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Xbox Backwards Compatibility Focused Sale - A Lot of Great BC (and XBO) Games Inside !

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Attn:

There are a lot more games on sale than what True Achievement's website lists.

Full dump of price drops can be seen here :



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Attention folks ! I rarely make threads, but this is just too good not to mention.

A new Xbox sale is going on right now and it focuses on a lot of BC games, including many which were recently FPS boosted or added eg Binary Domain, GTA IV and a looooooooooot more. Please check the full list out here:


BC program has made me re-buy so many classic games. It's time to add a half a dozen or so more.

Some highlights:

- Bully Scholarship Edition
- Binary Domain
- Bionic Commndo: Remarmed
- Mega Man 9
- Burnout Revenge
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Killer is Dead
- Max Payne 3

and a lot more.
 
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01011001

Banned
just a heads up, the Return to Arkham version of Batman Arkham Asylum has not been patched yet and still runs at 45fps locked. meaning I would only recommend that version if you have either A: a VRR screen that can go down to or below 45hz, or if you have a 120hz screen with VRR that can go down to 90hz in 120hz mode

in 120hz the Xbox will double each frame giving you an effective lower bound for VRR, so if your lower bounds are 48hz, running in 120hz will work for framerates as low as 24fps because the Xbox will actually output 48 frames, effectively running at 48hz at that point

it feels decently smooth at 45fps if you use VRR but without it it feels like absolute ass to play.

Arkham City is even weirder, it feels like it changes framerate depending on where you are from 30 to 60fps
 
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01011001

Banned
It was in that last big update. This gets my hopes up for the first two and the Dead or Alive series which are also fairly recent updates!

the first 2 Max Payne games are BC and run at 60fps locked. on One X/Series X it runs at 1920p, on Series S at 1440p and on Xbox One at 960p

and Dead or Alive 2, 3 and 4 are also back compat. 2 and 3 get the same res boost as every og Xbox games like Max Payne 1 and 2... DoA4 tho got no enhancements
 
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bender

What time is it?
the first 2 Max Payne games are BC and run at 60fps locked. on One X/Series X it runs at 1920p, on Series S at 1440p and on Xbox One at 960p

Finished both earlier this year. Haven't played them since the PC release but my preference in them has flipped. All the updates to Max Payne 2 make it the GOAT.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Attn:

There are a lot more games on sale than what True Achievement's website lists. Eg Max Payne 1, 2 - FEAR 2 etc

Full dump of price drops can be seen here :

 
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just a heads up, the Return to Arkham version of Batman Arkham Asylum has not been patched yet and still runs at 45fps locked. meaning I would only recommend that version if you have either A: a VRR screen that can go down to or below 45hz, or if you have a 120hz screen with VRR that can go down to 90hz in 120hz mode

in 120hz the Xbox will double each frame giving you an effective lower bound for VRR, so if your lower bounds are 48hz, running in 120hz will work for framerates as low as 24fps because the Xbox will actually output 48 frames, effectively running at 48hz at that point

it feels decently smooth at 45fps if you use VRR but without it it feels like absolute ass to play.

Arkham City is even weirder, it feels like it changes framerate depending on where you are from 30 to 60fps
How are these companies allowed to get away with crap like this? I think its bs that Sony/MS allow this being the atform holders.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Run MS Rewards points! You are in danger!

Forrest Gump Reaction GIF
 

01011001

Banned
How are these companies allowed to get away with crap like this? I think its bs that Sony/MS allow this being the atform holders.

yeah I have no idea... and I also wonder which nutjob at the dev team even came up with such a fucking idiotic idea... WHO THE FUCK caps the framerate on their game at 45fps? that is fucking retarded as hell

also pretty sure it was patched on PS4 Pro where it is now locked to 30 throughout. for VRR owners the Xbox version is better, but if you don't have a VRR screen that can handle 45fps then you are fucked
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
A few games on sale here that I'm interested in and might pick up.

Problem is, Microsoft gives away two of these games every month and I'm afraid that as soon as I buy something, it's gonna be free next month. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 

Quasicat

Member
Just went through the list.
Lots of SEGA and Capcom stuff.
If anyone hasn’t tried Panzer Dragoon Orta, it’s on a really good sale and is an amazing rail shooter that looks amazing in 4k!
 

01011001

Banned
Just went through the list.
Lots of SEGA and Capcom stuff.
If anyone hasn’t tried Panzer Dragoon Orta, it’s on a really good sale and is an amazing rail shooter that looks amazing in 4k!
*1512p

og Xbox = 378p
Xbox One = 756p
Xbox Series S = 1134p
Xbox One X/Series X = 1512p
 
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Warablo

Member
Binary Domain was pretty good. I'd buy Azura's Wrath if it came with the DLC. Never got to see the true ending.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I only picked up Max Payne 3. I've got Binary Domain on Steam and hopefully I'll have a Deck sometime this year. I'm going to wait for a bigger discount on Gunvalkyrie.

Still tempted by Timesplitters 2, Future Perfect and the good Prey (2006) game.

Some Recommendations:

-Max Payne 1 & 2: MP2 holds up really, really well.
-Asura's Wrath: It's an amazing spectacle.
-Burnout Revenge: Burnout before Paradise scratches an itch that just isn't found in gaming today.
-Just Cause 2: One of my favorite open world games and is just dumb fun. Sad what happened to the franchise after this entry.
-Spec Ops: The Line: Not a great game mechanically but it elevates narrative in the medium.
-Catherine: Worth it for the Rapunzel mini game alone.
-Virtual Fighter 5 Final Showdown: The GOAT
-Binary Domain: Big Bo!
-Panzer Dragoon Orta: Mind blowing when it released, mind blowing now.
-Rockstar Table Tennis: Best thing available this side of Virtua Tennis.
-Red Dead Revolver: It's a little clunky but western themed games are still kind of rare. I wish it were less expensive but this is the R* standard discount.
 
Might get Virtua Fighter, only $5 and I have enough MSpoints to get it for free. The Final Showdown 360 version is fine? I know they made the Ultimate Showdown version but they aren’t that different aside retextures and Resolution right?
 

Kruza

Member
Might get Virtua Fighter, only $5 and I have enough MSpoints to get it for free. The Final Showdown 360 version is fine? I know they made the Ultimate Showdown version but they aren’t that different aside retextures and Resolution right?

Correct. Everything aside from graphics overhaul is similar for VF5 Final Showdown and VF5 Ultimate Showdown. But it's also worth noting that there are more online features being added to Ultimate Showdown going forward.
 
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Artistic

Member
Purchased GunValkyrie this morning. Probably going with Saints Row 1, 2, and Max Payne 3. Hold off on MP 1 and 2 for now.
 

Artistic

Member
I played it when it first released on the OG Xbox. I just didn't know what to do so I never made it past the first stage lol. intbal intbal
 
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01011001

Banned
Might get Virtua Fighter, only $5 and I have enough MSpoints to get it for free. The Final Showdown 360 version is fine? I know they made the Ultimate Showdown version but they aren’t that different aside retextures and Resolution right?

I have not played Ultimate Showdown sinxe launch but Final Showdown was superior to the launch version of Ultimate Showdown.

the new version felt more laggy and was not a graphic update throughout imo, aome stages looked straight up way less impressive due to missing reflections and sterile looking backgrounds compared to Final Showdown where Sega really pushed the 360 hard with real time planar reflections in many stages + weather effects etc.

also some of the new character models look straight up weird.

no idea if anything was spatched since then due to noone ever talking about it

edit: here a small thing I wrote soon after launch

a few examples of what I find to be off about the new visuals

first of all, some stages either lack real time reflections or the cubemaps of the reflections have been replaced by simply worse looking and inaccurate ones
Notice in the first image, how the reflection correctly corresponds with the hills and mountains in the background, while on PS4 it is a simplified cubemap that does not match the hills in the back. there are just random bumps in the reflection
vf5_135jqi.png


here a better look on how inaccurate the reflections are in the new version:
vf5_4pqknj.png


and in this stage the reflections are missing almost completely
vf5_214jed.png



it was visual flourishes like that that made VF5 and Final Showdown look so "next gen" at the time and which makes everything look so much more cohesive. the game had multiple stages with real time planar reflections, which reflected much of the stage AND the characters in real time. ultimate Showdown has not single stage as far as I've seen with real time reflections

here an example from the OG VF5, notice how much of the background and the 2 characters are reflected in real time using a mix of planar reflections and a cubemap
vf5_5jtkzs.png


not every detail is always reflecting, and some stages did not have real time reflections for the characters, but at least they somewhat tried to make them look as accurate as possible given the render budget.
vf5_6w0ju2.png

vf5_9q6jn1.png


meanwhile in Ultimate Showdown, they either completely removed the reflections and replaced the wet ground with dry ground:
vf5_7i7jn4.png


or you have shit like this:
vf5_80mjyd.png

look at this blurry, inaccurate mess!

here the version from Final Showdown with real time character reflections!
yakuza_6_i_virtua_figf9jii.gif




and the second part that looks off are some of the characters, here is a side by side of Vanessa:
vf5_3uqk7q.png


they completely changed her face for some reason... looks off to me. but not every chatacter looks worse, some look better


_______________________________


so all in all, the issue I think I have with this version is, it lacks all the ambition the original and Final Showdown had. the meshes might have 10x the polygons, the hair is now not only a texture anymore and the backgrounds have more detail, sure... but if you look not only at the timeframe of release but also the amount of care put into making the game look as cohesive and polished as possible is just not there IMO.

they made extra sure that reflections look as accurate as possible for the hardware in the originals, and the new one just slaps an inaccurate reflection map on water surfaces and replaces all the other reflecting surfaces with matte ones. the original was a truly next gen experience, top of the line... when it released, while Ultimate Showdown looks worse than the average PS4 game
 
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I have not played Ultimate Showdown sinxe launch but Final Showdown was superior to the launch version of Ultimate Showdown.

the new version felt more laggy and was not a graphic update throughout imo, aome stages looked straight up way less impressive due to missing reflections and sterile looking backgrounds compared to Final Showdown where Sega really pushed the 360 hard with real time planar reflections in many stages + weather effects etc.

also some of the new character models look straight up weird.

no idea if anything was spatched since then due to noone ever talking about it

edit: here a small thing I wrote soon after launch
Yeah I picked it up. First thing I noticed is it’s just super responsive and “punchy”, for lack of a better way of saying it. My muscle memory makes me keep trying to do holds though because I’m used to playing Jacky and Sarah in DOA5 lol.
 
$8.99 Binary Domain
$5.99 Gunvalkyrie
$4.99 Sonic Generations
$4.49 Sonic Unleashed

I'm hoping Sega puts Otogi 1+2 on sale next month to play on From Software/Elden Ring hype. 🤞
Don't know man, Otogi 1& 2 were my most requested games but, after buying Otogi 1 the other day I can say that the game hasn't aged well, like, at all - muddy graphics, weird control scheme and that lock-on camera is just bad.
Also, for the price they're asking (20 a pop - that FROM tax man) is just...nope.
Nostalgia was too strong, sure and I've always had fond memories of these games but let's just say that I'm disappointed, make no mistake, these ain't remotely at the same level of Panzer dragoon orta or Ninja gaiden black.
Cheers
 
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