Xbox Game Pass for Console, PC, and Android

That Disney+ perk is conveniently timed as I was just about to sign up for the first time today.

WizKid wrote:

Will the EA Play stuff show up as normal on the app, or are there extra steps to access them?

Starting today they’ve just shown up as more things in the iOS app under a new EA Play section. They aren’t showing up in search results in app yet but wouldn’t be surprised if they do in the near future. I remote installed a couple from the app just like any other game pass game.

Game trials for EA games are also in the app however Squadrons errors out if I try to download it. Likely just a temporary hiccup while the feature rolls out.

Someone mentioned upthread that one could activate Game Pass (Ultimate) from a redeemed code with auto-renew, disable auto-renew and do it again. I can confirm, just now I used the PC app for Game Pass PC, redeemed a code for Game Pass PC on my already auto-renew enabled account and was just given an extra month for leaving auto-renew on. Did this twice and now I've got 4 months. Also did this via using MS rewards gained from daily MS rewards points earned for taking 3-4 minutes a day to click mindlessly in the PC MS Edge browser.

WizKid wrote:

Will the EA Play stuff show up as normal on the app, or are there extra steps to access them?

There is EA Play icon, and also all the games appeared in my game pass library as "new games added" on console... to get the 10hr trial of the premium games form EA game play, I had to search for it on the game store (Squadrons) and you can get it from there, it appears as get it as a special promo 10hr because I "have" EA play. Letting download throght the night:
* Squadrons
* Titanfall 2
* Dragon Age: Inquisition
* Rocket Arena
* Tetris Effect

waiting to appear in the store to download:
* Destiny 2: Beyond light (have only played this one since launch on vanilla Destiny 2, dont know what to expect... I assume I'll have to replay everything, dont remember squat about any character played).

Sonrics wrote:

* Destiny 2: Beyond light (have only played this one since launch on vanilla Destiny 2, dont know what to expect... I assume I'll have to replay everything, dont remember squat about any character played).

When it went free to play they made it so none of the campaign content is required at all anymore and you can pretty much do whatever you want right off the bat (and are leveled for). You shouldn't have to play any of the previous content at all to start the new content with an existing character. If you start a new character then there is some initial intro quests you have to do first. You will need to spend time increasing your power before you can do the end game activities in the new content though.

Finally got my household together tonight for some couch coop of Tetris Effect Connected. Meant to just show them the game and see if the liked it and ended up playing for 4 hours passing controllers around (4 of us but it’s only a 3 player game)

My kids had never played Tetris before so there was some rapid learning involved but they were hooked very quickly.

We played the local coop mode with 3 players against CPU bosses. The point is to clear lines and fill a power bar as a team which then moves you to a connected mode where all your screens join together and you can place your pieces anywhere. The more lines you clear in the connected mode the more you fill up the boss’s screen with lines he can’t get rid of. Fill his screen completely and you move to the next boss. Of course that whole time the boss is sending attacks at you.

It’s a simple formula with good old Tetris as the core mechanic but it works so well for couch coop. Plenty of animated “discussion” about what each player should be doing and eventually figuring out strategies together. At one point my daughter decided she could die on purpose when her screen is in a bad state and then delay reviving until the other two were nearly dead and that way they would have lots of time to get back while she let each pice fall slowly. Of course that tactic fails completely on a later boss who seems to fill your screen with attacks really fast if you take your time.

Now my kids have gone to bed and my wife is playing it solo.

Halo Master Chief Collection & Halo 4 are now available via Xbox Game Pass for PC. Note that it's a single 136GB download for that whole thing. 7000 achievement points available. I'm tempted...

I’ve been playing Gears Tactics on normal difficulty. It’s pretty chill. Decent art style. Well balanced difficulty. High quality cut scenes and voicing. Throw away story though. But to be fair I’ve only played six missions. Still, I’m not expecting the story to go anywhere interesting. I’m ready for even more Lovecraftian monsters from space.

This game is comfort food.

I started playing Tetris Effect: Connected last night on PC. I had not played Tetris Effect before (on PS4), but I'd consider myself a generally decent Tetris player in general. I jumped into the main campaign ("Journey Mode") and set it at normal difficulty. I made it through most of the levels unscathed, and had to retry the final leg of some of the later sections once or twice, because of the sudden and unexpected velocity spike. That very last level, though, I tried a bunch of times - I was really hoping to finish the whole thing in one sitting, but it got way too late for me. I got 88/90 lines on my first attempt, and 89/90 lines on my last attempt. I'll get it today. Also, it wasn't until my last attempt that I finally realized how to invoke the thing that charges up the Max meter... yeah, I know.

In summary: I have never in my life "tripped balls", but if I did, the Journey Mode of Tetris Effect: Connected is what I fervently believe it must feel like. There's a box quote for you.

merphle wrote:

In summary: I have never in my life "tripped balls", but if I did, the Journey Mode of Tetris Effect: Connected is what I fervently believe it must feel like.

I have, a bunch, and it isn't.

Or at least, it's a similar kind of difference between watching porn and having sex.

Ultimate without a new console is only $15?? I did not know that.

MaxShrek wrote:

Ultimate without a new console is only $15?? I did not know that.

Per month, but yes.

Jonman wrote:
merphle wrote:

In summary: I have never in my life "tripped balls", but if I did, the Journey Mode of Tetris Effect: Connected is what I fervently believe it must feel like.

I have, a bunch, and it isn't.

Or at least, it's a similar kind of difference between watching porn and having sex.

Tetris Effect is certainly something folks on college campuses are playing a lot of. I know I would have been.

Doom requires you to create a Bethesda.net account even for single player. Pretty obnoxious having to type user names with a gamepad only to find out they are invalid without explanation

Deleting game. 10 username attempts rejected with no reason why. I guess they don't want me to play.

Fwiw it is a lot easier to just create it on the computer and then login on the console. But yeah it is frustrating.

I played the first one and didn't love it. This was more of a download to see if it would grab me more. Don't care to jump through hoops to find out.

Well, Eternal is basically DOOM with an overwhelming amount of more everything, so if the first didn’t grab you I don’t think you’ll be missing much

merphle wrote:
MaxShrek wrote:

Ultimate without a new console is only $15?? I did not know that.

Per month, but yes.

I've had GamePass for some time, I just never knew Ultimate was reasonably priced.

MaxShrek wrote:
merphle wrote:
MaxShrek wrote:

Ultimate without a new console is only $15?? I did not know that.

Per month, but yes.

I've had GamePass for some time, I just never knew Ultimate was reasonably priced.

C’mon man! With all of those available titles, when are we going to do some multiplayer?

When I have time.
*edit* ..and when my son realizes there are more PC games for his laptop since I upgraded to Ultimate and I get time with the Xbone.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
kborom wrote:

Do you have to fully uninstall everything if you cancel?

I'd like to know the answer to this, too. I know you cannot use old game installs on a fresh OS install on PC as I tried that, and it fought me to even gain access to point at the folder they were in on a 2nd drive. At least I had most of the saves backed up (which was a challenge to find on its own).

Well I cancelled as Valhalla dropped and all of the installed games are still on my drive. So good if you want to drop in and out of the service.

I wonder if we will get Elder Scrolls Online as part of GP?

NathanialG wrote:

I wonder if we will get Elder Scrolls Online as part of GP?

We already do, but only on console.

RawkGWJ wrote:
NathanialG wrote:

I wonder if we will get Elder Scrolls Online as part of GP?

We already do, but only on console.

Well now I'm going to pout a bit.

Once the acquisition of Bethesda and Zenimax Online is complete, I'd expect all the games from those studios to come to all three branches of Game Pass.

I was going to suggest that it might be faster to just get an Xbox Series S and play ESO that way, rather than wait for the acquisitions to go through... but...

River City Girls is quite a delight so far after and hour and a half. It's very much like the original, River City Ransom on the NES, with some modern upgrades and great pixel animations along with the occasional hand drawn cutscene, which so far was at launching the game and first boss. If you liked the Scott Pilgrim game (re-releasing real soon on most platforms), or previous River City games, you should like this.

Control, very cool. Dragon Quest is one of those games where I've picked up games in the series multiple times, enjoyed them for a bit, and then realized yet again JRPGs just aren't for me.

Slime Rancher was a Games for Gold game last year I think, and it was a fun and adorable little game.