About 2 1/2 years ago, I wrote about the final batch of 360 and original Xbox games going backwards compatible. I thought I had closed down that chapter of this site and that’s when the site started changing into more of a blog and review site. I wasn’t bagging out weekly reports anymore, and honestly content has never quite been the same despite my efforts otherwise.
Well, October was an interesting month for backwards compatibility. There were a couple of articles that I am linking here for you to read about.
Strange MS Store activity could suggest new backwards compatible OG Xbox games
A lot of news to absorb here, the first being that we should be getting actual official news on new titles in November, just a few days away. The second being that titles from OG games are popping up on the Xbox store which usually is an indicator that they will become BC.
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Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, Gladius, Gunvalkyrie, Advent Rising, and Chicken Little were found in the MS Store in their original form as placeholders which used to be a sign that BC was coming for those titles.
The Dead or Alive games are always exciting (outside of the obvious male reasoning) but Gladius was an interesting tactical rpg that I will certainly look into. Advent Rising and Gunvalkyrie were third person shooters that probably don’t get a lot of love but are worth looking into. The two least worthy titles are probably Full Spectrum Warrior and well, Chicken Little. Chicken Little could very well be just a red-herring and that Xbox was testing something. Hopefully the others are legit.
And then this article today:
Two more Xbox 360 titles spotted on Microsoft Store with backwards compatibility IDs
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The first game mentioned was The First Templar, a hack and slash adventure that from the looks of it was a decent amount of fun and even had a piece of DLC in the Arena. It is available both digitally ($14.99) as well as physically (an used copy should run you about $10). As someone who plays a LOT of hack and slash, I’m really surprised I haven’t at least given it a try.
The second game is Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? which I hope is something of a joke. Not that I don’t support all BC because I do…but come on. It’s not available digitally at the moment and physical copies vary wildly in price from $10 to $25 and higher. Are people really paying rare prices for Jeff Foxworthy gameshow adaptations? Anyway, I’ll probably try to grab First Templar at some point.
Hopefully this is a continuing trend and I am excited about the potential come November. While most would agree that these are some odd titles, I don’t expect the actual releases to be all that mainstream. All of the truly mainstream and sought after titles are already backwards compatible. I mean, sure I am still wishing for Saboteur, Max Payne 3, Gun, or the Two Worlds games, but at this point of the game I would be just happy for a new batch of titles to discuss. Stay tuned as I will certainly follow this and report as soon as I know more. Take care and enjoy.
