbox consoles will still be a thing, so that's cool with me, I'll keep buying them. I just hope the next one is backwards compatible and still has a disc drive, whether it's built in or I have to buy is separately and add it myself, because I have a huge collection of Xbox games I want to keep carrying over.

One of my favorite Xbox 360 games, and I really enjoy playing it on the Series X. Looking forward to this new version of it as well.

I'd prefer third person and I find the studio's explanation for why it isn't in that perspective to be kind of lame but it's whatever. MachineGames is at its best when doing first person games and I like the Indiana Jones IP so whether it was first person or third person, a sidescroller or something else, I'm going to check it out.

I really enjoyed all the Top Spin games and I also love playing tennis in the real and watching it. This series has been gone too long, hopefully the new game lives up to the classics.

It's a great game now, has been for a while actually.

@ValkyriaProfile
I'm not a PC gamer, either, but I'd be lying if I said the Steam Deck hasn't seemed enticing at times. But I really hope MS doesn't stop making Xbox consoles anytime soon, even if it's bringing some of its first party games elsewhere.

Too difficult to tell. There's sensible arguments that can be made both for and against staying in the console business. All I know is I prefer consoles, have bought every Xbox and will continue to do so as long as MS remains in the console business, which is hopefully for a good, long time.

@stinkyx
I'm hoping sometime in 2025 at the latest. Would really like it to release this year but that might not be possible.

@stinkyx
I don't think they wrote themselves into a corner, there's directions they can take this. I just think it was stupid and unnecessary and the cynical part of me wonders if it wasn't done, to some extent, to annoy the older part of the fanbase. Doubt it, but that always crosses my mind with modern devs.

I want to say the Gears of War series has been handled well by MS because I like 4 a lot and, overall, also really enjoyed 5. However, the choice segment at the end of 5 was beyond stupid, harmed the game a little bit and has me very concerned about future entries in the series. That part was a bunch of developers thinking they're smarter and better storytellers than they actually are. Completely unnecessary.

@Fenbops
True.

The countdown sale was really nice, I was able to get Psychonauts 1, 2 and Brutal Legend. Came to just over $18 total. Cool to see another big sale so soon.

MS, Sony, Nintendo have always been scummy companies but if you like to play video games on consoles, they're the only options so it means they can get away with stuff like this. It's nice to see a dev calling MS out, too bad no lessons will be learned by the giant corporation about getting better. Of course, the talking heads who run the company love to preach to others about that same thing.

Scumbag move by MS and it's insane that there are some people defending this.