Category: Xbox One

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Some Windows 10 Beta Updates!

windows-10

Windows 10 has been out on PC for a few months and it has been a worthy upgrade, but on the phone it has been a different story.  It has been a slow buggy mess.  To be fair it was in more of an alpha state instead of a beta, but that has changed with Build 572.  It finally feels fast enough to be a decent upgrade to Windows 8.1, or at least on a downgrade.  I hope things keep progressing this way because it would awesome for Microsoft to have a viable mobile operating system, and as a bonus have it be the same OS that is on all their other devices.

Also on the Windows 10 upgrade train is the Xbox One.  It is being call the new Xbox One Experience, but it is really just Windows 10 with a new console interface.  For the most part the new interface layout does make basic day to day tasks better, but one problem is that the Apps and Games section feels disconnected from the rest of the layout.  They should be just a blade away instead of an app.  It makes it feel disjointed when you are looking for a game.  They are starting to upgrade all the preview program members, but I think they may be pushing it a little.  While I haven’t had any major issues with the new interface it does feel a little glitchy still.

The last little piece I am going to talk about is the new Windows 10 like start menu that they gave older Surface devices.  It was nice of Microsoft to do something for Surface and Surface 2 users, and I love having the Start Menu back, but they really should find a way to put Windows 10 on these tablets.  They should be far more capable then a cell phone.  It just seems like they are burning those early users.

I hope Microsoft’s unified platform works out for them.  They have a lot of work left to go, but for users to have one OS across all their devices would be amazing.  We will see how it turns out later this Fall.

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Star Wars: Battlefront Is The Real Deal!

star-wars-battlefront

Well I thought I would be able to ignore Star Wars: Battlefront, but sadly I was wrong.  I thought that it would be just another Battlefield clone.  With Star Wars sure, but something I could write off.  It is just not fair that there is another game coming out this year that I want.  The open beta is a ton of fun.  The controls are tight.  The power-ups are well placed and they change flow of the game in the best ways.  It is a blast to jump in an AT Walker, or finding a Luke or Darth Vader upgrade.  Even putting down a turret in just the perfect place to stop the enemy onslaught.  It is just plain fun.

You have one more day to try out this game before it comes out.  You need to go home right now and give it a shot if you haven’t yet.  I guess it is yet another game to put on my Christmas list.  It is a long list now.

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I Am Not Sure What To Think About Far Cry Primal

So the fact that Ubisoft is releasing a new Far Cry game is not surprising.  Far Cry 4 was the most successful game of the franchise thus far, but the direction they are taking with Far Cry Primal is surprising.  Yes it is another open world first person game, but it is not a shooter per say because there are no guns.  This game takes place during the stone age, so you may get bows and arrows or spears, but for the most part it looks like you will be hitting and stabbing your way to victory.  So I guess that makes it a FPS, but now the ‘S’ stands for stabber.

Another strange fact is that Far Cry Primal is being dropped in February of next year without any real marketing push or year long hype train.  That is usually not a great sign, but if they were worried about it, why release it at all.  They have enough money to shelve it or retool it.  They last thing they want is another Assassins Creed Unity fiasco.  Though if the turns out, I will be quite interested.  There are not a lot of games that take me back to the stone age to fight mammoths and saber tooth tigers.  I guess we will see how this all comes together the 23rd of February.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

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I Love Games With Couch Co-Op!

Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition is launching with couch co-op!  That is pretty awesome!  Sadly for them it is coming out on the same day as Halo 5, but it will put the game on my radar for sometime in 2016.  More games need this feature.  Though it looks like it is becoming more of a rarity, again see Halo 5.

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Hitman Is Going To Stalk Differently In 2016!

hitman-2016

For those of you that follow my site, or just know me, you know that I love the Hitman games.  Probably more than I should, so while I was disappointed that the new game ‘Hitman’ was delayed until March 2016, I was intrigued by their new sales strategy.  The game will be released with quite a few missions and their online Contracts mode, but for $35 digital only.  Then you will be able to download other missions as you go, or you can pay $60 up front and then get everything.  You will just have to wait to download the missions, season pass style, or if you can wait even longer, the disc will come out some time after that and it will contain all the content.

For me an episodic Hitman makes perfect sense.  Hitman was never about the grand stories, it was a finding a way to get that prefect hit.  So if they release a lot of good missions than I am in (not that I wouldn’t be anyway).  I hope the missions are fun ones, and that they continue to release them for quite some time.  You will see me (or not) stalking in the shadows come March 2016!