It’s a big day for the Xbox Games Store, as Xbox One owners will be able to choose from more than a dozen new releases this week, as well as the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program.
ReCore is a third-person action game for the Xbox One from Armature Studio and Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune. Players will take control of Joule Adams, one of the last remaining humans on Far Eden. As she struggles for survival, she’ll have to fight back against evil robotic foes and create her own army of friendly automatons. As the first Xbox Play Anywhere title, players who purchase it for the Xbox One will also receive access to the game on Windows 10 as well.
Most of this week’s new releases deal with “Survival” in some way or another, but The Witness is in a class of its own. Players wake up on “a strange island full of puzzles” and must work out the solutions if they want to continue in the Xbox One title. A simpler survival story can be found in Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, an Xbox One game that pits the famous Pac-Man against the Ghosts once again.
Frank West’s fight isn’t with any kind of spook or specter, but the living dead. And he’ll need all the help he can get as Capcom will re-release Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record on the Xbox One this week. The remastered games will feature improved graphics, and you can even grab all three of them at a discount with the Dead Rising Triple Pack.
2K Games and Irrational Games will also re-release a loosely connected trilogy for the Xbox One this week with the launch of BioShock: The Collection. Containing BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite, Xbox One owners will be able to play through visually-enhanced version of the games and listen to developer’s commentary from Ken Levine and others.
And are you ready for some sports? New hockey (NHL 17), racing (NASCAR Heat: Evolution), and soccer games (Pro Evolution Soccer 2017) are available to download for the Xbox One today. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 was also released for the Xbox 360.
Finally this week, Telltale Games will launch new entries in two of their episodic series. Xbox 360 owners will be able to play as both Batman and Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 1: Realm of Shadows, while Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners will be able to experience the finale of Minecraft: Story Mode in Episode 8: A Journey’s End?
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break.
Xbox One Games
ReCore ($39.99)
From the legendary creator Keiji Inafune and the makers of Metroid Prime comes ReCore, an action-adventure masterfully crafted for a new generation. As one of the last remaining humans on a planet controlled by robotic foes bent on your destruction, you must forge friendships with a courageous group of robot companions, each with unique abilities and powers. Lead this band of unlikely heroes on an epic adventure through a mysterious, dynamic world. You can’t save mankind alone.Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 ($12.99)
The much-awaited sequel to Pac-Man Championship Edition! Featuring eye-popping 3D graphics and funky visuals, the latest version of the classic game takes chomping and chasing through mazes to a whole new level! Make up to four ghost trains for maximum chompage! New modes include Score Attack and an Adventure Mode with fast fleeing fruit, big bad bosses, ridiculous remixed rules, and more!The Witness ($39.99)
You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you. You don’t remember who you are, and you don’t remember how you got here, but there’s one thing you can do: explore the island in hope of discovering clues, regaining your memory, and somehow finding your way home. The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious. There’s no filler; each of those puzzles brings its own new idea into the mix. So, this is a game full of ideas.BioShock: The Collection ($59.99)
Return to the cities of Rapture and Columbia and experience the award-winning BioShock franchise like never before, beautifully remastered in 1080p. BioShock: The Collection contains all single-player content from BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite, all single-player add-on content, the “Columbia’s Finest” pack, and Director’s Commentary: Imagining BioShock, featuring Ken Levine and Shawn Robertson.Dead Rising ($19.99)
Frank West, a freelance photojournalist on the hunt for the scoop of a lifetime, pursues a juicy lead to a small suburban town only to find that it is being overrun by zombies! He escapes to the local shopping mall thinking it will be a bastion of safety, but it turns out to be anything but. It’s a true struggle to survive the endless stream of enemies, but with full reign over an entire shopping center, Frank can utilize anything to fight off the flesh-hungry mob and search for the truth behind the horrendous epidemic.Dead Rising 2 ($19.99)
In the sequel to Dead Rising, players step into the shoes of Chuck Greene, professional motorcycle racer. Surrounded by a horde of hungry zombies in the spectacular casino town of Fortune City, Chuck finds himself in a race against time to find Zombrex, the one thing that can keep Katey, his young daughter, alive. Can he protect her and make it out of Fortune City alive?Dead Rising 2: Off the Record ($19.99)
Photojournalist and original hero of Dead Rising’s Willamette incident, Frank West, takes center stage once again in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. Forget what you know about Dead Rising 2, as players will experience a re-imagining of the Fortune City outbreak. The new “Off the Record” story line means an all new Dead Rising 2 experience, where Frank faces off against hordes of twisted enemies, builds more outrageous combo weapons, follows his own unique mission structure, and explores brand new areas of Fortune City to get his biggest scoop yet.NHL 17 ($59.99)
Whether you compete online in a bid for glory, live out your ultimate hockey fantasy in offline single player modes, or simply lace up and jump over the boards for exciting and innovative hockey gameplay – NHL 17 gives you the chance to Shape Your Legacy on and off the ice. Own Every Zone with more end-to-end control with Authentic Goalies, all-new Net Battles for offensive and defensive zone play, and thrilling new goal celebrations that capture the excitement of scoring the biggest goals on game night. Live out your ultimate hockey fantasy in all-new modes, including Draft Champions, the World Cup of Hockey, or manage the business in Franchise Mode.NASCAR Heat: Evolution ($59.99)
For the first time on Xbox One, race as your favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers across all 23 licensed NASCAR tracks in stunning HD with incredibly detailed environments. Get ready for the most fun you’ve had with a NASCAR game in years! Whether you’re a casual racer or die-hard sim fan, NASCAR Heat Evolution will adjust to your skill level with a brand new AI and Speed Rating system that applies the right amount of challenge for you. In addition to quick play races you can build your own team from the ground up, and race your way to the Sprint Cup Championship in Career mode.Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 ($59.99)
The award-winning series returns, taking the famed gameplay to a new level. Control reality with a host of new improved features to gameplay, including Real Touch and Precise Pass. The new features refine the focus for the series, which is enjoying playing PES with friends.Perfect Woman ($8.99)
Perfect Woman is a game inspired by the ubiquitous personality questionnaires featured in women’s magazines and the female roles they define. The game is structured into progressive levels, each one representing a different stage in a woman’s life. Starting at the child stage, players must post in front of a Kinect to mimic various poses that appear on screen. The better a player is able to hold the pose, the more “perfect” their rating for that level. Perfect Woman features a branching decision tree which serves to create a narrative of the character’s life. Past choices may make future choices more difficult. It’s not always possible to be perfect at every stage in life, and that’s perfectly fine.Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 8: A Journey’s End? ($4.99)
With Harper leading them to the world of the Old Builders, Jesse and crew finally have their chance to return home… but it won’t be easy, and the stakes are high. You’ll need to take on opponents in a series of gladiatorial games to win your freedom, save your friends, and maybe, just maybe, make it back to your own world!Xbox 360 Games
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 ($39.99)
The award-winning series returns, taking the famed gameplay to a new level. Control reality with a host of new improved features to gameplay, including Real Touch and Precise Pass. The new features refine the focus for the series, which is enjoying playing PES with friends.The Bluecoats: North Vs South ($9.99)
In the colorful strategy game The Bluecoats: North Vs South, you play the head of one of the armies of the Civil War. Your aim is to conquer American territory! This is a remastered version of the game that was released in 1990, with improved graphics and user-friendliness that are up to current standards. To come out in one piece, you’ll have to master taking turns, armed battles in real time, one against 30 shootouts, and horseback train chases.Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 1: Realm of Shadows ($4.99)
Enter the fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne and discover the powerful and far-reaching consequences of your choices as the Dark Knight. In this gritty and violent new story you’ll make discoveries that will shatter Bruce Wayne’s world, and the already fragile stability of a corrupt Gotham City.Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 8: A Journey’s End? ($4.99)
With Harper leading them to the world of the Old Builders, Jesse and crew finally have their chance to return home… but it won’t be easy, and the stakes are high. You’ll need to take on opponents in a series of gladiatorial games to win your freedom, save your friends, and maybe, just maybe, make it back to your own world!
