holchasaur

I'm not massively into the horror genre, nor do I prefer to spend my free time focused on online multiplayer, but the concept of this game certainly has my attention. I'm really attracted to the idea of being defenseless and sneaking around to avoid a single enemy. If the dev team finds interesting ways for the counselors to work together and screw each other over, while ensuring every match doesn't feel like the exact same scenario on repeat, this could surely make for a compelling game. Can't wait to see some pure gameplay footage.

@crippyd Yep. Halo and Tomb Raider are the two games I'm looking forward to the most this holiday season. I really, REALLY hope they both deliver.

I'll play it.

@jongred Thanks! The world is surprisingly scenic despite being a desert. There are only a few areas with a clear shift in theme, but I never felt disinterested in the landscape. Avalanche did a great job working camps and enemy hang-outs into the environment in an organic manner, and that went a long way for me. I couldn't resist investigating any suspicious structures, which often resulted in a worthwhile discovery – scrap, relics, stronghold upgrade parts, secret underground bases, and so on. I've noticed a few people on Twitter complaining that the world is boring, but I'm wondering if they even made it beyond the first two areas. Things really come to life after that.

@DesignateTurian @JaxonH @sorethumbed Thanks for the compliments!

@TwilightAngel I'm not sure there's an open-world game in existence that doesn't rely on repetitious activities to some extent, and Mad Max is no different. I'd say it comes down to HOW you play, more than anything. If you manage your pace and bounce between the various types of challenges, the game stays pretty fresh. That's the way I played for most of my review session. I'd do a story mission, grab some scrap, take down a camp, grab more scrap, destroy a convoy, grab some scrap, etc. Being entirely honest, I don't think I ever got bored. Some of the long drives can be uneventful once you've cleaned out a particular area of its enemy presence, but it's easy enough to fast-travel if you don't want to drive in these situations.

Hey all,

There's much more to Mad Max than I was able to address in this review. Let me know if you have any specific questions you want answered and I'll do my best to respond. I know this is a somewhat polarizing game, so I'm sure many of you may be on the fence about a purchase.

The sad thing is, this game could be a lot better with a little time dedicated to refining the mechanics. If that were to happen, at least you'd have a competent action game with great Deadpool fan service. But it's Activision and it's not Call of Duty or Skylanders, so I don't anticipate any extra effort. Minimal investment = maximum profits, you know!!

Hopefully this one lives up to the quality of Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Vector Unit's first and best game.

Is anyone playing this game or what?!

@A_BabyRed_Yoshi @Gamer83 I received confirmation from Microsoft that the series won't be available on Xbox One until back compat officially launches this November. That applies to folks in the Preview Program too.

@A_BabyRed_Yoshi Yeah, it's ruthless, isn't it? I died nonstop for the first couple hours, but I gradually got better at it. I started to make notes of how the elite players approach level navigation and combat, and then I find ways to mess with their expectations and surprise them. I was doing much, MUCH better by the end of the review session.

As far as the rest of the series goes, I read on the Gears or Coalition site that they'll go live when back compat does this holiday. Maybe it'll happen sooner for those of us in the Preview Program, but I'm not sure. I've also stumbled on people saying they'll be available next week, as @Gamer83 said. I'll drop a line to Microsoft for clarification.

@A_BabyRed_Yoshi Good luck with Slender! I certainly don't have the courage for that game. Alien Isolation nearly wrecked me last year. As soon as the alien began lurking around and pursuing me, I was out. That kind of tension gets my blood pressure up so high! I'm a total wimp.

@jongred @Gamer83 Thanks to the both of you!

@A_BabyRed_Yoshi No bots that I noticed. And I totally get what you mean about the spamming, but it's hard to consider it unfair when you start with the same two weapons as everyone else, with the shotgun being one of them. Both weapons compliment each other very well, because you have a tool for both close-range and med/long-range combat right from the start. If you're playing against people that typically rely on the shotgun, be sure to hang back and take them out with the Lancer, or vice versa. Learn which tight hallways/pathways to avoid so you don't get surprise attacked by a shotgun to the chest. There's a ton of strategy based on just the two starting weapons, and that's why I like multiplayer so much. There's a nice sense of outsmarting your opponent as much as there is having quicker reflexes than them.

@Sir_JBizzle Funny this is, I'm not really a fan of Fall Out Boy these days – the last album of theirs that I enjoyed was Folie à deux, I believe. I just couldn't resist the tagline. Popped into my head randomly and I thought, "Yep! That'll work just fine!" Haha.

@jongred Hey, thanks for that. That means a lot to me.

Hey, that's actually a neat idea! I expected this game to be meh after catching a glimpse of the screenshot above, but I'm very interested now that I've watched the trailer.

So ready for this.

@jongred Thank YOU for reading.

@jongred Yep. You can play 2 players vs. CPU in Exhibition and Season.

@jongred @WINGNUT @Gamer83 Thanks for the kind words, you guys! What are your highlights of the package thus far? I'd probably have to go with Battletoads Arcade. I've completed it four times now, and I'm nowhere near tired of it – even my wife is really diggin' it. When it comes to my overall favorite, however, that honor goes to Banjo-Kazooie. What a splendid game that is.

What a weird move. I actually think the game looks a little bit better with the cel-shaded effect, but a slight visual improvement can't cover up the fact that this one looks criminally undercooked. Who knows - maybe it'll feel great mechanically, and that's really the most important thing. Guess we'll know soon enough!

Been waiting for Sleeping Dogs to get a price cut, and $15 sounds just right. Downloading now.

Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating birthdays lately! I turned 31 last week and it hit me a bit harder than 30 did. But I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how old I am; I'm always going to be young at heart - which seems to be the case with majority of our readers. It's incredible to me that people are gaming well into their '70s these days. I used to play NES with my Grandma years ago, but she couldn't handle 3D gaming whatsoever. Well, I take that back; I used to play Monopoly 64 with her. That was the extent of what she could manage, though, so it's awesome to see that people are now aging and evolving with the industry.

Anyway, I'm on my way to rambling. Again, Happy Birthday to anyone celebrating!

@jongred @JaxonH Thanks guys! Yeah, it's definitely a shame. I really, really wanted to like this one. Just wasn't happening.

@snuffletrumper Hell yeah! Thanks for sharing, man. I had no clue that was in development.

Add Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies to my list. Just learned that it's on sale this week in NA, so I'm all over that!

My external hard drive is going to fill up in no time.

@Utena-mobile MGSV and Rise of the Tomb Raider could make for an entertaining pX Draws. I'll definitely keep those in mind!

@DabaTheDoom Happy to hear you're a fan!

@jongred I'm not sure it'll work well as a wallpaper given the size and resolution, but sure, feel free to give it a shot!

@Gamer83 No, not at all. I have no formal art training, which has limited my abilities in a big way. I'm at my best when I'm drawing something unique from my head instead of attempting to replicate a character, even one that I've created. Plus, I'm limited to a cartoony art-style; I can't draw anything realistic.

@sakanakami Yeah, it's an odd decision. It's likely to keep the manufacturing cost of the bundle down as low as possible.

This is shaping up well. If I have one criticism, though, it's that the health bars and information at the top of the screen sure do take up quite a bit of space when multiple enemies are around – seems like it might be beneficial to shrink 'em. But, eh, I wouldn't let that stop me from giving this one a download. Good stuff.

@stylon It's not actually a good game. Unless you're after the achievements, you're best off playing something else.

I find the concept of this game extremely compelling. Let's hope Dontnod can deliver on everything promised in the description.

@A_BabyRed_Yoshi Are you referring to the New Orleans stage in Tony Hawk Underground 2? I think one of the challenges has you unleash a bunch of ghosts from a graveyard, and then you have to find a way to save the city from them. It's something like that.

I voted for Red Dead Redemption, Double Dragon Neon, Trials Evolution, Sonic Racing Transformed, and Mortal Kombat. Since my Xbox 360 is slowly working its way into the grave, I NEED those games on Xbox One STAT!

@phathippy I mostly went with skate-punk bands and music associated with skate culture. Plus, this is what I listen to. I'm a fan of some metal and hip-hop for sure, but I don't prefer it when boarding.

If anyone's curious, here's a video clip of Tony hinting at what kind of music can be expected in THPS5.

@Red620Ti I'm bummed about Scalebound, too. I've yet to play a Platinum game that I didn't like.

Lots of good comments in here, everyone. I particularly like the backwards compatibility/Virtual Console stuff. I'm not sure how likely it is that any of that will happen, but I'd be the happiest customer ever if I could play my OG Xbox games on my Xbox One.

I've adopted the Sunset Overdrive background for the time being. Sorry, Yooka-Laylee.

Was no one amused by the Grumpy Old Men image? NO ONE?!!

Whoa.

Give this game a shot if you haven't already!

Looks like a combination of Trials and OlliOlli. I can get into that, even if it looks visually underwhelming.

That's way to do it. Although, no split-screen co-op is going to crush my wife. Us being able to play through the campaign together is why she loves the series so much.

I wish this would stop. It's time to 100% embrace the Xbox One.

@sinalefa That's good to hear! I mean, it's definitely a bummer that they aren't going to address it in the game that's out now, the one you've already spent money on; but at least you know it's something they're aware of for the future. That's something, at least!

@Red620Ti Been there, done that. Not proud of myself.

When I wrote this, I didn't know that I was only a couple hours out from the conclusion of The Witcher. So, if I finish that, I'll probably spend some time with Adventures of Pip. Just thought everyone should know. It's important you know.

@sinalefa Dang – that stinks. Being that I'm not color blind, nor do I know anyone in daily life who is, I would've never thought of that being a concern. You should email the developer. If they have any sort of patch/update in the works, maybe it's something they'd address. Worst case scenario, they keep it in mind if they ever decide to make a sequel.

This game has my attention. I'm not into the Team-Fortress-meets-Pixar character designs all that much, but I do like just about everything else about the visual presentation. Gameplay also looks very interesting. My greatest hope is that the attitude isn't quite as in-your-face as Borderlands. If it's not, I'll be there on day one.

I've dug my way through SteamWorld Dig three times already, and I'm totally planning to do it again on Xbox One. While I do think it's a hair shy of being all that it could've been, it's still a great little game. Definitely check it out if you're into sidescrollers/Metroidvanias/platformers.

@Falco1863 I haven't yet, but I also haven't experienced any of the glitches or frame-rate problems that other people have. There have been a few areas where NPCs loaded in slowly, but that's only happened around Novigrad when I'm traveling very quickly.

I really, really loved this game. Totally immsersive with an intriguing plot and atmosphere. There were a couple puzzles toward the end of the game that were too obtuse and convoluted, but other than that, it's a real winner.