Welcome to our weekly ICYMI for Xbox news!

This week, we're looking at Gears of War HD rumours, Square Enix's E3 plans, Deus Ex cat pictures, and more!

We'll still be posting major Xbox announcements in the main feed, but I'll be collecting some of the more nuanced news, rumours and talking points into one handy post every weekend!

So without further ado, here's our latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Gears of War Remastered rumours resurface

The internet has been intermittently ablaze with rumours and speculation surrounding the idea of a Gears of War remastered collection, in the same vein as Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Gears of War lead Rod Fergusson took to twitter last march to debunk rumours, saying that no "Marcus Fenix Collection" existed, but told gamers to stay tuned to hear about other Gears projects at this year's E3.

Turns out, one of those projects could in-fact be a Gears of War remaster, but just the first game, if these latest rumours pan out. Polygon reports that anonymous sources showed them revamped cutscenes and visuals from the purported re-master, and implicated Brink developer Splash Damage and animation studio Plastic Wax as being involved. Click through here for our full take on the rumours.

Former Gears dev leaves Epic Games to join Black Tusk Studios

Speaking of Gears of War, yet another former Gears dev has jumped ship from Epic Games to join the efforts of Black Tusk Studios.

Gears Cinematic Director Greg M. Mitchell announced his new hiring on twitter, but fell short of announcing his new role, but it seems likely that it'll be related to cinematics once again.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided devs troll Treyarch for their suspiciously familiar Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 teasers

Treyarch and Activision have been teasing the latest instalment in the popular military shooter, which is set in a near future reality where humans go through extensive biomechanical augmentations to enhance their weaknesses. Sound familiar?

Eidos thought so, tweeting the below picture in response to Black Ops 3's latest teaser.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête also had a few tweets for the Treyarch wing of the Call of Duty factory, stating:

...We lied guyz. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided actually takes place on the Eastern Front during World War 2. We felt inspired....

Whilst I'm sure there's little malice in these tweets, they do echo other's questions of how derivative Call of Duty as a franchise has become. Hopefully Black Ops 3 will be different. I need to augment my faith.

Resident Evil 1 remake pushes 1 million purchases on Xbox One and PS4

Amidst years of lack lustre Resident Evil releases, Capcom today confirmed that the remake of the original Resident Evil 1 has pushed over 1 million downloads for its HD re-release on Xbox One and PS4.

Resident Evil is one of my personal favourite franchises, and to see it devolve into a self-parodying corridor shooter has been painful at best, heart-breaking at worst. Resident Evil 1 kick-started the franchise back on the PS1, and has since produced 5 sequels, a huge selection of spin offs, and a fairly terrible movie series. The latest additions to the core series have been panned for dropping the franchises' iconic puzzles, scaling back horror in favour of martial arts action and replacing the dizzying labyrinthine levels with corridor shooting galleries. The original Resident Evil was re-made for the Gamecube, and that version has enjoyed a re-release on Xbox One and PS4 in HD.

Let's hope that the 1 million sales figures for Resident Evil's remake, in addition to holding the record for fastest selling digital title in history on PSN, helps Capcom think twice about its approach to the franchise moving forward.

Square Enix set to host their own E3 conference: Here's what to expect

Square Enix rejoins E3 with its first conference since 2012, owing to the huge selection of IP its bringing to the table in the near and distant future.

• Final Fantasy XV

Expect to see new gameplay and information about Final Fantasy XV, which has been in development for an absolutely ridiculous amount of time. Announced back in 2006 originally as part of the Final Fantasy 13 canon, Final Fantasy XV broke away from last gen and became its own fully fledged game in the beloved RPG franchise. FFXV uses a combination of active and tactical combat, and has responded to criticisms of FF13's lack of exploration by going open world.

The buzz comes hot on the heels of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, a PSP game ported to new-gen consoles which I am currently reviewing (it's rather huge). As a long time Final Fantasy fan beleaguered by MMOs and spin offs, playing FFT-0 and FFXV's bundled demo have imparted some cautious faith on me for the franchises future. Check out my FFXV gameplay impressions here.

• Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 is an open world third person shooter with a heavy emphasis on vertical freedom and wicked explosions. The over the top action game enjoys a staunch fan following, and its sequel was announced last November. We haven't heard a great deal since, and it makes sense to think that Square Enix have been holding back for their costly E3 gig.

• New Hitman project

Square Enix are the purveyors of Hitman, the voraciously beloved stealth series that polarised long term fans with its 360 outing, Hitman: Absolution. Whilst the game enjoys a strong score on metacritic, reviewers were keen to point out that the open-endedness of its approach to assassinations had been painfully diluted.

Following layoffs, IO Interactive took to their official website to calm fans, and let them know that a new Triple A Hitman was in production, specifically for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It also states at length their intention to repair the damage the linearity did to Absolution. That open letter was filed over a year ago, so it seems fair to presume we could see something fresh at E3.

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

The recently announced follow-up to Deus Ex: Human Revolution will undoubtedly feature front and centre at Square's E3 conference. The popular RPG/Stealth/Shooter hybrid enjoys unprecedented levels of freedom, across a progression of open-world like hubs. Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided follow the exploits of Adam Jensen, and serve as a prequel to the original PC titles. There's little I can say to hype the game any more than this trailer will. We'll know more come E3.

• Rise of the Tomb Raider

Ah yes, the controversial one. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a sequel to Tomb Raider, a reboot of the legendary Eidos franchise that spans video gaming all the way back to the PS1. Tomb Raider has enjoyed a re-release in HD on Xbox One and PS4, and sold a boatload of copies across all platforms. The same cannot be said for Rise of the Tomb Raider, as it is (at least for now) an Xbox One exclusive.

Crystal Dynamics' Darrell Gallagher discussed the exclusivity on their Tumblr page:

...We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past - we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft...

The franchise however, is still firmly owned by Square Enix. Owing to the controversy over their decision to outsource the IP to Microsoft Studios for publishing this time round, it remains to be seen whether Square Enix will feature Rise of the Tomb Raider as part of their conference, or instead leave it to their partners at Microsoft. My instincts tell me it'll be the latter, but we'll see.

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending April 26th, 2015

Happy Wars - Online Multiplayer Action - Toylogic Inc.

"Happy Wars is a large-scale online multiplayer action game, involving up to 20 players per match. Go wild in over-the-top melees in a fantasy setting featuring comical characters!"

Aaru's Awakening - 2D Platformer - Lumenox

"Aaru's Awakening is a hand-drawn, fast-paced 2D action platformer. The game puts players in charge of Aaru, a mythical creature with two unique abilities teleportation and charging."

Infinity Runner - Endless Runner / Action Adventure - Lumenox

"In Infinity Runner, the player controls the protagonist, the prisoner, from a first-person perspective as he is challenged to escape from the gargantuan spaceship. This is accomplished by use of techniques and movements inspired by the disciplines of parkour and mixed martial arts, the game-play conveys the players strain and physical contact with the environment whilst dealing with the constantly changing and expansive surroundings."

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China - Side Scrolling Action Adventure - Ubisoft

"Exact Shao Jun's vengeance on the Chinese Emperor in stunning 16th century China with fresh 2.5D stealth gameplay."

And that's a wrap!

Another week in video gaming news collated, dissected and served up on a proverbial polygonal platter. To kick start discussions below, I want to ask how you guys feel about the deluge of remakes and remasters we're seeing hit new gen consoles? On the one hand, its nice to pick up a game you might've enjoyed several years ago again from a fresh perspective, but I understand that some people may be tired of seeing low budget cash-ins slither their way into our wallets every few months. Having said that, I'd sell my body for a Mass Effect Collection on Xbox One. No shame.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 has picked up a reveal trailer this afternoon, showing off Treyarch's latest efforts to mix up the CoD formula.

The trailer offers glimpses of gameplay aspects new to the franchise, as well as a refreshing shift towards a darker tone.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is set in a 'dark and twisted' future where robotics have changed the military landscape. Eidos have already poked fun at Treyarch for borrowing from Deus Ex's gritty futurism, and this new trailer adds further cause for comparison. Adam Jensen fans will recognize prosthesis wielding soldier transform their hands into a weapons on the fly; Titanfall fans may recognize wall running and Spectre-like hack-able robots; and Bioshock fans may recognize wrist-deployable bee swarms (robot bees albeit, presumably).

Also making the cut is gore and dismemberment, which hasn't been seen in Call of Duty since World at War. The trailer plainly shows soldiers limbs being mauled by explosives and large futuristic guns, as well as a crazy bladed rolling drones which look like BB-8's evil cousins. One instance shows a soldier being blown into bloody chunks by an explosive arrow fired from a tech-bow; another shows soldiers being splattered by a large explosive cannon, and so on.

One of my pet Call of Duty peeves is how you can hit someone in the face with a grenade launcher and they fall to their knees rather than get blown across the map as would be the case in Halo or Battlefield, so, kudos Treyarch.

The trailer corroborates some of the leaks we saw from posters and pre-release magazines, such as pre-order beta access and the November 6th release date, but it still remains to be seen whether Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 becomes just another high priced map pack in a series that (in my opinion) no longer innovates.

Here's hoping Treyarch can prove us naysayers wrong. Stay tuned to Windows Central for all the latest on Black Ops 3.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will release on (at least) Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 6th, 2015

Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 on Amazon US

The latest trailer for the sure-fire smash-hit Batman: Arkham Knight offers glimpses at Robin, Nightwing and Azrael in a Gotham City besieged by conflict.

Check out the "All Who Follow You" trailer here.

Analysing footage from the trailer, there's a heavy emphasis on co-operative finishing moves between Robin, Catwoman, Nightwing and Batman, as they fight their way through vast armies of violent criminals and shady organisations. The footage has led many to speculate that Arkham Knight will feature co-op, but in a statement offered to Eurogamer, it seems that what we're seeing is a new "free-flow combat" mechanic, which allows the player to switch between Batman and his allies seamlessly and perform moves in tandem.

Both Red Hood and Harley Quinn are known to be the playable stars of their own DLCs, and the fiery anti-hero Azrael makes an appearance in the trailer. It remains to be seen whether these characters will be playable in the campaign, but one can always hope.

Arkham Knight takes place a year after the events of Arkham City. Batman is bereft of his arch-nemesis The Joker, and is adjusting to life without such chaos. The calm allows a super-villain contingent led by The Scarecrow to muster a new plan to finish Batman once and for all, supported by the mysterious Arkham Knight, who is best described as the anti-Batman, complete with a deep hatred of the Dark Knight, and an arsenal of lethal military hardware.

Arkham Knight closes the Arkham trilogy kick-started by Rocksteady Games and Warner Brothers back on the Xbox 360. The action-adventure game with Metroidvania elements has consistently enjoyed critical acclaim, and given the inclusion of an upgradable Batmobile, a play area 5 times larger than Arkham City and a whole host of new gadgets, gizmos, abilities and enemies, it seems likely that Rocksteady will end the trilogy with a loud, thunderous bang. Yeah, I'm hyped.

Batman: Arkham Knight launches June 23rd, 2015 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Pre-order Batman: Arkham Knight on Amazon US

Pre-order Batman: Arkham Knight on Amazon UK

Microsoft will offer a limited edition version of its Xbox One console to help launch its long-awaited first person shooter Halo 5: Guardians sometime this fall.

The news was first revealed by Josh Holmes, the studio manager at Microsoft's 343 Industries, which is currently in the middle of developing Halo 5. In response to a fan question about a possible limited edition Xbox One console for the game, Holmes wrote, "There is a limited edition console coming, yes. It hasn't been revealed yet, but it's pretty sweet. :)."

While there are indeed no details about what the limited edition Xbox One will be like, it's highly likely that it will contain a copy of Halo 5 bundled with the console, that it and the controller will have an art style similar to what is seen in the game itself. We may get more information during E3 2015 this June. Halo 5: Guardians itself is currently scheduled to launch on October 27.

Source: Josh Holmes (Twitter)

While we are months away from its release on November 6, Xbox One owners can go ahead and pre-order the digital versions of Activision's next major first person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops III right from their console.

Activision is selling two digital versions of the game, both of which will allow players to access its upcoming multiplayer beta test. The $59.99 version offers access to just the base game, while the $99.99 Digital Deluxe Edition adds in access to the game' Season Pass, which allows players to get all of the planned DLC packs for Black Ops III at a lower cost. The Digital Deluxe Edition will also have some other extra content that will be revealed at a later date.

Activision has already revealed a bunch of info about Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Developed by Treyarch, the game takes place several decades in the future with the player controlling soldiers that have been enhanced with bio-engineering as well as cybernetic limbs and implants. The game's single player campaign can also be played in a 4-play co-op mode and, yes, zombies will be back in a big way as well.

Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops III Digital Edition ($59.99)

Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops III Digital Deluxe Edition ($99.99)

Minecraft developer Mojang has confirmed that it will add a free female character to the popular sandbox game. It will first be available on Wednesday, April 29 for the Xbox and other console versions of the game.

Minecraft did have a female character, Alex, in the PC versions, but it was randomly assigned and could not be selected in the game itself by players. Neither the console nor mobile editions currently have female player options. Instead, there are skins based on the male character, Steve.

In a blog post, Mojang, which is now owned by Microsoft, stated:

"Now, everyone loves Steve – he's probably the most famous minecrafter in the world, and has excellent stubble. But jolly old Steve doesn't really represent the diversity of our playerbase. For that reason, we're giving all players opportunity to play with an Alex skin instead. She brings thinner arms, redder hair, and a ponytail; she actually looks a bit like Jens from certain angles.

The Washington Post is also reporting that the mobile versions of Minecraft will add the free Alex player character option to the game sometime later this summer.

In addition to the Alex character, the Xbox 360 addition of Minecraft will get 30 new achievements with Wednesday's free update, along with a number of new songs.

Source: Mojang, The Washington Post

Publisher Square Enix has released the first gameplay trailer for Just Cause 3, the upcoming open-world action game sequel from developer Avalanche Studios. The game is due out in late 2015 for the Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4.

The trailer is a bit short but it's full of awesome action sequences that will be available for players to control in the game. Indeed, the YouTube description of the Just Cause 3 trailer states:

"This footage is all actual gameplay. It was captured in-game using cinematic camera angles. It contains no cut scenes. Nothing was staged or scripted."

That will apparently include sequences like freefalling on top of a jet fighter, ripping off the glass canopy and throwing the pilot out. There's also lots of shooting, explosions and more vehicle action as the player controls the character of Rico Rodriguez as he tries to make life hard for General di Ravello, the leader of the fictional Mediterranean island Medici. People who pre-order Just Cause 3 will gain access to the Weaponised Vehicle Pack, featuring three exclusive cars to drive around and shoot things with.

It's going to be a very busy 2015 for Avalanche Studios as the developer also has the upcoming Mad Max game coming out for the Xbox One and other platforms on September 1.

Source: Just Cause (YouTube)

People who are buying the upcoming super-hero action game Batman: Arkham Knight will be able to get six months of extra post-release content if they buy the game's Season Pass for $39.99.

Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive revealed a few details about what will be included in the Season Pass for the game:

"The Season Pass will get you a variety of brand new content including story missions, additional super-villains invading Gotham City, legendary Batmobile skins, advanced challenge maps, alternative character skins, and new drivable race tracks."

Batman: Arkham Knight is due for release on June 23 for the Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4 from developer Rocksteady. In addition to the regular digital edition of the game, there will also be a Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition that will combine the main game with the Season Pass for $99.99.

Source: Batman Arkham Knight forums

Cinder is ready to set Killer Instinct aflame later this week and to celebrate, Iron Galaxy have finally released his character trailer! Cinder arrives hot on heels of last month's Hisako, fresh from the 1994 original.

Check out the trailer here!

Cinder flaunts his personality and sarcastic wit in the video, mocking TJ Combo's name and arrogantly inviting other KI characters to bring it. The trailer also offers a glimpse of Aria, a mysterious Ultratech agent who appears to be cybernetic in some capacity.

Some fans have taken issue with Cinder's new look, which is less fire and more lava, but Iron Galaxy Studios have reassured fans of the classic design will be satisfied with separate costume and customization options, an early concept of which you can see here.

According to the KI wiki, Cinder, or Ben Ferris, left the army to become a private security contractor. Eventually he was offered a job to infiltrate Ultratech and steal data on 'Project Cinder'.

Considering that Cinder refers to himself as being on Ultratech's 'side' in the trailer, it certainly seems as though his transformation into a human volcano was intentional.

Character Traits

Cinder features unique traits, as is standard for KI characters. Cinder's Combo Trait, dubbed Burnout Enders gives some of Cinder's combo enders the ability to set the opponent's upper or lower body aflame, causing damage over time. Using upper or lower attacks corresponding to the location of the fire fans the flames, increasing the duration of the debuff. Additionally, Cinder's unique Fired Up! trait augments Cinder's next special attack with additional properties. Cinder gains the "Fired Up" state automatically every 8 seconds, and his character model becomes more inflamed as a result. Cinder's Instinct Pyromania affords him a permanent "Fired Up" state for its duration.

Cinder will arrive on Thursday 30th April for Ultra Edition owners, and May 6th for Combo Breaker Edition owners.

Are you a fan of Cinder's new look? or will you be eagerly awaiting the classic costume? Hit the comments!

Microsoft has posted its list of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games that are discounted this week as part of its Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale weekly events. The list includes a number of Star Wars-based games and add-on packs.

Here are the list of games that have discounted prices just for paid Xbox Live Gold members for the next week:

Xbox One:

• Madden NFL 15 - down to $24 - Xbox One Store
• Angry Birds Star Wars - down to $10 - Xbox One Store
• Dance Central Spotlight - down to $5 - Xbox One Store

Xbox 360:

• Madden NFL 15 - down to $23.99 - Xbox 360 Store
• Angry Birds Star Wars - down to $9.99 - Xbox 360 Store
• Star Wars Pinball - down to $2.29 - Xbox 360 Store
• Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force - down to $4.99 - Xbox 360 Store
• Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within - down to $4.99 - Xbox 360 Store

In addition, the Spotlight Sale has reduced the prices for many more Xbox One and Xbox 360 games for both Gold and Silver Xbox Live members. You can check out the full, and very long, list, at the Major Nelson site. The prices are live until May 4.

Source: Major Nelson

This year has been a great one for Capcom's Resident Evil series so far. In January, we got Resident Evil HD Remaster, a fresh edition of the beloved original game. February saw the first episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 released, with further episodes appearing all the way into March. Two fine games in three months, and not a single blunder like the abysmal Resident Evil 6 in sight.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 contains two distinct game modes: the episodic campaign and the mission-based Raid Mode. When the Xbox One version launched, it featured split-screen multiplayer in both modes and the promise of online multiplayer for Raid Mode in a future update. Other platforms got the online Raid Mode update at the end of March, but Xbox One had to wait a while.

At last, the online Raid Mode update has come to Xbox One. Since Raid Mode is like its own separate game (that you get just by buying the first episode of Revelations 2), we're providing this detailed Raid Mode review with video!

Welcome to Raid Mode

Raid Mode is a feature introduced in the first Resident Evil Revelations game for 3DS, Xbox 360, and other platforms. Think of it like the multiplayer mode in Dragon Age: Inquisition– totally separate from the main game. But Resident Evil Revelations 2's Raid Mode is actually much more robust than Inquisition's multiplayer, and a few unlocks do at least carry over from the campaign here.

Between Raid missions, players will visit a hub area called the Vestibule. You start out there as the Cipher, a hologram. In Revelations 2's fiction, someone called the Overseer has developed an AI known as the Red Queen Alpha. This AI tests you, the player, by forcing you to complete various virtual scenarios. Call it a cute setup for why characters from all sorts of Resident Evil games can team up and play levels together.

Characters and customization

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is an episodic game. While Raid Mode and all of its non-premium stages are included with the first episode, certain characters can't be used without buying subsequent episodes or the Season Pass.

Anyone who purchases at least the first episode of Revelations 2 gets to use two characters by default: Claire and Barry, returning characters from Resident Evil 2 and 1, respectively. Moira and Gina (both new characters) can be unlocked by completing Episode 1 of the game's campaign. Jill Valentine (heroine of the first Resident Evil) unlocks when you earn 10 Completion Medallions in Raid Mode, and Cipher requires 90.

You get a total of six characters to use even if you don't buy more episodes. A further eight characters can be unlocked by completing further episodes and/or earning additional Medallions, including returning characters Leon, Chris, Alex Wesker, and Junk; and four new characters. Hunk can also be bought as DLC, and Albert Wesker is only available as a paid download.

Each character starts with a unique combination of active and passive skills. Active skills can be activated and will and used again after a cooldown timer expires. For example, Hunk can become invisible for several seconds, whereas Barry throws firebombs. Two of Jill's passive skills enhance her evasion abilities.

As you complete missions with a character, he or she will level up. Each level up rewards the character with Skill Points that can be spent to upgrade skills, increasing their effectiveness. Reaching level milestones can unlock extra weapon and skill slots and well as new skills. Building up a character and customizing him or her with your choice of skills is a big part of Raid Mode's appeal.

Other customizations can be unlocked as you meet certain conditions, including alternate outfits and gestures. A character can have up to six gestures which you perform by holding the gesture button (Y on Xbox controllers) and then tapping another button.

The gestures get really elaborate and silly. You can dance the robot, do karate poses, and much more. Some characters can even deal melee damage with gestures. Nothing like defeating zombies with your killer dance moves!

Missions

Having chosen your Resident Evil all-star of choice, you'll then head out on missions either alone or with a friend. Revelations 2 divides Raid Mode missions into three categories:

• Main Missions: See below.
• Daily Missions: Two randomly designated missions per day. Completing these gets you free mid-mission revives – a pretty good way to keep players coming back daily.
• Event Missions: Limited time missions with special rewards. Recently, the community got to team up against a giant monster approaching from the ocean. After finally killing the monster, everyone who participated got prizes.

Main Missions come in three difficulty categories, with each difficulty offering at least eight Gauntlets (batches) of missions. Most involve killing a set number of enemies, but some mix things up by adding a time limit, a goal to reach, or a target to defend.

The Raid Mode missions take place in environments borrowed from the campaign and even previous games like Resident Evil 6. They don't tend to be too visually exciting, but the "greatest hits" aspect still adds some appeal. Think of it as picking your favorite character and revisit scenes from past games, action-style.

Most missions contain three chests to find. These net you records that can be identified between missions. Records get you random weapons and weapon upgrade parts. You can use them, sell the extras, and (eventually) combine the parts to make better ones.

Missions also have optional goals that can be completed to earn Medallions: kill all enemies, don't use herbs, and clear at or below the recommended level. Do all of these things to get Completion Medallions that contribute to various unlockables.

Co-op

Raid Mode supports two-player co-op both locally and online. Four players would have been even better, but at least we don't have to go it alone if we don't want to!

Split-screen is kind of shoddy because Capcom insists on limiting each player's window to a small portion of the screen, just as with Resident Evil 5 and 6. The second player can't use his or her own save file or earn Achievements, either. Thankfully, the newly added online co-op doesn't suffer any of those limitations!

To play online after downloading the latest update, start Raid Mode and head to the blue door. There you can invite a partner or seek one through matchmaking. The matchmaking continues searching for a partner while you navigate the hub room and menus. But you can't begin a mission on your own while matchmaking searches, unfortunately. Alternately, select Quick Match from the mission select to join an open lobby.

Find someone to play with and he or she will enter your room. Each of you gets to select a character and perform any normal hub actions like buying items and equipping them. After the host selects a mission, the guest has to ready up before the game can begin.

Playing with a friend is easily the best way to enjoy Raid Mode. With no story to worry about, both players can simply run through levels blasting enemies and hunting for items together. It makes things much easier than going solo, but you can always select a lower level character or a harder mission to keep the challenge up.

The one downside to Raid Mode co-op: players can't revive each other. Blame Capcom's decision to limit revives to limited use items.

Downloadable Content

As I mentioned, you can' just continue as much as you want in Raid Mode. Run out of life crystals and you're forced to restart a level. Not usually a big deal because levels are short and you can earn free revives from Daily Missions. But if you want, you can buy 25 life crystals for $4. Given the optional nature of life crystals and the cheap price, I don't find them too offensive.

Capcom also sells a few proper DLC items that players might want. Albert Wesker, longtime series villain, costs $2.49 to play with. The 'Throwback Map Pack' costs $4.99 and includes a total of 12 new missions that take place in three additional Resident Evil 6 environments and one from the first Revelations.

The choice of environments is pretty lame – why not levels from Resident Evil 1-5? On the plus side, if the host owns the Throwback Pack or Wesker, players who don't own the DLC can still play along.

Achievements

The recent update that added online co-op to Raid Mode unfortunately failed to bring new Achievements – a real missed opportunity. Revelations 2 on Xbox One currently has 43 Achievements worth a total of 1,960 Gamerscore. Of those, a scant three are tied to Raid Mode. The hardest one involves clearing a Gauntlet – the first six main missions. It should take less than an hour.

Overall Impression

Ostensibly, Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a traditional Resident Evil game divided up into four episodes (plus two bonus ones). It works pretty well in that capacity, though you have to put up with another of the always stupid storylines that continue to mar the series. Jez wasn't especially impressed in his original Revelations 2 review, though I cut the game some slack due to its budget nature.

In fact, I love Revelations 2. I love it not for the campaign but for the addictive Raid Mode. Running through dozens of bite sized levels without any horrid story content to bog the experience down is extremely fun. The recent addition of online co-op makes things even better.

Raid Mode has some annoying loading times at startup and between missions, and I wish it offered environments from Resident Evil 1-5, not just Revelations 1, 2, and RE6. But with a great selection of characters and tons of fun stuff to do, Revelations 2's Raid Mode is easily worth the price of admission for series fans.

Remember, you can get six characters and all of Raid Mode's levels but the 'Throwback Map by simply buying the first episode of Revelations 2. That's a lot of content for only six bucks! And this week, the first episode is on sale on Xbox consoles for $3.59… A great deal even if you don't plan to get the other episodes.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Xbox One – ~7 GB – $5.99 – Xbox.com Link

Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Xbox 360 – ~2 GB – $5.99 – Xbox.com Link

Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Windows –$5.99 – Steam Link

Amazon has a special Xbox One bundle that includes three free games, plus 12 months of Xbox Live Gold, for the console's regular price of $349.99.

Amazon's deal is for the Xbox One Assassin's Creed bundle, which already throws in two free games (Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Unity). Amazon then adds a free disc copy of NBA 2K15, which normally costs $38.79 on its own.

Finally, the retailer adds yet another bonus: A card with a code for 12 months of Xbox Live Gold, which normally costs $59.99 and which Amazon is selling currently for $45.27. Basically, you are getting nearly $100 worth of free stuff with this Amazon Xbox One bundle. That's not including all the free Xbox One games you will get over the next year with the Games with Gold program.

Get the Xbox One Assassin's Creed bundle with NBA 2K15 and 12 Months of Xbox Live Gold from Amazon ($349.99)

Microsoft has revealed the final official cover artwork for the upcoming Xbox One exclusive sci-fi shooter Halo 5: Guardians. The artwork shows off two of the game's already revealed characters, Master Chief and Spartan Locke. It also shows two new Spartan fireteams. each one of which appears to be allied with either Master Chief or Spartan Locke.

So who are these fireteams? All Microsoft is saying at the moment is that they "play a crucial role in the showdown between the Master Chief and Spartan Locke." We will certainly learn a lot more about Halo 5: Guardians at E3 2015 in June. Microsoft is already taking pre-orders for the game, which will be released for the Xbox One on October 27.

Source: Xbox Wire

Is this former PSP game another shallow HD cash-in? Or a hint of greater things to come?

Final Fantasy Type-0 began life as a Japan-only PSP game set in the Final Fantasy XIII canon. Eventually the project span out into its own identity, yet still carrying remnants of the Final Fantasy XIII mythos.

FF Type-0 was well received in Japan, selling almost 80% of its shipments in the first week. Famed Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu gave Type-0 39/40, praising the story and gameplay but, Famitsu also gave Final Fantasy XIII 39/40, a game that I unashamedly loathe. Will I loathe Final Fantasy Type-0 in kind?

I haven't seen Final Fantasy as anything but a shell of its former glory for the past decade or so. Final Fantasy XI has left emotional scars on my gamer soul that not even a Mega Elixir can cure. Also, the linearity of Final Fantasy XIII made me wonder if a more open-world gameplay would be forever confined to Square Enix's lacklustre attempts to take a slice of Warcraft's MMO pie. SE themselves acknowledged that Final Fantasy XIV's troubled launch had 'greatly damaged' the Final Fantasy brand. They have since ploughed behemoth amounts of cash into repairing what has now become a half-decent, but, still lacking MMO.

So yes, I was feeling a tad negative going into this review...

On setting

Pleasantly surprised: right from the first scene, Final Fantasy Type-0 is engaging

Final Fantasy Type-0 is without a doubt the darkest Final Fantasy since FF7 and its chest-impaling plot. The opening cutscene sets the story in motion, painting a world beset by conflict. Originally, there were four nation-states, each with its own elemental crystal (standard Final Fantasy fare), with one state having been literally wiped off the map as a result of an Ultima Bomb. The Nova Crystallis mythos from Final Fantasy XIII returns, as each nation state's crystal produces super-human l'Cie, who live endless lives until they fulfil a specific role.

The Dominion of Rubrum is under siege from the Militesi Empire, who have violated a binding treaty against using l'Cie in war. The Militesi Empire wields magitek armour that calls back to Final Fantasy 6 while the Dominion is keen on magic and summoning Eidolons, a naming convention reminiscent of Final Fantasy 9.

From the first moments, I found a lot to love about the game. The cutscenes are shot with a grainy film filter, giving it a WW2 motif. The music and narration play out like propaganda videos from the 1930s and 40s and creates a vivid sense of authenticity despite the up-scaled PSP texturing. Final Fantasy Type-0's developers seem keen to present war with a more convincing aesthetic when compared to other FFs, not shying away from showing bloodied combatants. This violence includes a disturbingly harsh opening scene depicting a bullet-strewn Chocobo in its death throes. The aesthetic is maintained throughout the game, and seeing Final Fantasy staples like Odin and Bahamut depicted as weapons of mass destruction in a more contemporary setting is nothing short of breath-taking. There's one scene in particular featuring the living fortress Alexander, which left me jaw dropped. I shan't spoil it but it was almost worth playing the game for dozens of hours just to see that cutscene alone.

There are some hammy plot points, pretentious and vague exposition, annoying anime clichés and some seriously terrible English voice acting, but the same could probably be said about any Final Fantasy. Fans of anime, JRPGs and Final Fantasy, in general, will find themselves right at home. They will be immediately immersed in the world of Orience, which commands its presence in the Final Fantasy pantheon with confidence and individuality.

On graphics

"HD" is very much a technicality

Final Fantasy Type-0 will not win any awards for graphics. While it's not unexpected that a PSP port would have dated visuals, I'd expect a little more from a full priced "HD" title. The Master Chief Collection was not only comprised of 4 games, but also featured a completely re-worked multiplayer, completely re-mastered Halo 2 and was cheaper than Final Fantasy Type-0 at launch. The pricing reflects the brand power of Final Fantasy only, suffixing "HD" rings hollow.

If you can overlook the fact the graphics are dated (which isn't too hard thanks to Hexadrive's very liberal use of depth of field and motion blurring), there's a lot to be praised about the art direction itself. Gone are the inexplicably uncoordinated fashion disasters of Final Fantasy XIII and FF X. Final Fantasy Type-0 goes for a much more measured, almost sombre design, which matches the tone of the universe it's trying to portray.

Disregarding the past gen texturing, the special effects and designs for spells, abilities and Eidolons are top notch. They create impactful impressions that compliment the fast paced real time combat (more on that in a minute).

If you can overlook the fact the graphics are dated, there's a lot to be praised about the art direction

What suffers most when it comes to presentation, is the jarring split between the playable characters texturing and the environment around you. As is the case with many games, the playable characters enjoy a far more detailed look than the world around them, FF Type-0 takes this convention to new extremes. The main characters have all been given an HD re-skin, but many other NPCs, monsters and environments haven't, creating a strange disconnect. If Hexadrive had time to make sure the game's frequent panty-shots received an HD make over, they could've spent a little more time on the environment, enemies, and the lesser important, but frequently present NPCs.

Naturally, the audio suffers the least in the port, which is equal parts glorious and nostalgic. Composer Takeharu Ishimoto does an incredible job creating new music that evokes aural memories from the tones of Nobou Uematsu while giving Type-0 a distinctive style.

While I would have liked to have seen a little more effort when it came to texturing, the gritty and enticing art style would make it easy to overlook had this game not been full priced. Perhaps the gameplay justifies the price tag?

On gameplay

Staying faithful, while trying something fresh

The best Final Fantasy games all utilise variations of turn-based combat. Either there's true turn-based combat or ATB combat, in which players can only act after waiting a certain amount of time. Type-0 does away with this and instead features full real-time action combat. When I heard Final Fantasy XV would be real-time combat, I rolled my eyes. However, after going hands on with the demo, and the similarly inclined Final Fantasy Type-0, I'm pleased to say that it works quite well.

In Final Fantasy Type-0, you control the entirety of Class Zero, an elite cadet troupe from the Dominion's military academy. There is no true main character. Instead, the game presents the entire class in cutscenes, each of whom sport their own motivations and personalities.

This diversity carries over into combat, each member of Class Zero either represents a classic Final Fantasy archetype or a variation out of that. Every student is playable, with three at a time being active in any one battle. You can switch between characters on the fly by tapping left and right on the D-Pad. Additionally, when one of them dies another member of the class joins from the reserve squad. As you progress through the mission-based level structure, it can feel like a gauntlet, as you try to complete objectives with at least 1 class member alive.

As mentioned previously, each class member represents a different Final Fantasy job-type, usually based on a specific weapon. There's the martial arts expert Monk, lance wielding Dragoon, MP converting Red Mage and so on. Each character brings something unique to the table, and there doesn't seem to be any wrong way of composing your party. It's certainly not a case of needing a tank, damage dealer and healer, but it's nice if you have someone equipped with Curaga and magic increasing equipment.

While the combat is fun and well presented, it doesn't feel very tactical. You can just run through spamming both dodge and your main attack in tandem and win fairly easily most of the time on normal difficulty. The game does reward you for timing attacks to take advantage of critical hit openings, but it's generally unnecessary - but doing so will count towards unlocking powerful character specific weapons. The A.I. characters will cast support spells like Cure and Protect, but are terrible when it comes to landing attacks - they're mostly just along for the ride.

There are insane amounts of attack spells and abilities, but you can only equip two at a time, which is a tad restrictive, particularly when combat feels simplistic. Typically it's a bad idea to equip two spells, as it means you'll run out of MP and end up confined to your main attack only. But only having one spell equipped will hinder you against enemies with an elemental resistance. There's an inclination just to go for the two most powerful, non-elemental and easy-to-use attack abilities and ignore everything else, which is a shame.

Magical spells like Firaga and Blizzaga require upgrades to become useful. You purchase them using Phantoma, which drops from enemies when they die. But again, spells seem limited in power compared to some of the class abilities you pick up, even if you equip yourself with magic and MP boosting equipment.

Charging up Odin's Zantetsuken and carving through bosses feels glorious.

Summonable Eidolons are some of the most iconic features of any Final Fantasy, and they feature heavily in this game's narrative as well as in combat. Their implementation, however, left me scratching my head. You have to sacrifice one of your party members in order to summon them in a mission, which is annoying in of itself as you're ranked based on your performance at the end of each mission. Regardless of this, also summons need to be levelled up, and considering they only last for around a minute at a time, doing so can be a painfully slow experience. It could be that the developers want you to move on from the older Eidolons as you unlock new ones, but the sacrificial mechanic swayed me against participation. That said when you do use the level appropriate Eidolons, it is a truly epic experience. Charging up Odin's Zantetsuken and carving through bosses feels glorious, and if used correctly, it can make the sacrifice of a player character seem worthwhile.

Speaking of levelling; the game carries an emphasis on grinding I'd have happily left back in the 90's. Missions can often jump 10+ levels in difficulty, asking you to go off and grind monsters, undertake side quests and so on. The side quests are the shallowest kill quests that provide nothing interesting besides EXP. While the classic Final Fantasy overworld makes a welcome return, locations tend to be copy and pasted, in a similar vein to Mass Effect 1. Throw in the fact that there is a rather small catalogue of enemies compared to other Final Fantasy games, and the monotony may put off even the staunchest JRPG fan. FF Type-0 does throw you a bone, allowing you to gain EXP while offline for a single character. However, levelling your team like this can take days and is far less efficient than replaying old missions.

Overall, there are a lot of aspects of Final Fantasy Type-0's combat I'd like to examine in more depth, but what began as a video game review could easily turn into a Final Fantasy thesis. Type-0 brings something new and fresh to the table that sets the prototypical stage for Final Fantasy XV's action-JRPG hybridised combat. Some of the controls are wonky, and your tolerance for grinding takes precedent over personal skill, but hey, it's fun, and that's what counts.

Final words

A flawed, but fun foray for Final Fantasy fans

There are a lot of other aspects of gameplay that I had minor gripes about, but, for the most part, combat is fun and reactive. Most of the enemies you fight will be pallet swaps of the same 5 or 6 archetypes. Occasionally you will battle grand mechs, giant dragons and other foes that will put your dodge-spam skills to the test. Most enemies leave themselves open for critical hits for 0.5 seconds or so after missing a hit, allowing you to perform hugely damaging attacks that come with a satisfying critical hit sound effect. This trick is just one of a multitude of enjoyable aspects to Final Fantasy Type-0's combat that help you see past some of the less intuitive decisions.

The return of the open overworld is a comforting step in the right direction. Other smaller Final Fantasy staples like Chocobo breeding and job types harken back to Final Fantasy's golden age, and promising sales figures reflect a wider inclination towards these old school elements.

Final Fantasy Type-0 is a ray of hope for a franchise that was previously heading towards mediocrity.

Some aspects of this PSP port haven't aged well. Things such as awful texturing, poor camera pivots, and needlessly complex button mapping. The game's core real-time action-RPG battle system shows us the evolution of Square Enix's ideas for combat from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core through to Final Fantasy XV. FFXV features very similar real-time combat, including dodging, AI controlled partners and so on. But my concern is that it simply lacks depth. That this is instead a system that promotes "press X to do a cool flashy thing" rather than "press X to perform skilfully in order to win".

Final Fantasy Type-0's greatest strengths lie in its setting and presentation. Light-hearted banter while off-duty, dragon dogfights in the skies, super-human l'Cie unleashing their full powers in battles to the death, the sacrifice of human lives to summon Eidolon weapons of mass destruction. All of these things depict a Final Fantasy that has grown with its audience, as opposed to resisting it.

Final Fantasy Type-0 is the most fun I've had with the series in a long, long time and has replaced my cynical dismissal for the upcoming Final Fantasy XV with cautious optimism. FF Type-0 carries some truly epic moments across dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay, that all Final Fantasy fans, lapsed or otherwise need to experience. If you can look past the PSP trappings holding it back, Final Fantasy Type-0 is a ray of hope for a franchise that was previously heading towards mediocrity.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is out now on PS4 and Xbox One.

Buy Final Fantasy Type-0 HD from Amazon UK

Buy Final Fantasy Type-0 HD from Amazon US

Buy Final Fantasy Type-0 HD from the Xbox Store

To see some elements of this review please visit m.windowscentral.com in the browser on your mobile device

The Wireless Display app is now available for preview members on the Xbox One. This new app allows you to project your device's screen to the Xbox One via Miracast. However, the only way for preview members to download the app they must complete the "Extend Your Screen" quest in the Preview Dashboard app.

The Wireless Display app allows you to project whatever's on your phone's screen to your Television. This means you can easily play games and apps, like the recently released Hitman Go, on your television in all of its glory. The app can also be projected to while in snap mode.

Once the app is downloaded and launched, you will be welcomed by a screen stating that your Xbox One is ready as well as the nickname for your Xbox One. Once you figure out the name of your Xbox One, grab your phone head to the Project My Screen section in your Windows Phone's setting and you should see the Xbox One's name there for you to select and voila! You are now projecting your device's screen to your television through your Xbox One.

If you're using your Windows 8 device, open up the charms bar>select devices>choose project>then finally select your Xbox One.

NOTE: Your device must be connected to the same Wi-Fi connection in order for it to work. It must also support Miracast.

The only problem with the app (especially for Windows Phone users) is that the magic is only possible because of Miracast. If your device doesn't support Miracast (which most older Windows Phone 8 devices don't) you won't be able to take advantage of this sweet app. If you have any iPhone you are also out of luck since Apple continues not to support the protocol.

One of its other small but disappointing quirks is that you cannot project apps such as Hulu+ or Netflix due to its content being protected.

I was able to test it out with my laptop for a short time before it lost signal. Once I restarted the app back up on the Xbox One it was reconnected. On a side note, the app does lag a second or two behind what's happening on your device in real-time. That being said, I think it is a common flaw of Miracast as my experiences with Chromecast had that same lag.

So if you're in the preview program grab your Miracast enabled device and start projecting your screen with this awesome new app and let us know in the comments below how you plan on taking advantage of the app.

Source: Xbox Forums

Shovel Knight, the old-school 2D platforming game is now available for the Xbox One.

Shovel Knight was released last year and was only available for the PC, Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. With the title now available on the Xbox One, players on the new console will be able to enjoy the classic action adventure game in an 8-bit experience. You play as a knight who carries a shovel, which can be used to jump around on, dig up treasure, or most importantly attack enemies.

Do note that this is a universal game and will be released for Windows 10. Should you purchase Shovel Knight on the Xbox One, you'll be able to pick up a copy for the PC at no extra cost.

Download Shovel Knight for Xbox One ($14.99)

Source: Major Nelson

Xbox Wire just gave us the run down on Games with Gold for May, taking the program past its 1 year anniversary.

Xbox One owners will get their hands on the tower-defence hybrid - CastleStorm: Definitive Edition, and can continue to download April's Pool Nation FX for free throughout May.

Xbox 360 owners can look forward to the action shooter Mafia II, in addition to Codermasters' racing sim F1 2013.

CastleStorm: Definitive Edition for Xbox One

Knights battle Vikings in this genre defying 2.5D castle-smash 'em up for Xbox One.

...CastleStorm features a story-driven solo campaign, a custom castle editor, online multiplayer, co-op modes, and more. Building castles and knocking them down has never been so much fun! CastleStorm Definitive Edition includes the original campaign and 2 additional expansions: From Outcast to Savior and The Warrior Queen. New features include: - 20 new single player battles - 4 new extreme survival battles - 10 new magic spells - enhanced graphics: real time shadows, advanced particles, 1080p@60fps + 4x MSAA - Full screen split-screen mode...

Regarding Xbox 360's Games with Gold - Mafia II will be available for the first half of May, followed by F1 2013 in the second. The photorealistic Pool Nation FX will continue to be free for Xbox One owners throughout, following on from its April tenure.

I wouldn't call May's offering particularly notable, but hey, it's hard to complain about free stuff. Keep these download links handy for future reference.

• CastleStorm: Definitive Edition ($14.99 ERP) Available throughout May on Xbox One

• Mafia II ($19.99 ERP) Available through May 1st to 15th on Xbox 360.

• F1 2013 ($49.99 ERP): Available through May 16th to May 31st on Xbox 360.

Source: Xbox Wire

On April 29, Microsoft blew up the internet for a second time with elaborate live demos of HoloLens

Microsoft's Build conferences are typically focused on developers, companies and commercial applications of their products, but team Redmond often announce new consumer experiences there as well. The popular Unity 3D engine is a confirmed partner for HoloLens, which powers a vast amount of games with its cross-platform publishing capabilities. Those capabilities are coming to HoloLens.

The HoloLens developer website has been updated, proudly sporting the fact that the device, and more information on HoloLens games development, will be arriving at the world largest games expo - E3 2015 on June 16th.

It's been known for a while that the Xbox team is involved with HoloLens. A HoloLens studio head's LinkedIn found its way onto Reddit following the initial reveal, and within, it explicitly states that he's part of a team working on HoloLens Xbox experiences.

...I Lead 4 amazing experience/game studios within XBOX that create amazing consumer experiences for Microsoft Hololens Manage an organization of over 125 rockstars that want to change the world every single day...

This info rests on the back of various other patents and leaks dating back all the way to 2012 and beyond, detailing numerous AR experiences in lengthy descriptions as well as frequently hilarious patent doodles. The technology for gaming on HoloLens is available within Microsoft; Kinect gesture tracking; the Xbox Live platform; close relationships with hundreds, if not thousands of games developers. All that remains is to tie all these elements together into a cohesive, gaming whole.

Could we soon be doing battle with evil augmented reality bananas? Time will tell.

AR vs. VR

If powerful enough, HoloLens could supersede VR in important ways. Unlike VR devices like Oculus and Project Morpheus, AR doesn't blind the player to the surrounding environment, meaning you're persistently oriented to the real world, eliminating motion sickness. As mentioned earlier, and unlike some of the major VR devices in development today, HoloLens doesn't need to be tethered to a PC or console in order to work - which creates versatility.

I honestly feel that the teams at HTC Vive and Oculus Rift may be wondering if they got it wrong, the applications for VR are likely limited. I tried Oculus Rift at Gamescom 2014, and whilst the experience was vivid, I can't imagine I'd ever use it for long periods of time in any gaming scenario. The prototype headsets are bulky, and there's that old motion sickness problem - both of which I'm sure will be amended in future iterations but they're significant hurdles the augmented HoloLens has already solved.

VR is limited to the first person perspective, and requires the use of another peripheral to traverse flat plains. What inputs are available to VR headsets besides game controllers? There are some solutions, Leap Motion has partnered up with Oculus Rift to provide HoloLens-like air-touch technology to the headset. However, unless Oculus can leverage Leap Motion and similar technologies directly into the headset, the idea of needing separate devices to achieve that functionality already feels dated, thanks to HoloLens.

I believe Sony's Project Morpheus is in a far stronger position in a gaming context. Sony already have powerful technologies in-house to create experiences that are similar to HoloLens, albeit across several different devices working together. Sony already have strong relationships with games developers, in addition to running their own big budget internal studios. Most of the games that utilize the Playstation Camera did so using augmented reality, albeit via your TV, and the under-rated Playstation Move peripherals will allow Morpheus owners to interact in a virtualised 3D space more naturally than using a controller. Whilst Sony can likely create a more cohesive than a group of separate companies, the requirement to use external devices will create problems for adoption.

HoloLens likely won't put a 3D stereoscopic video game experience in-front of your eyes, but it doesn't have to. The VR headsets in development for gaming will likely be too expensive for what they will provide - the ability to move your head independently of a game's camera controls to view a first person game world. HoloLens could augment any game, whether its providing extra elements like HUD data or providing air gestures, its vastly more versatile than Oculus' first-person-only form factor. The limitations of VR put it at a real danger of being confined to a small subset of games and apps at home, like Kinect and Playstation Move.

HoloLens on the other hand needn't worry about these problems. The headset operates independently of any other device, inputs and all, making its versatility unmatched. Developers needn't build entire games into HoloLens (although there's no reason why they can't, thanks to Unity 3D, on-board spatial awareness tech and universal app support), but instead they could just add small augmentations to existing games you play via your TV. When it comes to value, gamers can trust that their HoloLens will receive functionality beyond gaming thanks to the Windows 10 universal app platform, already creating confidence any new platform needs to succeed, gaming or not.

Games in an augmented reality

The applications for HoloLens in gaming are fairly obvious. At Build, Microsoft showed off cartoon robots and holographic dogs roaming around the room utilizing HoloLens' spatial awareness capabilities. HoloLens can detect floors, walls and surfaces like tables, and you can anchor holograms directly onto these real-world platforms.

Kids' gaming is a blatant example. Sony themselves launched the 'Wonderbook' AR experience for their Playstation Camera, which feeds data from a physical book directly into the camera, which then outputs effects on your TV in kind. The hardcore audience mocked it, but Playstation Wonderbook enjoys a 4.5/5 rating on Amazon UK across 101 reviews, showing that there is certainly an audience for these targeted experiences.

On the third party end, the robot Microsoft displayed to show off the holographic anchoring could be used to power desirable (and expensive) kids toys. Sorry parents. Xbox could leverage games like Zoo Tycoon and Kinectimals to powerful effect on HoloLens, and of course, we've already seen concepts for Minecraft experiences using the tech.

When it comes to core gamers, integrating with Xbox One, HoloLens could deliver HUD data like ammo counts, or maybe even throw debris onto the visor to further a player's immersion. Most first person shooters display ammo counts, mini maps and other information on screen, these elements could easily be lifted onto HoloLens, freeing up screen real estate for the game running on your monitor. Displaying HUD data on the HoloLens could also impact tournament gaming, preventing pesky players around you from taking advantage.

Watch_Dogs features mini-games which augment reality within the game world via an advanced smartphone, similar to many Android and iOS titles today. Considering the fact the HoloLens operates completely independently of any other device and supports Unity 3D, it seems more than likely we'll see standalone casual titles in that sort of vein as well. The finger tracking tech Microsoft have been working on could act as a peripheral for all sorts of gestures, like shooting a virtual gun or landing virtual punches, and so on.

Potential applications for core gamers is endless. Could we see flagship titles like Halo 5 use HoloLens to display visor information typically shown on screen? It seems entirely likely.

If Microsoft are positioning HoloLens as a companion device for Xbox One gamers... or even a standalone AR gaming device, hopefully it'll be on the more affordable end of the spectrum. I can't imagine they would expect their core gaming audience, who might not use the other apps, to be interested in a £1000 companion device. Maybe. Hopefully. Please?

We'll have to wait until June 16th at E3 to find out more.

Keep your eyes on Windows Central for all the latest emerging from this year's Build conference.

ID@Xbox continues its indie march with Project Root, a frenetic modern shmup (shoot 'em up) that promises to be equal parts challenging and fun.

Project Root is the work of OPQAM and Reverb Triple XP, and is available now on Xbox One.

Shmups and their bullet hell sub-genre tasks players to guide a small vehicle through a hailstorm of enemies and projectiles, often throwing other hazards and larger enemies into the mix as well.

OPQAM Technical Director Pablo Testa describes Project Root thusly:

"Any gamer looking for a supremely wild, frenzied and challenging experience should definitely check out Project Root. Steam players and hardcore SHMUP fans alike have been waging war against the evil Prometheus Corporation for some time now, so we're very excited our PlayStation and Xbox gamer friends are today getting that same chance."

Project Root is a modernised take on the genre, providing varied shmup gameplay across 8 free-roaming open levels, featuring numerous hazard and enemy types, in addition to light RPG upgrade elements.

Project Root is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and PSVita, carrying a discount for Xbox Live Gold members and cross-buy for PS4 / PSVita owners.

Buy Project Root for Xbox One: $9.99 and $6.99 on Xbox Games with Gold

Microsoft is rolling out an update for the Xbox 360 that adds support for, among other things, adding up to 2TB of extra storage via USB hard drives. This feature was offered a few weeks ago for members of the new Xbox 360 preview program.

Before today, the Xbox 360 could only handle up to 32GB of external hard drive storage. Here's what's new and improved with today's update:

• Larger external USB hard drives – Plug in any external USB hard drive up to 2 TB to store your Xbox 360 downloads, profile, saved games, and other data.
• Purchase history – To view your recent purchases, go to Settings > Account >Purchase History.
• Password reset - You can now reset your password by selecting Forgot your password? at sign-in.
• Network statistics - View download speed, upload speed, and signal strength, go to Settings> System > Network Settings. Select your network, and then choose Network Statistics.
• See your money - Your Microsoft account balance now appears in the top-right corner of the Xbox Dashboard. To turn it off, go to Settings > Profile > Account Security.

Will you be adding a larger hard drive to your Xbox 360 soon?

Source: Major Nelson