The Xbox Back Compat Sale has some surprisingly low prices on old favs

These deals are worth a look if you’re into TimeSplitters, F.E.A.R. 2, Skate 3, Max Payne, and other oldies but goodies on Xbox and 360

While it’s bittersweet that the Xbox backward compatibility program has run its course, the team really delivered in terms of game selection and modern touches to make some of our old favorites look and play well today. I know we’ve all got enough stuff in our backlogs as it is, but if you’re in the mood for some original Xbox and Xbox 360 deals, there’s over 130 titles in Xbox’s Back Compat Sale. The prices are pretty enticing.

There are some niche picks, to be sure — remember the story-heavy shmup Sine Mora, or the twists and turns Capcom took as a publisher a decade ago with games like Flock?

That said, much of the sale is widely-recognized jams, including a bunch of IPs and series that went more mainstream when the Xbox 360 was firing on all cylinders. As an enthusiast game blog, the folks at Destructoid care about revisiting and preserving legacy games, but the backward compatibility lineup has had this ripple effect, too. I have lapsed gamer friends who are “back on Xbox” with the Series X/S after a long hiatus, and back-compat games have come up in conversation unprompted. It’s a perception thing!

This is all a long-winded way of saying that Xbox has shown how it can be done with not just keeping old games available as much as possible across console generations, but actually improving them beyond their original visuals and performance, in many cases. It’s a shame Nintendo and Sony aren’t similarly making the most of their back catalogs.

Okay okay. So how about those deals? I don’t regret buying TimeSplitters 2 at full price, but if you held off, it’s down to just $2.49; same goes for TimeSplitters: Future Perfect.

I’ll also point to Max Payne 1, 2, and 3 ($8.99 each), F.E.A.R. 2 ($4.99), Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed ($4.99), Skate ($5.99), Skate 3 ($4.99), Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee ($2.49), Splinter Cell Double Agent ($5.99), Saints Row 2 ($1.49), Resident Evil Code: Veronica X ($3.99), Panzer Dragoon Orta ($4.99), Spec Ops: The Line ($5.99), Asura’s Wrath ($3.99), and finally Sonic Generations ($4.99) and Sonic Unleashed ($4.49).

Basically, the Xbox Back Compat sale is pretty wide-ranging, and it’s worth a look.

[Thanks, ctg867]