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
________________________________________________________________________
 
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 **

________________________________________________________________________

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]


________________________________________________________________________
 
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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it's rather annoying that I can't use my wallet balance or whatever Xbox wants to call it to purchase stuff on Xbox.com

it only gives me the option of a payment method on file

 
I picked up Gears 3 last night.

Need to buy another flash drive today to shuffle out some stuff from my hard drive and I'll get Gears 2.

I already have the disc versions, but this way I can have it installed and not have to swap discs.

 
How did some go about re downloading Alan Wake? I bought it last year, but when I go to the game's page on my 360 it shows up as not purchased. Download History, is the first thing that pops to mind, but how do you go about fixing this error on my xbox?

 
Decker said:
Is the digital version of Halo Wars truly the Platinum Version with all the DLC? Because that's what's shown in the picture, but it's not listed that way in the description.
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I would like to know this as well. Does anyone have any idea?

Sadly looks like I'll be picking up halo wars and rio...
 
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Halo Wars is one of my favorite multiplayer games of all time. I got my General before they lowered the requirements for it lol.

For any new players my word of advice would be to ALWAYS watch for the rush, especially if it's 2v2 or 3v3. Lots of people don't rush recruits in 1v1 because they know they can build up their scores by dragging the game out.
 
Royal High Knight said:
How did some go about re downloading Alan Wake? I bought it last year, but when I go to the game's page on my 360 it shows up as not purchased. Download History, is the first thing that pops to mind, but how do you go about fixing this error on my xbox?
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It's been an issue with that. If you want to redownload it, do it from the purchase history, not the game itself.
 
FrankUrb88 said:
Just played Battleblock theater trial, well didn't even played it. The intro itself convinced me to buy it.
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Hell yeah, it's sort of like Bastion, I pretty much bought in right away because of the hilarious narrator.

The DMC collection is tempting but I haven't played and generally don't like those kind of games.

 
Spybreak9 said:
Hell yeah, it's sort of like Bastion, I pretty much bought in right away because of the hilarious narrator.

The DMC collection is tempting but I haven't played and generally don't like those kind of games.
Click to expand...
Same thing got me. Keep in mind that while it seems to be 3 games, DMC2 is utter crap. I didn't like hack n' slash until DMC got me into it. Even with being just 2 games, i can assure you, it has a ton of replay value. Just my 2 cents buddy.

 
I'm sorry but DMC2 was not a bad game... mediocre yes... bad no

It had a lot to live up to and it fell way short but without the first game in the series staring you in the face then DMC2 is easily a 6.5~7.5 on a 10 scale
 
Dustinator said:
http://xbldb.com/offer-history/price-changes/price-decreases
http://majornelson.com/2014/04/08/microsoft-studios-sale-and-this-weeks-deals-with-gold/

Rio, Resident Evil 5, Remember Me, Sleeping Dogs, Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen and Devil May Cry HD Collection are the Gold deals this week. Only game not mentioned earlier in the publisher sale is The Gunstringer at 75% off.

The one game I don't have in the publisher sale is ISTSP which I snatched up. I vouch for Alan Wake being a great game. Only flaw, is the lip syncing is bad. Like Ghostbusters level bad. Go in with that in the back of your mind, you'll really enjoy the story of AW
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Thanks! I'm definitely getting Alan Wake. Isn't Crackdown on sale too?
 
bob101910 said:
I think 3 makes up for how terrible 2 is. It feels like 2 games and 1 XBL Indie.
Click to expand...
Definitely.

Juice el Savior said:
I'm sorry but DMC2 was not a bad game... mediocre yes... bad no

It had a lot to live up to and it fell way short but without the first game in the series staring you in the face then DMC2 is easily a 6.5~7.5 on a 10 scale
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As with every sequel, it's always expected to be on par or superior qith a previous iteration. The game just had 2 problems, no DMC combos and no Dante.

 
I know I'm in the minority but DMC2 was my favorite of the group. Didn't like 3. Something about the pacing and combat played with my SF anniversary fight stick was just so enjoyable...
 
FrankUrb88 said:
As with every sequel, it's always expected to be on par or superior qith a previous iteration. The game just had 2 problems, no DMC combos and no Dante.
Click to expand...
No, actually the norm is the sequel to the original is better, at this time the developer knows what the fans want, usually, and amps up on that while fixing what critics pointed out with the original.
 
Royal High Knight said:
How did some go about re downloading Alan Wake? I bought it last year, but when I go to the game's page on my 360 it shows up as not purchased. Download History, is the first thing that pops to mind, but how do you go about fixing this error on my xbox?
Click to expand...
Download History is correct. It's easiest to filter and search on xbox.com. Otherwise, if you DL a lot of stuff you'll be scrolling for awhile through the list on your console since it's from most recent back.
 
I'm completely baffled how people have Gears in their backlogs?

The Gears games are all great (Judgement Day isn't a real Gears game...it's an ok step sibling) and the story is fantastic. The characters were all so well done and even some of the ones that play small parts are interesting. I actually went on a Gears fix last year and bought all the books cheap on my girlfriend's kindle lol, they were all really good as well. If you enjoy the games and the characters I highly recommend reading the books. Dom's brother is a badass.
 
stevocbk24 said:
I'm completely baffled how people have Gears in their backlogs?

The Gears games are all great (Judgement Day isn't a real Gears game...it's an ok step sibling) and the story is fantastic. The characters were all so well done and even some of the ones that play small parts are interesting. I actually went on a Gears fix last year and bought all the books cheap on my girlfriend's kindle lol, they were all really good as well. If you enjoy the games and the characters I highly recommend reading the books. Dom's brother is a badass.
Click to expand...
I used to be a massive Epic fan, given I always loved Unreal games and ADORED Unreal Tournament games. Spent countless years on those, between playing online, LANs at school, having friends over for local fun to winning small tournaments with actual prizes... yeah, big stuff. Gears Of War felt nowhere near as polished, competitive or generally well done compared to the UT games, despite being different genres obviously. When GOW came out, it looked like a straight-forward, linear and generally unoriginal experience with tons of testosterone and eye-candy, albeit I gotta admit, at the time I was not impressed by UE3's heavy reliance on shaders, as UE2 (with UT2004 especially) managed to create absolutely beautiful and extremely varied sceneries, whereas GOW was a brown-fest all along. Of course I only played a couple levels at a friend's house, so I did not have the proper insight on the game, but it was a giant step backwards for Epic as far as I was concerned. The game also gets credit for pretty much inventing modern TPS games, but it only popularized what Kill Switch and other games made before it, whereas the UT games were absolutely unique - not quite the only arena shooters around (see Quake 3 Arena), but there was nothing coming close to UT in terms of style and quality, Quake always had a different style. Having played GOW1 again thanks to GwG made me remember all the issues I had with the game: it's just not that smooth, and for a fast-paced gamer like me spending 99% of your time behind cover (especially on higher difficulties) totally is not my thing. And I still kinda hate Epic for making GOW pretty much their only cashcow: GOW1 came out in 2006. We had 1 Unreal Tournament games since, in 2007. 0 Unreal games. 0 new engines released, as opposed to the time between UE1 and UE2, and also UE2 and UE3. 0 Jazz Jackrabbit games (call me old school). Couple mobile games. But we had 4 GOW games, with the 5th coming up. Tons of DLC, comics, all kinds of merchandising, all while completely forgetting what made them famous - the Unreal saga and PC gaming, for example, got completely ignored, while a supposed Unreal 3, a new UT and stuff they occasionally teased simply vanished into thin air, ignoring the fans that were waiting for those because GOW was giving them more than enough money.

Tl;dr, just a lenghty explanation why, for me, GOW sits in the backlog.

 
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Royal High Knight said:
Alright guys, only one game catches my interest...Castlestorm. Opinions?
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It felt like Angry Birds to me lol

stevocbk24 said:
I'm completely baffled how people have Gears in their backlogs?

The Gears games are all great (Judgement Day isn't a real Gears game...it's an ok step sibling) and the story is fantastic. The characters were all so well done and even some of the ones that play small parts are interesting. I actually went on a Gears fix last year and bought all the books cheap on my girlfriend's kindle lol, they were all really good as well. If you enjoy the games and the characters I highly recommend reading the books. Dom's brother is a badass.
Click to expand...
Same here as I really liked the games. Other than the Gears 3 ending, each story got progressively better (Judgment doesn't count). The only reason I still have Gears 1 in my backlog is due to getting it with Judgment and just having it get lost within the pile. I still have it on my hard drive, and am chipping away at it from time to time, but just like any game series, the mechanics feel (obviously) dated.

What are your opinions/thoughts on Dragon's Dogma? Yay or Nay?

 
I'm forever curious why people are against the idea of buying games that are on sale that have unattainable achievements. I understand not buying them at full price, but on sale it's a bit like buying a top of the line fridge for half price because it has a small almost invisible dent in it. You should be able to say "yes it's not perfect but at that price I can overlook that tiny imperfection." Though in saying that the size of my backlog and the small amount of time I currently have to game has entirely turned me off the notion of being a completionist.

Royal High Knight said:
Alright guys, only one game catches my interest...Castlestorm. Opinions?
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Your interest is apt. It's a great game. It's sort of like Angry Birds meets a tower defense with a bit of hack and slash in there as well. It's a fun, colourful game that is fairly casual in that the levels don't take more than a few minutes long to complete so it's the perfect palate cleanser after you play some grey colourless shooter. I bought it when it was on sale for $2.50 and I was extremely happy. I'd say it's worth it at $5. It's a very very fun game.

Masters_93 said:
What are your opinions/thoughts on Dragon's Dogma? Yay or Nay?
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Price-wise you might be able to hold out for a better price on a disc. I haven't played the updated Dark Arisen version but I picked up the standard version for $10 a few weeks ago and have started playing through. It's a fairly fun RPG with very challenging and fun action gameplay and some great monsters. It does suffer a little bit from Capcom's tendency to be a bit rough around the edges with some of their games. The best way I can describe it is something like Dark Souls meets Skyrim with a tinge of Shadows of the Colossus in there as well. If you need a good story in your RPGs then maybe pass on it. The story isn't anything better than a Dark Souls story. But the action is fun as hell and the Pawn system of building and attaining companions that others have created is a novel multiplayer idea. All in all it's a good game that I've heard got better with the Dark Arisen expansion that also included fast travel and slightly improved graphics. I'd definitely give it a recommendation but you also might be able to grab a copy cheaper off craigslist or elsewhere at this point, so I'm not 100% sure if that's the best price point you'll find but it is a great game.

 
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skonson said:
I'm forever curious why people are against the idea of buying games that are on sale that have unattainable achievements. I understand not buying them at full price, but on sale it's a bit like buying a top of the line fridge for half price because it has a small almost invisible dent in it. You should be able to say "yes it's not perfect but at that price I can overlook that tiny imperfection." Though in saying that the size of my backlog and the small amount of time I currently have to game has entirely turned me off the notion of being a completionist.

Your interest is apt. It's a great game. It's sort of like Angry Birds meets a tower defense with a bit of hack and slash in there as well. It's a fun, colourful game that is fairly casual in that the levels don't take more than a few minutes long to complete so it's the perfect palate cleanser after you play some grey colourless shooter. I bought it when it was on sale for $2.50 and I was extremely happy. I'd say it's worth it at $5. It's a very very fun game.
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I rarely use achievements as a deciding factor, despite my current goals of 100%-ing a lot of games. If there's a game I really want to play and is on sale, I'll buy it, no matter the achievements. Which is why I bought Catherine a while ago, for example, I won't play through it a billion times to get 1000G for sure, but it's something I want to have in my collection. Same goes for massive RPGs I'll likely never finish, but I still want to own, not really expecting to ever go 100% on those (except for Kingdoms Of Amalur, still baffled at how much that game grabbed my attention). Achievements can, however, make me pull the trigger more easily on a game I'm unsure about. Hell Yeah! Wrath Of The Dead Rabbit looked like a fun game for example, and seeing the easy achievements made me pull the trigger. Likewise, I'm rather unsure about the current arcade games on sale that I don't own, like CastleStorm and Charlie Murder. They seem interesting and yet I have the feeling I'll bury them in the backlog. If it's an easy run of achievements that at least gives me a bit of extra motivation of not abandoning games that bore after a few hours, which I do feel will be the case with these 2 games if I end up picking them up. I usually find out about achievements after I buy a game, though, so for me it's not a massive factor.

Btw, despite my scepticism, I just impulse-bought CastleStorm based on your feedback too. I like Zen Studios and Angry Birds, so I'll probably enjoy it for at least a couple hours, 3$ for that is good for me.

 
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skonson said:
I'm forever curious why people are against the idea of buying games that are on sale that have unattainable achievements. I understand not buying them at full price, but on sale it's a bit like buying a top of the line fridge for half price because it has a small almost invisible dent in it. You should be able to say "yes it's not perfect but at that price I can overlook that tiny imperfection." Though in saying that the size of my backlog and the small amount of time I currently have to game has entirely turned me off the notion of being a completionist.
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It shows that the dev isn't willing to put time and money into fixing a problem with their game, so why should I put time and money in playing their game?

Looks like Charlie Murder glitch achievement should be fixed sometime this year, so I picked it up.

 
stevocbk24 said:
I'm completely baffled how people have Gears in their backlogs?

The Gears games are all great (Judgement Day isn't a real Gears game...it's an ok step sibling) and the story is fantastic. The characters were all so well done and even some of the ones that play small parts are interesting. I actually went on a Gears fix last year and bought all the books cheap on my girlfriend's kindle lol, they were all really good as well. If you enjoy the games and the characters I highly recommend reading the books. Dom's brother is a badass.
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I'll take a stab. I beat Gears 1 and got about halfway through Gears 2 before I gave up out of boredom. I highly disagree that the story is fantastic. When I play games, story is the number 1 thing that keeps me interested. I couldn't tell you what the Gears story even is, but it didn't captivate me. I also feel like the characters and their weapons are overdesigned, so visually it is not a fun game for me to look at. As for the gameplay itself, it's okay I guess. It's not good enough to overcome the other deficiencies IMO.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I have to do a double take anytime someone criticizes some of my favorite games like AC2, Mass Effect, or Dragon Age: Origins.

 
stevocbk24 said:
I'm completely baffled how people have Gears in their backlogs?

The Gears games are all great (Judgement Day isn't a real Gears game...it's an ok step sibling) and the story is fantastic. The characters were all so well done and even some of the ones that play small parts are interesting. I actually went on a Gears fix last year and bought all the books cheap on my girlfriend's kindle lol, they were all really good as well. If you enjoy the games and the characters I highly recommend reading the books. Dom's brother is a badass.
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I've played enough third-person shooters to know that the Gears series isn't my cup of tea with the main character's lack of agility/mobility compared to other TPS and the story didn't grab my attention for long enough to want to keep playing them.

 
I just saw that Microsoft has won approval to dig for the buried E.T. cartridges in New Mexico.  I have a bad feeling I know what an upcoming GWG is going to be.

 
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odd mr t said:
I just saw that Microsoft has won approval to dig for the buried E.T. cartridges in New Mexico. I have a bad feeling I know what an upcoming GWG is going to be.
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Maybe they're going to resurrect the Game Room. Why give away for free what you can first charge $3 for? Unless they're going to microtransaction the thing and require 25 cents for each tip on WTF to do next. "You fell in a pit. Do you want to pay $1 to get out?"

 
Mafoofoo said:
Crackdown worth the $5?
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its ok. The game came out in what....2006? 2007? I played it for the first time last year and I had a decent time with it. I kinda gave up after getting to the third gang, that shit was hard as hell to me lol. It looks dated but you can still have a fun time.

 
You whippersnappers, I'm 29 btw, you know nothing lol. Crackdown is def worth anything under $10. It initially came out being that game for the Halo Reach Beta but oh wait it was pretty good too. Combining RPG elements with shooting gameplay and an open world, where you have an incredible draw distance by the way, made it the best unofficial Hulk and Robocop video game.

 
The only bad thing about Crackdown is the driving. If you thought GTA IV's driving was bad, Crackdown's driving is even worse, though you don't necessarily need to drive unless you want to level up that specific ability.

 
foxbatkllr said:
Different strokes for different folks I guess. I have to do a double take anytime someone criticizes some of my favorite games like AC2, Mass Effect, or Dragon Age: Origins.
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Serious question, can you not take cover in Mass Effect 1 or am I doing something wrong? I'm not too far in but I cannot figure out if there's a way to take cover or just derp around behind walls/rocks when my squad are in cover.

FriskyTanuki said:
I've played enough third-person shooters to know that the Gears series isn't my cup of tea with the main character's lack of agility/mobility compared to other TPS and the story didn't grab my attention for long enough to want to keep playing them.
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Every TPS this gen (last gen) has followed the Gears standard of having a cover system, and honestly, the added "weight" of the Gears just helped make the game more enjoyable for me.

Spybreak9 said:
You whippersnappers, I'm 29 btw, you know nothing lol. Crackdown is def worth anything under $10. It initially came out being that game for the Halo Reach Beta
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It was 2007 for the Halo 3 beta. It's old.

So I've been looking into Dragon's Dogma some more and apparently it's difficult. I just wanted to know if anyone knew how difficult it was? Like Dark Souls difficult or just difficult/complex combat (a la Witcher 2)?

 
bob101910 said:
It shows that the dev isn't willing to put time and money into fixing a problem with their game, so why should I put time and money in playing their game?
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But it's not really a gameplay problem. It's an ahirvenent error that doesn't effect gameplay at all. Maybe the developer had a choice between fixing that problem or making some aspect of gameplay better. If you ever read the development history of a game like Dust: An Elysian Tail you'll note that he almost had to cut all the audio out of the game and only managed to fix that problem a few days before he had to submit for release. Maybe the developer had to choose between an achievement glitch or a game breaking bug or a feature that would actually make the game better. Maybe the cost to patch that particular achievement glitch is very expensive (in man hours as yes patches are now free) or maybe the development team had moved on to a new project and can't afford to go back to patch an older game that essentially does work.

II would agree with your argument if it was a game breaking bug that interfered with gameplay but it doesn't. Most people aren't completionists and it's hard to imagine that an XBLA game which already is designed for a niche market can then be obligated to retool their game for even a smaller niche market of people who care that much about a gamerscore. Game development is expensive and time consuming. A lot of independent developers spend years of their lives working 100 hour weeks to make a game. I think you ask too much of them to then return to a game just to fix a glitch that most people will never be affected by. I'm happy to have this attitude when it comes to a AAA $60 game that has a huge studio behind it and a massive QA department. I can't believe we expect so much of a few guys in their basement who have none of that. I agree with your right not to pay full price for a slightly imperfect product but when it's on sale surely you can throw that notion out the window can't you?
 
Two thumbs up for crackdown!  I still don't regret getting it for free with the $60 Halo 3 beta! :p

It's a blast for teaming up with a friend or two for some screwing around.

 
Masters_93 said:
Every TPS this gen (last gen) has followed the Gears standard of having a cover system, and honestly, the added "weight" of the Gears just helped make the game more enjoyable for me.
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I'm not talking about cover systems at all since I don't have a problem with that. I'm talking about the characters moving more slowly, not being able to vault over cover without having to go into cover first, or not having much in the way of mobility to do things like jump that doesn't do much for me compared to other shooters out there. It's cool that it works for you, but that doesn't mean everybody else will feel the same way.

 
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