Xbox One Console Reviews
- Thread starter Gemini
- Start date
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Reveals Mortal Kombat X Product Lineup
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today revealed details of the premium product lineup for Mortal Kombat X, which includes Mortal Kombat X Kollector’s Edition by Coarse, Kollector’s Edition, Premium Edition and Limited Edition. All premium products including the base game are available now for pre-order from participating retailers in North America. In addition, all who pre-order the game will receive legendary fighter, Goro as a playable character. Mortal Kombat X will release worldwide on April 14, 2015.
Mortal Kombat X: Kollector’s Edition by Coarse
• Exclusive Scorpion figurine and Certificate of Authenticity, designed by Coarse. Coarse has been recognized in Collector and Designer figure communities for their artistic approach, dedication to detail, and unique storytelling through sculpture.
• In-game Gold Scorpion Skin, inspired by the Coarse figurine
• The Kombat Pack, which includes access to four add-on playable characters from Klassic Kombatants to Iconic guest characters
• Available for PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft
• MSRP: $149.99
Mortal Kombat X Kollector’s Edition
• Scorpion Statue
• Exclusive Steel Pack and Steel Card
• Mortal Kombat X: Blood Ties Comic Book Volume 1
• In-game Gold Scorpion Skin
• The Kombat Pack
• Available for PS4 and Xbox One
• MSRP: $179.99
Mortal Kombat X Premium Edition (Digital only)
• The Kombat Pack
• Available for PS4, Xbox One, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system for Microsoft; PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems and, Windows PC
• MSRP: $89.99
Mortal Kombat X Limited Edition
• Exclusive Scorpion Skin - this skin design, inspired by the Cold War, is a collaboration between NetherRealm Studios and a fan artist from the MKKollective.com, a crowd-sourced destination where Mortal Kombat enthusiasts can upload, submit and share their MK-related art, images, cosplay, music and videos.
• The Kombat Pack
• Available for PS4 and Xbox One
• MSRP: $94.99
For more information and to pre-order the various game editions, please visit Mortalkombat.com
Rape
Nearly two years ago, Crystal Dynamics released Tomb Raider, a gritty survival reboot for the iconic action series. The game was met with monumental success and became the best-selling entry in the series to date. Now the team at Crystal Dynamics is back to expand on Lara's new direction. After the events on Yamatai, the young archeologist has grown into a capable adventure seeker, and Rise of the Tomb Raider will send Lara to the frozen wilds of Siberia on a hunt for the lost secrets of immortality. Now Lara will have to hunt and craft new survival gear in order to take on larger puzzle tombs and a deadly new enemy, a secret society that has been lying in the shadows since the last game. Lara will gear up for her new adventure on Xbox One and Xbox 360 this holiday season, but the studio hasn't ruled out the possibility that the game will come to other consoles later on.
For a taste of what’s to come in our month of online Rise of the Tomb Raider features, watch our coverage trailer below or watch and share it on YouTube.
And here's a closer look at Lara Croft's new look for the game.
In addition to our 12-page look at Rise of the Tomb Raider, we also dive into Studio MDHR’s love letter to 1930s animation classics with a feature on the indie darling Cuphead. We also give a rundown of our three-hour hands-on session with CD Projekt RED's massive open-world undertaking, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which looks like it could give Dragon Age: Inquisition a run for its money. Meanwhile, our classic section celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fan-favorite shooter, Star Wars: Dark Forces.
The rest of our March issue is packed with more great gaming coverage. In addition to our standard previews section, we have a special feature looking forward to the hottest games of the year, such as Batman: Arkham Knight, Evolve, Battleborn, Bloodborne, and Halo 5: Guardians. We also have the world's first exclusive review for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D.
Print subscribers should see their issues arriving in the next week or two, but it will be available online later today if you subscribe digitally (available on PC/Mac, iPad,Android, and Google Play). You can also get the latest issue through third-party apps on Nook, click here.
Throughout the month we’ll have all manner of video interviews, written features on Lara and her search for the secret to immortality, as well as a special edition podcast, and much more. Click on the banner below to visit our Rise of the Tomb Raider hub and follow our coverage as it rolls out throughout the month.
so how much did Techland pay IGN
and for a while i thought that was seth macfarlane doing the voice of Kyle Crane
Here are this week’s games and add-on deals on the Xbox Games Store. Discounts are valid now through 09 February 2015.
Xbox One
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 444pt;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="592"> <tbody> <tr class="xl665381" style="mso-height-source: userset; height: 16.5pt;"> <td class="xl705381" style="height: 16.5pt; width: 242pt;" height="22" width="323">Content Title</td> <td class="xl715381" style="border-left: none; width: 121pt;" width="161">Content Type</td> <td class="xl735381" style="border-left: none; width: 81pt;" width="108">Discount %</td> </tr> <tr class="xl665381" style="height: 16.5pt;"> <td class="xl765381" style="height: 16.5pt;" height="22">Far Cry 4</td> <td class="xl695381" style="border-left: none;">Xbox One Game</td> <td class="xl755381">33%</td> </tr> <tr class="xl665381" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl775381" style="height: 15.75pt; border-top: none;" height="21">Far Cry 4 Gold Edition</td> <td class="xl725381" style="border-top: none; border-left: none;">Xbox One Game</td> <td class="xl745381">33%</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region. These deals are available for Xbox Live Gold members only.
Xbox 360
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 444pt;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="592"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl6814029" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 242pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: windowtext; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: 1.0pt solid windowtext; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #92D050; mso-pattern: black none;" height="20" width="323">Content Title</td> <td class="xl6814029" style="width: 121pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: windowtext; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: 1.0pt solid windowtext; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #92D050; mso-pattern: black none;" width="161">Content Type</td> <td class="xl6814029" style="width: 81pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: windowtext; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: 1.0pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #92D050; mso-pattern: black none;" width="108">Discount %</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7414029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Assassin’s Creed Rogue</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">33%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Far Cry 4</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">40%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Walking Dead Survival Instinct</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">80%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Payday 2</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">
</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">
</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">
</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7614029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Nordic Games*</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">
</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">
</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">ArcaniA</td> <td class="xl6914029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">de Blob 2</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7014029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Darksiders</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">80%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Darksiders II</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">80%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Darksiders II Argul’s Tomb</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Darksiders II Death Rides Pack</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Darksiders II Season Pass</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Deadfall Adventures</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">90%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Elements of Destruction</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Arcade</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Frontlines Fuel of War</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Frontlines Fuel of War Map Pack</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Jeopardy!</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">85%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Jeopardy! New Clues Pack</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">JUJU</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">MX vs. ATV Reflex Track Pack 1</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">MX vs. ATV Supercross</td> <td class="xl7214029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">33%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Red Faction Armageddon</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7314029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">86%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Red Faction Armageddon Path to War</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7314029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Red Faction Armageddon Ruin Pack</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Red Faction Guerilla – Demons of the Badlands</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Red Faction Guerilla – Smasher Pack</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Rocket Riot</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Arcade</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">The Outfit</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">80%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief Ep. 2</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Arcade</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief Ep. 3</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Arcade</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;" height="20">Wheel of Fortune</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">Games On Demand</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #EBF1DE; mso-pattern: #EBF1DE none;">75%</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl7514029" style="height: 15.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; color: blue; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: single; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: .5pt solid white; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: none; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;" height="20">Wheel of Fortune The Puzzle Pack</td> <td class="xl6714029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">Add-on</td> <td class="xl7114029" style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; text-underline-style: none; text-line-through: none; font-family: Calibri; border-top: .5pt solid white; border-right: none; border-bottom: .5pt solid white; border-left: .5pt solid white; background: #D8E4BC; mso-pattern: #D8E4BC none;">50%</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region.
*Titles on sale from Nordic Games are available for Xbox Live Gold and Silver members
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</center>
Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership $35.99
ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301510519939?redirect=mobile
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Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership $35.99
ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301510519939?redirect=mobile
Joystiq will not grow to be much older than ten years. That's a massive expenditure of time, if only to receive an unfinished creation in return. I, and my best friends in the world, leave Joystiq unfinished. We leave it as it was always going to be.
How can you envision an end when your purpose is to be in motion, always? Where do you stop if what you make, write and think is inextricable from the moment? We poured a bit of our heart and humor into each little vessel – a news story, an opinion, a review – paraded it for thirty minutes and then watched it fall off the page to make room for the next one. And the next. And the next. There is no end.
I just compared blog posts to heart vessels, by the way, and you should know how irritated I am by that. It's just reporting. It's just video games. It's just ... what we did.
Perhaps the perpetuity in which we did this job, telling a story of video games as it happened, and in ways you wouldn't hear from giant publishers or quiet independent developers, made us love video games more than most. Maybe this eternal machine, digesting the timeline of modern games from beginning until whenever, made us crazy. This was our life's work – I don't mean to aggrandize it, but to describe our level of investment.
Wake up. Think about games. Talk to fellow Joystiq staff about games. Discover cool games. Tell everyone about this new thing. Care. Talk to the person who made it. Think about it. Think about it some more. Eventually, find out if it's good, how it's good, why it's good. Do it right. Be professional. Take a break. See friends. Play games. Think about games. Sleep. Next day. Every day is a long day for the passionate.
This is how it was for us. We had a drive to write about games and a duty to catch every little bit of information, make it fun to read and keep it grounded. We loved the big games and coveted the small, clever ones too. We learned how to play more games, think about them in more ways and how to find the creators who didn't have a voice as big as ours. We taught ourselves how to stream games and comment on them in a whole new way. We somehow kept being missed in the 'social justice warrior' lists, despite writing about the people and mindsets behind games as regular procedure. So much was missed in the endless stream, and showing was always better than telling.
When I took over Joystiq in 2012 – after having it dominate my career since the $5-per-story Weblogs Inc. days – I found the perfect people to help me. I can never thank them enough, I can never express my gratitude in a way that wouldn't be cheapened by words in a sad blog post heart-vessel thing, and I can never remove them from my life. There is no end to our friendship, either. (Try not to read that in a creepy voice.)
Susan Arendt is a brilliant mind clad in seamless armor; the organized, realistic side to my impulsive do-everything flailing. She's funny because she's right, and she's right because she has seen it all. She once talked me out of using a Nietzsche quote as a headline and gave me just enough time to retort with "It's just a bit too niche, isn't it?"
Alexander Sliwinski is practical, savvy and ceaseless in everything he does. He understands and absorbs new forms of media on the fly, seemingly without effort and without compromising the unique ways in which he gets things done. We always seem to be in awkward, uncomfortable interviews together and I'm not sure why.
Richard Mitchell is really good at video games and just about everything else. He's not one to stumble over genres, definitions and vague outlines of what video games are supposed to be – he sees them for what they want to be and explains why in a relevant, eloquent way. He has dealt with every conceivable permutation of the embargo, and never once complained when I gave him my review text at the last minute. I think once it was literally during the last minute.
Xav de Matos works too hard, too late and on too many things, usually without anyone's insistence. His obsessive work ethic and tireless scrutiny has spread to writing, video editing, streaming, podcasting – just about everything that can be wielded as commentary on games. We will never, ever agree about Splinter Cell: Conviction.
Jessica Conditt is so exciting to work with because she's an impossible person. I cannot believe how this human can exist, being so adept at writing, reporting, interviewing, critiquing and constructing genuine stories from surprising sources. She is the best journalist writing about independent games today. HOWEVER: She is the worst at downing beers.
Sinan Kubba always finds a new way to win me over, no matter the subject matter of his writing. He is truly funny, possesses a level of insight that few have – and even fewer can convey successfully – and is one of the warmest personalities I've ever met in my professional life. He also shares my appreciation for the correctly spelled form of 'aluminium.'
Danny Cowan has spent so much time analyzing gaming's greatest gems that he is becoming one himself. Truly comprehending gaming's history and its modern failings takes more than just knowledge - it requires the kind of wisdom Danny has built up over the years and fine-tuned to the point where he can make the most obscure game sound like a crucial set of bits missing from your life. He has repeatedly warned us about Hatsune Miku.
Mike Suszek joined us as the sports guy and, indeed, he sportsed well. Lucky for us all, he is not bound by his obvious passions, offering a holistic and just view of games in ways that I sometimes fail to consider. He was angry once about the way the universe worked, and now I get to share in that feeling.
Earnest Cavalli is such a loyal and reliable writer that you almost forget the main reason for working with him: He's a clever, acerbic curmudgeon who directs his opinions like a naval cannon. The worst part is he's almost always right with his shots and so, so funny. I also don't understand, and perhaps fear, his ability to finish Pokémon games so quickly.
Anthony John Agnello and I will one day live in a mansion together, with various wings dedicated to Smilebit, Platinum Games, From Software and all the other oddball games that synchronize our excitement whenever we talk. Anthony is genetically bespoke for telling stories, whether in writing or in person, and has such a breadth of experience that you never hear the same thing from him twice. He once spent money on an empty Sega Saturn game case.
Sam Prell learns, writes, excels - quickly and humbly. I saw the future of Joystiq in him - someone who would keep us clear, honest, ethical and practical, no matter what. Most of all, he would have continued to show us the value of empathy, even in an industry known for building avatars. He keeps trying to lure us to Iowa.
Thomas Schulenberg was our second weekend warrior, equipped with an eagerness to learn and a sense of responsibility that didn't fade after work hours. Another Future Joystiq candidate, Thomas was propelled in all directions, written and filmed, by his love for games. His penchant for walking into oncoming traffic reminds me that Frogger may have been before his time.
This was Joystiq, and these are my friends. The hectic days brought us closer together and the slow ones lead to bouts of earnest weirdness. (We'll miss you, Dead Space Girl.) This is the feeling I wanted to convey. Millions of you came to get a snapshot of video games, as assembled by people you could trust, and people you could tell were having fun and gobbling up games just as fast as you did.
We wrote great reviews, we commandeered the industry discussion at times, we tried our best to treat important issues with respect. We were the scrappy website that grew up – but not too much – and started following a vision of where we wanted to be by the fancy future-year of 2016. We started leaning into more personable writing and closer interaction with our readers, more live video and a more modern approach to reviews. We were leaning heavily and, tragically, our promised support was removed at the last minute.
Where we wanted to go, though, still had no end in sight. Even now, as we disassemble our home and disperse, the elements of Joystiq will continue. The drive will not leave, the passion and desire to play and see this medium change will not dissipate or be excised from us. And I will try not to be unbalanced by grief.
There is no end, but there is a bump. Thank you so much for being with us.
Sincerely,
Ludwig Kietzmann
Editor-in-Chief and Friend of Joystiq
Someone at Game Informer may well be fired today. Some of the contents of Game Informer's March issue have found their way onto Imgur, and finally we have some more information on the intriguing vintage cartoon-style side scroller - Cuphead.
For those who don't recall, Cuphead was part of Xbox's ID@Xbox E3 presentation, and was one of the more stand out titles from that segment. Sporting eerily authentic 1930's vintage cartoon stylisation, Cuphead has been on my mind ever since.
Now I know why the guys at StudioMDHR didn't return my emails (or at least this is what I'll say as I cry myself to sleep every night): find below some details from their (no longer) exclusive behind-the-scenes with Game Informer.
Cuphead was conceived by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, and they've been thus far blown away by the response to their title. Speaking with GI, they had this to say regarding the game: "We're so used to setting it, and we loved the visuals, but after a while you just get accustomed to them and you go, 'I hope people like these'." I can attest for this sentiment from a design point of view, I rebuilt XboxMAD v3 about 4 times after getting used to the layout and questioning whether it would be good enough for public consumption - although what these guys are doing represents an undertaking far beyond anything I can imagine.
"I thought that there would be some fans, but seeing it pop up as the 'top five interesting things at E3' on more than one website didn't make any sense. ... I'm still kind of in shock."
Regarding design, StudioMDHR emphasised that they wanted several layers of uniqueness to every sequence and character, using the example of one of the game's numerous boss battles.
"Everything is like the '30s, and we wanted to have that - not just that it's a bird in the sky, but that it's a bird in a bird-house. We want that secondary level of uniqueness to each visual. This is part of the first form."
The game is side scrolling by nature, and to ram that vintage authenticity home, the team at StudioMDHR went to great lengths to layer the game world.
"The reason we separated them like that is there's almost never a time on screen where you're seeing the same layers of noise and grain interacting with each other. So it never feels like you're watching a loop of effects." As a former animator, looping the same .gif of random grey dots to achieve a film grain effect is a quick, but inauthentic looking fix, by adding multiple layers of effects, it will prevent the film grain from appearing in a loop. It certainly sounds as though the team at StudioMDHR have really pushed the boat out when it comes to the feel of the Cuphead.
"When we first started we noticed that when you have certain cigarette burns or other things on the screen that keep repeating, you eventually started thinking, 'Oh, look, it's at the top right every seven seconds.' So we've put in a lot of work extensively with those effects especially to eliminate that and still keep the old-timey feel. I'm pretty sure if you tallied up all the time we spent discussing or researching and actually testing out effects, we're probably at about a three-and-a-half full-time months with three people, because we were experimenting with this before any real development on the game started just to pull off the old-time film look."
You can get a sense of Cuphead's layering in this picture.
On gameplay, StudioMDHR isn't shy to draw comparisons to Contra and other twitch-era side scrolling arcade shooters. The old school approach to gameplay permeates the game's story as well, which, like the old school, is present primarily for context as opposed to the enrapturing of your emotions.
Cuphead and player 2's Mugman have become indebted to the devil (due to a poor choice of gambling buddies), and the devil now owns their heads. In a make or break deal, the devil tasks Cuphead and Mugman to traverse the game's vintage world to recover an item, to eliminate the debt. Chad explains why this is all the story the game needs: "Because we both grew up in the fast-twitch arcade era, that's what we homed in on. We love the idea of not including too many cutscenes or too much story."
The relaxed attitude to story is consistent with old-school animated cartoons, if you've ever seen any 1920s Disney shorts, you know what these guys are on to.
Returning to gameplay, Moldenhauer's Chad and Jared grew up on Contra and Treasure games (Gunstar Heroes is one of my favourite games of all time, so this comparison makes me particularly excited) - although, rather than drive the player through sequences of trash mobs, Cuphead skips right to the main course - boss battles.
These battles won't just be gigantic bullet sponges however, StudioMDHR are intent on building lots of variety between each boss sequence. Regarding the pictured (above) bird boss, Cuphead hops into a plane and is tasked to dodge giant egg projectiles reminiscent of Mario 2's birdos. "It's not like a bullet-hell pattern, but it's very challenging. You might need a few tries to defeat the first form of this boss, based on your experience."
Cuphead and Mugman have straws protruding from their ceramic heads, which can be used to perform an attack known as the 'Straw Slap'.
"Initially it was a core idea, that we always wanted a parry, but we got side-tracked and we forgot about the Miyamoto rules, which are, 'Keep things simple.' We were going to have a separate parry button, and then the parry could be performed on the ground. It didn't have the same impact as forcing a player to engage and change their position. If you could just stand still and tap parry, it didn't have the same response as having to commit to a jump to start a parry. The idea is that it's contained in the same button, which is far better to communicate to players. You jump and then it's timing-based depending on how close the shot is to you. Cuphead has about 15 frames of straw slap animation. If you connect this property, you can land a slap and destroy any pink attacks that are in your radius."
"We made it a color that we're not going to use often in the game, so anything that's colored pink like that and is bight and shiny will be known as a parryable attack. It's not just bullets, either. As you might notice in the image with the Phantom Train boss, the handcar that Cuphead and Mugman are riding has a pair of pink orbs. Parrying each one slides the car overto one side of the screen, which is a handy way to avoid the bosses and their various attacks."
Cuphead certainly looks to include a lot of variety with it's boss battles. Those who remember Gunstar Heroes on the Sega MegaDrive (or Genesis, if you're from the US) might recall a level which had players hurl a giant dice, traversing a board game - each square had a different boss battle or trial, this is the sort of vibe Cuphead's feature with GI is giving me right now. Below is one of the game's myriad boss sequences, which takes place on an enthralling steam-punk arcade machine.
"This actually came from Jared. He wanted to have a tribute to the '80s arcade games and all of the classics of the era. Our brains initially told us, 'We'll do a pixel art in some kind of 1930s style.' In the Simpsons cartoons, when they wanted to represent video games, they used some kind of pixel filter in post (production) to achieve a style, so we started with that. We had this insane idea where we'd draw and ink all the assets for this level and then run every frame through a pixelation filter and finally re-ink every frame with the pixelated look. Aside from the amount of effort to do that, it was too jarring with the watercolor and cartoon visuals."
All of Cuphead's backgrounds are hand painted water-colour scenes, owing to the labour intensive construction of this unique title.
"This stage is a crazy idea because it's all new character assets, and we're limiting the player to only shoot up, so it's old arcade-style. It's definitely off the path of the main game, but we feel like the games we always played - like Treasure's - had a lot of love put into them, and they'd be just out-side of the boundaries of what the rules were. They would always have unique gameplay ideas, so we're hoping this stage creates the same feeling for others."
Chad emphasised that they aren't planning to over-do it with gameplay sequences that change up the core of the game, but that for now, it's one of the ways they can "keep the game exciting". Considering the sheer amount of additional assets and animation that only appear once per sequence, one could be forgiven for thinking StudioMDHR are well, crazy, but they certainly seem to have the end-user experience as a core driver of their creative process. #
"Even if it's a lot of extra work, we think it's worth it in the end."
Since E3, StudioMDHR have been on a hiring spree, ballooning to a massive ...erm, 9 developers. For such a small studio to have the time to pour this much meticulous polish over a project is quite impressive. Although time will tell whether their words carry the weight of their conviction, Cuphead is targeting a 2015 launch.
^Jez (@MSFTY)
Source: Imgur
Xbox Live 12+1 Month Gold $39.99
Bestbuy
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microso...olor/3878002.p?id=1219094118168&skuId=3878002
Bestbuy
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microso...olor/3878002.p?id=1219094118168&skuId=3878002
For some reason I keep expecting to see a sambo type character traipse across the screen. I've been programmed heavily to see this point in animation history as very racist. Sort of like I think Cowboy bars and 50's themed diners are racist.
Pretty much. Like when you see a cartoon cut to another scene quickly. I remember the blackface scene in a Tom and Jerry episode once. They skip right over it now.
Sent From My Galaxy S5
Yeah they really try to cover up those racist cartoons. For me, I still remember them as yesterday and you can still see the racist ones on television.
Looney Tunes still doing it also
During their Q4 2014 earnings call, video game publisher Activision confirmed the development of a new Call of Duty game for late 2015 lead by the team at Treyarch.
While Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg was unable to share details during the call, he stressed that the title will be “loaded with innovation” and that it will be the first release for Treyarch on the franchise’s new three-year development cycle.
Treyarch gained traction with the Call of Duty audience with the launch of the WWII shooter, World at War, in 2008 and later went on to explore the Cold War with the release of Black Ops in 2010 and a near-future setting in its 2012 sequel.
Historically, we expect Activision to announced the first details on 2015′s Call of Duty this May.
Meanwhile, the studio shared its excitement on Twitter, hinting at the already ongoing conversation it is having with its fans.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>COD in 2015 confirmed. We look forward to carrying on the conversation...that is, if we haven’t started it already. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InDevelopment?src=hash">#InDevelopment</a></p>— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) <a href="https://twitter.com/Treyarch/status/563460032659206146">February 5, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Halo 5 Undergoing Major Changes After Beta Feedback
343 Industries outlines plans to tweak weapon balance, Spartan Abilities, general presentation, and tons more.
343 Industries outlines plans to tweak weapon balance, Spartan Abilities, general presentation, and tons more.
343 Industries on Thursday released a mountain of stats and other details about the Halo 5: Guardians beta, which ran for three weeks at the end of December and into the New Year.
The beta arrived about a year in front of the game's scheduled release date this fall, making it the earliest Microsoft had ever launched a beta for a Halo game. It was a big, nerve-wracking experiment, but one that 343 executive producer Josh Holmes says paid off.
The short version? 343 was blown away by the response to the beta, which saw around 1 million gamers play 20 million matches over its duration. Those millions of matches--well beyond the developer's internal expectations--provided 343 invaluable feedback for how it plans to tweak and adjust the overall multiplayer experience before Halo 5 launch later this year, Holmes explained.
"With Halo 5 being such a big evolution of the combat experience for Halo, we wanted to be able to take these new mechanics, the new Spartan Abilities, and put them in the hands of the community and use that feedback to hone the experience," he said.
There were some doubts, internally at 343, about whether releasing the Halo 5 beta so early was even a good idea. However, Holmes says developers now understand and recognize just how important the beta was to making a great game.
"Some people [said], 'Should we really be doing it this early?' And now, coming out the other side and having all that great feedback and data we can use to inform our development; those same people are like, 'Yeah, really, really glad that we did this.'"
"I think everybody was nervous and excited to see how fans would react to a lot of the new mechanics, the new ideas, the new modes," he added. "A combination of excitement and nervous energy, and maybe a little bit of exhaustion as well because there's just so much work that goes into packaging something up, getting it ready for release, releasing it, and then supporting that throughout the process of the beta."
As you'll see below, 343 has a laundry list of changes it's planning to make to Halo 5 based on feedback from the community, as well as internal testing. I wondered, however, how 343 goes about balancing community feedback vs. the developer's vision for the project.
"We have a vision for the game that we're trying to build; we need to stay true to that vision," Holmes said. "We have designers who have been working on this game now for years, and kind of understand the game at a very deep level. But at the same time, you have the community that is very passionate about the experience, and is very diverse in their perspectives and viewpoints. So you want to take that feedback and make sure you're remaining objective to the experience that you're building, understanding what your goals are, and seeing how that feedback aligns to, 'Are we actually achieving the goals that we set out to achieve?'
"There more information we have, the more input we have, the equipped we are to make decisions as designers."
One element from the Halo 5 beta that was wildly different than past Halo titles was the game's intro and victory sequences, which saw Spartans giving high-fives and chest-bumps. As it turns out, while "Halo bros" like myself enjoyed this feature, it wasn't universally popular. Holmes said 343 plans to dial back this "dude-bro flair" in favor of a more serious, military-style tone.
"When we started on the Arena experience, we were really focused on that spirit of competition, and we drew a lot of inspiration from sporting events and pageantry around that," Holmes said. "And you saw some of that reflected in those match intros and victory sequences. But, going into beta, as a team we didn't feel like the tone was quite there. And in some cases, it felt like the performances were a little too over-the-top and silly and maybe unbecoming of a Spartan."
"We're going to try and find the right balance that fits with the presentation style that we imagine for the game."
Alongside the launch of the Halo 5 beta, 343 also pushed out the Halo Community Feedback Program (HCFP) in an effort to speak directly with Halo super-fans. Over 19,000 people have already signed up for this program, which 343 plans to expand with more surveys and feedback measurement systems in the coming future.
Holmes adds that 343 has spent the past few weeks looking over Halo 5 player feedback to build a list of improvements it hopes to implement for the final version of the game. Below you'll find a summation of these changes, while you can head here to see them all.
Also, be aware that the list of changes 343 announced today is in no way meant to be exhaustive. There will be a "massive list" of additional improvements and bug fixes to be announced later. But for now, check out the Halo 5 beta stats and changes below, descriptions courtesy of 343.
HALO 5 BETA STATS AND CHANGES
STATS:
- Total Number of Player: About 1 million
- Total matches played: nearly 20 million
- Total gameplay hours: 2,539,847
- Total Kills: 181,389,366
- Total Assists: 92,245,468
- Total Ground Pound Kills: 565,902
- Total Spartan Charge Kills: 1,286,085
- Frag Grenade Kills: 11,529,664
- Plasma Grenade Kills: 1,104,218
- Total Shots Fired: 6,492,761,794
- Battle Rifles were carried for: the equivalent of 207 days
- Most popular power weapon: Sniper Rifle – 6,606,200 kills
- Most Medals Earned: 24,998 (SSlCK)
- Killpocalypse Medals Earned: 1 (Omnipression)
- Total hours watched on Twitch: 44,693,800
- Most minutes watched on Twitch of a single gamer: 7,852,300 (Ninja)
- Gamers with the most unique viewers on Twitch:
- Ninja: 437,960
- Walshy: 348,460
- Red vs Blue Win Percentage: Red: 47.45%, Blue: 52.55%
<ins>Spartan Abilities:</ins>
- Don't like Sprint in your Halo? You're in luck, as 343 will allow you to toggle off Sprint and all other Spartan Abilities in custom games.
- Increase base speed (faster base movement)
- Increase strafe acceleration (faster, more responsive strafing)
- Reduce top sprint speed (narrow the delta between base movement and sprint)
- Modify Ground Pound controls to prevent conflicts w/ crouch jumping
- General tuning & bug fixes for all Spartan Abilities (Thrusters, Clamber, Ground Pound, etc.)
- Goal is to balance all weapons to be equally effective both in and out of zoom while continuing to respect the function of each mode.
- 343 is changing the Hydra weapon to make it more effective when not zoomed so that it feels like a true power weapon.
- Sniper Rifle: improve scope experience to making it less “clunky” and faster to scope in
- DMR: adjust position of the scope to improve visibility
- Bring back the SPNKr Rocket Launcher as a legendary version of the weapon
- Reduce bonuses for automatic weapons in Smart-Link & w/ headshots
- Remove grenade detonation in mid-air based on weapon fire
- Ability to turn on/off vibration feedback for weapons
- General tuning and bug fixing for all weapons
- Remember those intro and victory sequences, when Spartans would chest-bump and high-five? 343 now thinks that doesn't quite fit with the game's tone. As a result, you can expect the final sequences to feature considerably fewer chest bumps and high fives.
- Post-death replay: this will become an opt-in feature. After death, players will see a traditional follow-cam and have the option to view a replay of their death from the killer’s perspective (as long as the feature is enabled within the playlist)
- Medals: decrease frequency and number of medals displayed in the medal feed
- Spartan chatter: players will have the option to turn this on or off in the settings menu
- Adding highlights to placed/dropped weapons to make them easier to see
- General tuning for announcer and Spartan chatter to reduce the frequency of events and focus on the information that matters most to players
"Our skill rating system is one of the pillars for competitive play of Halo 5: Guardians and we’ll be continuing to refine it throughout development. The focus for our team coming out of the beta includes:"
- Improved skill detection during placement phase
- Improved skill matching
- Improved team balancing
- Prevent skill boosting
- General bug fixing & tuning
Thought Halo 5's matchmaking system failed to match you with players of similar skill? You're in luck, as 343 said it is tweaking the matchmaking system to not only get you into games faster, but also to place you in more competitive matches more regularly.
Coming out of the beta, 343 plans to focus on the following area:
- Much faster matches
- Better skill matching
- Better feedback to players in the lobby and matchmaking experiences
- Allow players to set desired datacenter for matchmaking (may impact matchmaking speed and skill balance)
- Improved party vs party matchmaking
- Hide CSR ranks until in match to de-incentivize quitting
- Punish quitters with CSR penalties and matchmaking bans
Expect to see many, many more changes and improvements for Halo 5 at launch.
"Everything from weapon placements on maps, to lighting improvements, to rule tweaks in game modes and modifications to the motion tracker to encourage more movement at higher levels of play. Our team constantly looks for ways to improve the game and we’ll continue to do so until launch later this year and beyond."
Rise Of The Tomb Raider - 5 Ways It Improves Upon The Reboot (GameInformer Backstage Interview)
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...tomb-raider-is-improving-upon-the-reboot.aspx
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...tomb-raider-is-improving-upon-the-reboot.aspx
KI
Age: 3429 (assumed created ~1415 BC)
Height: 8’+
Nationality: Unknown
Gender: N/A
Type: War Golem
Personality traits: Obedient, Stoic, Reserved
Weapon: Fists & Boulders
Animated by a group of powerful artisans for a purpose lost to time, this war golem, the last of its kind, has been a prized possession of warlords, power mongers, and kings, its violent history writ large across the battlefields of Europe and the Middle-East.
As the ages wore on and the battles continued, so was a toll taken on the golem’s body. Its creators long dead, it was impossible to replace its worn and broken components. Piece by piece, battle by battle, the golem lost its original identity, substituting rocks for metal, vines for bolts and ropes.
The golem felt nothing, thought of nothing. It only obeyed commands… until one king gave it a most unusual order. Instead of ordering the construct to kill or destroy, this king commanded it to learn, to think. He named it Aganos “a person of gentle disposition” in the hopes that it would grow beyond its previous use and into something that could choose how to act.
While that simple command allowed Aganos free will, he remained loyal to the king out of respect and as repayment for liberating him from strict obedience.
Years later, when that king learned that Kan-Ra still lived and was going deeper and deeper into research of the dark arts, he asked Aganos to hunt down and destroy the evil sorcerer once and for all. Aganos accepted this task, and for centuries, he has hunted Kan-Ra across the globe, battling him on numerous occasions around the world, yet neither has ever been able to destroy the other completely.
Will the cycle of conflict continue? Will Aganos finally defeat the sorcerer and fulfill the king’s request? Find out in the S2 story!
STAGE CONCEPT: Forgotten Grotto
Until the stream next week, here’s a preview of what Aganos brings to the KI universe:
• The BIGGEST character in KI (sorry, Glacius!).
• A replenishable resource, visual on character, that can be used for projectiles, wall creation, or armor!
• Wall creation, permanently (until destroyed or used) changes the stage boundaries of the fight!
• Variable movement, jump, and attack speeds based on the amount of resource he carries.
• Special roll attack with a controllable bounce component.
• Shadow move that allows free action while incapacitating and damaging the opponent.
• Powerful two hit strikes in place of auto doubles
• The next stage to feature a Stage Ultra!
• Much more! Tune in to the stream!
And how big are we talking? Look:
http://www.ultra-combo.com/forums/index.php?topic=6651.0
Age: 3429 (assumed created ~1415 BC)
Height: 8’+
Nationality: Unknown
Gender: N/A
Type: War Golem
Personality traits: Obedient, Stoic, Reserved
Weapon: Fists & Boulders
Animated by a group of powerful artisans for a purpose lost to time, this war golem, the last of its kind, has been a prized possession of warlords, power mongers, and kings, its violent history writ large across the battlefields of Europe and the Middle-East.
As the ages wore on and the battles continued, so was a toll taken on the golem’s body. Its creators long dead, it was impossible to replace its worn and broken components. Piece by piece, battle by battle, the golem lost its original identity, substituting rocks for metal, vines for bolts and ropes.
The golem felt nothing, thought of nothing. It only obeyed commands… until one king gave it a most unusual order. Instead of ordering the construct to kill or destroy, this king commanded it to learn, to think. He named it Aganos “a person of gentle disposition” in the hopes that it would grow beyond its previous use and into something that could choose how to act.
While that simple command allowed Aganos free will, he remained loyal to the king out of respect and as repayment for liberating him from strict obedience.
Years later, when that king learned that Kan-Ra still lived and was going deeper and deeper into research of the dark arts, he asked Aganos to hunt down and destroy the evil sorcerer once and for all. Aganos accepted this task, and for centuries, he has hunted Kan-Ra across the globe, battling him on numerous occasions around the world, yet neither has ever been able to destroy the other completely.
Will the cycle of conflict continue? Will Aganos finally defeat the sorcerer and fulfill the king’s request? Find out in the S2 story!
STAGE CONCEPT: Forgotten Grotto
Until the stream next week, here’s a preview of what Aganos brings to the KI universe:
• The BIGGEST character in KI (sorry, Glacius!).
• A replenishable resource, visual on character, that can be used for projectiles, wall creation, or armor!
• Wall creation, permanently (until destroyed or used) changes the stage boundaries of the fight!
• Variable movement, jump, and attack speeds based on the amount of resource he carries.
• Special roll attack with a controllable bounce component.
• Shadow move that allows free action while incapacitating and damaging the opponent.
• Powerful two hit strikes in place of auto doubles
• The next stage to feature a Stage Ultra!
• Much more! Tune in to the stream!
And how big are we talking? Look:
http://www.ultra-combo.com/forums/index.php?topic=6651.0
i see your point very well. a porky pig cartoon called 'wholly smoke' comes to immediate mind i liked it as a kid but now i see mad racist shit in it. with that said i really appreciate that art style of the animation from that time period. even in 2015 it looks better than most of what comes out today. especially from the united states.
i don't know how to embed daily motion. but here is a link to 'wholly smoke.' mad racist shit starts at 4:15.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18ot4x_looney-tunes-wholly-smoke-colorized_fun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wholly_Smoke
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Today, we’re excited to begin rolling out the first system update of 2015. Since Xbox One launched, we made a commitment to listen to feedback from the Xbox Live community and we continue to deliver on that promise. We’re always listening to your thoughts and will continue adding new features and improving existing functionality to enhance your gaming and entertainment experiences on Xbox One.
This month, we’re improving the Xbox One controller, enhancing Party Chat and adding new TV features like trending to OneGuide, and bringing “trick play” and live streaming on Windows Phone and Android to Xbox Live members in Europe using the Digital TV Tuner. Additionally, you can discover new content from your favorite games and further personalize your dashboard, among other cool new features.
Check out the summary of new features we’re adding to Xbox One this month below and don’t forget to keep sharing your awesome ideas with us. For more details on the new features, read the official announcement at Xbox Wire.
Controller improvements – We’re excited to improve stability and speed on the Xbox One controller.
Game hubs – These are the go-to centers for interesting content, tips and tricks for your favorite titles. Every Xbox One game will have a game hub where you can see which friends are playing the game, compete with your friends in game leaderboards, dive into the coolest game clips and game broadcasts, and follow the game’s top broadcasters and clip creators.
Party chat updates – We made several changes to party chat in recent weeks, including chat connection status, improved connectivity between multiple participants with Strict or Moderate NATs, game and party invitations, and a number of other performance improvements.
Custom backgrounds and tile transparency – We’ve added tile transparency to the Home tiles to make your background images more visible.
TV updates – A number of updates to the live TV experience are available today and new features have been added to additional countries.
The passion and enthusiasm we’ve seen from the Xbox Live community in helping Xbox deliver the best gaming experience possible has been amazing and we can’t wait to see what other ideas are in store for us. Thanks so much for your feedback and stay tuned for more Xbox One system updates.
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