Stealing away with a week's worth of interesting links.
Reboots and HD remakes are undoubtedly in vogue at the moment, with rebooted and HD versions of Strider, Thief and the original Fable all on their way in the coming weeks. It's got us into something of a reminiscing mood over here - we remember a time when Chomps were barely 10p and Starburst were Opal Fruits.
One server per platform, traffic levels differ depending on location and time of day.
There were plenty of disappointed faces last year when Ubisoft announced it was delaying its online open-world racer The Crew, though we had plenty of other options to occupy petrol-heads in the meantime. Now, some months later, it seems Ubisoft are getting those engines warmed back up.
Mmmffhh-mmffhh mnnppphh mfffhhhh!.
After being stuck in development hell for what seems an eternity, Obsidian's South Park RPG The Stick of Truth is nearly, finally ready to reach us in just over a month's time. Unlike many other licensed games, the show's creators have had their hands well and truly stuck into this one.
New alien foes and more for opening chapter of four-part Extinction saga.
Call of Duty Ghosts' first DLC pack Onslaught lands this Tuesday on Xbox Live, and alongside a new weapon and four new maps (including one which allows you to become Michael Myers) is the first part of a four-episode Extinction storyline.
"Keeping track of four other friends is too much.".
After you've launched a successful co-operative franchise with Left 4 Dead, where do you go? For developers Turtle Rock, their next project sees them lurching away from the undead and stomping into the boots of monster hunting in a four-versus-one shooter. But why exactly are they sticking with that four-player team number?
Ant you glad to see this one?.
There's a lot to be said about the Earth Defense Force games. Sure, for all intents and purposes it's the literal definition of a B-Movie game, and not just due to the premise of super soldiers versus improbably large insects terrorising a city.
Or should that be RyuTube?.
Ultra Street Fighter IV may to outsiders appear as yet another refresh of one of the best beat-em-ups of the decade, but credit where it's due, Capcom are attempting to add plenty of reasons for fighter fans to pick up this latest edition, even aside from the raft of balancing tweaks and roster additions.
A host of familiar voices lending some major bite.
The original Castlevania Lords of Shadow back in 2010 did a lot of things right, including not scrimping on the voice cast, with Robert Carlyle (of Trainspotting fame) and Patrick Stewart (of being Patrick Stewart fame) in two of the most prominent roles. The good news is they're returning for the sequel.
"There could be a lot of reasons" why Tomb Raider's frame rate varies between versions.
Outspoken Microsoft senior director Albert Penello has chimed in once again on the Xbox One/PS4 specs debate, with particular reference to a recent upset about Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, which reportedly doesn't run at 60 frames a second on Xbox One.
It looks quite a lot like Minecraft Xbox 360.
Oh 4J Studios, what reckless games you play with our affections. The studio has just Tweeted a picture of some lovely Minecraft Mooshroom plushies, accompanied by a winky face. Said plushies are seated in front of a wallscreen that just *happens* to show an image of Minecraft on Xbox One. Eek!
Related: TotalXbox headline writer experiences failure of imagination.
A reference to swinging in a Spider-Man headline? What was I thinking, etc. Let's move swiftly onto the first gameplay trailer for Beenox and Activision's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, out for Xbox 360, Xbox One and the other ones this spring.
"I think when people get the chance to play they'll hopefully understand.".
If there's one thing everybody fears, it's the unknown. Oh, and not finding enough people to kill in a multiplayer game. Speaking to OXM as part of a massive, exclusive feature you'll read in our very next issue, Titanfall designer Justin Hendry has commented that concerns about certain of the game's more eccentric features are understandable in the absence of hands-on experience.
Lionhead's community manager lets slip a little more on Xbox One's first Fable.
Like a man dying of thirst, I continue to suck hungrily at the shiny gemstone that is Fable Legends. For too long have I been forced to Play The Hero in role-playing games, tasked with saving damsels among other tedious fluffy things - this is the first Xbox specimen since Overlord that caters to my not-so-inner Villain.
Brief aside sparks hope for lower prices.
Good news, peasants! Microsoft is aware that some of you ungrateful sods think #163;35.19 is too much to pay for a new edition of Angry Birds. Posting very briefly on Reddit, PR man Larry Hryb also hinted at announcements to come this year.
Can he axe you a question?.
The full moon must have receded already - Sabrewulf is no longer Killer Instinct's free to play character. He's been replaced by the artist formerly known as Chief Thunder - you can just call him Thunder now.
There's never an Orcward moment in Monolith's latest.
Quick, finish your breakfast and put your socks on - it's time to watch somebody lop an Orc's face off in slow motion. The first Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor gameplay video is upon us.
Microsoft confirms record revenue of $24.52 billion.
Microsoft has released a report detailing its earnings in Q2 of the 2014 fiscal year - a quarter which ended on the 31st December. Initial figures are pretty healthy - the company shipped 7.4 million Xbox consoles to retail, including 3.9 million Xbox Ones and 3.5 million Xbox 360s.
Build your own Bad Guy.
Think one Orc is pretty much the same as another? You (probably) won't be saying that after you've tangled with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - a current and next generation action-RPG that takes place on Sauron's benighted doorstep. It allows players to train up individual baddies through repeated encounters, painstakingly elevating an Archer Third Class into an unholy ravager of mankind, then finally slay them for a bigger payout.
A team is only as strong as the fireballs of its lowest level member.
Few games have trodden such a rocky road to release as The Elder Scrolls Online, but the latest trailer does, at least, look rather enticing. It's the tale of a valiant band of developers - that's lead gameplay designer Nick Konkle, game director Paul Sage and dungeon lead Dan Crenshaw - who must valiantly strive to overcome evil in all its forms. Oh, and justify a monthly fee on top of your Xbox Gold subscription.
Xboxie.com rounds up the best for your inspection.
In days of yore, the Gods came down from Olympus and engraved upon the Souls of Mankind a single Rule: "thou shalt release no videogames of note in January, because dude, nobody buys videogames in January - everybody's all spent out after Christmas". Sorry, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.
