#Microsoft Game Studios

[mvfm-25]

" Who you are is not always... Who you will become! " Game Informer Magazine n137 - September, 2004.

[lumi-klovstad-games]

Hey, 343. We call "expanded universes" that for a reason.

It also hurt for those of us who actually LIKED Fireteam Osiris and saw potential in the characters. Halo 5 sets up a neat "Brothers in Arms" relationship between Chief and Locke like Chief had with Arbiter in 3, maybe even a little bit of Master & Apprentice, with Locke standing to learn a lot in the days and battles to come from the much older and more experienced Master Chief. But then the next game comes and... wait where is everyone? 343 wants me to buy more books?! A lot of fans already had to buy half a library's worth just to grock Halo 5, and here's 343 repeating that mistake again!

The Halo games really have just become a means by which 343 plugs the Halo novels. "There's a book that explains that" is the constant refrain I hear these days. No. I WANT THE GAMES TO EXPLAIN IT. The games are the only thing literally EVERY Halo fan buys. EXPLAIN IT IN THE GAMES.

I will give the audio logs in Infinite SOME credit for answering SOME questions I had, but mostly it was used to introduce irrelevant subplots that actually WOULD be better as a novel. Escharum doing his damnedest to keep the ragtag and ill-fitting family that are the Banished together with the disappearance of his protege Atriox, a warrior who was like a son to him, knowing full well he doesn't have Atriox's charisma and he can't maintain the cult of personality Atriox cultivated at the core of the Banished in the same way? Or a fireteam of Spartans, feeling lost and surviving without any real support, realizing that they'll likely die one way or another, deciding to risk it all on a single desperate all-or-nothing Hail Mary attempt at cutting the head off the snake, only to fail, with their only monument being their broken bodies, and their armor that Chief has to scavenge for gear with little if any knowledge of what happened to his comrades? These are plots TAILOR MADE for a spin-off novel. But instead a HUGE CHUNK of the total audio logs gets devoted to this kind of stuff, instead of explaining where Blue and Osiris are, if they survived, and setting up a reunion in a later story — you know, something actually relevant to Master Chief's story that connects with the plot players are already familiar with.

I get that 343 wants the Halo Universe to feel like this big connected thing while keeping the "mysterious" feel of the original trilogy, but for 343 that takes the form of locking players out of the loop: deny the players critical information necessary to understanding characters or the plot (even if the players can operate without that information) and then demand they cough up $8-15 a pop to gain access to that information (or just wait until Halopedia editors inevitably do). What they keep forgetting is that the original trilogy told players everything they needed to know as the game naturally progressed. The Bungie novels were interesting and sundry, but nothing they related was essential — not even The Fall of Reach (often considered the most important book in the expanded universe) was necessary to understand anything in the games proper. And then, when Bungie actually made a GAME about Reach, they made a point to showcase a separate cast of characters on a different part of the planet, playing a different role in the battle, with an entirely different team dynamic, all for the express purpose of keeping it so that the book wasn't essential to understanding what was going on. That's the secret that 343 just doesn't get: keep the books interesting, but keep them at arm's length — the GAME should tell the players everything they need to know.

More than game mechanics or graphics, if 343 can learn to tell stories in the games the way Bungie did, and learn to keep the books away from the games, then that alone will MASSIVELY improve Halo's appeal and bring back much of what was lost.

[cartooongasm]

Blinx: The Time Sweeper Print ad 2002

[martianmanmilker]

Beat Blue Dragon! Lovely traditional JRPG, great soundtrack, I owed it to Toriyama to finally finish it. The boss themes are awesome.

[koppashiren]

So I was playing this PS2 game called Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (零 紅い蝶) which is a survival horror game and a sequel to the first Fatal Frame game. The game was developed by Tecmo who also published the US and Japanese version, Ubisoft published the PAL PS2 version, and Microsoft Game Studios published the Original Xbox version, the game was released on November 27, 2003 for the Japanese PS2 version, December 10, 2003 for the US PS2 version, and April 30, 2004 for the PAL PS2 version. Meanwhile the Xbox version was released on November 1, 2004 in the US, November 11, 2004 for the Japanese Xbox version, and February 4, 2005 for the PAL Xbox version. Also I had this idea were Bitsy from SuperKitties and Koppa from Shiren the Wanderer meeting Mio Amakura and Mayu Amakura from Fatal Frame, mostly because I think it would be really interesting seeing Bitsy meet up with Mio Amakura and Koppa meet up with Mayu Amakura.

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Sudeki

Climax Studios is one of those studios that kind of does everything. You see them crop up all the time, but outside of the Japanese market where these studios can carve out a place for themselves, a lot of western ones tend to be bought up and tossed away. Somehow, Climax has managed to survive, even as a subsidiary, and have had their hands in surprising places. From Silent Hill to Serious Sam, they have a habit of appearing where you’d least expect them. That goes double for one of Microsoft’s attempts to crack the Japanese market, the extremely Japanese-influenced Sudeki.

Read more...

[gamemories]

[posthumanwanderings]

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[ N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment (XBOX) - Intro ]

[demifiendrsa]

Fable - Xbox Games Showcase

The Fable reboot is in development for Xbox Series X|S and PC. A release date has yet to be announced.

[flojocabron]

When said gears stop turning.....

[bloodngames]

---#Mechassault & Lone Wolf---

One great blessing of growing up in the early 2000's was being exposed to so many spectacular mech/giant robot games.

However, I found that one franchise stood out more than the others: Mechassault.

My fascination for vintage robots led me to play a lot of MechWarrior and Mechassault during that time, and I felt a connection to the franchise.

While hanging out with my buddies using the system link allowed for cross-generation console-to-console lans which was priceless.

I'm glad the second game could be played on the 360, but I'm disappointed that it is not compatible with Xbox One and Series.

It was always a great time playing multiplayer! Climbing out of the mech to breach an enemies mech is something I miss more than anything.

Definitely wish this franchise got remastered/ported for the latest PC and console generations.

[mvfm-25]

" Prepare for revelations on the most anticipated videogame of all time! "

Edge Gaming Magazine n115 - October, 2002.

[wolfleblack]

All of the first-party Microsoft Game Studios games coming to Xbox and PC in 2024 and beyond

The lifeblood of any console is the first-party exclusive titles. For most people, they are the primary motivating factor when it comes to choosing which of the big three console brands to get into bed with. For a long time, both Sony and Nintendo have clearly led the pack when it comes to consistently outputting quality first-party software, but Microsoft are making big moves to finally address…

[realjediverse]

Forza Motorsport Game Review

Forza Motorsport (2023) is a sim racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the twelfth installment in the Forza Motorsport series and is scheduled to be released on October 10, 2023 for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Graphics and Sound Forza Motorsport is one of the most visually stunning racing games ever made. The cars look incredibly realistic and the…

[capsulecomputers]

Starfield Review

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios Publisher: Bethesda Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X (Reviewed) Release Date: Available Now Price: $69.99 USD

When it comes to Bethesda fans usually know a little bit of what to expect, but does #Starfield's new setting and mechanics blow those expectations out of the sky? Read our review of this massive #space #RPG inside to find out.

[destielmemenews]

Bethesda has unionized with the Communications Workers of America and has been recognized by Microsoft.

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