XBL Deals - Jan 6 - Sep 4, 2014

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Recent Updates

  • 9/2 - Deals with Gold, Spotlight Activision, Misc Markdowns
  • 8/28 - Sept GwG announced, Misc Markdown
  • 8/27 - NFS Rivals XB1 added to Deals with Gold, Ascend server shutdown
  • 8/26 - Deals with Gold, Summer Binge, Spotlight Shadow Complex, Misc Markdowns
  • 8/23 - Castlevania: LOS2 Misc Markdown
This thread will maintain a list of all current and upcoming sales and markdowns on the Xbox Live Marketplace / Xbox Games Store for the USA.  YMMV in other regions.  If non-US sales are listed, they will be marked with their applicable region(s).
 
Please note:

  • You cannot currently buy any Xbox 360 content on xbox.com using your account balance, you can only use an active credit card or PayPal. To use your balance, you must make purchases on your console.  Unfortunately, even "purchasing" free content through the web site like trials requires an alternative method of payment tied to your account, though adding an empty MasterCard / Visa gift card that is registered for online purchases will work.  Xbox One games can be purchased on the web site with your account balance, but DLC cannot.
  • Some sales are intended for Gold subscribers only, as noted within each section.  This requires being a paid subscriber or within a console-activated "1 month complimentary Gold trial" account.  Neither 48 hour trials, 14 day trials nor free weekends qualify.
  • All known sales and information on sales should make their way into the OP. Major Nelson usually updates his blog with new sales information every other Tuesday.
  • ALL OFFERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE! No information within this thread can or should be construed as accurate (or still valid), therefore ...
  • Always verify Xbox Live Marketplace prices before your purchase!
  • Spend wisely, have fun, and enjoy!
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Deals with Gold
Gold subscription required
 

9/2 - 9/8 - Misc


[*]Persona 4 Arena - $9.98 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil 4 - $6.59 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil Revelations - $13.59 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Rock of Ages - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
8/26 - 9/1 - NFS Rivals DLC / KI Sabrewulf


[*]Need for Speed Rivals - $19.79 - 67% off - xbldb - base game part of Summer Binge Sale below

8/19 - 8/25 - Call of Duty / Trials Fusion

  • XB1 - Trials Fusion - $13.39 - 33% off (free price on web site is a trial version)
  • XB1 Call of Duty: Ghosts (console only)
    Season Pass - $24.99 - 50% off
  • Legend Pack - CPT Price - $1.99 - 50% off
  • Legend Pack - Makarov - $1.99 - 50% off
  • Snoop Dogg VO Pack - $1.49 - 50% off
  • Squad Pack - Extinction - $1.99 - 50% off

[*]Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $14.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - $19.99 - 60% off - xbldb

[*]Call of Duty: Black Ops - $19.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Call of Duty: Black Ops II - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb

[*]Call of Duty: Ghosts

8/12 - 8/18 - Square Enix, Fight Night

8/5 - 8/11 - Misc


[*]Terraria - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
7/29 - 8/4 - EA sale

  • XB1 - Battlefield 4 DLC - console only purchase
    Premium - 33% off
    China Rising - 33% off
  • Naval Strike - 33% off
  • Second Assault - 33% off

[*]Ultimate Shortcut Bundle - 33% off

[*]Battlefield 4 DLC

[*]Ultimate Shortcut Bundle - $33.49 - 33% off - xbldb

[*]2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - $17.99 - 70% off - xbldb
[*]FIFA 14 - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Madden NFL 25 - $24.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]NHL 14 - $24.99 - 50% off - xbldb
7/22 - 7/28 - Superhero sale


[*]Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins - $7.49 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Mortal Kombat vs. DCU - $9.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - $19.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Young Justice: Legacy - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
7/15 - 7/21 - PvZ: Garden Warfare XB1, BioShock


7/8 - 7/14 - Titanfall XB1, Serious Sam and various DLCs


[*]The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[*]The Walking Dead: Season Two - Season Pass - $7.49 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]WWE 2K14 Season Pass -  $9.99 - 50% off - xbldb
7/1 - 7/7 - Thief XB1, Ubisoft XBLA and others

6/24 - 6/30 - Ryse / Diablo / Fable / Payday

  • XB1 - Ryse: Son of Rome - $49.99 - 17% off
    Season Pass - $9.99 - 50% off - console only

[*]Diablo III - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Payday 2 - $12.94 - 63% off - xbldb
[*]Fable II - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Fable III - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Fable Heroes - $3.39 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Fable Anniversary DLC

6/17 - 6/23 - Rockstar Sale, part Umpteen, plus Deadfall & XB1


[*]Midnight Club: LA - $3.74 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Red Dead Redemption - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb
6/10 - 6/16 - Hodgepodge, Part II, or "Oh shit, we forgot to schedule a sale"


[*]Forza Horizon - $10.19 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil Revelations - $13.59 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Terraria - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
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Games with Gold
Gold subscription required, Xbox One games are only playable while Gold is active, but can be added to your account with a Gold trial
 
Free Games


[*]Sep 1-15 - Monaco: What's Yours is Mine - xbldb
[*]Sep 16-30 - Halo: Reach - xbldb
[*]Sep XB1 - Games can be purchased without requiring an Xbox One console


[*]Jul 1-15 - Gotham City Impostors - xbldb
[*]Jul 16-31 - BattleBlock Theater - xbldb
[*]Jul XB1 - Games can be purchased without requiring an Xbox One console
Related sales ** END DATES UNKNOWN **

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Sales & Specials

[customspoiler=Note]If the start & end dates are not well-defined, ACT FAST! since these "sales" could end anytime. However, they may also be permanent markdowns.[/customspoiler]

Spotlight Activision Sale - 9/2 - 9/8

Spotlight Shadow Complex- 8/26 - 9/1

Summer Binge Sale - 8/26 - 9/1 - Both Gold only and Silver discounts


[*]Far Cry 3 - $9.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Forza Horizon - $9.89 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Guardians of Middle-earth - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Left 4 Dead - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Lego The Lord of the Rings - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - $14.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Mafia II - $3.99 - 80% off - xbldb
[*]Murdered: Soul Suspect - $29.99 - 40% off - xbldb
[*]Need for Speed Rivals - $19.79 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]NFL Blitz - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Plants vs. Zombies - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb

[*]Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare - $20.09 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]Rayman Legends - $13.19 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Ridge Racer Unbounded - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Sniper Elite 3 - $26.79 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]SoulCalibur V - $3.74 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Spec Ops: The Line - $4.49 - 85% off - xbldb
[*]Star Trek - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]State of Decay

[*]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - $4.94 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Twisted Pixel Games Bundle - $9.89 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]The Walking Dead: Season Two - Season Pass - $10.04 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]The Wolf Among Us - Season Pass - $10.04 - 33% off - xbldb
Spotlight Rockstar - 8/19 - 8/25


[*]Grand Theft Auto V - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]L.A. Noire - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb

[*]Max Payne 3 - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb

[*]Midnight Club: LA - $3.74 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Red Dead Redemption - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb

[*]Rockstar Table Tennis - $3.74 - 75% off - xbldb
Spotlight Just Dance - 8/12 - 8/18 - Gold only


N64 Banjo Bundle - 7/9 - 8/8


Spotlight XB1 Ghosts (aka, the new Risk Factions) - 8/5 - 8/11

Spotlight Capcom - 8/5 - 8/11


[*]Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara - $5.09 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Dustforce - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Final Fight: Double Impact - $3.99 - 60% off - xbldb
[*]Lost Planet 2 - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Lost Planet 3 - $13.59 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Mega Man 9 - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Mega Man 10 - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Puzzle Fighter HD - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]Remember Me - $9.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil Code: Veronica X - $6.59 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil 4 - $6.59 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil 5 - $6.59 - 67% off - xbldb

[*]Resident Evil 6

[*]Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City - $11.59 - 71% off - xbldb
[*]Resident Evil Revelations - $13.59 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix - $5.09 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition - $3.74 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Street Fighter X Tekken

Spotlight Splatters - 7/29 - 8/4

Spotlight Deep Silver - 7/22 - 7/28

Spotlight Nordic - 7/22 - 7/28


[*]Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon - $3.99 - 80% off - xbldb
[*]Frontlines: Fuel of War - $3.99 - 80% off - xbldb - Unobtainable achievements (servers offline)
[*]Jeopardy! - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]MX vs. ATV Alive - $4.99 - 75% off - xbldb
[*]Painkiller Hell & Damnation - $5.99 - 80% off - xbldb

[*]The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief Episode 1 - $2.49 - 75% off - xbldb

[*]Red Faction: Armageddon - $7.49 - 75% off - xbldb

[*]Red Faction: Guerrilla - $9.99 - 50% off - xbldb

[*]Zombie Driver HD - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
Spotlight Bethesda QuakeCon Sale - 7/17 - 7/20

Ultimate Games Sale - 7/8 - 7/14
Same DLC also on sale on XB1 through console with same discount


[*]July 9

[*]July 10

[*]July 11

[*]July 12

[*]July 13

[*]July 14

[*]All week

[*]The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition - $9.89 - 67% off - xbldb
[*]Trials Evolution - $5.09 - 66% off - xbldb
[*]Trials Fusion - $13.39 - 33% off - xbldb

Spotlight Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag DLC - 7/1 - 7/7
Same DLC also on sale on XB1 through console with same discount


Spotlight Pro Evolution Soccer - 7/1 - 7/7


FIFA World Cup Brazil - 6/26 - 6/30

Spotlight Sega - 6/24 - 6/30

Spotlight Lego - 6/24 - 6/30

Spotlight? - 6/17 - 6/23 - Saints Row passes & KI Sabrewulf

Pseudo Deals with Gold - 6/10 - 6/16 - GTA


[*]Grand Theft Auto V - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb
Xbox One Sales

  • XB1 Xbox Fitness - FREE until January 2015
  • Feb 27-? - Zoo Tycoon - $39.99 - 33% off (360 version also, see below)
Skullgirls characters

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Misc. Markdowns / Recently Reduced
[customspoiler=Notes]May be permanent mark downs, may be temporary pricing errors. Items marked with a * have been confirmed as permanent reductions either on the console dashboard, on Xbox.com's Recently Reduced page or corroborated from other sources (PSN, dev/pub, etc)[/customspoiler]
 
September 2014

August 2014


[*]8/5 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - $19.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]8/5 - NHL 14 - $39.99 - 20% off - xbldb
[*]8/5 - Madden NFL 25 - $29.99 - 40% off - xbldb
[*]8/5 - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - $39.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]8/5 - NCAA Football 14 - $29.99 - 40% off - xbldb
[*]8/5 - NBA 2K14 - $39.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]8/4 - South Park: The Stick of Truth - $39.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]8/4 - Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag - $29.99 - 25% off - xbldb
July 2014


June 2014

May 2014
April 2014

March 2014

February 2014
[/customspoiler]
[/customspoiler]

[*]2/10 - Far Cry 3 - $19.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]2/6 - Ruby Soho by Rancid - $0.99 - 50% off - xbldb - Guitar Hero World Tour
[*]2/6 - Death Blossoms by Rise Against - $0.99 - 50% off - xbldb - Guitar Hero World Tour
[*]2/6 - Guitar Hero Track Pack 4 - $3.49 - 44% off - xbldb - Guitar Hero II
[*]2/4 - XB1 - Lococycle - $9.99 - 50% off * - Confirmed permanent by Major Nelson
[*]2/4 - Armored Core: Verdict Day - $19.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]2/3 - Metro: Last Light - $39.99 - 20% off - xbldb
[*]2/3 - Zumba Fitness Core - $29.99 - 25% off - xbldb * Confirmed on Dashboard

January 2014

[*]1/21 - Borderlands 2 - $19.99 - 33% off - xbldb  *
[*]1/21 - BioShock Infinite - $29.99 - 25% off - xbldb *
[*]1/21 - The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - $29.99 - 50% off - xbldb *
[*]1/17 - Warlords - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb - Previously delisted, relisted at lower price, unknown if it will remain
[*]1/16 - Rayman Origins - $14.99 - 25% off - xbldb
[*]1/14 - Armored Core: Verdict Day - $29.99 - 40% off - xbldb
[*]1/9 - Aqua - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]1/8 - Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff - $19.99 - 50% off - xbldb
[*]1/7 - Assassin’s Creed IV Illustrious Pirates Pack - $6.99 - 30% off - xbldb
[*]1/6 - Saints Row IV - $39.99 - 33% off - xbldb
[*]1/1 - Hydrophobia - $2.99 - 40% off - xbldb *

December 2013
________________________________________________________________________
 
Misc. Promotions

________________________________________________________________________
 
Xbox Live Rewards
________________________________________________________________________
 
Cross Buy Promotions
 
Between Xbox 360 and Xbox One :

________________________________________________________________________
 
Microtransaction Deals [customspoiler=Note]Not tracked by xbldb, use playXBLA for blog updates for these deals.[/customspoiler]


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Delisting / Server Shutdown Watch


[*]Capcom Gamespy server shutdown - expected 5/31
  • Age of Booty - 2 achievements become unobtainable with loss of online play
  • Flock! - level editor sharing disabled, no achievements affected

[*]Rockstar games affected by Gamespy server shutdown - expected 5/31

[*]Ubisoft online server shutdown - expected 8/8
  • America's Army: True Soldiers
  • James Cameron's Avatar
  • Motionsports Adrenaline
  • PowerUp Heroes
  • Pure Football
  • Shaun White Snowboarding
  • Tom Clancy's EndWar
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent

[*]Rock Band tracks - expected 8/26
  • Fleetwood Mac - "World Turning"
  • Fleetwood Mac - "Don’t Stop"
  • Spinal Tap Pack 01 - $1.00 - 71% off - xbldb
    Back From The Dead
  • Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare
  • Saucy Jack
  • Warmer Than Hell

[*]Spinal Tap’s Tap Ten - $1.00 - 89% off - xbldb
  • (Funky) Sex Farm
  • (Listen to The) Flower People (Reggae Style)
  • America
  • Big Bottom
  • Cups and Cakes
  • Gimme Some Money
  • Heavy Duty
  • Hell Hole
  • Rock N Roll Creation
  • Stonehenge
  • Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight

[*]Official forums announcement

[*]Doritos Crash Course 2

[*]Ascend: Hand of Kul


[*]Rock Band Track - Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" - expected Apr 30, gone Apr 28

[*]BurgerTime World Tour - $4.99 - 50% off - xbldb - expected Apr 30

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Thanks to reddjoey, tylerh1701, BobbyTastic and Necrozilla for maintaining prior versions of this thread, and to all those who have posted deals and made Wiki edits.  This thread is truly a collaborative effort built from the contributions of the community.
 

 
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Upvote 0 Downvote
guessed said:
I can't believe Table Tennis hasn't been mentioned.
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I'm sorry, but Table Tennis does not need a sequel more than most of these games.

BettercallPitPat said:
It really was much better than I expected too. Too bad about the dlc but it was a total rip off. Just YouTube it to see what you "missed."
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Oh no, I got the DLC. It was at $1 right before it got delisted, so I figured I'd get it then and get the full game later. But yes, $10 for a former GameStop pre-order bonus was steep (Deadpool's was $3 iirc), but I'm sure it's easily worth $1 for the in-game DISMEMBERMENT ROOM.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/wolverine-pre-order-bonus-dismemberment-room-other-unique-toy/

 
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I'd love more Enslaved, still waiting on the DLC to hit a sale. Trip was awesome. I'm going to dig deep and wish for an HD remake or sequel to a game most people have probably never heard of... DEATHROW! That game was greatness. Everytime a friend would come over to play games I'd show them Deathrow, and then we'd have to play an entire season with only the morning sun to end our fun. Good times.
 
FriskyTanuki said:
There was definitely plenty of criticism about GTA IV around the launch that happened outside of the glowing reviews that isn't just people taking part in some sort of hate parade later on, as I know I had my fair share of issues from the start. The bad controls, the cognitive dissonance with Niko's story, the lack of mid-mission checkpoints, and the overly pushy friends that constantly called you to hang out were the main issues for me. The Bank Heist mission specifically was the part where it went from 'This is pretty cool!" to "I'm never going to play this game again." before I sold it off.
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You're lucky you quit while you were ahead. The final mission of GTAIV can go fuck itself. The Lost and the Damned on the other hand was easygoing. By the end you're given free body armor and ammo for every weapon(including rockets).

 
Games I want sequels/remakes of:

Gex

Rampage (I know it's pretty mediocre, but I still really like it. It's the perfect XBLA/PSN game.)

PowerStone

Midnight Club

Rival Schools/Project Justice

Knights of the Old Republic

I'm holding out for all of these. I got some of my wishes (Hydro Thunder, Stryder, Killer Instinct).

 
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E.Nich said:
I loved Enslaved and it's DLC so much that I don't think it needs a sequel. It's great just as it is.

Yep, it's the game where you go "scorting" a girl, because if you go too far, your head explodes! But Trip (the girl) is a tough girl, mainly because she owns a taser, and if a mech goes near her... well, it gets fried and you go and kill it. You don't really worry about her being killed in the game as much as you dying because you went too far without her.

The game wasn't too popular, but it's one of my faves from this past gen.
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Did Enslaved's DLC ever go on sale?

 
the Gooseler said:
Everybody taking about Rickstar games needing sequels brings to mind my favorite coop game that I wish would get an HD remake, because a sequel wouldn't make sense, the Warriors. that was a badass game that blended right into the movie. PS3 has it but only a port.
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Come out and plaaayyeeeeeee! (Agreed)

And yeah Eye tracking has been out but it's cool to see it implemented in game design now. GDC is a place where all the tech gets talked about so keep that in mind, check yo levels as this is a future conference where concepts, prototypes and ideas will be discussed back and forth lol. E3 will be where we get to see things implemented, shown off in proper form.

 
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RiceQuakes said:
Games I want sequels/remakes of:

Gex

Rampage (I know it's pretty mediocre, but I still really like it. It's the perfect XBLA/PSN game.)

PowerStone

Midnight Club

Rival Schools/Project Justice

Knights of the Old Republic

I'm holding out for all of these. I got some of my wishes (Hydro Thunder, Stryder, Killer Instinct).
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To this very day, I'm still befuddled as to why Capcom didn't bring a Power Stone Collection to XBLA. Complete no-brainer, IMO.

 
Backlog story time, I gotta say I've never been a huge achievement hunter, but this year I already completed all achievements on 8 games (plus 2 more when I finished all of the base game but currently lack the DLC for 100% completion). In the previous 4 or so years of X360, I managed to 100% around 14 games. A couple more are coming, 3-4 more games should likely be 100%'d in a week or two hopefully. Also finished multiple other games as well, games where, however, the 100% of achievements require more skills than I own, but still got tons of achievements in those too so I'm good. In general I'm glad because when I finish a game and I get rid of all the achievements with it, I can just delete the game to make room for something else (which is definitely important right now, given the fact I probably have around 600 GBs of stuff for a 250GBs HDD). Some of the things I plan on beginning soon: Asura's Wrath, X-Blades, and likely some quick arcade games. With all these sales, working more seriously on the backlog became absolutely necessary, but it's very satisfying to finally complete games that I've been having there sitting for lenghty periods of time.

 
RiceQuakes said:
Games I want sequels/remakes of:

Gex

Rampage (I know it's pretty mediocre, but I still really like it. It's the perfect XBLA/PSN game.)

PowerStone

Midnight Club

Rival Schools/Project Justice

Knights of the Old Republic

I'm holding out for all of these. I got some of my wishes (Hydro Thunder, Stryder, Killer Instinct).
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Rampage....Mediocre?!?! I love those games haha, it's always a blast playing them especially in coop! I would definitely enjoy a new one!

 
You know, with the resurgence of all thing's 80's and now with 90's franchises making a resurgence, there is one franchise I want to see brought to XBL or PSN just for sheer what the fuck. Revolution X. The 90's arcade shooter where everything you like (yes, YOU) has been deemed illegal and it's up to you (age demographic 13-30 as seen in the intro) to get to Aerosmith and start the revolution with the band responsible for such hits as that song where an elevator was metaphor for oral sex. All while you to use a gun that shoots flaming CD's to get to the band while Steven Tyler says abunch of random things after doing a line of coke. The mere concept is so insane and of it's time that it must be preserved for future generations in saying "yes, this happened" followed by "no this company isn't in business anymore, why do you ask?".

 
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I always wished for a Rockstar movie adaption game based on the Die Hard series. I can't think of another company that could pull it off correctly.
 
HaloGX said:
Rivals Schools had a sequel, Project Justice on Dreamcast.
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I know, I also own a Dreamcast. I meant another sequel, or something done right now (for the 360's marketplace if possible).

Spybreak9 said:
Did Enslaved's DLC ever go on sale?
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bardockkun said:
Nope, but it's totally worth the $10. Just the fact they made a whole new story with Pigsy with locations and such and it plays totally different shows how much they cared for it.
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What bardockkun said. Really worth it. It's like an arcade game starring Pigsy.

 
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Since we're talking about things that have a long-due sequel that should be made... Jazz Jackrabbit. The 2nd one was, to this day, my favourite platformer ever. Fast as Sonic (but with tons of weapons), brilliant controls than easily rival (if not beat Mario), fantastic amounf of content, lovely music, tons of gameplay elements, a lot of secrets, and even a very well made multiplayer and a level editor, along with moddability and pretty much infintie replayability. And the sprites still look awesome to this day. The series never went past the 2nd installation: there was a 3rd episode coming out with the Unreal Engine 1 at one point, but development for that stopped, and besides a somewhat solid leaked alpha there is nothing that came out of it. It's been too much since we had an actual Jazz Jackrabbit. Epic still owns the rights to it, and in fact they occasionall pull off Jazz in some Unreal Engine asset or in mascot-ish duties, but please, just make a new game already. I'm sure a lot of people would buy it for 15$ or so.

 
Spybreak9 said:
@Baboy Yup, felt really happy and fulfilled when I 100%ed Borderlands 2 when I got the last challenge done for that Challenge Accepted Achievement.

I don't 100% many retail games, I like to play an assortment of games.
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All the greedy DLCs and the endless wait we had to endure for the level cap increases (which even have to be paid) made me stop playing Borderlands 2 a while ago, after the first DLC came out pretty much. I own the season pass so I need to check out 3 more campaigns (and the 4th campaign DLC looks gorgeous), however Gearbox's EA-like greed really put me off that game. I'll eventually get back into it, if not else, to make my season pass purchase worthy and to get more achievements, but I doubt I ever want to have to do with Borderlands after that if this is the direction it's taking. It's a shame, because I had like 180 hours in one character alone in the first game, whereas I probably did not get over 50 hours on the sequel.

By the way, checking how much time does a game require to be 100%'d is a great way of killing my backlog. When I have a free afternoon and I find a game that apparently needs like 2-3 hours to be completed, I just jump into it and complete it one sitting, so I can delete it and move onto something else (though I do not delete addictive stuff like Bejeweled 3, they're small enough to be kept and also they're the digital equivalent of crack, so...).

 
Baboy said:
Backlog story time, I gotta say I've never been a huge achievement hunter, but this year I already completed all achievements on 8 games (plus 2 more when I finished all of the base game but currently lack the DLC for 100% completion). In the previous 4 or so years of X360, I managed to 100% around 14 games. A couple more are coming, 3-4 more games should likely be 100%'d in a week or two hopefully. Also finished multiple other games as well, games where, however, the 100% of achievements require more skills than I own, but still got tons of achievements in those too so I'm good. In general I'm glad because when I finish a game and I get rid of all the achievements with it, I can just delete the game to make room for something else (which is definitely important right now, given the fact I probably have around 600 GBs of stuff for a 250GBs HDD). Some of the things I plan on beginning soon: Asura's Wrath, X-Blades, and likely some quick arcade games. With all these sales, working more seriously on the backlog became absolutely necessary, but it's very satisfying to finally complete games that I've been having there sitting for lenghty periods of time.
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I discussed about this topic with a friend last night and went through the list of games I'd completed the achievements. Fun fun.

Fun fact for me: My first 1,000/1,000 was EDF 2017. Years later, now playing EDF 2025..Tons of fun :)

 
The 4th DLC was the only Borderlands 2 DLC that I enjoyed playing. Decent (somewhat sad) story, fun side quests, and no annoying grinding achievements. If you don't care about completing the achievements 100% (including DLC), I recommend skipping the first 3. I played through the first 3 once with a friend and didn't enjoy it much. The 4th one I played through twice, solo and with a friend, and it was fun the whole time.

I think I played BL2 much more than BL1, but I don't feel like I accomplished as much. In BL1, I had all the good stuff and could play on highest difficulty no problem. BL2 had too much to do. 120+ hours played and I still don't have certain shops unlocked and I think I am a few difficulties behind highest.

I'm going to stick with the BL series (if there is a 3rd one) because of co-op and I want a series that I can maintain 100% GS in. It was going to be Tetris, but then they had to release Splash with a 10 hours of multiplayer achievement.

 
Rip44 said:
Because Capcom isn't known for being smart.
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Says the man with Ryu as his avatar. :p (I kid, I kid).

bardockkun said:
You know, with the resurgence of all thing's 80's and now with 90's franchises making a resurgence, there is one franchise I want to see brought to XBL or PSN just for sheer what the fuck. Revolution X. The 90's arcade shooter where everything you like (yes, YOU) has been deemed illegal and it's up to you (age demographic 13-30 as seen in the intro) to get to Aerosmith and start the revolution with the band responsible for such hits as that song where an elevator was metaphor for oral sex. All while you to use a gun that shoots flaming CD's to get to the band while Steven Tyler says abunch of random things after doing a line of coke. The mere concept is so insane and of it's time that it must be preserved for future generations in saying "yes, this happened" followed by "no this company isn't in business anymore, why do you ask?".
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Apparently I've hit some sort of "like quota", which is terrible because I keep clicking "Like This Post" and it won't let me. That was beautiful (and completely accurate for anyone who thinks Bardock's just making shit up (well, coke isn't in game, but it's a fair assumption)).

defgufman said:
I always wished for a Rockstar movie adaption game based on the Die Hard series. I can't think of another company that could pull it off correctly.
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I could see that. I'd much rather them make that Agent game though, sounded really cool.

Bercelak said:
I discussed about this topic with a friend last night and went through the list of games I'd completed the achievements. Fun fun.

Fun fact for me: My first 1,000/1,000 was EDF 2017. Years later, now playing EDF 2025..Tons of fun :)
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Now this is a man with good taste. I never 1k'd 2017 and I really need to. I forget what my first 1k was, I'll get back to you.

Did you download all 4 free packs for 2025 by the way? If so, how FUN is that inflatable maid decoy?

bob101910 said:
The 4th DLC was the only Borderlands 2 DLC that I enjoyed playing. Decent (somewhat sad) story, fun side quests, and no annoying grinding achievements. If you don't care about completing the achievements 100% (including DLC), I recommend skipping the first 3.
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That's because the first three DLCs were surprise surprise, outsourced. Tiny Tina's was the only one actually done by Gearbox.

One of the many things they did out of, as Baboy put it "EA-level greed" (releasing an unfinished Game of the Year edition, charging twice for level cap bumps which were previously claimed to be impossible, not including both level cap bumps in the Season Pass, the relative laziness/overpricing of the Headhunter DLCs (should have been one big pack)) . Also, I completely understand where you're coming from in regards to how you feel about the first one over the second one.

I HIGHLY recommend watching this video to see what's wrong with BL2 as well as some of the scummy stuff Gearbox did with it (he's very critical, but watch to the end to see why, or just skip to the 9 minute mark to see the main scummy stuff).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka4AWj2pGlg

I recommend this article for the scoop on the majority of Gearbox's missteps (there's more, but I could go on about them all day). -> http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/03/15/from-codehunters-to-aliens-colonial-marines-how-gearbox-has-become-one-of-the-most-controversial-studios-in-the-industry/

It's Forbes, so you know it's serious business. :p

 
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Tried to quote on the phone. Didn't work..anyway I did get all free add-ons for edf 2025. The inflatable maid was funny to watch. I also got first and second mission packs. Too many to go before third mission pack.

Seriously guys..go. buy. 2025. Its on sale on amazon right now.
 
Interesting video, bobby. I always thought Borderlands artstyle was Gearbox original. What a kick in the balls for that animated short film director. And I personally never liked Anthony Burch since his time as Destructoid editor, where he refused to review Metro 2033 cos he "shot weapons and bullets barely reach the target". That lack of ability for understanding the game context and story speaks for itself of him as a scripter.

 
Bercelak said:
Tried to quote on the phone. Didn't work..anyway I did get all free add-ons for edf 2025. The inflatable maid was funny to watch. I also got first and second mission packs. Too many to go before third mission pack.

Seriously guys..go. buy. 2025. Its on sale on amazon right now.
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It's probably because of the video. I didn't wanna double post. Glad you got the free shit (I'm still really impressed they released even the GAMESTOP pre-order bonus for free, that was very nice of them). How are the mission packs (if you've played them yet, that is)? I'm holding off because I don't own a copy yet, have just played it elsewhere.

I second his recommendation by the way, it's $40 at GS and Amazon right now. Well worth it (as long as you get the 360 version (PS3 version noticeably underperforms)).

shulamm said:
Interesting video, bobby. I always thought Borderlands artstyle was Gearbox original. What a kick in the balls for that animated short film director. And I personally never liked Anthony Burch since his time as Destructoid editor, where he refused to review Metro 2033 cos he "shot weapons and bullets barely reach the target". That lack of ability for understanding the game context and story speaks for itself of him as a scripter.
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Well, I'm glad at least one more person in the world knows about what they did. But yes, Borderlands originally had a completely different, more realistic artstyle that was pretty good looking but was also just.. generic. It didn't stand out at all.

Here's the original trailer with that original artstyle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlZv9fEY_co

As for the kick in the balls comment, yeah, it is. At least people know the truth now.

What's even worse is that the woman who made the original artstyle was so disappointed they threw out her work, she quit Gearbox entirely. I think part of the reason is that she knew where the new artstyle came from and was disgusted.

As for Burch, yeah, he's always been a pretentious prick precisely for stuff like in the video and that Metro debacle.

 
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I don't like to repeat myself (I remember making a post regarding this a couple months ago), but Gearbox is really starting to go in a direction that I can't approve or like anymore. The first Borderlands 1 was absolutely gorgeous, and had such great DLCs (for a lovely price too), along with free level cap increases and whatever. A really fresh experience that they pretty much rehashed in the sequel, losing all balance they had (I think everyone remembers that teleporting bullets gun combo thing that killed any boss in seconds), adding an insane amount of greedy DLC. Add to that the Aliens thing, how they barely even did anything to Duke Nukem Forever (they've been sitting on a "finished" game for a year, cutting out stuff to put as DLC and outsourcing the multiplayer). About outsourcing, when Aliens turned out to be a turd, they pointed out "well, not our fault, it's not like we made it". Same happened with Duke Nukem: "well, 3DR made it, blame them". And the Borderlands 2 DLC: "well we didn't make them, no critics pls". They've made a couple great games, and now then suddenly seem to think they're the next id, Valve or Blizzard of gaming, that they only poop gold, and can feed any kind of ridicolous half-finished games, locked in-game content, 45 minutes DLCs, sell content that was supposed to be in the base game, etc. etc.. If this was EA I'd expect it, but I did not see this coming from GBX's way, so all in all I'll likely get back into Borderlands 2 eventually - hell, I bought the Season Pass, may as well finish what little DLC is included in it (mind-boggling how there's more DLCs OUTSIDE of the pass than inside of it - and not even the GOTY has all of them). It's a shame because it's a great game, but their BS policies to make money out of everything (kinda like the last two Battlefield games) really left a sour taste in my mouth and makes it hard for me to go back to such a game.

Especially nowadays: look at the sales we keep getting. We get giant RPGs for like 5$, massive racing games that can take you hundreds of hours for a few bucks, brilliant arcade games that will surprise you for the price of a coffee. When we can get so much value for our money, it really stands out negatively when a company attempts to charge you even for the air you breathe.

 
Baboy said:
-snip-
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Couldn't agree more. I'm still convinced Gearbox peaked years ago, as the best thing they ever made was HL: Opposing Force. And the Halo PC port. :p

Not to say I didn't enjoy BL1 and BiA, but still, all downhill from there. I'm dreading the new Homeworld.

Speaking of Gearbox doucebaggery. Here's a new one. -> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/02/gearbox-suing-3d-realms-over-duke-nukem-mass-destruction-rpg/

Gearbox are in their rights to sue, but their comments in the lawsuit regarding 3DRealms handling of DNF is the pot calling the kettle black. There's speculation Gearbox only did the game so they could own the IP/franchise rights to Duke, and as such, put in as little effort as possible.

Edit: Okay I've gone too far off-topic. Gotta think of something relevant.

Uhh.. Max and the Curse of Brotherhood is getting a release on 360? The date's April 9th.

Also, a bunch of titles were confirmed for Xbox One through ID@Xbox. Here's the list:
  • 1001 Spikes” by Nicalis – This hardcore side-scroller features precise controls and a degree of difficulty that means starting with 1001 lives is not at all a guarantee you can make it through the game! Every level is custom designed to be beaten… barely. The game also includes co-op and cutthroat multiplayer modes.
  • “Calibre 10 Racing Series” by Bongfish GmbH – “Calibre 10 Racing Series” is a spiritual successor to “Harms Way.” The game is entirely multiplayer in a new experience that combines action-packed racing with fast-paced first person shooting.
  • “CastleStorm” by Zen Studios – It’s Knights vs. Vikings in “CastleStorm,” a super genre mash-up of 2D physics destruction mashed with tower defense brawler! “CastleStorm” features a story-driven solo campaign, a custom castle editor, online multiplayer, co-op modes, and more.
  • “Chariot” by Frima – “Chariot” is a humorous physics-based couch co-op platformer in which a brave princess and her suitor carry a funeral wagon through ancient mines, fending off swarms of looters while amassing riches, to bury the King's remains in a worthy gold-filled tomb.
  • “Chuck’s Challenge 3D” by Niffler – From the design veteran behind the classic game “Chip's Challenge,” comes “Chuck’s Challenge 3D,” a fiendishly addictive puzzler that’s packed with features that will tease the brain and challenge the fingers.
  • “Contrast” by Compulsion Games – “Contrast” is a 2D/3D adventure game, set in a surreal, 1920s, film noir dreamscape. You must help Didi explore the mysteries surrounding her family, by using your ability to shift at will between the 3D world and your 2D shadow.
  • “Divekick Addition Edition +” by Iron Galaxy Studios – “Divekick” is the world’s first-ever two-button fighting game! Now anyone can experience the thrill of fighting games without memorizing complex combos and finger-contorting button presses.
  • “Forced” by BetaDwarf ApS – One- to four-player co-op arcade adventure with puzzles and tactical elements. You are cast as slaves in the toughest fantasy gladiator school of them all, condemned to fight as a gladiator and eventually win your freedom.
  • “FRU” by Through Games – “Fru” is a Kinect-based puzzle platformer in which the player utilizes both a joystick and their body to control the game. In fact, in “Fru,” the player's silhouette is used to reveal what lies beneath the world at first glance. “Fru's” gameplay changes according to the player's shape, pose and movement.
  • “Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition” by DrinkBox Studios – “Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition” is an action-packed, 2D brawler/platformer that alternates between the worlds of the living and the dead.
  • “Gunscape” by Blowfish Studios – At its heart, “Gunscape” is an FPS construction kit: A game with solid action gameplay, a welcoming approach to map building and a huge toolbox of iconic weapons, monsters and level elements that can be extensively combined to create new and exciting gameplay experiences.
  • “Habitat” by 4gency – “Habitat” is a space-themed strategy game set in Earth's orbit, where you lead a team of engineers to save humanity by building a space station out of an orbiting wasteland of space junk.
  • “Hyper Light Drifter” by Heart Machine – “Hyper Light Drifter” is an action adventure RPG in the vein of the best eight-bit and 16-bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale.
  • “It Draws a Red Box” by Other Ocean – “It Draws a Red Box” is a chaotic eight-player eSport jumping jetpack future arena ball game that is as inspired by “Bomberman” and “Smash Bros.” as it is by cans of soda, paint-by-number books, and driving five miles faster than the speed limit.
  • “Nutjitsu” by NinjaBee – “Nutjitsu” is a top-down, arcade-style game for Xbox One. Players take control of the ninja squirrel on his quest to reclaim his clan’s honor. Featuring two game modes, five power ups, 25 ranks, three distinct enemies and 15 levels, this HTML5 based title is coming to your dojo in early spring.
  • “Pinball Arcade” by FarSight Studios – “Pinball Arcade” features exact recreations of the all-time greatest pinball tables from Williams®, Bally®, Stern Pinball® and Gottlieb® together in one game. Every flipper, bumper, sound effect, and display pixel has been painstakingly emulated in astonishing detail.
  • “Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut” by Toxic Games – “Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut” is a first-person game that faces the player with a series of brain-teasing puzzles. The player uses high tech gloves to manipulate different types of cube in the environment – unravelling conundrums ranging from physics-based challenges; to 3D jigsaws; to platform-based trials.
  • “Riptide GP2” by Vector Unit – Featuring dynamic racing on fully interactive water surfaces, “Riptide GP2” sets the gold standard in modern water racing games. Take control of rocket powered hydro jets to race through futuristic cityscapes, hurl yourself off sky-high jumps and bust out dozens of death defying stunts.
  • “Roundabout” by No Goblin – “Roundabout” is an open world driving puzzle game where you control a constantly rotating limousine! Pick up passengers, find secret collectibles, take on dangerous missions, and fall in love while reliving the 1977 rise to fame story of Georgio Manos.
  • “Sixty Second Shooter Prime” by Happion Laboratories – “Sixty Second Shooter Prime” is a twin stick shooter with a sixty-second time limit. This new Prime version brings a graphics upgrade, a new soundtrack, infinity mode and social leaderboards.
  • “Spectra: 8bit Racing” by Gateway Interactive – From new studio Gateway Interactive and Chipzel (the amazing chip-tune artist behind the “Super Hexagon” music) comes “Spectra,” a fast paced retro style racing game destined to get your heart pumping and test your skill like no other!
  • “Strike Suit Zero” by Born Ready Games – “Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut” is a space combat game that throws players into huge, intense space battles where the very fate of Earth rests on your dogfighting skills.
  • “Super Time Force” by Capybara – “Super Time Force” is an action-packed platformer with a time-travelling twist! Take control of up to 16 unique characters, and battle across six different time periods, from the long-ago past to the far-away future.
  • “The Last Tinker” by Mimimi Productions – In a world where creativity has given way to conflict, a young street kid living in the slums of Colortown seeks to restore the spark of imagination to his hometown. A charming blend of modern platforming and multicolored style, “The Last Tinker” is a one-of-a-kind adventure.
  • “Wulverblade” by Darkwind Media – “Wulverblade” is a side-scrolling brawler created in the spirit of the arcade greats. It's 120AD and the Roman army has seized control of Britannia. Their goal: march north and conquer the island with brutal and bloody efficiency. The 5,000 strong 9th Legion are preparing for war, but little do they know what lies in wait for them.

About time Xbox finally got a Nicalis game.

 
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BobbyTastic said:
Couldn't agree more. I'm still convinced Gearbox peaked years ago, as the best thing they ever made was HL: Opposing Force. And the Halo PC port. :p

Not to say I didn't enjoy BL1 and BiA, but still, all downhill from there. I'm dreading the new Homeworld.

Speaking of Gearbox doucebaggery. Here's a new one. -> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/02/gearbox-suing-3d-realms-over-duke-nukem-mass-destruction-rpg/

Gearbox are in their rights to sue, but their comments in the lawsuit regarding 3DRealms handling of DNF is the pot calling the kettle black. There's speculation Gearbox only did the game so they could own the IP/franchise rights to Duke, and as such, put in as little effort as possible.
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As someone who was extremely involved in everything Duke Nukem Forever (waited over 10 years and spent a great amount of time on official forums too), at first I was praising Gearbox for saving a project that would have likely never see the day otherwise. While the game turned out to be a half-disappointment (not much to me, 90% of the game was leaked between videos, screens, models, etc. well before it came out, so it's not like I didn't know what was going to happen), at least it came out one way or another. The way they handled everything, though, is rather dubious.

First of all, when 3DR/Apogee owned the rights to Duke, they allowed fans to work on Duke-related projects, mods, and whatever. First thing GBX did when they got the Duke license was shooting down a Doom 3 mod that would have recreated Duke Nukem 3D. Ever since that, every single fan-project, side-project or whatever (see this latest Duke game) was shut down by Gearbox. Who, in turn, seems to have abandoned working on Duke Begins: a prequel for Duke Nukem games (developed by Gearbox of course) that was in development before all hell broke loose when 3DR closed. All signs point to that gaming not seeing the light of day anytime soon, if ever.

Also, what was left of 3DR polished and completed DNF before giving it to Gearbox. Multiple developers have been showing reels of their work on DNF, with gameplay videos, screens, models, and so on - it was never authorized, but everyone believed the game was trashed for good, and besides, these people had to show up for the years they worked on a game, right? When I compare those things to the Gearbox version (and also if we read the timeline of events in DNF's development), it turns out Gearbox received a finished game. Sure, unpolished, but finished content-wise. GBX did not a single thing, bar the outsourced multiplayer. Even the bugs, glitches, performance issues you could see in the unfinished 3DR version were all there in the finished product - it only looks somewhat prettier thanks to different shaders.

Also, as said, 3DR finished DNF pretty much in a hurry, which also meant that everything that wasn't at least 90% done, was cut out altogether. They had no time to patch up things, so when Gearbox got the "package", we might have expected them to finish up the unfinished work, also thanks to the many ex-3DR programmers that joined GBX to finish the job that they began. Partially right: the game was pretty much unchanged (as said, multiplayer aside, done by another studio too), but they did end up finishing the unfinished content: releasing it as paid DLC, however. Fans did not appreciate obviously.

Fast forward to 2014, and where are we? Gearbox blamed the failure of the game on 3DR - which is fair to an extent, but they shouldn't have taken the game if it was bad, right? Also they did nothing to fix the issues, which they had time for. There seems to be no trace of any sequel, spin-off, or anything relevant. Ever since they finished making DLCs for Duke Nukem Forever, it seems like Duke Nukem does not exist. Their in-house prequel Duke Begins appears to be trashed. They're shooting down every single Duke project (official or otherwise) on copyright grounds. In short, they cashed in from the 13 or so years of work done by 3D Realms, blamed them for the disappointing outcome, disallowed them from releasing anything Duke Nukem ever again, all while they did their best to milk DNF at almost no cost and while they also seem uninterested in making an actual game themselves.

Fair to say that if we knew this was going to be Gearbox's route, we'd rather have waited more to get Duke Nukem Forever and, hopefully, more games sometime in the future. GBX seems to hold no interest in continuing the franchise, they milked it just as much as they wanted (DNF sold very well despite heavy criticism). Add to this Duke-saga the whole "let's milk Borderlands fans", how they released a farsical version of Aliens and then blamed another studio again (like they did not know how the game was, right...), and... yeah, GBX definitely peaked a while ago. Frankly I'd just wish they'd sell off the Duke Nukem IP to someone able to do good FPSs that don't take themselves too seriously - Croteam, People Can Fly, Epic, Valve, etc.. It appears rather obvious that they only needed the Duke for a quick cashgrab.

EDIT: I did not read the article you posted at first because I already heard about the news when it happened, but this part made me grind my gears:

"It is worth remembering: Prior to Gearbox’s involvement, 3DR languished for over 12 unsuccessful years trying to get the Duke Nukem Forever ('DNF') videogame off the ground and was famously incapable of achieving its goal," the lawsuit reads (emphasis in original). "Desperate for help—and on the verge of even further ruin, now that 3DR could no longer fund either development or litigation—3DR effectively asked its friends at Gearbox for a life preserver... to complete the technological jigsaw puzzle of a videogame that 3DR had been calling DNF."

So they're pretty much mocking 3DR for not finishing the game, and, as I mentioned earlier too, blamed 3DR for giving them a product full of problems. As far as they're concerned, they feel like they do not have any fault in releasing a game that is broken and presents the same glitches and issues that were in the game 18 months before release. Amazing, absolutely amazing. And explains a lot about how they could have allowed release on such a broken version of Aliens: hey, it's not our fault the company we're paying is unable to do its job! All we're responsible for is cashing in. Also, buy our new DLC.

 
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Is it time for our "Gearbox is the most evil company in gaming" discussion already? Let me preface by saying I had a decent amount of fun in Borderlands 2, but I still haven't even finished it. I'm not a super fan or anything trying to stick up for Gearbox.

BobbyTastic said:
That's because the first three DLCs were surprise surprise, outsourced. Tiny Tina's was the only one actually done by Gearbox.

One of the many things they did out of, as Baboy put it "EA-level greed" (releasing an unfinished Game of the Year edition, charging twice for level cap bumps which were previously claimed to be impossible, not including both level cap bumps in the Season Pass, the relative laziness/overpricing of the Headhunter DLCs (should have been one big pack)) . Also, I completely understand where you're coming from in regards to how you feel about the first one over the second one.

I HIGHLY recommend watching this video to see what's wrong with BL2 as well as some of the scummy stuff Gearbox did with it (he's very critical, but watch to the end to see why, or just skip to the 9 minute mark to see the main scummy stuff).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka4AWj2pGlg

I recommend this article for the scoop on the majority of Gearbox's missteps (there's more, but I could go on about them all day). -> http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/03/15/from-codehunters-to-aliens-colonial-marines-how-gearbox-has-become-one-of-the-most-controversial-studios-in-the-industry/

It's Forbes, so you know it's serious business. :p
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I just sat through that entire video, cringing the whole time. The review portion of this is laughable. He spends like 5 minutes talking about how bad the writing it, why Handsome Jack isn't a believable character, and various plot holes. He makes it clear he didn't like the first one and probably wouldn't like this one. But whatever, clearly it wasn't for him. But he has to call out the developers for making it "derivative" and not trying to elevate the medium. What? As long as people enjoy it, who cares what it does for the medium? Not every game needs amazing writing. Least of all Borderlands which is just walking around shooting stuff online with friends.

He then goes on to talk about how Gearbox ripped off some guy's art style and ends saying "If you had fun playing Borderlands, you should know it was at the expense of others". What a pretentious fuck. I'm supposed to feel guilty because Gearbox ripped off someones art style? I mean it looks like they might have. That guy who made the short film should sue them. But I'm not going to go stand outside Gearbox's office with a picket sign because I don't give a shit.

As for the Aliens/Duke Nukem controversy. There are all kinds of rumors of them funneling money from one project to another, outsourcing this and that. Again, not my problem. If Sega thinks they were stealing their money, sue 'em. I saw reviews for both games and knew I wouldn't be buying them at any price. Not for some moral reason, but because the final product was universally panned.

And finally, the Borderlands 2 DLC. There is some OCD mentality around here that you must own every piece of DLC for a game whether you like it or not. They kept pumping them out because people get buying them. That's simple economics. All the bitching about overpriced DLC that is too short. Don't buy it. Problem solved.

sorry.. I really thought I would be done with walls of text after the MGS thing the other day...

 
mpaullin said:
Is it time for our "Gearbox is the most evil company in gaming" discussion already? Let me preface by saying I had a decent amount of fun in Borderlands 2, but I still haven't even finished it. I'm not a super fan or anything trying to stick up for Gearbox.

I just sat through that entire video, cringing the whole time. The review portion of this is laughable. He spends like 5 minutes talking about how bad the writing it, why Handsome Jack isn't a believable character, and various plot holes. He makes it clear he didn't like the first one and probably wouldn't like this one. But whatever, clearly it wasn't for him. But he has to call out the developers for making it "derivative" and not trying to elevate the medium. What? As long as people enjoy it, who cares what it does for the medium? Not every game needs amazing writing. Least of all Borderlands which is just walking around shooting stuff online with friends.

He then goes on to talk about how Gearbox ripped off some guy's art style and ends saying "If you had fun playing Borderlands, you should know it was at the expense of others". What a pretentious fuck. I'm supposed to feel guilty because Gearbox ripped off someones art style? I mean it looks like they might have. That guy who made the short film should sue them. But I'm not going to go stand outside Gearbox's office with a picket sign because I don't give a shit.

As for the Aliens/Duke Nukem controversy. There are all kinds of rumors of them funneling money from one project to another, outsourcing this and that. Again, not my problem. If Sega thinks they were stealing their money, sue 'em. I saw reviews for both games and knew I wouldn't be buying them at any price. Not for some moral reason, but because the final product was universally panned.

And finally, the Borderlands 2 DLC. There is some OCD mentality around here that you must own every piece of DLC for a game whether you like it or not. They kept pumping them out because people get buying them. That's simple economics. All the bitching about overpriced DLC that is too short. Don't buy it. Problem solved.

sorry.. I really thought I would be done with walls of text after the MGS thing the other day...
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He might come off as pretentious, but copying a whole artstyle (along with concept, scenes, and more), not asking for permission and not paying a single cent to the author of said work is a dick move, no matter how you look at it. The fact he did not sue doesn't mean he's in the wrong, not everyone has the money and means to fight against companies making hundreds of millions of dollars. Between that, the lying to fans multiple times (Season Pass will be the full Borderlands 2 experience, we won't charge for level caps, etc.), the release of half-assed games that were then blamed on anyone but themselves (who did get the money for it with pleasure though), how they're handling the Duke Nukem situation and more... these guys really became jerks, even going as far as making fun and mocking fans, reviewers, or those who are responsible of the work they're making money off (see the author of the short film, 3D Realms who gave 'em a pretty much finished DNF, etc.). And no, it's not a matter of OCD that DLCs aren't necessary to buy. It's a matter of respecting fans by only releasing content that is worth buying. Which they did with the first Borderlands, after which they decided that EVERYTHING needs extra money to be used. Even level cap increases, which were free in the previous game. And as said they lied about the DLCs multiple times, plus used very cheap tactics to lure people into buying them - as they released the final 45 minutes DLC for 3$ (seriously?), they pointed out that they'll make another campaign DLC that is worth something again... if the previous DLCs sell well enough. Wink wink guys, not enough money was made between the base game, the Season Pass, the tons of DLC outside of it, the crippled GOTY, etc.. Maybe we're coming off as harsh and personally I am rather pissed at a company that I used to adore, but these are dick moves in an industry that is increasingly full of such things, and I find it absurd how EA, Capcom, Activision, etc. get the shit for filling their games with ridicolous amounts of DLCs, microtransactions, etc., and then Gearbox somehow still gets passed off as good guys when they lie to their fans and release tons of ridicolous DLC exceeding the price (but not the value) of the base game.

 
Constant C and some Skydiving game both released for XBLA.  Shocked I haven't even seen them mentioned here (unless I skipped over it which is possible).

Major Nelson isn't even putting up a post for XBLA game releases anymore, they sure are sending these games out to die.

 
bardockkun said:
You know, with the resurgence of all thing's 80's and now with 90's franchises making a resurgence, there is one franchise I want to see brought to XBL or PSN just for sheer what the fuck. Revolution X. The 90's arcade shooter where everything you like (yes, YOU) has been deemed illegal and it's up to you (age demographic 13-30 as seen in the intro) to get to Aerosmith and start the revolution with the band responsible for such hits as that song where an elevator was metaphor for oral sex. All while you to use a gun that shoots flaming CD's to get to the band while Steven Tyler says abunch of random things after doing a line of coke. The mere concept is so insane and of it's time that it must be preserved for future generations in saying "yes, this happened" followed by "no this company isn't in business anymore, why do you ask?".
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LOL. I totally remember that game. A Fuddrucker's by my house had an arcade machine, but my mom never let me play it. I never understood why.

 
Few good ID@Xbox games announced.  Hyper Light Drifter being the top of the class.  Only one I'm jealous over is The Last Tinker since it hasn't been confirmed for Sony systems yet.  Super TIME Force looks great too but it has been all but confirmed for other consoles by Capybara, I'll just have to wait.  Saw the clip of the FRU gameplay and I think that one looked like by far the most interesting and innovative of the set, I'm interested to see how that one turns out.

 
tylerh1701 said:
Constant C and some Skydiving game both released for XBLA. Shocked I haven't even seen them mentioned here (unless I skipped over it which is possible).

Major Nelson isn't even putting up a post for XBLA game releases anymore, they sure are sending these games out to die.
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MS is the worst at supporting their past systems. They dropped the Xbox OG like it's hot; and it looks like they are doing the same with 360.

 
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Don't know if anyone mentioned it here but I just saw Bestbuy and Walmart have the XBox One Titanfall bundle on sale for $450. I bet Amazon would match too if you called them.

 
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RiceQuakes said:
MS is the worst at supporting their past systems. They dropped the Xbox OG like it's hot; and it looks like they are doing the same with 360.
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Some of those "indie games" are coming to 360 as well and nothing can compare to the OG XBox losing support considering they had a few solid months of nothing coming for that console before the release of the 360.

 
Baboy said:
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Gonna spoiler tag my response to avoid clutter:

I didn't say it wasn't a dick move. I said it's not my responsibility to figure out if the work is lifted and then defend the original artist. If I enjoy playing a game, that's enough for me. I don't put any thought into this behind the scenes drama.

This bitching about the season pass is especially annoying because they said all along that you would get 4 story dlc packs and that's exactly what you got. I can't find any info about them promising not to charge for level cap increases or content outside of the season pass (I didn't look very hard, enlighten me if you have something). And it is not there responsibility to make "DLC that is worth buying", it's your responsibility to decide what content you consider worth it. It really is simple. If people didn't like what they were making, they wouldn't have bought it (or at least wouldn't continue to buy it) and the flow of new DLC would have stopped a long time ago.

The whole Duke Nukem/Aliens things means nothing to me. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, but I also don't care because I know better than to buy a game before checking out some reviews.

 
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Microsoft actually looks to be decently supporting the 360 still compared to how they immediately dropped the Original Xbox and killed games that had been in development for it for years to move them to the new system (like Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo). I wouldn't be surprised to even see them publish a couple more titles (Halo 2 HD maybe?).

If you want to see a company with truly terrible support for its old systems, look at Nintendo. They stopped supporting the Wii even before the Wii U was formally announced.

 
[quote name="DrUnkAgAIn" post="11630574" timestamp="1395431841"]Microsoft actually looks to be decently supporting the 360 still compared to how they immediately dropped the Original Xbox and killed games that had been in development for it for years to move them to the new system (like Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo). I wouldn't be surprised to even see them publish a couple more titles (Halo 2 HD maybe?).

If you want to see a company with truly terrible support for its old systems, look at Nintendo. They stopped supporting the Wii even before the Wii U was formally announced.[/quote]
You are definitely right with Nintendo. I had a Gamecube and during 2004-2006 it was pretty much dead. Super Paper Mario changed platforms and Twilight Princess ended up being on the Wii first.
 
mpaullin said:
sorry.. I really thought I would be done with walls of text after the MGS thing the other day...
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It's okay. I didn't expect this to turn into walls of text. Gonna keep this short.

You're right about the reviewer's tone and his language (he was overly critical, as I forewarned), but if you strip away the pretentiousness and the obvious annoyance, he makes a ton of good points (slot machine, writing, how "fun" with friends doesn't necessarily make a game good, memes/wasted references, etc.), which is what I agree with. As for his last sentence, before I watched the video, I looked at the "About" section which has him apologizing for the implication, so I already knew that going in. He has a follow-up video iirc, about industry ignorance, that's a lot more fair to consumers.

Basically, I agree with you on his style being bad, but if you think of his review like bullet points, plenty of them are valid. He posted an article for GatherYourParty in an attempt to be more objective (which I appreciated). But the main point of the video was the last few minutes anyways.

As for the story stuff, it was kind of deserved because as you saw in the video, Burch is just as fucking pretentious. Calling him a complete hypocrite was valid. This next part is for you, so I'm spoilering it.

As for you not caring about that stuff, that's fine, as long as you're okay with the ramifications. There are three scenarios here:

A) You stay uninformed, and buy/don't buy what you like. And you are okay with whatever entails (This is you)

B) You stay informed, and buy/don't buy what you want to support/you like. And you take responsibility for whatever that entails. (This is me)

C) You stay uninformed/informed and buy/don't buy what you like. And you bitch and moan when it supports bad industry trends/practices. (This is most of the internet, most selfish opinion)

A or B is fine. C is not. Example. Let's say a developer kills puppies in his spare time. In situation A, you wouldn't know that, and that's not your fault, and you most likely don't give a shit about where that money goes. If you ever did find that out though, you would have a choice, either be okay with it, or stop supporting the dev. In situation B, you would know about the puppy killing ahead of time, and you would make a conscious decision about whether or not that's a deal-breaker for you.

In situation C.. well, you buy it, despite knowing the dev is a puppy killer.. and then bitch about puppies getting murdered. That's dumb and it's wrong.

You either remain ignorant and accept what your ignorance encourages, or you get informed and make informed decisions.

You don't want more games to have cosmetic dlcs? Never buy it. You don't care either way? Then do whatever. You buy it and want to bitch about it anyways? Too bad, money speaks louder than words.

I may disagree with you about the DLCs being okay, but I can see where you're coming from because you don't feel obligated to be informed, but are okay with the consequences. The DLC bothers ME because I stay informed, and am not okay with the example being set. It just boils down to a difference of opinion, again. I'm not going to condemn you for that.

 
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Borderlands 2's DLC were great, the headhunter crap was overcharged though-I had previously picked up the Season Pass/purchased DLC at discount. The best thing about Borderlands 2, I think it's that tried and true Call of Duty gunplay, is that I can play for hours and eventhough it's repetitive still have a blast, coupled with a very entertaining story and cast. It's like the Diablo III I wanted. I like fantasy but I also like crude humor, guns and sick powers/elemental bonuses with the joy of hearing friends and strangers alike laughing & shouting over your headset. I know there's bad blood within the making of the game but I never dwelled on that. Maybe would have, if the game wasn't great but the game was very good, deserved the GotY mentions and entertained the crap out of me.

As for the Original Xbox, that thing was a financial disaster. Microsoft had to cut cords with it as it was their initial venture into the console market and albeit a successful one also a very costly one too. Ironically they produced a machine that costs them even more money in repairs but thankfully the games and service were there so they made out.

As for the indies comin to Xbox One, Guacemelee, Super Time Force, Hyper Light Drifter, Strike Suit Zero, & Pinball Arcade!

 
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mpaullin said:
Gonna spoiler tag my response to avoid clutter:

I didn't say it wasn't a dick move. I said it's not my responsibility to figure out if the work is lifted and then defend the original artist. If I enjoy playing a game, that's enough for me. I don't put any thought into this behind the scenes drama.

This bitching about the season pass is especially annoying because they said all along that you would get 4 story dlc packs and that's exactly what you got. I can't find any info about them promising not to charge for level cap increases or content outside of the season pass (I didn't look very hard, enlighten me if you have something). And it is not there responsibility to make "DLC that is worth buying", it's your responsibility to decide what content you consider worth it. It really is simple. If people didn't like what they were making, they wouldn't have bought it (or at least wouldn't continue to buy it) and the flow of new DLC would have stopped a long time ago.

The whole Duke Nukem/Aliens things means nothing to me. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, but I also don't care because I know better than to buy a game before checking out some reviews.
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Also going to use spoiler tags for the answer:

I personally did not buy Aliens either, and despite everything, I more or less got my money worth with DNF because I knew exactly what to expect and I got that, enjoyed the campaign (mostly), had some fun with friends online, even had the chance to game with some developers. I'm not butthurt because I lost money, I also gave 50 hours into Borderlands 2 (and will, eventually, clock more), which is more than what I got from many full-priced 8 hours or so campaign games. It's still rather absurd to see that Capcom gets a lot of criticism because of their thousands of reeditions of the same games, with on-disc DLCs that are locked until you buy them, ridicolous colour changes that they want you to pay for, etc.. Or look at EA with Battlefield: pay the game, the Premium (price of the game again), pay for private servers, pay for faster unlocks... and if that isn't enough money, they're even putting IRL ads in BF4 now. Well ain't that just great. Not forgetting Activision of course, how they ran Guitar Hero into the ground and how they're also milking COD as much as possible (Ghosts even have paid skins for your dog...).

It was stated multiple times (not sure if on press releases or just officially on forums by developers) that the Borderlands 2 will feature the whole experience for the game - obviously this did not materialize, as they released one level cap increase, 4 campaign DLCs, multiple characters, an arena, and let's not get started about the locked content behind SHiFT keys, outside of it. I bought the Season Pass and it's not a bad deal, but it's annoying to see how, nowadays, not even a season pass means "get all DLCs". It was stupid when Injustice did it. It was stupid-ish when Call Of Duty did it (albeit they only excluded skins from the pass). It's stupid when Borderlands 2 does it. Okay, season pass means "pass for a season", even if we apply to the literal term, you have a point by saying they can release stuff after it and it's a different thing. I still feel somewhat cheated, but hey, it's how it is. It's pretty much of a low move, however, that multiple DLCs released DURING the season pass' validity were also not included in the pack (the arena, the 2nd level cap, the extra characters). That's just plain and simple greed, and given how GBX seems to have also found the habit increasing the quality of weapons and drops DLC by DLC, if you want to stay competitive you're pretty much forced to buy into all DLCs. I don't feel forced to do so, but it's a pretty damn annoying strategy, and just because there's enough people wasting money on 45 minutes DLCs, doesn't make it right. J.K. Rowling could release a new Harry Potter one page at a time for 5$ each page, and there'd still be people buying it. Doesn't make it right, and risks creating a dangerous precedent - because when another company sees this model works, all hell breaks loose, and that is what happened a couple years ago: we since had horse armor DLCs, online passes, pre-order bonuses varying between shops, on-disc DLC that you need to buy separately, etc. etc..

I am not trying to go against Borderlands or Gearbox for the sake of it - as I said, I was a huge fan of their stuff a couple years ago, also thanks to the fact they gave incredible value for your money with their games and DLC. Nowadays they just went down the EA route, attempting to cash in on everything they poop, even really, really bad/short DLCs. Of course I have the option of not buying them, but I also have the right to express my lack of approval, and will definitely not buy their stuff until this is their business model. Why waste my money when there still are developers releasing giant patches or DLCs for free or for a great price considering its value? It is simply sad that a company that was once very respectful of its fanbase, became so arrogant and greedy, effectively lying, contradicting themselves, throwing crap at others for all their faults (see Duke and Alien), and ultimately expecting people to pay for every tiny piece of DLC they create. As I said, the fact that some people will buy into this doesn't make it better, they could sell Call Of Duty for 1000$ and you'd still see enough kids rushing to the shop, but for the others (especially CAGs), it'll be a shame. I literally got full on demand games (pretty good ones too like Driver San Francisco) for the price I'm supposed to get a 45 mins DLC. At this point, math kicks in.

EDIT: Forgot one last thing. I am burnt out by Borderlands 2's DLC plan, which is why I'm "so loud" about it. I vote with my wallet as everyone does, and choose not to buy such ridicolously overpriced content. But if I don't buy it, it doesn't change much until a million other people do. If even one or ten people see this and decide against buying it, that's already a victory, and a tiny step for Gearbox to (hopefully) realize this is not a viable option long-term. I short term, milking does miracles, but look what it did to Guitar Hero, and how Call Of Duty (while still selling a lot) is deflating as well. I'd rather not see Borderlands go away due to greedy decisions, which is why I'm so annoyed at Gearbox's DLC plan. I'd love things to get back the way they were with the first game in just about every way. And the excuse of the industry changing does not hold up, since other developers (some even making a lot less money than them) manage to spit out much greater DLCs for free (or for a low price considering its immense value).

 
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Baboy said:
EDIT: I did not read the article you posted at first because I already heard about the news when it happened, but this part made me grind my gears:

"It is worth remembering: Prior to Gearbox’s involvement, 3DR languished for over 12 unsuccessful years trying to get the Duke Nukem Forever ('DNF') videogame off the ground and was famously incapable of achieving its goal," the lawsuit reads (emphasis in original). "Desperate for help—and on the verge of even further ruin, now that 3DR could no longer fund either development or litigation—3DR effectively asked its friends at Gearbox for a life preserver... to complete the technological jigsaw puzzle of a videogame that 3DR had been calling DNF."
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Actually, I specifically linked THAT article because of that section, because it grinded my gears too.

Also, the rest of your post is spot-on.

tylerh1701 said:
Constant C and some Skydiving game both released for XBLA. Shocked I haven't even seen them mentioned here (unless I skipped over it which is possible).

Major Nelson isn't even putting up a post for XBLA game releases anymore, they sure are sending these games out to die.
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Yeah, honestly there's been VERY few arcade games released since the beginning of last year, it's mostly been GoDs.

If anyone here goes to the "New Releases" section of the Arcade tab in the Marketplace, you'll see what I mean, not a whole lot of scrolling needed before you hit a title released in Dec 2012.

It's only going to get worse from here, as we'll most likely only be getting games released on Xbox One as well.

Nesboy43 said:
What ever happened to the Duk Nukem Trilogy that was announced for DS and PSP?
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99% chance it was cancelled. It'd be suicide to release it now.

RiceQuakes said:
I just mean in terms of marketing.
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DrUnkAgAIn said:
Microsoft actually looks to be decently supporting the 360 still compared to how they immediately dropped the Original Xbox and killed games that had been in development for it for years to move them to the new system (like Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo). I wouldn't be surprised to even see them publish a couple more titles (Halo 2 HD maybe?).

If you want to see a company with truly terrible support for its old systems, look at Nintendo. They stopped supporting the Wii even before the Wii U was formally announced.
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Both posts are 100% true. 360 marketing is practically non-existent now (but then again PS3's is too), and the Wii's library took a nosedive far earlier than it should have. Worse than the Gamecube. On the bright side, most people have been okay with this because of backwards compatibility (something missing from the Xbox One/PS4, as well as the 360 in the beginning/for the MOST part).

Edit: @baboy There's TWO level cap increases, and one of them is not included with the Season Pass. Also, I can't remember them specifically promising a level cap increase for free. But when people complained about a lower level cap than BL1, Gearbox's response was that it was impossible to increase it without breaking the game. An obvious lie, whether or not they lied to make an excuse for a paid level cap increase (TWICE), is the question.

@mpaullin Here's the link for that. -> http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121998-Gearbox-Cant-Increase-Borderlands-2s-Level-Cap-Without-Breaking-It

 
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We should all ban together and make an open world game called married. Our protagonist would have to weed the yard and lay tons of mulch....idxbox kits for all :D
 
BobbyTastic said:
Edit: @baboy There's TWO level cap increases, and one of them is not included with the Season Pass. Also, I can't remember them specifically promising a level cap increase for free. But when people complained about a lower level cap than BL1, Gearbox's response was that it was impossible to increase it without breaking the game. An obvious lie, whether or not they lied to make an excuse for a paid level cap increase (TWICE), is the question.
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Unless I typed it up bizarrely, that is what I was trying to say. Two level cap DLCs, but one is outside of the season pass - which bothered me plenty, considering I own the pass.

 
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