Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Caught Me By Surprise

When Microsoft announced the inclusion of backwards compatibility into the Xbox One, I shrugged. It seemed to me like a half-hearted retort to Sony rapidly outpacing them in market share, combined with a band-aid solution to Microsoft not having enough exclusive games to make the Xbox One a more appealing product. On top of that, I’m generally not one to spend much time retreading games I’ve previously played or missed at their peak.

Recently though, my Xbox One copy of Far Cry 5 came in the mail, and I fired up the console for the first time in a while. Sitting in my queue were downloads for some awesome Xbox 360 games from my past that I could play right now without having to buy a remaster. It was the first time I really put any thought into the feature and in retrospect, it’s kind of cool.

There are hundreds of games from the Xbox 360 and original Xbox library that you can play right now on your Xbox One. At some point, I do want to make content relating to this “secret” treasure trove of games hiding right under our noses. Stay tuned!

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Rock Band: 10 Years Later

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On this day in 2007, the original Rock Band was unleashed on the world. Having been anxiously awaiting for that day for quite some time, I rushed into EB Games to pick up my band set. The journey I would go on with that series is one that left an indelible imprint on my life. It’s also one that I struggle to see myself coming back to in a meaningful way.

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Capcom’s Comedy of Fighting Game Missteps

I consider myself to be a massive fan of Capcom fighting games. I’ve poured in thousands of hours into everything they’ve put out since Street Fighter IV, and was a always a fan of Street Fighter II. However, it’s gotten increasingly hard to ignore the calamity of errors that follow every fighting game release. Let’s run through a bunch of them from the last few years, shall we?

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One Last Time: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Playing this game once more before the release of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite!

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Saying Goodbye to Marvel vs. Capcom 3

From X-Men vs. Street Fighter to the recently released Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Marvel and Capcom have been crossing paths since the late 90s in some of the most legendary fighting games of all-time. While I was well aware of their collaborations, their output in the 90s and early 2000s was a reminder to my younger self that fighting games had moved on without me. As a Nintendo fan who actively played Super Street Fighter II, these crossover games were too complex for my liking. On top of that, these games never made it to Nintendo consoles, leaving me out in the cold.

I wouldn’t get a chance to play this series in earnest until the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The road was rough, and I wasn’t there all the way through, but my time with that game was key to my growth as a fighting game player. In a time now where its successor is in market, this post is for the fallen soldier that is the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 series.

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Mark of the Ninja Review

(Originally posted on splitkick.com. Thank you to the Splitkick team for the edits!)

Perched atop a lamppost, I spot my targets. Directly below me are three gun-toting foes who have no idea what’s coming to them. I could simply grapple to the adjacent rooftop to continue my mission, but my bloodlust is running high. I ask myself, “Do I want to cloud their vision with a smoke bomb, then stab each of them in the back? Or can I come up with something more clever?” Scanning my inventory, I find just the thing to liven up this party. In an instant, a swarm of ravenous insects showers down on one of my enemies. As the insects make quick work of his flesh, his partners freak out, and accidentally shoot each other in the commotion. Recognizing that my work was done, I slip off into the darkness to continue my quest.

Though it’s a stretch to classify Mark of the Ninja as a simulation, this 2D stealth platformer makes me feel more like a real ninja than any other video game I’ve played before. Marrying concepts from the NES Ninja Gaiden games with the Arkham series of Batman titles, it’s also one of the coolest games I’ve played in 2012.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

Languishing in mediocrity for years after her groundbreaking debut, Lara Croft came back with a vengeance in the Tomb Raider reboot. Mixing in elements of exploration with a heavy dose of Uncharted-style cinematic events, that game was one of my favourites from the last generation of consoles. With her new origin story in the books, Rise of the Tomb Raider takes Lara on an all-new adventure. What does she have in store for her next act?

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10 Ways in Which Street Fighter IV Failed

Street Fighter IV, without a doubt, is my favourite game of all-time. Having literally dedicated thousands of hours to playing it, deconstructing it and building myself up to be the greatest world warrior I could be over the last six years, the race for #1 game in my heart wasn’t even close. Even if the game is eventually surpassed by something else, I’ll never shake the profound effect its had on my life.

It may reign as my favourite game, but it’s certainly not a perfect one. In the wake of the Street Fighter V beta, the flaws of its predecessor glare brighter than ever. Before we let it retire with its rightfully-deserved legendary status, let’s lovingly pick the game apart for its flaws with this list of 10 ways in which Street Fighter IV failed.

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My Latest Street Fighter IV Project: Balrog

In the early days of Street Fighter IV, I saw Balrog as one of the coolest characters in the game. He was also one of the most popular, as pro-players like Gootecks and PR Balrog proved that the character was viable in tournament play. As the game evolved and new characters were added though, his popularity fell off a cliff.

Despite that, I’ve always toyed with the idea of playing Balrog seriously. I always loved the idea of smashing people with the headbutt and finishing them off with the Violent Buffalo Ultra Combo before they hit the ground. After completing my work with Evil Ryu, it felt like a good time to move onto something new.
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Ultra Street Fighter IV jettFTW (Rose) vs. Smug (Dudley)

Widely recognized as the best Dudley player in the world and one of the best overall in Ultra Street Fighter IV, I have my hands full against Smug. Clearly I’m in over my head in this set of four matches, but do I have enough to not completely get embarrassed?


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