Life is Strange Developer Diary Part 2 January 23, 2015

We are a week away from the release of the first episode of Life is Strange and the game’s developers have released the second part of their three part documentary series on the game.

A major portion of the game is its time travel mechanic. The game’s main character has the ability to rewind time and the player will be able to use this unusual ability to their their benefit. This documentary focuses on the how this ability will work in the game’s world and what its limitations are.

Life is Strange Episode 1 is coming January 30, 2015 to the PC, Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Windows 10 Upgrade Free to Windows 7 and 8 Owners Who Upgrade in the First Year January 21, 2015

I NEVER thought I would post these words. Call your mom, this may never happen again. Windows 7 and Windows 8 owners will be able to upgrade their PCs to Windows 10 at no extra cost for the first year of its release. I am speechless.

Microsoft has ALWAYS charged for operating system licenses, even for operating systems that were just flat out terrible (ME, Vista). It is actually a big part of their traditional business plan. The Windows operating system, office productivity software, and games would bring Microsoft profits every year, making them one of the most successful companies in the world in the late 90s. But that was twenty years ago and we hardly live in a traditional world anymore now do we? Now, Microsoft has their software on portable smartphones, they’re selling their own hardware in the form of Xbox and Surface platforms, and they’re still making money from Office licensees. Do they really need to make money from selling Windows anymore?

Windows 10 is already looking to be an improvement over Windows 8 in nearly every way so it will not be difficult to get people to upgrade. People from all over the Internet have called this action “Microsoft’s apology for 8.” What surprises me more than anything is the fact that while Windows 8 is a pretty terrible OS with a horrible interface, Windows 7 users have had very few complaints about 7, and they will be able to upgrade to 10 as well.

Microsoft’s fine print does say that users who wish to upgrade to Windows 10 for free will need to have either Windows 7 SP1 installed or Windows 8.1 installed with the Windows Update service enabled. Enterprise license owners are also ineligible for the free upgrade.

Windows 10 is currently in beta testing and has no release date.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle Announced January 20, 2015

Fans of Final Fantasy, the Internet needs your help! Square Enix and Amazon have banded together to do something really special with their fans, today they are announcing the Final Fantasy Twitter Battle.

Here’s a trailer with all the details and a look at some of the prizes.

Go check out the website here!

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is coming in March 2015 to the Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Theme Hospital Now Free on Origin Through On The House January 20, 2015

EA has been offering games on their online downloadable game service for free through their On the House promotion in an effort to get new players to adopt the service. EA has just announced that the Origin service is now offering Theme Hospital free of charge. You can download that here.

You will need an Origin client and an EA account to download the game to your computer, but all are free of charge. It is unclear how much longer Theme Hospital will continue to be offered for free, but anyone who downloads the game will continue to be able to play it on Origin forever.

Xbox One SmartGlass App Updated for iPhone 6 Support January 19, 2015

Xbox One owners who also happen to own an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus should head to the App Store right now and download the new Xbox One SmartGlass App. It has just been updated to, among some minor bug fixes, support the native screen resolutions of the Apple’s newest phones.

SmartGlass is a great app for adding Xbox Live friends, checking your messages, keeping track of your achievement progress, and watching any video content you’ve recorded with the Xbox One DVR. You can download it for free right now.

Halo: Master Chief Collection Day One Owners Now Receiving Compensation January 18, 2015

I really don’t need to retread here just how bad the launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection was. Microsoft launched an unstable game full of bugs that was practically unplayable online. Now that the game has mostly stabilized, Microsoft has started delivering the compensation they promised to the game’s early players.

First up, Microsoft promised they would deliver a free month of Xbox Live to affected users. The free month credit has started distributing this weekend. Thankfully Microsoft has made this credit pretty seamless, they are automatically applying an extra month of online play to all affected Xbox Live accounts without the need to redeem any code.

Second, 343 Industries promised affected users would have access to some exclusive nameplates and avatar icons for their game. That content has also started to automatically unlock for selected users. If you want to check to see if you have it, simply fire up the game and go into your extras menu. You’ll find the nameplate and avatar options next to the Spartan Tag and armor selection options. The exclusive avatars and nameplates are at the very end of both lists. New nameplates include a Golden Master Chief helmet nameplate, and new avatars include various Mister Chief drawings along with an image of Halo writer Frank O’Connor. Again, no code is needed to access this content.

One final thing has been promised to affected users and that of course is a free upgrade to the game which will include the complete Single Player campaign of Halo 3: ODST in 1080p. That isn’t expected to be ready until at least March.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on Xbox One.

EVOLVE Open Beta Now on Xbox One January 15, 2015

Fans who can’t wait to play EVOLVE, the latest game from Turtle Rock Studios, can get a small taste of what’s to come as the game’s multiplayer beta has just been opened up to all Xbox One players.

EVOLVE is a team based multiplayer title unlike anything we have seen before.  Instead of putting you in sets of teams, the game adopts an entirely new type of gameplay in that it will pit a squad of four against…one.  However, that one…is him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDkIm6ezs3c

Just be aware before you hit that install button that the beta’s download is going to take a while.  It requires just over 20GB of space on your Xbox One.  Since this is a multiplayer beta, you will need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online.

As with other beta software, 2K and Microsoft are not offering any customer support for it.

EVOLVE is coming to Xbox One, PS4, PC.

All D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die DLC Re-Released January 15, 2015

Anyone hoping to get a second chance to download the limited release DLC for the Xbox One exclusive downloadable title D4, including those who downloaded the title through the Xbox One Games With Gold Promotion, can rejoice. All DLC costumes and beard packs for D4 are back up and you can get them all right now free of charge.

If you have already downloaded this content you will not need to redownload it. The only special note I must bring up is for anyone who previously downloaded the ROCK BAND 3 DLC Pack. Apparently, there was an issue with it when it originally launched, which is why the pack was pulled at least a week early. The developers recommend anyone who originally downloaded the Rock Band 3 Pack delete and redownload it from the Xbox Store, however you may not need to do something that drastic. In my case, the Xbox One prompted me to update the DLC pack once I started playing the game, and then updated it like it does every other Xbox One game.

D4 is out now exclusively on the Xbox One.