TA Team Picks (February 25th)

Microsoft has whipped out its discount hammer once again on the Xbox Store, slashing prices on games across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. Here’s what the TA news team think are great pick-ups!

Just because we’re nearing the end of the month and our wallets are beginning to feel a little light doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t going to try and tempt us into purchasing additional games for our ever-growing backlogs. This week, like most weeks, the Xbox sales are seeing prices slashed on games and DLC across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. We’ve had a rummage through the discount heap to see what we personally think are wonderful games for decent prices… if there’s nothing for you in this week’s sales, you can always check out the best free Xbox games to see if you can get something even cheaper to play instead!

Bargains from the Xbox sales

Heidi — Kingdom Come: Deliverance

As February 13th, 2023 came and went, and Warhorse Studios celebrated five years since Kingdom Come: Deliverance with an anniversary trailer and not an announcement (unless you count the medieval soap), it’s time to take our longing for a sequel, squish it into denial, and use it as an excuse to return to Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It’s a great time, too, as the game is currently at the lowest price we’ve seen it at on TrueAchievements. If you’re starting the game for the first time, that means you can begin Henry’s epic adventure for less than £5, which is pretty awesome. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance, you start as the son of a blacksmith. A lot of open-world RPGs might give you a similarly humble beginning, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance absolutely nails the concept, because when you start the game, Henry can do practically nothing. He needs to learn to fight, to steal, to read; everything. He is a lovable, if slightly bemused character, and it’s amazing watching him become a force to be reckoned with in medieval Bohemia. I’m a fan of dragons and fantastical elements in medieval settings, but even I can appreciate how dedicated Kingdom Come: Deliverance is to attempting to achieve realistic details. If you haven’t tried the game yet, you definitely need to check it out; and you should probably get used to the phrase “Henry’s come to see us!” now, because you’ll be hearing it a lot.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a story-driven open-world RPG that immerses you in an epic adventure in the Holy Roman Empire. Avenge your parents’ death as you battle invading forces, go on game-changing quests, and make influential choices. Explore majestic castles, deep forests, thriving villages and countless other realistic settings in medieval Bohemia!

Luke — The King of Fighters XV

We’ve got some great fighters coming to Xbox soon, so if you’re looking to jump back into the genre and get your fundamentals back on track, there are far worse places to start than King of Fighters XV, especially at 60% off. SNK’s latest sees the popular team-based fighter return to Xbox after skipping over us with XIV (not that we missed much, in all honesty) and it’s a proper return to form for the franchise, letting you either run with one of the canon three-character teams or piece together your own from the entire 39-strong roster of returning favourites and interesting newcomers. KOF XV isn’t nearly as complex system-wise as a lot of other 2D fighters out there, and its implementation of a comeback mechanic of sorts is one of the most elegant out there — losing a character grants you a free super bar while also upping your maximum stock by one, giving your remaing fighters more meter to work with to stage a comeback. While you naturally don’t want to be planning around losing characters, this helps your later picks go into more meter-heavy combo paths, and an anchor character with the full five bars pretty much has the power to delete one of your opponents with skilful use of MAX Mode and flashy super cancels once you find an opening.

While it may not be as system-heavy as something like an ArcSys fighter, KOF XV does still continue the series’ tradition of being fairly execution-heavy, with lots of irregular special and super move commands. With the game being so focused on sticking with a set team dynamic, it’s not like you need to memorise and master all of these, and timing is just as important — the window for chaining one super into another with a MAX or Climax Cancel is very small, meaning more complex commands may need to be started earlier in order for them to come out at the proper time for those fancy big-damage closer combos. With KOF XV set to be one of the headline games at Evo Japan next month, what better time to get into SNK’s newest fighter at its lowest price to date so you can go into the event with a new-found appreciation of the top-tier play we expect to see there?

THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV Standard Edition

[Game Content]
SHATTER ALL EXPECTATIONS
The new “XV” that transcends everything!

Since its debut in 1994, the KOF fighting game series has been driving the world to the excitement with its appealing characters and unique game system. Six years have passed since the last title in the series, and now KOF XV surpasses all of its predecessors in terms of graphics, systems, and online experience!

Sean — Metro Saga bundle

I know I’ve banged on about the Metro games in our Team Picks articles before, but if you haven’t played any of the first-person shooters, you really need to pick them up now via way of the Metro Saga Bundle. This bundle is on sale for the ludicrously low price of $11.99/£9.99/€11.99 and includes all three Metro games (Metro 2033 Redux, Metro: Last Light, Metro Exodus) and the two expansions for Metro Exodus, Sam’s Story and The Two Colonels. The Metro series is one of my favourites, thanks to the extraordinary world 4A Games has built based on the works of Dmitry Glukhovsky. Following a nuclear war, survivors have taken refuge underground in the Metro tunnels of Moscow. Playing as Artyom, you must save your home station from the mutants and enemies lurking down in the deep dark tunnels of the Metro. The first two games (2033 and Last Light) are pretty linear shooters with survival-horror elements and will have you fighting your way through various tunnels and on the surface — the atmosphere that 4A games created in these two first games is incredible, and the story will take you on an unforgettable ride. The third game in the series, Exodus, does away with most of the linear aspects of the previous games and opens everything up, giving you big sandbox levels to explore. It lacks a little of what made Metro special in the first place, but it’s still an excellent game and definitely shouldn’t be slept on. Honestly, if you haven’t yet made the jump into the Metro series, do it now with the bundle that’s on offer. You won’t regret it.

Metro Saga Bundle

The Metro Saga Bundle includes all three games in the critically acclaimed Metro series – Metro 2033 Redux, Metro: Last Light Redux and Metro Exodus Gold Edition (featuring all bonus DLC)

Tom — Dead Island bundle

There are many things in life that are easy choices to make above almost any other option, such as peanut butter over any other food complement, full beard growth over clean shaven, or my game recommendations over the better judgement of more reliable sources. That’s why this week I’m once again dropping onto this list with some reanimated goodies for you. With the long-awaited arrival of Dead Island 2 just out of reach, now is a great time to experience the previous games in the series and hone your zombie-slaying skills without having to break the bank. You can pick up the Dead Island Definitive Collection for less than four quid this week, which is a ludicrously good deal that packs in Dead Island Definitive Edition, Dead Island Riptide Definitive Edition, and Dead Island Retro Revenge! While I’ve not played the arcade-style latter game, I can definitely recommend the former two fantastic options. The first game especially is a crash course on how to do a first-person zombie survival game right — a paradise island, weapon customisation, sandbox mechanics, and co-op gameplay makes Dead Island a must-play for any avid corpse hunter!

Dead Island Definitive Collection

The ultimate Dead Island collection – fully remastered!
Paradise meets Hell!
Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse experience of a lifetime – and now more beautiful than ever.
Caught in the midst of an epic zombie outbreak on the tropical island of Banoi, your only thought is: Survival!
Contains the genre-defining Dead Island, its successor Dead Island Riptide, and all previously released DLC.

Will you be adding any of these badass titles to your collection, or have you found something you’d like to let us know about? Drop a comment below and let us know!