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June 26, 2016
The Xbox One backwards compatible games list has been growing ever since the feature was added to the console late last year. This month, new games have been added to the list and the total amount of compatible games has now surpassed 200.
For those unaware, backwards compatibility refers to Xbox 360 games that are now supported on the Xbox One system. At the end of June Microsoft added the following games to their list.
Bloodforge - Bloodforge is a third-person hack n' slash style game developed by the Climax Studios and Microsoft Studios. The game was originally released as an Xbox Live Arcade title in 2012
Mars: War Logs - Mars: War Logs is a cyberpunk themed RPG game. The game was published by Focus Home Interactive. Originally Mars: War Logs was released in 2013.
Gripshift - GripShift was a stunt driving game that was developed by Sidhe Interactive and co-published by Red Mile Entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment and Ubisoft Entertainment
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June 21, 2016
It may sound odd, but the 343 Industries team are adding a new enemy to Halo 5 Warzone and it's called the 'Grunt Goblin'
The new Grunt Goblin will appear in games as either a Legendary or a Mythic boss. It's essentially a large covenant mech that seems to be the enemy equivalent to a Mantis. It's operated by a grunt and has a very, very large needler and a big fist that looks menacingly capable of smashing through pretty much anything.
Character designer Steve Dyck left a few statements about the new vehicle. "There are two variants of the Grunt Goblin with different capabilities. "Essentially, the backstory of this battle suit is it was built by Grunts for Grunts in what the Grunt designers agreed was the perfect embodiment of agility and lethality."
Senior systems designer Chris Proctor chipped in to say that, "Unlike other vehicles, the Grunt Goblin cannot be hijacked or boarded and has a complete immunity to EMP effects." This means plasma pistols aren't going
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March 13, 2016
A brand new Xbox One update has launched and it brings a number of changes, some of which were seen in the Preview Program that received an update earlier in the month. The update coincides with a Windows 10 Xbox update, both of which have some interesting improvements.
Firstly, a change has been made to party chat - the limit for players in a chat is now 16. Previously the player count for a party chat was 12. Party Chat originally launched with just 8 player support and it has grown since, mostly because it has been one of the most popularly used features. Xbox One engineer Mike Ybarra says that 64 player party chat may one day be a possibility. We'd hope that with that, we'd have some sort of channel sorting system so that party chat could be used as a voice server like Teamspeak 3 - players would be able to join different channels to avoid overspeaking other players who may be playing a different game. On top of the increased player amount, Xbox One owners will now be able to
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February 22, 2016
The next free update for Halo 5 will be hitting servers later this month and like previous updates before it, it will include some new game modes for multiplayer and a range of new items that can be picked up through REQ packs.
Perhaps the biggest addition to this month's free update is the inclusion of Griffball. Griffball is one of the most popular mini games for Halo and it features two teams as they fight to pick up a ball and place it in the opposing team's goal in a small court room. The reason why Griffball is so special is because players are loaded up with gravity hammers and energy swords.
Speaking of gravity hammers, this weapon will be making a big splash in Warzone this month - available as a rare REQ, the gravity hammer is sure to have a big impact on the playing field. It's hard to say whether there will be any extra REQs for the gravity hammer but the new Hammer Storm update will include a number of extra REQs for the assault rifle and the DMR.
Some
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February 14, 2016
To celebrate the occasion, 343 Industries has added a timed playlist into the Halo 5 arena. The new game mode pitches players against each other in a 2v2 battle. The new 2v2 game mode is called Valentine's Double Date.
The new 2v2 game mode features 2v2 battles on custom maps that have been filled with hearts and other Valentine themed items. The game mode for the Valentine's Double Date mode is limited to Slayer and players will start with the Halo 2 version of the Battle Rifle.
When you first hop into Halo 5 after the latest update, you'll see a pop-up message showing off the new playlist. As you can imagine, the update is unlikely to stay up for long. With that being said, the Valentine's day playlist is still currently live at the time of writing. It's great to see that 343 Industries are active and ready to create all sorts of free content for the Halo community, even if it is something as small as this latest playlist update.
Hopefully this marks the start of
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February 01, 2016
If you're a fan of the Halo franchise, you may want to check this out.
It turns out that the new Killer Instinct season will be getting some new fighters, one of which will be a familiar face for anybody that has played Halo 2 or Halo 3. It has been revealed that the Arbiter, an Elite that has allied with the Master Chief will be playable as a guest fighter in Killer Instinct season 3.
Alongside the addition of the Arbiter, Kim Wu will also be making a return to Killer Instinct. Kim Wu wields nun-chucks and also has a special dragon power. Kim Wu has been in Killer Instinct since 1996 so it's good to see the fighter making a return.
Season 3 of Killer Instinct will also introduce three more characters to the fighter lineup. The three new characters have been confirmed as Tusk, Gargos and Rash. Rash is a character from a well known classic 2D game called Battletoads - it's odd to see Rash as a 3D character but we can't wait to see how well he can put up a fight against
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January 06, 2016
Since the release date of Forge in December, Halo 5 players have been kept busy. All sorts of great Forge maps and custom game modes have been created since the release date of Forge but that has been one issue that many players have already come across.
Previously there was a limit on the number of files each player could upload to the Halo 5 servers. Whilst there still is a limit, it has now been increased so that players have a much larger amount of space to be creative with. Previously save files for custom game modes and Forge maps was set for just 40 slots, but players are now given 100 slots in total.
Forge mode has been an incredibly important part of the Halo franchise ever since Halo 3. A large part of the Halo community has grown around custom games and Forge maps and since Halo Reach, well-built custom Forge maps have even made it into the official matchmaking map rota. The same could happen for Halo 5, but there is still one missing feature.
A file share
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December 30, 2015
It has become quite common for developers to push back the release date of games and rightfully so. With a delayed release, developers are given a better chance to fine tune a game before it launches. Gears of War 4 has not had much shown off to the world so it would come as no surprise if the game had to be delayed.
What is surprising though is that Gears of War 4 has just been pushed forward. This means that the game will be available earlier than previously anticipated. In the past, Gears of War 4 was set for release in the 2016 Holidays but it has now been pushed forward to Fall 2016.
Whilst this jump in time isn't that significant, it should mean that gamers will be able to purchase the upcoming Gears of War title before the inevitable holiday rush for other new releases that happens each year. Fortunately we will be getting a glimpse of Gears of War 4 before Fall 2016. In Spring, a beta for Gears of War 4 will be available online.
Whilst there is no guaranteed
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December 04, 2015
Due to the reception of the Xbox One Elite controller exceeding Microsoft's original plans, the stock for the controller has mostly been wiped out across the globe. Currently Microsoft is working on manufacturing more Xbox One Elite Controllers to meet the unexpected demand, but for now Xbox owners are limited for choices if they'd like to get their hands on a controller.
According to Phil Spencer, Microsoft is working right now to get more stock for the $150 controller that has advanced features. Phil Spencer has taken to Twitter to apologize for it being so hard for gamers to find an Xbox Elite controller.
Unfortunately Xbox can't promise that they'll get more units out in time for Christmas. Phil mentioned that, "Demand has just exceeded our planning. If you find one [Elite controller] and you want it, pick it up, sorry."
One option for those looking to get an Xbox One Elite controller for Christmas is to pick up one of the various Elite console bundles that feature
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December 02, 2015
Now that December has arrived, Major Nelson has updated his personal blog to introduce the new games that will be available for free as part of the December Games with Gold promotion. This month there will be five different titles that will be available at different times throughout.
Three of the titles available are on the Xbox 360 whilst the other two are Xbox One titles.
Starting with the Xbox 360, the first title available will be Castlestorm. Usually a $9.99 digital arcade title, CastleStorm is a 2013 game developed by Zen Studios. CastleStorm features a variety of medieval weaponry that players can use to protect themselves from oncoming enemies. The objective of CastleStorm is defend your castle.
The second game available on Xbox 360 will be Sacred 3 - this title is usually available for $19.99 on the Xbox Games Store and it will be available on Xbox 360 for free, starting on December 16 and ending on December 31.
The third Xbox 360 game, which Major Nelson