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Revisiting CRYSIS on the Xbox

I still remember getting the special edition version of Crysis from my former go to game store at the mall. I don’t remember how I first heard about the game but I knew two things; the game was ahead of its time and that my family PC won’t be able to run it. So I get home and open up my new game only for the DVD drive to not recognize the disk inside. Now I know CD/DVD drives die over time but it read other DVDs just fine. Anyway, I managed to swipe up the DVD drive from my friend’s PC and finally install the game as we gathered at his place. Finally, the menu came up. I lowered everything to low in hopes that the game will be playable.

The game starts I am on the island shooting trees and watching turtles. The game’s frame rate is unstable but who cares, I’m ruining my own version of Crysis. I was amazed by the game’s mechanics from picking up dropped weapons to throwing enemies around. The open world plus destructible environments give this game a futuristic feeling. Farcry had islands and cars but Crysis took it to another level. The level editor only sweetened the deal. Playing around with the level placing objects around while changing the time of the day only added to the already awesome experience. Once I completed the game, I put it aside promising to replay it in its full glory once I finally have a powerful machine.

Fast forward to 2018 and I’m once again replaying this master peace, except this time it’s ruining on Xbox One as 360 backwards game. As I said, I was intending to replay the game on my PC but I decided to give this version ago for the achievements and because I’m a collector. So the game finally gets downloaded and started (but not before a quick game of Titanfall 2). The familiar menu appears and the first chapter loads. The opening looks OK and I’m quickly thrown off the plain and this is where I first noticed that something is wrong. Ignoring the Draw Distance, the frame rate was horrible. Not unplayable but not good at all. I land and the actual game starts. Still slow and heavy. The world looked wrong with aliasing all over the place.

Now I understand that it is a miracle that the game was able to run in the first place but couldn’t they at least lowered something else and smoothed the game a bit? The gameplay itself remains unchanged with the same great mechanics as I remember. I thought that nostalgia was making the game better than it was but no, the game is indeed this great. Even on the Xbox 360. Progressing using a controller was good which I’m happily giving the devs credit on this one.

All in all, this isn’t unplayable if you never played the PC version. But for the ones that did on decent settings, this feels like a broken game. Never the less, I’m happy to play and hopefully complete it getting the achievements on the way. If you haven’t played this before, pick it up. It is arguably better than the second and third parts. I do feel that the price is a bit high at 20$ but this IS a good game after all.

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Xbox Scorpio’s specs revealed . A true 4k Monster?

So the wait is finally over, Microsoft officially revealed Xbox Scorpio’s specs and they are impressive, BUT is it really a 4K unstoppable monster?

Everything from the CPU to Ram is a noticeable improvement over the PS4 Pro and defiantly a worthy upgrade from the Original Xbox One and the S model, although I expected the Ram to be pushed toward the 16 GB mark as its kinda standard with high-end games settings on the PC, never the less the on-board 12 GB is still better than 8, at least in theory.

So where exactly does the Xbox Scorpio shine?

For starters, most if not all of Microsoft’s first-party titles that are already out should run allot better on the Scorpio provided Microsoft is gonna update the games to do so. Looking better is another thing. Yes, Microsoft will update the resolution and what not but it takes time and work to adjust and update games assets which may result in compatibility issues.

Microsoft and most importantly 3rd parties will need to properly adjust their games to take advantage of the new hardware while maintaining compatibility with the base models. Games will not magically look and run better despite what fanboys would like you to believe, and some developers will take the easy way out either making the base version run like crap or vice versa. Optimization is the key here. Otherwise, will end up with bad ports aka PC Arkham Knight.

Another area where Scorpio will dominate is the multi platform games. Games that are released on both platforms will run better on Scorpio. So if Console power is your main priority (which it shouldn’t be) then Scorpio is the only way to go, at least for a while.

Now into the most hyped feature of the upcoming console. Both Microsoft and the fanboys claim that the Xbox Scorpio will deliver native 4k with 60 frames in most games which are both true and false. Yes, Microsoft teased Forza tech demo running at 60 frames in 4k but at what settings? What the fanboys fail to realize due to them simply not knowing any technical aspects of gaming is that almost any current Xbox One S or PS4 Pro game can be run at 4K 60 frames provided the graphical settings are lowered enough.

Sports games are easier to run when it comes to 60 frames. First party titles will also be highly optimized to take full advantage of the system but the majority of 3rd party heavy games will most likely not be running at 60 frames at high settings. I’m speaking from a realistic point of view. A lot of developers will not fully optimize their games due to laziness or technical difficulty.

The Xbox Scorpio is the next Generation console that is also backwards compatible with Xbox One and 360 despite Microsoft telling you otherwise. And with PS5 being in the shadows it remains to be seen how things turn out in the near future.

With everything aside, I’m excited to see what the Scorpio can offer in term of games and features despite me mostly gaming on the PC. I love the Xbox brand and wish it nothing but success.

I’m anticipating the price reveal as it’s critical that Microsoft doesn’t over price it for the average consumer rendering the machine useless to allot of budget gamers especially that the Switch is selling like hot cakes. Those were my honest thoughts on the console. Thank you for reading.

Note: This is a text version. For video version, check out my YouTube channel.

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10 Xbox 360 games that must be added to Xbox One backwards compatibility list

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10 Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Love it or hate it, you cant ignore it. Call of duty MW3 is arguably the best multiplayer version among all CODs. It is only fair to bring it to Xbox One as the game has an active online community to this day. Even the story mode is not that bad.

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9 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Beautiful world with magical creatures and a horse to ride, whats not to like? Seriously though, the world is big and amazing. I spent my fair share of exploring the land and it never gets old. The fighting animation is little off but other elements make up for it.

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8 Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Zombie mode! People still play this beside MW3 on Xbox 360 so why not port it to Xbox One as well?

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7 Sonic Generations

A sad fact, the classic SEGA is long gone and replaced with generic games and mobile ports. Sonic Generations is an exception! I don’t know how, but Sonic Team did make a great Sonic game after Dreamcast. Sadly, the game did not get the attention it deserves.

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6 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition

Its GTA for Christ sake! Fifth part is all well and good but don’t forget the classic that many awaited on then so next gen.

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5 Batman Arkham Collection

Arkham Asylum brought back Batman from the dead. The super hero never looked better. Rumors has it that Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are being remaked for Xbox One and PS4, is so then I suppose its not a great idea to bring these two back. Origins seems to be the logical choice.

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4 Resident Evil 6 Archives

Bringing Resident Evil 4,5 and 6 to Xbox One is a must! Resident Evil is a well established series to simply ignore.

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3 Dead Rising

Even though the 3rd part is an Xbox One exclusive (also on PC), the first part deserves credits for being fun and original.

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2 Alan Wake

I personally never played it even though I own it on both Xbox 360 and PC, but the good reviews as well as word of mouth made this worthy #2 on the list.

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1 Red Dead Redemption

GTA on horses! Microsoft already confirmed plans to make this compatible in the next update but nothing is for sure. Anyhow, this game makes the number 1 spot in this list!

. . . . . .

That was my list, I would love to hear your suggestions. Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

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Gears of War Judgment on Xbox One

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Gears of War Judgment, better gameplay than 3 with worse Horde mode. A perfect balance lol. Jokes aside, Judgment had the best weapon switch up and enhanced gameplay along graphics and deserves to be played again. Having received it for free with ultimate edition I downloaded it and started online versus mode.

Being a VIP member, I jumped on the special event which is explosive weapons for all with no ammo to be picked on the ground. I played this mode with a friend for about 8 rounds and managed to reach level 50 -I was 44-. The game is still fun with an active community and great maps and modes unlikely the ultimate edition. I suggest getting the DLCs for maximum fun from the Xbox 360 store or the website.

The Survivor aka Horde mode is weaker than the previous Gears 3 due to the addition of the generator protection but its still fun to play and enjoy. The difficulty is also greater than 3.

Once again, all Gears of War collection comes free with the Ultimate Edition should you play it before December 1st. I already have the original disk, buthaving everything on my hard drive without switching discs is more convenient. I just wished that Microsoft would have increased Anti-aliasing as the games lookless dated. Other than that, a must play to this day until Gears of War 4 comes out, hopefully with a better online play than Ultimate Edition.

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Gears of War 3 on Xbox One first impression

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Xbox 360 backwards compatibility is finally live. Unfortunately, the Gears of War collection will go live for the ones bought Gears of War ultimate edition on December 1st unless you have the original DVD like me. Upon inserting the disk into the drive, the install option appeared. Upon clicking it, I was greeted with an 8 GB download patch. Apparently, the disk inside is just for verification purposes as it downloads the whole game to your drive yet you cant play it without the original disk.

Since I always leave my Xbox One on standby mode for it to download updates while I’m away, the download and install was done in the background ready for me to fire it up once I relaunched the console. Clicking start on the game found in my apps brought down the manage menu with all the DLCs waiting for my command. I clicked download all and finally started the game.

The game loaded fine with a sudden message that the system is trying to get my Xbox 360 information. The message disappeared within 3 minutes and the classic signed into Xbox Live appeared. My progress got downloaded from the server and I’m right where I left off. I tried getting into an online match, but the game informed me that I needed to download some DLC. As I was about to exit, one of the DLCs downloaded and the online play was now available.

I joined a quick match and the game started. Man, and I thought Gears of War ultimate edition was not an improvement. Don’t get me wrong, thew gameplay and mechanics in Gears 3 eats the ultimate edition alive but the graphics were not what I remembered. Rest assure, after about 5 minutes you wont notice a thing. The game is the best in the series so far and for a good reason. The community is still strong and joining games takes seconds.

The gameplay was fine with no noticeable glitches. Sometimes the game would slow down, but that’s not the backwards compatibility issue. I will be testing the game further along with the rest soon. Apart from me wishing that Microsoft would at least increased the Anti-aliasing, the game looks and plays good. Go Xbox.

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Simpsons skins are coming to Minecraft

simpsons_minecraftCredit: http://mashable.com/

I think we are starting to see how Microsoft will start benefiting from the huge Minecraft purchase and the first downloadable skins are here. For only $1.99 you will receive The Simpsons skin pack on Xbox One with Xbox 360 around feb. The rest of the platforms will surly follow although I am surprised this isn’t on the PC yet.

While this is in no way a big thing, I honestly like it as it gives some colors to an already great game. Lets just hope they wont overdo it.

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Adding Shaheen will boost Tekken 7 sales

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Smart move. Adding Shaheen to the next Tekken will boost the sales as more gamers will want to pick it up to play as one of their own. Saudi Arabia and the meddle east is a large market and adding something that resembles it in the game will surly end up paying.

Now from my own point of view, the character resembles a middle eastern  guy minus the pants may I add.  Adding stuff is always a good thing although I’m surprised he is not a DLC or is he? Good news to Arab gamers and hope to see more features and new characters make refresh the series even though I am not a tekken fan.

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Microsoft is working on a new VR Headset for Xbox One

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VRFocus confirmed that Microsoft is working on a new Virtual Reality Headset for the Xbox One. Not surprising since this is a direct response to Sony’s  Project Morpheus and Oculus Rift.

What I don’t understand is; Why are Sony and Microsoft spending time and money on gimmicks? There will be a time for virtual reality and the matrix but it is not this day. Concentrate on fixing your consoles and optimize them. Fix the whole 1080p drama and help develop bugs free games. Time and energy is spent on failed so called future tech that no one will probibly care about, just like the Wii controller, just PS cam, just like Xbox kinect and so on.

I remember when the 3D craze was just getting started and they were selling us that the home 3D screen are the future only that no one cared and android smart TVs were flying off shelf instead.

When will the big boys realize that we just want proper games? This whole next gen future gadgets thing is getting out of hand. Gone are the days when I can simply insert the CD and start the game. Now we have to download 15GB+ day one patches and hope that games will be fixed later.

I am yet to find a reason to buy a next gen console as I can get everything on the PC for way cheaper and better. I find my self interested more in retro than the modern era consoles and crap like this only makes me want to stay in the past.

Nintendo on the other hand is trying to stay true to gaming but the horrible Wii U 3rd party support and the overpriced controller is killing them. Gaming companies should go back into making games fun to play and enjoyable instead on concentrating on crap no one is asking for.

Noe excuse me while I go look for food while browsing eBay for some real old school games. Out.

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Games take too much space

spacehdIt is the year 2014, video games has grown to the point that a single game install can take up to 50 GB+ let alone day one patch of 20 GB. This is becoming an issue to a growing number of gamers as hard disk space is something to be considered very seriously. Fast internet to download monthly patches is a luxury many don’t have including myself.

Now I know that games are getting bigger and more space is used by all the HD stuff and what not but I’m sure that sure that developers, if worked hard could come up with a way to optimize and compress the content without noticeably effecting the quality. We are doing this to video files since I don’t know when using Handbrake or other software so whats the problem with games? Compress the videos and music but give me a smaller  install requirement any day. Allow the option of selecting the install type and video/music quality to save disk space.

The other thing is the day one 1GB patch thing; take your time developing and optimizing. I understand that bugs are found after release but not this much. Assassin’s Creed Unity had over 300 bugs that are being fixed with patches, don’t tell Uobisoft did not know about that.

The simple fact is developers are rushing the games out half finished with hopes of fixing them along the line and that is something I hate! I can wait an extra month or two so please take your time and optimize. Gone are the days where developers had to figure of the PlayStation one and Sega Saturn to take a full advantage and release an optimized version and there were no patches back then. Now its all about money and quick yearly releases with little to no effort put in.

I really hope that future games become less space demanding and fully playable day one. Is that so much to ask?