TheUnrestCure

The people in charge of Xbox are bean counters who eschew risk and just hope to move farther up the Microsoft food chain. Their inability to read their audience is surpassed only by their love of rising stock prices.

Hyperbole aside: I don't think Microsoft's corporate culture really appreciates the past or what made them Microsoft, and it shows it almost every marginal decision they make.

Color me unenthused. The last few years' worth of maps have been pretty bad, and the futuristic color and design themes make these look similarly devoid of personality. Maybe they'll bring back the in-game commentary we haven't seen since Infinite Warfare?

I had to vote for BF1, as that was the most immersive and best squad-based game ... but my heart still says Hardline. The modes, the guns, the ranking-up system, and the attitude it had were just great. And while its maps were far from Battlefield locations, they were fun to play.

I've had a lot of fun with it. Unlocking stuff can be slow if you play only easy & short levels, and figuring out what to do and how things synergize is pretty much left to the player, but the basics of the game are tidy, engaging, and lots of fun WITH the right teammates. The biggest problems are poor onboarding, poorer explanations of the game's interactions, and a preponderance of "free" Game Pass players who quit or harass other players. It is better than reviewed, but that is generally the case for most budget Game Pass games. PSN ratings are 3.4, while Xbox Game Pass/PC store ratings are 2.2 (both out of 5). Steam reviews have been trending upward since Day 1, so hopefully players stick with it ... if they are having a good time.

Isonzo is a fantastic game that was really able to find its audience on Game Pass. Hopefully enough of those "free" players will buy the game so servers still stay populated!

@Jrs1 I think the audience is still there - just look at the interest in Mario Kart World and how successful that franchise has been! - it is just that the world of kart racers seems to be populated primarily with "kiddie" IPs like Nickelodeon etc. I think there is a place for Blur 2 with its licensed real-world vehicles; I'd guess it is just too expensive or devs are worried about negative Mario Kart comparisons.

@Jrs1 My reference was meant to imply Blur could have been as big as FH ... in an alternate universe.

In an alternate universe, Blur became what Forza Horizon is today.

@AlwaysPlaying Well, it is a roguelike. Rarely are they short trips to get 100% complete.

Once you get free of the forced tutorial Monster Train 2 really shows its improvements (even the music! I swear one of the tracks sounds like 70's-era funk jazz) with rooms, equipment, and a host of modifiers to change up - and liberate - your options to correct a run.

Aside from the fact that Microsoft hasn't really "pumped out" titles over the last few years, some of the IP would directly intersect with existing MS titles in terms of being action-adventure, or shooter, or racing ... so I'd actually like to see what MS could do with a city-builder like Anno or a platformer like Rayman instead of just another shooter.

Blur Blur Blur Blur Blur Blur.

Blur.

This makes me miss Fable Fortune.

Far Cry New Dawn retains Far Cry's open-world ethos, but really goes HARD into RPG leveling. As a result, the game really isn't open world at all: low-level guns are useless against some enemies in the game, meaning a lot of content is gated-off (for all practical reasons) until you grind and grind and grind. It suffers as a consequence.

For all those who quake in their boots at the words Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and "apparently" believe that the game is filled with "some" genderless (?) leaders, here is the current game leader list: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ara-history-untold-all-civilizations-and-leaders/ar-AA1r3mEX?ocid=BingNewsSerp. It looks like the one character that may fit the claim would be Osh-Tisch, a bade (self-defined that they have TWO genders, not none, but feel free to tell that culture what to believe).

@Deityjester It is reported to be $19.99 for the base game, with other editions having dlc and being $39.99 and $69.99, respectively. I put dozens of hours into it on PS4 and had a great - if sometimes sweaty - time. I imagine there will be significant peformance improvements on Series X in terms of fps and lighting, so I'll be one who dips for it.

@WEB_78O I'd even be willing to tolerate season passes and additional paid dlc cosmetics just to get the multiplayer back. Sadly even if the games come back they are just a bit too niche to draw much interest, I fear.

It would be great if these were War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, especially if they came with full multiplayer suites ... but I worry it will just be the single-player campaigns.

I've been waiting for Ara for quite some time, so this month is FIRE.

I have nothing nice to say about EA so I won't say anything.

Oops. I guess I just did.

I'm down for this, especially if new players will play Heist.

While I think most games that have been "given" away on GWG have been victim to a bad rap - "free" doesn't mean "crap"! - this is a bit underwhelming. I'm sure the games will be entertaining, but to put the program down with such a whimper is very Microsoft-like.

"Rolling out to all Xbox consoles today" ... looking at my Xbox 360 and realizing it doesn't exist anymore : (

Good to see Alan with VVV in the video! One of the best-humored guys in the biz ...

The last time I took a day off for a gaming-related event (adulthood sucks): Star Wars Battlefront in 2015. I remember explaining I was taking a day for a video game to the attorney I work with and he was just thunderstruck people older than 12 did that.

I'd rather MS/Turn 10 figured out some way to require you to race while actively connected online to join the leaderboards, or stay disconnected if you don't want to be on them and just play the campaign. At least that way when you lose internet (which happens rather often here in the future wetlands of America) OR when the servers are overloaded (can't imagine that happening at launch, can you???) you can still play.

The campaigns got a bit repetitive, even with the difference in your characters and the carried-over elements. It had a lot of promise, but (for me) ran a bit dry in the end.

A bunch of OG Xbox games on sale would be nice.

@Bartig That is such a good idea ... but we'll just get another "rally" expansion.