Over the last couple years, Xbox has been buying up developers to make Xbox and Game Pass must-haves for gamers.
Last year, Xbox bought Bethesda software, which owns studios like ID Software, Zenimax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog and Roundhouse.
With this one purchase Xbox acquired the Fallout series, Elder Scrolls, Doom, Death-loop, Dishonored, Rage, Quake, Wolfenstein, and Prey, just to name a few titles under that umbrella. This acquisition alone made Game Pass an awesome subscription service for gamers and parents.
Later on, Microsoft and Electronic Arts signed a deal to include EA Access titles on the Game Pass service.
This added the ability to play a huge backlog of titles like the TitanFall series, FIFA, Madden, NHL, Dirt, Mass Effect, Need for Speed and many more on the service.
This year Microsoft and Ubisoft agreed to have Rainbow Six Extraction on the service in January. There’s also a rumour that other titles from the Ubisoft will be coming to the service. This is still a rumour.
Fast forward to Jan 18 and Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This acquisition brought even more titles like Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo games to the Game Pass service.
This acquisition just made the service that much more enticing for any gamer. We will have to wait and see if this purchase will still let Activision titles appear on other consoles or lock them to only the Xbox brand.
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Lake (Xbox One, Xbox Series X,S,PC)
Lake is a tranquil game that is perfect for those looking for some relaxation. Lake has you playing Meredith Weiss returning to her small hometown from the busy big city.
You are temporarily taking over the mail route for your father on your two-week vacation. The game has no shooting, no combat of any kind or points. You just interact with the town’s residents and deliver mail and packages.
It might sound boring but somehow the game manages to keep you hooked. You interact with residents learning about your past and the residents themselves.
The player has options to help people with some tasks (don’t want to spoil it) or not — the choice is yours. Helping people build relationships has other rewards. The music and voice work is all well done keeping the player invested in the world.
There is something relaxing just driving around the town delivering mail and interacting with the townsfolk. The game leaves many options and paths forward to players and even multiple endings of the game. If you are looking for something different, I’d give this game a try.
Email: sggall@telus.net. On XBox One: acehardy13. On PSN: acehardy13
