Author: Trafficblast

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One of Microsoft’s strengths when it comes to Xbox One is its commitment to backwards compatibility. New backwards compatible games are being added all the time. As with the latest bunch–GRID, Sensible World of Soccer, and Fable Heroes–these are routinely announced by Major Nelson on Twitter at 9 AM PT on Twitter, although there’s no particular schedule for how many are released (if any) on a given day.

Even in lieu of any specific schedule for new additions, the past few years have seen the list of backwards compatible games grow quite long, and it can be extremely difficult to find those that are worthwhile. Not only are there 400+ Xbox 360 games that can be played on Xbox One, but more than 30+ original Xbox titles are also supported.

Beyond the consistent rollout of games, Microsoft has publicly made it clear that backwards compatibility is a real priority for the company. “I see games as an art form,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer said last year. “Console games can get lost when hardware generations go away. It can become more challenging to play the games of our past … There’s something to be learned from experiencing what I played as a kid. There’s good business there for the content owners, but as players, it’s nice to be able to understand how our art form has progressed.”

Spencer subsequently made it clear that backwards compatibility is–despite reports suggesting it’s ignored–a feature that people do use. He wrote off data that said otherwise and pointed to an example of strong sales for an old Call of Duty game when it was added to the service: “I think the best signal we had so far is when Black Ops II landed and that month it hit NPD’s Top 10 that month for game sales. An Xbox 360 game that’s years old, that shows that people care.”

The feature has only gotten better with the release of the Xbox One X, as it offers much sharper visuals in these old games; some even have specific enhancements on top of a resolution increase. But whether you play on an X, an Xbox One S, or even the standard Xbox One, you’re treated to a feature that is currently unmatched by both PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

While not providing access to everything available on Xbox 360 and the original Xbox, the supported backwards compatible games from the two include classics ranging from expansive RPGs and thrilling adventures to XBLA gems and old arcade games refined for the big screen. Among these are all-time greats like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect Trilogy, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to name a few. But if you want a challenge that’s faster to jump into, the likes of Ikaruga or Super Meat Boy will do the trick.

To help you parse through the giant list of supported games, we’ve compiled a list of our personal favorites to highlight which backwards compatible titles are worth your time. If you want to pick something out yourself, you can peruse the entire list of Xbox One backwards compatible games. Which Xbox One backwards compatible games do you love the most? Are there any games would you like to be added in the future? Let us know in the comments below.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is bringing back an enormous roster of previous Smash characters along with a handful of new additions, and some are getting the Amiibo treatment. Ridley, Samus’ arch-nemesis, is getting one of his own, along with the new Inkling and Daisy. Apparently they’re bringing friends.

The Japanese Nintendo site (via Nintendo Everything) confirmed that the company is planning Amiibo for other returning fighters. Specifically, they’ve named Ice Climbers from the game of the same name and Pichu from Pokemon, though there may be others in the works as well.

That’s not to say that the entire roster will necessarily be represented. There are already 66 confirmed characters and likely at least another few on the way. Producing all new Amiibo for all of them would be a daunting task. That said, we may see some new sculpts and poses for some of the more popular characters.

Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature every character to ever appear in a Smash Bros. game, even if they were added later as DLC. That includes the classic roster of 12 mainstays like Mario and Link, more recent third-party additions like Bayonetta and Solid Snake, and even more obscure one-timers like Palutena from Kid Icarus.

NBA 2K19 will feature its first international star on the cover of the standard version. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, who earned the nickname “the Greek Freak” for his country of origin and his preternatural basketball skills, will be this year’s standard featured player. Pre-ordering the standard edition also gets his Sapphire MyTeam card, 10 more MyTeam packs, and 5,000 in virtual currency.

Antetokounmpo was the first player to finish in the top 20 for total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He also quickly earned honors like All-Rookie Second Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team, All-NBA Second Team, and Most Improved Player. Similar to the 20th Anniversary cover featuring LeBron James, the cover sports phrases that are significant to Antetokounmpo’s life, like “Father’s Legacy,” “Athens,” and “Phenom.”

“I am honored to be the first international player featured on the cover of NBA 2K19,” said Antetokounmpo. “I love playing NBA 2K so this means a lot to me. I have worked hard to earn recognition in the NBA and being on the cover of NBA 2K19 is a dream come true.”

NBA 2K19 will be available September 11 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The 20th Anniversary Edition will launch a few days earlier, on September 7. You can download “The Prelude” starting on August 31 for PS4 and Xbox One, to get a jump on the MyCareer mode. Check out our pre-order guide for all the details.

While it’s been two years since American fans watched the Season 1 finale of Robert Kirkman’s Outcast, it won’t be long before they’ll be treated to more. On July 20, Outcast will finally return to Cinemax, though these new episodes already aired in the UK last year.

When Season 1 of Outcast came to a close, Kyle (Patrick Fugit) had finally escaped the small town of Rome, West Virginia with his daughter Amber (Madeleine McGraw), set on finding a new home where people didn’t know about their supernatural connections. Meanwhile, Reverend Anderson (Philip Glenister) believed he was killing mysterious preacher Sidney (Brent Spiner) by setting fire to his trailer, only to learn it was another poor soul that suffered from the consequences.

Now, with the show returning, it’s time for the characters to own up to the decisions they made last season. “I think some of the most exciting stuff that I was looking at where we were getting into season two is seeing the fallout of the decisions made at the end of season one,” Fugit says in a group interview. “There’s some stuff that’s extreme decisions, good ones, bad ones, really bad ones. And then horrible accidents and stuff like that. So season two is trying to get back to level, trying to get everybody back to where they can fight the darkness and that sort of thing. So there’s a lot of consequence that has to be dealt with.”

The fallout from those decisions will bring two characters back to a very familiar setting, as Kyle and Amber both return to Rome in the Season 2 premiere. “At the end of the season, you start to realize, as Amber and Kyle try to bail out, that this possession phenomenon is much more broad spread than Kyle would’ve thought,” the actor teases. “And so obviously he goes back to Rome, because he’s like, ‘Well, leaving town isn’t going to work…'”

According to Fugit, that small town is paramount to executive producer Robert Kirkman’s idea of the series and the comic book it’s based on. “Robert’s always liked the idea that this takes place in Rome, West Virginia, that we’re not cutting to the Vatican having some expert exorcists flying to America to investigate this stuff,” he explains. “I think he likes the idea that it’s a large scale but a small town. And that sort of thing. And so all the evolution of the characters and everything happens in Rome.”

As for what the evolution of Rome will look like after Season 2, that remains unknown. While a third season of Outcast has not been ordered at this point, Kirkman does have in mind how he wants the story to end–unlike his TV adaptation of The Walking Dead. “It’s not gonna go on, as many seasons [as The Walking Dead]. But that’s by design; like this is a story that has a beginning, middle, and an end,” Kirkman says. “I knew the ending of the story before I started the first issue before I started the pilot, and we’ve been working towards that, every minute along the way and so it’s just a much more contained story. It’s not a sprawling zombie epic and crazy apocalyptic world.”

Outcast Season 2 premieres Friday, July 20, at 10 PM on Cinemax.