360 Backwards Compatibility update coming soon (?)

[Laner]

I emailed Major Nelson earlier this week about getting an update on the status of back compat for the 360, as it's been over three months since the last one.  He wrote back saying he would address it on his podcast this Sunday.

That alone wouldn't necessarily mean anything, but 1up.com is reporting that the official BC list was updated briefly (then reverted) this morning. So maybe, perhaps, possibly, we should see an update sooner rather than later.

Some of the games that were reported to be on the list:

Psychonauts
Shenmue II
Indigo Prophecy
Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude


Pariah *was* on the list before the accidental update, but now it's not?  Odd.  Not that it matters - the game was terrible

[metallicorphan]

good news on shenmue 2 as that and metal gear 2 are the only ones i am waiting for.....but,i find that playing games like KOTOR on the original xbox is much better and smoother,and crashes less...and there are also some issues with playing star wars battlefront 2(maybe 1 as well)online on the 360

[Andrew Mallon]

From GAF:

* All-Star Baseball™ 2005
* Aquaman: Battle of Atlantis 
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
*Burnout® 3: Takedown™
* Dead Or Alive Ultimate
* Destroy All Humans!
* Dynasty Warriors 4 / Shin Sangokumuso3
* Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
* Family Guy
* Far Cry: Instincts
* Incredibles/ Mr. Incredible (J)
* I-Ninja
* Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
* Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
* MX Unleashed
* Open Season
* Pariah
* Psychonauts
* Rainbow Six: Lockdown
* Rapala Pro Fishing
* Scarface
* Shark Tale
* Shenmue II
* Splinter Cell: Double Agent
* The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
* Ultimate Spider-Man
* Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
* Whacked!
* Winback 2: Project Poseidon
* Xiaolin Showdown

[metallicorphan]

so....still no metal gear 2...i hate you microsoft

actually to tell you the truth this whole backwards compatible thing for the 360 has been one of the few disasters for the console(that and the number of peoples who got the rings of death)....the Wii plays gamecube games fine...very happy with that...but 360.<<<<for shaaaaame

[warning]

For someone who never owned an Xbox I'm always interested in what they're doing with BC.  Everything I've heard about the first Buffy game makes it sound like a definite must-play.

And just last week I gave up hope that they'd ever make Psychonauts BC so I bought it through Steam.  Oh well.  $20 well spent.

[whiteboyskim]

The first Buffy game kicked ass up until the end. I'm glad Psychonauts is coming to BC so I wouldn't have to buy it again when I eventually upgrade to a 360.

[Hetz]

Just cause games are on the list though...doesn't mean they work all that well. Lots of them have crashes and some have bugs that won't let you finish the game. 

Oh and I want my damn copy of NFL2k5 to work, MS!!!!!   

[Pyperkub]

The first Buffy game kicked ass up until the end. I'm glad Psychonauts is coming to BC so I wouldn't have to buy it again when I eventually upgrade to a 360.

Yup - these 2 will get some playtime for me, though I might need to buy a memory card to move my saves...

[gellar]

Now I need to go find another copy of Buffy.  That was a fun damn game.

gellar

[Captain Caveman]

Oh and I want my damn copy of NFL2k5 to work, MS!!!!!   

I wouldn't be surprised if EA took measures to ensure that never happens.

[Bullwinkle]

These are the ones I'm psyched about, to some degree:

* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Destroy All Humans! (wish this was the sequel, too)
* Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick (this was the lame one.  Regeneration was good)
* I-Ninja (now get Whiplash)
* Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (believe it or not)
* Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
* Pariah (wasn't this on before?)
* Scarface ()
* Ultimate Spider-Man
* Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray (I actually like this game)
* Indigo Prophecy (the one I'm most excited about)

A pretty hefty list 7 that I'm very happy about.  Still wish some of the other Prince of Persias would make it.  And Warriors!

[whiteboyskim]

Funny enough this actually gives me hope that someday Microsoft will quit half-assing their BC updates and continue getting the real games available. That's not take anything away from Big Mutha Truckers mind you but it's still great to hear that Buffy, Burnout 3, Destroy All Humans, and Psychonauts are soon to be BC.

[JLu]

Of those I only played Buffy and Psychonauts.  Buffy was a ton of fun minus the aforementioned 'end' part, and Psychonauts was just genious.

[Jancelot]

Neat, but as much as I thought it would be nice to have BC I rarely use it.   There are so many good to great games on the 360 right now that I just don't have the desire to play older ones...especially games I've already played.

However, I will try to get through Psychonauts as everyone seems to puddle themselves over it.  

[Zimix]

Oh and I want my damn copy of NFL2k5 to work, MS!!!!!   

+1000

[warning]

Just cause games are on the list though...doesn't mean they work all that well. Lots of them have crashes and some have bugs that won't let you finish the game. 

I've played about 12-15 different BC games since August and the only one that was problematic was Thief: Deadly Shadows.  It had some weird graphical glitches that allowed lights to shine through walls.  I think Fable froze once and everything else was pretty much perfect.

Do you know of some specific games that are unable to be finished so I can make sure to stay away from them?

[Hetz]

Just cause games are on the list though...doesn't mean they work all that well. Lots of them have crashes and some have bugs that won't let you finish the game. 

I've played about 12-15 different BC games since August and the only one that was problematic was Thief: Deadly Shadows.  It had some weird graphical glitches that allowed lights to shine through walls.  I think Fable froze once and everything else was pretty much perfect.

Do you know of some specific games that are unable to be finished so I can make sure to stay away from them?

Black has a bug where you are unable to get past a certain point in the game on the Xbox 360 version in one of the later levels. The game just freezes up. Also, there are major brightness issues with this game. It's annoying, and when I try to pick up the RPG in the first level, it goes wonky. The RPG disappears, whatever I'm holding disappears, I can't switch weapons or reload and I can't pickup new weapons. Basically, it looks like I'm spitting bullets at people, which would be cool if I could reload....but I can't.  It doesn't happen all the time...but when it does it's very annoying.

Unfortunately, I found out all this AFTER I bought the game.... 

[Bullwinkle]

I haven't had any problems with Black, whatsoever.  In fact, I found it to be one of the more impressive BC updated titles.  There doesn't seem to be anything in the "Known Issues" section of the Xbox.com BC section.

Not to say you haven't had problems, though.

[kronovan]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

[Pyperkub]

Now I need to go find another copy of Buffy.  That was a fun damn game.

gellar

Another sparkly thingy for my collection!

[Hetz]

I haven't had any problems with Black, whatsoever.  In fact, I found it to be one of the more impressive BC updated titles.  There doesn't seem to be anything in the "Known Issues" section of the Xbox.com BC section.

Not to say you haven't had problems, though.

It does look impressive, that is for sure. Too bad it's rather buggy and gets worse the farther you get in the game. It's like they got it to work....but then didn't play past the first couple levels thinking it was fine.

[denoginizer]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

[EngineNo9]

Hooray for Psychonauts, I-Ninja (I had a surprising amount of fun with this one), Destroy All Humans, MK: Armageddon and Indigo Prophecy.  I don't even own those last three, but they should make for some nice cheap entertainment during some of these cold, rainy winter days. 

I haven't had any problems with Black, whatsoever.  In fact, I found it to be one of the more impressive BC updated titles.  There doesn't seem to be anything in the "Known Issues" section of the Xbox.com BC section.

Not to say you haven't had problems, though.

It does look impressive, that is for sure. Too bad it's rather buggy and gets worse the farther you get in the game. It's like they got it to work....but then didn't play past the first couple levels thinking it was fine.

I'm like Bullwinkle in that I didn't have any problems at all with Black on my 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your less than decent specced PC. 

Unfortunately I don't think Midtown Madness 3 was ever released on PC. 

Funny enough this actually gives me hope that someday Microsoft will quit half-assing their BC updates and continue getting the real games available. That's not take anything away from Big Mutha Truckers mind you but it's still great to hear that Buffy, Burnout 3, Destroy All Humans, and Psychonauts are soon to be BC.

Burnout 3 made the BC list on the last update, thankfully, and one of the Buffy Games (Chaos Bleeds) has been on there for a while. 

[kronovan]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

[Bullwinkle]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

Three words: Gears of War

[warning]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

Three words: Gears of War

One word:  Gamefly 

[kronovan]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

Three words: Gears of War

I'm afraid GOW isn't a must have game for me. I don't dispute it's an AAA title it just isn't my cup of tea. I played it at my friends and found the single player story was fairly weak. I guess I'm just not enough of a FPS person to really enjoy it. I actually enjoy action games like Splinter Cell and Metroid Prime much more.

I've tried a few FPS'ers on XB Live (Halo2, GR2, R6BA) but I'm just not good enough to avoid having my head being handed to me.  :icon_sad:
I'm also not very impressed with some of the people that seem to gravitate to Live; just seems to be too high a ratio of obnoxious players.

[Bullwinkle]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

Three words: Gears of War

One word:  Gamefly 

???

And kronovan, I understand if it's not your cuppa, but it is certainly a system seller.  Maybe Blue Dragon will get you like it's getting Japan.

[warning]

Hmm....oh well, without Midtown Madness and Mechassault 2 being added to the list I won't be buying a 360 anytime soon. I mean come on MicroSoft they're your own damn games!

I refuse to upgrade until at least every M$ game I own is compatible. Besides everything I want to play on the 360 so far can be played on my decent spec'd PC. 

Mechassault 2 and Midtown Madness ???   
I have to admit that's the first time I've heard about Mechassault 2 keeping someone from buying a 360. 

Also you know Midtown Madness can also be played on your (less than) decent spec'ed PC. 

Yes, I already own Midtown Madness 1 & 2 for PC, but IMHO neither is as good as MM3. Especially when it comes to stability and online play.

Part of my reason for not upgrading is in principle; i.e. Microsoft's not even implementing backward compatibility for their own games. To me this is complete, unadulterated BS!

I'm sure I'll eventually upgrade to a 360, but until must have games like Mass Effect are released, I'm not going to hand Microsoft any of my hard earned cash.

Three words: Gears of War

One word:  Gamefly 

???

It's a great game that's quickly beaten so why spend $60 to buy it and play it for a month when I can rent it from Gamefly for $15 for the whole month?

[Bullwinkle]

Looks like it's live and Conker and Soul Caliber II are added to the mix!

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6163225.html?part=rss&tag=gs_all_games&subj=6163225

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Burnout 3: Takedown (support updated)
Conker: Live and Reloaded
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Destroy All Humans!
Dynasty Warriors 4
Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
Ex Chaser (Japan only)
Family Guy
Far Cry: Instincts
Farenheit/Indigo Prophecy
I-Ninja
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
MotoGP
Muzzle Flash (Japan only)
MX Unleashed
Open Season
Pariah
Plus Plumb 2 (Japan only)
Psychonauts
Psyvariar 2 Extend Edition (Japan only)
Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Rapala Pro Fishing
Rent-A-Hero no. 1
Scarface
Shark Tale
Shenmue II
Soul Calibur II (North America only)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Tenerezza (Japan only)
The Incredibles
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Ultimate Spider-Man
Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
Whacked!
Winback2: Project Poseidon
Xiaolin Showdown

[Old Negus]

Cool, I'm anxious to see how Shenmue II plays on it. Picked that up a few years ago and never got around to playing it.

[Hetz]

Soul Calibur 2 and Conker are nice. As is Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate.

The rest...meh. Give me NFL2k5 or Morrowind gosh dangit...or Panzer Dragoon Orta or....well you get the point. Lots of my favorites still are not on the list.  Guess it's another long 4 month wait for the next 15-20 titles...

[disarm]

given all the praise that Psychonauts has gotten around here, i'll probably pick it up really soon...could use a fresh new game with a little different pace than Gears of War, and i haven't played a good platformer in quite a while.

i'm also a little tempted to pick up Conker if i can find it cheap.  i still have the original N64 game and enjoyed it quite a bit...might be cool to have the updated version if it's done well.  anyone played the xbox version that can tell me how it stacks up against the original?

[Kevin Grey]

I'd highly recommend Splinter Cell: Double Agent- the Xbox version is superior to the 360 version IMO. 

[EngineNo9]

I'd highly recommend Splinter Cell: Double Agent- the Xbox version is superior to the 360 version IMO. 

I was actually waiting to see if this one would make the BC list before I bought it...looks like I have one more to add to my spring wishlist! 

Glad to see the Soul Calibur 2 also made the list, that is one of the few games I can get my non-hardcore friend to play (the other is Burnout 3, which made the cut last time and just got updated).  I wouldn't mind revisiting MX Unleashed either.  Good times!

[CeeKay]

I'd highly recommend Splinter Cell: Double Agent- the Xbox version is superior to the 360 version IMO. 

How so?

[whiteboyskim]

given all the praise that Psychonauts has gotten around here, i'll probably pick it up really soon...could use a fresh new game with a little different pace than Gears of War, and i haven't played a good platformer in quite a while.

Get it. Get it now. Support Tim Schafer's brilliance by buying this gem immediately. It's excellent top to bottom though it does have a final level that just goes haywire. But up to that point it is absolutely awesome.

[fyedaddy]

This is a fantastic update. I'd like to see them a little closer together but I'm happy they continue to support this program... and, thus, I will too. I picked up Psychonauts tonight and will grab a copy of Conker as soon as I can. I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed for ESPN Football 2K5 but I certainly won't hold my breath. 

[Kevin Grey]

I'd highly recommend Splinter Cell: Double Agent- the Xbox version is superior to the 360 version IMO. 

How so?

I think if you search the one of the Double Agent impressions threads I put some detailed thoughts out but basically:

-It's an entirely different game.  Completely different developer (creators of Splinter Cell 1 and Chaos Theory Ubi Montreal vice 360's Ubi Shanghai).  Uses the same basic concept and ideas for most levels but the level design, art direction, script, and cutscenes are all unique.

-  Uses Chaos Theory gameplay- the hud is back, sound meter, almost all levels are at night in the shadows, etc.  Also uses Chaos Theory engine so it actually looks really damn nice for an Xbox 1 game. 

- Trust system is better- 360 version uses two separate scales so it is relatively easy to keep both sides happy.  Xbox version uses a single scale with NSA and JBA on either end.  Consequently making one group happy is always at the expense of the other which made a lot of the decisions much more difficult and interesting. 

- Xbox version has a complete co-op campaign like the one featured in Chaos Theory which happens to be integrated into the storyline. 

I liked Double Agent on the 360 a lot.  However I thought most of the changes to the core SC gameplay were better in concept than in practice- Ubi Shanghai just didn't have the chops to pull them off so the game fell short of what I thought it could be.  Double Agent on the Xbox 1 is arguably less ambitious since it apes Chaos Theory mainly but it's execution is better.  Both are well worth playing but I have to give the edge to the Xbox version.  Of course it's woth noting that I think Chaos Theory is criminally underrated, was one of the best games of last year, and is still the pinnacle of the franchise. 

[KePoW]

Of course it's woth noting that I think Chaos Theory is criminally underrated, was one of the best games of last year, and is still the pinnacle of the franchise. 

Chaos Theory is definitely the best of the series, no doubt.  really damn great game, especially after the semi-boring Pandora Tomorrow

btw do you know which version of Double Agent the PC one is?