Xbox One Policy Change - The Full 180

Microsoft has changed its policies regarding Xbox One’s internet requirements, used game restrictions and more.

Contrary to belief and specifically the details announced earlier this month, Microsoft has now confirmed news originally reported on Giant Bomb that Xbox One will not require an internet connection to play offline games or need to check in every 24 hours; instead, internet will only be required when initially setting up the console.

Microsoft confirmed that "After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again," and went on to say that, "there is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360."

Like on Xbox 360, "playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray."

If you followed my Twitter feed you’d have probably heard about this even before the release as one particularly pressing gamer asked for answers to these policies. Interestingly Microsoft had never confirmed 24 hours sign in for playing disc based games anyway. It may just be a case of poor interpretation.

A representative for the company added, "I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One."

On top of this the Xbox One will also no longer restrict used games, and will instead allow discs to be exchanged in the same way they are on Xbox 360. There will be no additional restrictions for trade-in’s either or lending games to friends. The system is also no longer region locked so all downloaded games will function the same way whether your console is connected or not.

It seems that the backlash from E3 has actually caused the American powerhouse company to sit up and take note of people’s feelings. At one point last week IGN had a vote that showed an 84% ‘voting share’ in favour of purchasing the PlayStation 4 over Microsoft’s console.

In addition to being available in retail stores, Xbox One games will also be available for download on day one and will be playable on any Xbox One console. Obviously these downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold, much like the 360 concept, but it’s still a good feature for housebound or people unable to make the journey to the shops.

Microsoft's decision followed mass confusion following the announcement of Xbox One in May. At E3 last week, Sony announced similar policies for PlayStation 4, which will not require an Internet connection or periodic authentication and does not restrict used games. In fact this announcement was probably one of the most cheered events at the whole conference.

Xbox One is currently available for pre-order from various retailers. For more information on the console, including every confirmed game so far check other articles on my blog.

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Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013 - Conference Rundown

Tuesday last week marked the Nintendo E3 conference, actually it was their Direct program, which marked the E3 selection of melodrama and announcements for new games.

Following the squabbling of Sony and Microsoft we expected a fairly standard affair with a mixture of new announcements.

So the show kicked off with Pokémon X and Y which, for those of you hidden under a rock lately, is the first instalment for the 3DS system. We got confirmation of a few new monsters to catch as well as a brand new type call ‘Fairy’. Among the Pokémon included are Marill, Jigglypuff and the new Eevee evolution. We also got shown a new Dragon Pokémon to confirm the Fairy type’s super-effective alignment to these monsters.

Next up was the highly expect Mario 3D for Wii U which, on top of looking pretty polished had four person multiplayer with players taking on Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach alongside Mario. It can be played cooperatively or competitively too which should be great fun. There was also a new powerup confirmed as ‘Cat Mario’ which allows our favourite Italian Plumber to climb walls and scratch enemies. It’s also due out before the end of the year.

Another Mario announcement came next in the form of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U. It looked a lot like the original Wii counterpart with new versions of your favourite tracks like Princess Peach Castle and presumably (as it was not confirmed) Rainbow Raceway. It’s looking towards a Q1 2014 release as well which give you chance to finish Mario 3D first.

Far less exciting news came in the form of a new Mario Party title which has the usual mix of party games and harnesses the power of the Wii U GamePad.

We then got an announcement about a delay to Wii Fit U which will now include added features – but nothing was confirmed about what these were. We also got information on a new instalment in the Art Academy franchise, which will work on the Miiverse, no news about release – which appeared to be a trend starting. I’m quite excited about what Nintendo plan with the Miiverse as some of the features are distinctly original and has the capacity to go much, much further.

We then got into a section about third-part offerings including confirmation of Batman: Arkham Origins on both the Wii U and 3DS, Deus Ex: Human Revolution Directors Cut, Just Dance and Disney Infinity (the Skylanders beater?). Blacklist is also coming out, which did get a release date of 21^st August, as well as Sonic Galaxy which has been renamed ‘Sonic Lost World’ later in 2013.

Ok so this is all stuff we already knew about but the software catalogue is slowly getting bigger.

Nintendo were also keen to outline their support of indie titles but all those mentioned – DuckTales, Dungeon and Dragons, Scram Kitty and Shovel Knight – are actually digital downloads produced by the usual developers. Still, it’s nice that they put the word ‘Indie’ in there at all.

Probably the biggest cheer of the ‘Direct Conference’ was Zelda: Wind Waker HD. The release, due in October this year, runs in 1080p and has had a bit of a colour downgrade since our first viewing earlier this year. The cell shading has also been stripped back which is a bit of a shame but we did get confirmation that additional features have been added to the game so it won’t be an exact representation of the original title.

We also got a new announcement; at least I think it’s new, in the form of Wonderful 101. It’s as bizarre as it sounds too with the player taking control of hundreds of allies at once that can utilise superpowers to morph together into different machines to complete each objective. It has a great comic character and plays from a 45 degree top-down angle. It also looked pretty open world with a giant metropolis style city as the backdrop. Check it out on YouTube as it’s a bit difficult to explain.

The new game to come out the traps was Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, which is due for release later this year. It’s being touted as the first HD Donkey Kong but offers the same platformer action as before – which I’m sure will please fans.

Next up though was a hugely predicted confirmation of Bayonetta 2. As a nice anecdote our favourite protagonist now don’s short hair – which had so many hits that it crashed Polygon when they upload a photo during the conference. It looks like the same badass action we’d expect from the second instalment in the series but the camera is still a pervert.

The second to last game shown was the magnificent looking open world RPG from Monolith call ‘X’. It boasts a selection of Dinosaurs and Robots and has been a creation based on their experiences with Xenoblade. It looked very interesting from the trailer but no gameplay was shown so we’ll have to wait and see. The game is expected in 2014 but, as for a release period, we still know when in the year.

Last but no least we got confirmation of the Wii U and 3DS versions of Smash Bros. The Internet went made for the inclusion of Animal Crossing villagers which was strange – please spoke about that more than the actual announcement. It’s set for a 2014 release and also features Mega Man alongside the standard crew of Mario, Pikachu, Link and Bowser.

It was an interesting conference but nothing really came up that we didn’t already know about or weren’t expecting. Everything also seems to be delayed which is a shame as the Wii U software sections of our local game shops are looking a bit thin. Mario looked great but I think a lot of die-hard fans were hoping for a Galaxy follow-up. I suppose there is always Eurogamer or PAXs.

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State of Decay Review

I’m really getting to grips with State of Decay and it’s about the only thing I’ve played since its release last week – yes the zombies something appear from no-where, frequently characters clip through walls and doors, frame rate sometimes drops, textures have a tendency to pop in and occasionally you get blocked into a corner by your own ‘allies’ but it’s
completely enjoyable in almost every way.

In my game, which I’m guess is over half way through the main storyline has featured the army, base movements and the black fever as well as hillbillies, supercars and hundreds of dead Zeds (the reference used for the Zombies in game).

The interesting premise here is the permi-death associated with the game itself. If a character dies they are gone forever; your ‘friends’ are you lives and each has their own levelling up capacities and specific uses.

All in all it is not a game born from this age of gaming and has almost zero hand holding or tutorials beyond a quick ‘use this button’ display on screen. You aren’t a superhuman zombie slayer of armed up to the teeth with guns and rockets. Instead you are an everyman who is just trying to survive - because of this completing any of the tasks in game needs good preparation and a particular level of caution.

Yes, State of Decay is an open-world zombie survival game, but what’s not obvious right away – and glorious once you understand its depths – is that it’s a full-blown role-playing game - and a fantastic one at that.

You can switch back and forth between your allies to recuperate health and stamina which drains as you are attacked by the undead or overexert yourself. You’ll travel across a rather large multiple-town desert; recruiting new survivors, searching for supplies in shops and houses, as well as managing your ‘groups’ relationship with other parties.

Health is scarce; the zombies can move as fast as you once they are alerted, and most harrowingly, you can realistically only run for a short time before you get tired and have to stop for breath. The other interesting decision relates to weapons – yes there are guns – but do you go in loud by firing off a couple of bullets or bust some heads with your hand to hand combat weapons. All of these actions then add to the degeneration of item quality, which includes the cars you drive, and feed into the need to repair or replacement often.

Sound is also a big matter that effects your choices, aside from fire arms, scavenging too quickly can alert nearby Zeds, cars attract the hordes and even gaining entry to a door car cause a commotion.

Luckily every base you upgrade or outpost you create has a supply locker for your resources. These collections become more important as the game goes on too – lots of allies means more food is required to hold of starvation and more beds too for combating sleep deprivation. On top of this the Locker helps your groups influence on others. To explain - a shotgun you hold might be worth 90 Influence points, so removing it from your stash subtracts 90 Influence, preventing you from going full-on Rambo out there. It makes for a brilliantly balanced system where you’re constantly forced to make considered choices.

 

I personally started by working with three main characters, levelling up their skills like cardio and fighting but unfortunately one of them, Ed has now been killed. It was a harrowing time for me and my band of survivors as I had literally become attached to him both as a personality in my group and because of the time invested in boosting his skill. Secondly the effect knocked my group back which took me some time to bring them around to the idea of keeping things going and staying alive. Eventually, though, I recovered, keeping group morale high enough so nobody fled.

My first couple of hours were spent getting into how the game works. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you understand the in’s and out’s the whole experience is thoroughly enjoyable and at times even exciting. As a warning don’t underestimate the speed and viciousness of a single zombie horde. You simply must take out the undead individually in order to successfully defeat them. A stealthy approach, thanks to insta-kill moves pulled off by manoeuvring behind a Zed undetected, can be a powerful ally.

Overall though Decay has a few minor missteps but the plotline is engaging enough to see you through to the end. Unfortunately the choices you make for survival are sometimes too prompted and can lack the tough, unexpected results you made in The Walking Dead game from Telltale. And while it may seem unfair to criticise a game for non-existent features, you can’t help but daydream about the fascinating possibilities and adventures that a cooperative mode could have had. Undead Labs, the creators, have publicly stated that it had originally planned to include it and still hopes to add the mode via a post release patch as long as the game sells well enough to fund it.

State of Decay’s ambition reaches farther than most full priced titles, so its value is unquestionable as a XBLA download – especially given how it manages to successfully meet so many of its lofty goals. I have spent about 15 hours in the Zed-infested world and will happily spend many more. The whole experience exudes the class of modern zombie games so State of Decay fits the same lofty tower as the Left 4 Dead series and the Walking Dead episodes.

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