HTC Vive scores big as Oculus Rift hit Superhot VR arrives on Steam

HTC Vive owners who have previously looked with seething jealousy at Oculus Rift players enjoying a spot of seriously slick shooter action in Superhot VR need seethe no more – because the game has now arrived on Steam and the Vive.

Regarded by many as a flagship title showing how to do virtual reality gaming right, Superhot VR is a shooter in which you tackle waves of enemies with a simple bullet-time-style mechanic: time only moves when you move.

And this ‘Matrix’-like blend of strategy – standing still to pause things and think about what you’ll do – and breathless action when you actually move to tackle the baddies is a very compelling mix indeed.

Hot deal

And this addictive title can now be enjoyed on the HTC Vive, with Superhot VR being available to download and install on Steam, currently with a 20% discount (a promotion which runs until the end of the month).

• You can buy Superhot VR on Steam here

That means you get the game for £15.19 ($19.99 in the US – that’s about AU$27) instead of the normal price of £18.99 ($24.99, about AU$34), so this isn’t an expensive shooter either. That said, the actual campaign is pretty short, although there are other elements to tackle like the ‘endless mode’ and various challenges.

Initial reviews from Steam users seem mostly positive, although there are a few notes of dissent, mostly along the lines of the game being too brief.

Last year, when we first got to try out games with the Touch controllers on Oculus Rift, Superhot was our favorite VR experience.

Via: Gamasutra

• HTC Vive vs Oculus Rift: which VR headset is better?

May 26, 2017 at 04:04PM
Darren Allan

Nvidia is launching a salvo of powerful new Battlebox PCs

Nvidia has revealed a refreshed range of Battlebox PCs – preconfigured rigs made by third-party PC manufacturers, which are designed to be a hassle-free way of getting a new machine capable of churning out some seriously smooth frame rates.

The new GeForce GTX Battlebox PCs run with Nvidia’s latest Pascal-based graphics cards and come in two flavors: Essential and Ultimate. The former is the lower-end variant aimed at hitting 60 frames per second in Full HD (1080p) resolution in common competitive games such as Overwatch.

Whereas the Ultimate rig is pitched at those wanting much higher frame rates, or indeed to enjoy demanding 4K or virtual reality gaming.

There will be a variety of configurations for these PCs, and the systems can ship with a monitor in some cases to make them a complete from-the-ground-up gaming solution.

Baseline spec

As for the minimum spec, the GeForce GTX Battlebox Essential PC runs with the following as a baseline: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor, with a GeForce GTX 1060 (with 6GB of video RAM), 8GB of system RAM, and an SSD for storage.

Nvidia’s GeForce GTX Battlebox Ultimate turns things up a notch with a minimum spec of: Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 CPU with a GTX 1080 Ti graphics card, 16GB of system RAM, along with an SSD for storage again (of course, there will be options to add larger hard drives for more space).

Systems which come with a monitor included will have an Nvidia G-Sync capable display.

The previous Battlebox PCs (running last-gen 900-series graphics cards) were built by a diverse range of PC vendors, and in the UK that included the likes of Chillblast, Cyberpower, Overclockers UK, PC Specialist, Scan and more.

Partners Nvidia has named this time around include Box.co.uk, Chillblast, Dino PC, PC Specialist, Scan and Utopia Computers.

• Here are 10 of the best gaming PCs of 2017

May 25, 2017 at 08:14PM
Darren Allan

Microsoft renames its Twitch rival as it launches impressive co-streaming feature

Beam is dead, long live ‘Mixer’ - the new name for Microsoft’s live-streaming service to rival the likes of Twitch and YouTube gaming. 

According to the company, the new name marks the next generation of the service, but for many it will feel like a sign that the service has been struggling to make headways against the dominance of Twitch despite it’s recent arrival onto the Xbox One platform as part of the Creators Update. 

It’s a struggle that will be familiar to many fledgling services who’ve gone up against an established community. Mixer might have some pretty impressive tech, but when the draw of a service is its diehard fanbase, it nevertheless has a hard road ahead of it. 

The next level in multiplayer streaming

And that’s a shame, because Mixer’s new co-streaming functionality is genuinely pretty cool. The feature allows up to four streamers to group together to offer a new take on multiplayer streaming. 

Using co-streaming, for example, a team of players in the multiplayer game PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds could all stream simultaneously. Viewers can then easily keep track of multiple players, switching between them to view the best bits of the action from each of their machines without having to have multiple pages open. 

As Mixer’s co-founder Matt Salsamendi explains, “the idea is that you can get multiple friends, multiple channels, all joined together on the same page … where all of your streams can be watched at the same time. So essentially you get multiple perspectives, all your chats are merged together, and you can have a social experience with all your friends that are streaming the same game, or even different games“.

Such functionality has existed before through the spectator modes of various multiplayer-focussed games, but this is the first time the functionality has been integrated into a streaming service directly to allow it to work with any game, which should be fantastic for smaller games that aren’t set up to be massive eSports titles. 

Co-streaming is available now on PC, and on Xbox One for Insider members. 

Beyond co-streaming

Outside of co-streaming, Mixer is also introducing a couple of other features that it’s no doubt hoping will draw people away from Twitch. 

First up is Mixer Create, which will be launching in Beta on Mobile devices. At the moment functionality is limited to a Periscope-like service that’s meant to allow people to keep up with their favorite streamers when they’re away from their gaming machines, but this could also be combined with co-streaming to offer a live-action multiplayer streaming experience. 

“One thing I personally want to try is an airsoft fight where all the broadcasters have phones strapped to their Nerf guns...they’re running around and you can see all their different perspectives [as they play],” the service’s co-founder, Matt Salsamendi, muses. 

In the future the app will also see the addition of the ability to stream gameplay directly from a phone, perfect for a game like Pokemon Go, and if we see any other breakout hits this summer this functionality could be a boon for their communities. 

Finally, Mixer will introduce a couple of new ways to find the most popular content on the service, firstly through a moderated channel of content called ‘Channel One’ and secondly through a new page on the Xbox One Dashboard. 

The right tech for the job

Monopolies are never a good thing, but the critical mass of users that Twitch has amassed has made taking it on a formidable challenge. 

In spite of this, Mixer seems to be on the right track by offering a number of interesting technologies that you can’t get anywhere else. From its pre-existing latency advantage over other services (which should help as interactive streams become more and more popular), to new features like co-streaming, the service is working hard to justify its existence. 

But with Microsoft committed to letting Mixer and Twitch live on side by side on the Xbox platform, this is a battle that’s nowhere near over. 

• Twitch vs YouTube Gaming vs Microsoft Beam: which streaming service is for you?

May 25, 2017 at 08:00PM
Jon Porter

13 weird and wonderful niche Linux distros of 2017

Note: Our weird and wonderful niche Linux distros roundup has been fully updated. This feature was first published in December 2011.

Fed up with the bog-standard Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and so on? Looking for a distro that reflects your individuality? In this roundup we've discovered no less than 13 of the best, oddest and most useful distributions that Linux has to offer.

They include one distro which is the official, sanctioned OS of North Korea, no less, along with a Satanic Edition of Ubuntu (plus there's a Christian version to balance things out), and also a distro which is so light it will run on a PC from the mid-80s.

Read on to find out more about each of these interesting distros. Before we begin, however, do note that not all of these operating systems are suitable for everyday use without extensive modification – so consider running them from a Live CD/USB or within a virtual machine, rather than installing them on a computer. 

• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• 5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros
• 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops

• Linux Format is the number one magazine to boost your knowledge on Linux, open source developments, distro releases and much more. Subscribe to the print or digital version of Linux Format here

The ‘hermit kingdom’ that is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is one of the most isolated countries in the world. The internet is strictly censored (indeed, most North Koreans have never even heard of it) and access to computers is patchy. 

Unwilling to rely solely on operating systems developed by the imperialist US, supreme leader Kim Jong-Il sanctioned the development of an official OS of North Korea named Red Star, which is based on Linux and uses North Korean terminology and spelling. 

Red Star fully lives up to the Orwellian reputation of the DPRK. It is closed source and has a feature which watermarks any media files copied to external drives with the hard drive’s serial number. This is most likely because North Korean dissidents often swap banned films using a 'sneakernet' of USB sticks. Red Star also has a supposed 'virus scanner' which can automatically delete censored files. The root user is disabled by default, meaning you don't have full control over your system. 

For this reason, you should only run Red Star inside a virtual machine. See our guide on how to do this here. 

Development of Red Star has continued under the auspices of supreme commander Kim Jong Un. Version 3.0 was released back in 2014 and uses the KDE desktop environment, bearing a strong resemblance to macOS. It works quite well but is preconfigured to only use North Korea's intranet by default, so can't access the web at large. As the OS is based on Linux, skilled users can tinker with the language and DNS settings to use it in English with internet access.

The default web browser Naenara (meaning ‘My Country’) is a modified version of Firefox 3.5. We searched for 'democracy' in the default search engine, but nothing came up.

As a final reminder: if you want to give this a whirl, don’t install the OS on actual hardware, but rather inside a virtual machine.

• Download Red Star OS here

The classically educated reader might be able to guess that MuLinux is a small distro – the Greek letter 'mu' is the SI designation for one millionth. 

Mu was designed to be a minimal distro along the lines of Puppy or Damn Small Linux, but it's considerably more miniscule. The OS was developed to run from floppy disks, so only requires 20MB of hard disk space and 4MB of RAM. It will run on any machine with an Intel 80386 processor or later. This particular processor was released in 1985 so it’s safe to say that MuLinux can breathe life into ancient hardware.

Development of MuLinux was frozen in 2004. As mentioned, it was originally designed in such a way to allow the user to install and run a basic Unix-like shell from a single floppy disk, then install additional packages such as server tools from separate disks.

• Download the base floppy disk and packages for MuLinux here

This self-described 'Linux for the Damned' enjoys the notoriety of being banned from the popular Linux OS database Distrowatch. Version 666.9 (we promise we're not making this up) is based on the rather dated Ubuntu 10.10. Like regular Ubuntu, the Satanic Edition is fond of alliterative names for new versions including Lucifer's Legions and Jesus' Jugular. 

The dark themes, fiery wallpaper, and Gnome 2 desktop along with various custom sound effects and death metal music combine to make for an OS which Dante himself would be proud of. The website promises to ‘keep your PC looking evil, even when you're not using it’. 

Although development on this Linux tribute to the Dark One seems to have halted, you can still boot Ubuntu SE from a Live medium – or as the developers prefer to call it an ‘undead’ CD.

• Download Ubuntu Satanic Edition here

This is one that will appeal to the techies out there – the thing that marks GoboLinux out from the rest is its filesystem layout. Most Linux distributions use an archaic non-arrangement wherein an application's files are scattered around your hard drive in several different folders.

GoboLinux adopts an OS X-like approach (which Apple in turn took from RISC OS), and stores all files associated with an application in a single folder in '/Programs'. For instance, if you have a program named 'foo' all files pertaining to it would be stored in '/Programs/foo'. You can still install multiple versions of the same application if you wish, for example, for separate users on the system. 

The most current version of GoboLinux is 016.01, released at the end of 2016, which includes further filesystem virtualisation tools in the form of Runner, and (if you can find it) a copy of NCSA Mosaic for a bit of old-school web browsing.

• Download GoboLinux here

If you like software freedom, you'll love GNewSense. The OS has had all non-free software removed, including binary 'blob' files in the kernel, so-named as they use proprietary code. Unfortunately, many of these blobs are drivers for wireless networking cards, so GNewSense may not work well with laptops. 

On the plus side, it has removed or renamed software that doesn't fit the Free Software Foundation's definition of freedom. The OS uses a modified version of Debian's IceWeasel browser, for instance, to avoid using the Firefox trademark. GNewSense doesn’t provide any links to non-free repositories, making it even more free than Debian.

Unlike many of the distros here GNewSense is still under active development. The latest version codenamed Ucclia was released in May 2016 and is based on Debian 7. It can be booted as a Live CD to help you check whether it supports your hardware.

• Download GNewSense here

Do you love Linux? Do you really love it? Because you're going to need to if you want to follow the Linux from Scratch program. Not (technically) a formal distro, LFS is more a set of tutorials and packages designed to help you set up your own completely bespoke Linux system. From scratch.

That means first creating a temporary system with which to compile the real thing, building your own partitions and file system, and installing every element of a functioning Linux system painstakingly by hand. Oh, and figuring out exactly why it isn't working.

The documentation comes in freely downloadable volumes, charmingly entitled 'Stable' for the latest release and 'Development' if you want to check out the version that creator Gerard Beekmans and his team are working on at this very moment. There's also a systemd version, which uses the latest in system initialisation techniques.

• Download Linux from Scratch here

Yellow Dog was released in the late 90s for Apple computers using the PowerPC chip architecture, and found its niche among people who wanted an even more different way to think differently. All was good, but then Apple abandoned PowerPC in favour of Intel chips, which it's still using today.

This left Yellow Dog out in the cold, but after a change of ownership it reinvented itself as an OS for high-performance multicore computing – most notably as the OS used on PlayStation 3s hooked up to form cheap supercomputing grids known as 'clusters'. It's based on Red Hat Linux.

• Download Yellow Dog here

Moebuntu is an upgrade for existing Ubuntu installations designed especially for fans of Manga and Anime, and it shows how the OS can be tweaked or fine-tuned to the extreme. There’s an automated setup tool which will apply the colourful desktop and icon themes – prepare yourself for some alarming hues of pink if you do so. There's also a suitably rosy dash icon as well as an array of wallpapers and Manga-style fonts.

As gaudy as this may appear, the advantage of Moebuntu is that it has kept pace with the times. The latest release supports Ubuntu 16.10 so unlike some of the other distros we've highlighted, you can enjoy a taste of the weird and wonderful while having an up-to-date OS.

• Use the Moebuntu setup tool to upgrade Ubuntu here or follow the steps manually

Having given the devil his due with Ubuntu Satanic Edition earlier in this article, it’s only fair that we let Christians rejoice about the version of Linux crafted just for them.

Ubuntu CE offers a non-denominational version of Linux for Christians, based on the standard Ubuntu builds. The latest version is built on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (long term support). 

The stated aim of the project is to try to encourage more people within the Christian community to realise the power of Linux and switch to Ubuntu.

The latest release incorporates Xiphos, a bible study tool, as well as worship presentation software OpenLP and Quelea, which can be used to project bible verses, hymns and so on.

Ubuntu CE also includes the powerful 'dansguardian' content filter providing advanced parental controls. The wallpaper has been thoughtfully chosen with Biblical quotes.

• Download Ubuntu Christian Edition here

There still exists among our Windows-using cousins the risible idea that Linux isn't good enough to take over on the desktop – that the continued dominance of Microsoft on the desktop is inevitable, because Linux is not up to the job technically.

This can easily be refuted: the cleverest people on the planet – scientists searching for clues about the beginning of the universe – use Scientific Linux at the CERN laboratories.

It's based on Red Hat, and anyone can download and install it on their machine. You don't even need a PhD in theoretical physics.

• Download Scientific Linux here

Parted Magic is a Live distro that comes with all the tools you need to fix broken partitions. If something won't boot, this is what you use to fix it, and that goes for both Linux and Windows machines. It is most often used as a tool, although technically it is a Linux distribution in its own right. 

Parted Magic also allows for secure disk erasing (making sure that data is really nuked), benchmarking, and disk cloning among other features. As a troubleshooting aid, it's indispensable, but it will cost you $9 (around £7, AU$12) to download direct from the author's site. For an additional fee you can order it preinstalled on USB or DVD.

• Download Parted Magic here

This distro is drastically out-of-date and about as niche as they come, but HML – or Hannah Montana Linux – is the perfect desktop for fans of Miley Cyrus’ heady Nickelodeon days. Enjoy a pink Hannah Montana-themed KDE desktop, featuring Tux with the double-life teenage singer's logo emblazoned on his belly. 

It also includes a custom Hannah Montana boot screen, theme, icon set and wallpapers. The website helpfully adds that it is not vulnerable to Windows viruses.

There's no reason to use HML unless you're a diehard Hannah fan, but since it's based on Kubuntu using KDE 4.2, there are plenty of packages to install. You could even upgrade it to the latest version of Kubuntu by running the command 'sudo apt-get dist-upgrade' from the Linux Terminal. Alternatively, diehard Montana-fans can download the icons and/or theme pack and install it on top of their existing KDE install.

• Download HML here

Zeroshell comes from Italy, and it’s a small Linux distro designed to run as a Live CD for servers or embedded devices such as routers. You can even install it onto a Raspberry Pi. 

It has no GUI but you can access and configure it from your web browser. Zeroshell is a lot more powerful than the average router's web interface allowing you to perform activities such as assigning IP addresses, DHCP provision and changing DNS settings. It can function as a proxy, VPN access point or a firewall, and can interface with any network appliance. 

Zeroshell is in active development: the latest version (3.7.1) was released in January 2017.

• Download Zeroshell Linux here

May 25, 2017 at 07:18PM
Andrew Gregory,Nick Peers,Alex Cox,Nate Drake

Nintendo Switch should stop annoyingly switching your TV's inputs soon

Samsung has released a statement that it will be releasing a firmware update this summer that will stop its TVs from automatically switching their HDMI inputs. 

This will be particularly welcome for Nintendo Switch users as the feature changes to the input that the Switch is using, even when the Switch is in sleep mode. Users have reported that their viewing is being interrupted by TVs  randomly switching to the Switch's inactive input, and showing a blank screen.

This has led to much frustration, as the feature has up until this point proved to be impossible to deactivate from within the TV. There is a setting on the Switch where you can deactivate ‘Match TV Power State’ which does apparently mitigate the issue slightly, but a proper fix is definitely welcome.

The ability for HDMI to let devices control each other is really useful when utilised correctly, and makes controlling your home entertainment setup much easier, but when it goes wrong it is infuriating.

Samsung told The Verge: “Samsung has been following the comments on our Community Thread and we will be issuing a Firmware update early this summer that will address this behavior and provide the level of convenience that was intended.”

• Check out our Nintendo Switch review

May 25, 2017 at 04:39PM
Andrew London

MSI goes big with its latest gaming desktop

MSI might be known for producing some of the smallest gaming desktops like the Trident 3 and VR-One Backpack PC, but at Computex 2017 it’s bringing out a big mid-tower system.

The Infinite A is part of MSI’s new gaming desktop lineup designed to for gamers who “want infinite possibilities to play the way they want” – read: space for upgrades. Through MSI, the Infinite A can be fully loaded with an Intel Core i7-7700 processor and an Nvidia GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X VRAM).

From there users can upgrade their system with up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM, one M.2 SSD, three additional 2.5-inch drives plus two full size hard drives. The only limiting factor seems to be a 550W power supply, which might not agree with a dual graphic card setup.

As ever the Infinite A comes with MSI’s Silent Storm Cooling 3 thermal design, which have proven to be efficient and whisper quiet in smaller rigs we've tested. The case also features a dashing circuit board design that lights up with RGB lighting.

MSI has yet to share availability details on the Infinite A, but we know configuration will run between $1,299 (about £1,000, AU$1,730) and $2,099 (about £1,620, AU$2,800).

• Get ready to see a lot of best gaming PC candidates at Computex 2017

May 25, 2017 at 07:00AM
Kevin Lee

10 must-download games coming to Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft has announced the debut lineup of titles available for Xbox Game Pass — a Netflix-style subscription program featuring a slew of games from both the Xbox One and Xbox 360's history.

What sets Xbox Game Pass apart from services like PlayStation Now and Nvidia's GeForce Now is that games are downloaded rather than streamed, meaning higher fidelity and none of the lag that beaming games over the internet can sometimes present.

Subscribers to Xbox Live's premium Gold tier can try Xbox Game Pass free for 14 days starting today, with the service making its broader launch to non-Gold Xbox Live members on June 1. 

After the trial period ends, you will have to shell out $9.99/month for continued access to the Pass' cache of 112 (and growing) games, which include everything from AAA hits like Saints Row IV: Re-Elected to smaller gems like OlliOlli or Terraria. 

In order to make the most out of your free trial — and possibly even your future subscription — we have compiled 10 games that you can't afford to miss, especially considering you could get through nearly all of them for the price of a Big Mac with fries a month. Let's get started.

• Also, check out our guide to the 20 best games you can play on Xbox One

Despite venom from diehard Devil May Cry fans who had bones to pick over the series' departure from the norm, history proved that Ninja Theory's reboot of Capcom's hack-n'-slash franchise is a worthy game.

DmC's stylish moves, punk-rock flavor, and challenging combo-heavy combat made it one of the best brawlers of the Xbox 360 era and to sweeten the deal, the version on Xbox Game Pass is the game's Definitive Edition.

This means that in addition to one of 2013's best games, you're also getting a superior version with added features, re-balanced gameplay, 1080p resolution, and a glorious 60fps framerate at no extra charge. S-S-Sensational!

Easily one of the most defining games of the last console generation, it's borderline trite at this point to recommend BioShock and its sequels to any serious gamer.

That said, like any movie buff or novel aficionado, having your favorites readily on hand is always a plus, should you encounter any newcomers unfamiliar with the atmosphere-drenched, genetically altered shooter goodness that is the BioShock series. 

Instead of digging around for your dusty old Xbox 360 discs (or paying $60/£45/AU$100 all over again for the recently released BioShock: The Collection) you can just pull out any one of the three games from the ether and start playing. 

(In case you're curious, BioShock 2 is the best one in the trilogy. Don't @ us.)

In addition to getting newer games on hand for a small monthly fee, the value of Xbox Game Pass is (at least to us) also getting to catch up on the classics.

While most know developer Rare from its heyday on the Nintendo 64, you can also relive retro goodies like Banjo-Kazooie (and its sequel Banjo-Tooie) on your much more advanced Xbox One. 

Considering Microsoft charges nearly a quarter of the price of a brand-new video game for the 19-year-old platformer, (and that its 2017 spiritual successor, Yooka-Laylee, got some mixed reviews) Xbox Game Pass might be the cheaper alternative the next time you need a quick fix of nostalgic collect-a-thons.

That's right: You can play the latest game in Microsoft's we-know-you've-heard-of-it Halo series — multiplayer and all — without having to buy it outright, thanks to Xbox Game Pass.

From Halo 5: Guardians' 4-player cooperative story mode to the series' debut of massive Warzone multiplayer maps, you can join in on one of Xbox One's biggest gaming scenes just by subscribing to Xbox's new service. Not a bad deal, if you ask us.

However, it's worth mentioning that like any other game on Xbox Game Pass, you'll still need to be a paying Xbox Gold member to access Halo 5's multiplayer modes, so plan on double-dipping subscriptions to make the most of 343 Industries' sci-fi shooter.

The original Gears of War was "that game" for so many people —  the one experience that back in 2006 that showed us the next generation of gaming was going to be awesome and the then-babyfaced Xbox 360 was here to stay.

Flash-forward to 2017, and Xbox Game Pass is tossing in not just the first Gears of War, but three sequels and even the Xbox One remaster of the original so you can enjoy revving up the chainsaw on your Lancer assault rifle in rich 7.1 surround sound and silky-smooth 60fps.

Whether you like taking on Horde Mode with friends or playing the co-op campaign, the Gears series were some of best shooters around when you had a buddy by your side. 

Heck, the older Gears of War games are worth revisiting just so you can relive the dying tradition of couch co-op. Ah, those were good times...

If the point of this article is to talk up the pure gaming-time-per-dollar value of Xbox Game Pass, we could've mentioned Spelunky first and then just be done with the entire article.

The subterranean platformer is the epitome of "indefinitely replayable," with enough procedurally generated levels to traverse, traps to evade, enemies to fight, damsels to rescue, and treasure to uncover that you could seriously blow all two weeks of your free Game Pass trial playing nothing but Spelunky.

Oh, and did we mention there was local multiplayer? (Seriously, let's make couch co-op a thing again.)

XCOM: Enemy Within (an upgraded version of the original XCOM: Enemy Unknown) is a strategy game so good, it's seen its way on a variety of platforms, including PC, Xbox 360, PS3, iOS and even the ill-fated PS Vita.

In the end, we think playing Firaxis' tactical alien invasion sim feels best on a gamepad, making the Xbox 360 version one of the easies ways to lose an entire afternoon to "one more turn" syndrome. (Firaxis does also develop the Civilization series, after all.)

From tense turn-based firefights where a single mistake can lead to disaster to micromanaging a military base facing an overwhelming threat, XCOM: Enemy Within is not just rich in content, but rich in rewards for bold and diligent Commanders willing to sign up for another playthrough.

With Tekken 7 poised to hit PC and consoles this coming June, we're itching to get back into the wonderfully ridiculous world of Bandai-Namco's 3D fighting franchise.

To sate us until then, 2011's Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is available on Xbox Game Pass to ensure we have plenty of virtual fisticuffs to sling around — not to mention makes a great little 2v2 pastime the next time you and a couple friends come over.

Also, any game that lets you be a luchador in a leopard mask, a mohawked cybernetic brute, or a martial artist grizzly bear is always worth your time. Fact.

We found not just one, but two excellent strategy titles from developer Double Fine on Xbox Game Pass' starting lineup, so we decided "hey, why not have them share a slot?"

In Massive Chalice, you take on the role of an immortal leader ruling a kingdom by making decisions both long and short term, as well as commanding forces as they repel an encroaching mystical scourge.

In Iron Bridage (formerly known as Trenched) you play a pilot of a mobile trench
 — a sort of old-timey bipedal mech — in an alternate post-WWI history as you square off against hordes of mechanical monsters.

With Massive Chalice being more about turn-based strategy and Iron Brigade a shooter/tower defense hybrid, players looking for a nice blend of genres in their strategy gaming can't go wrong with these two titles.

Sure, both of 2K's sports titles — WWE 2K16 and NBA 2K16 — are already outdated by their 2K17 counterparts, but it's still a good deal considering they're solid games you could be playing right now for just a few bucks a month.

Additionally, Microsoft says it's committed to expanding the Xbox Game Pass library each and every month, meaning it may not be long before a more recent batch of 2K's piledriving and hoop-shooting best-sellers become available.

Should 2K continue to support Xbox's subscription model, it could become a new way to play annual sports games that's on a slight delay, but makes for significant savings over shelling out the funds (and shelf space) for a brand-new game every year.

Should Xbox Game Pass truly become the "Netflix for games" Microsoft wants it to be, including entries from two of the biggest sports franchises around is certainly a step in the right direction, (though we wouldn't mind seeing EA's Madden and FIFA games join the roster down the road.)

May 25, 2017 at 06:47AM
Parker Wilhelm