Four new arrivals hit Xbox One Backwards Compatibility – Are they worth the return?

When the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility scheme was first announced back at E3 2015, I had my first experience of over excitement. I literally jumped off my sofa and sent my controller across the room, as I let out a rather unexpected jump for joy at the announcement that meant I would be able to preserve and continue to use the content I’d spent hundreds and even thousands of pounds on over the years. Since that moment, two things have happened, the first being I have put my unexplained outburst into perspective and vowed never to do it again – my controllers are too dear to me, and the second is that the Backwards Compatibility scheme has come on leaps and bounds, bringing hundreds of titles to Xbox One to be enjoyed once more.

Today adds more value to that beloved feature, with four new arrivals making their way to Xbox One. But whilst we’ve seen our fair share of titles arriving on the program, not all have been the triple-A blockbusters that fans have craved the return of. So, with that in mind, here’s our thoughts on the latest backwards compatibility titles and if they are worth the return.

Dead Rising is a series with a pretty sizeable library already on Xbox One. After all, last year saw remasters for Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record all arriving, as well as the release of Dead Rising 4 to ensure the entirety of the main series entries were all in one place…but there was always something missing that stopped that collection being truly complete. Today that changes with both Xbox Live arcade hits, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero and Case West joining the Xbox One family, and the series can finally be played from start to finish all on one console.

As you can guess from that last sentence you’re not likely to hear me complaining about the arrival of more Dead Rising content on Xbox One. After all, it’s a little biased for me as Dead Rising was the initial reason for my indulgence in the Xbox 360 all those years ago, but do these arcade titles really bring that much to the Xbox One? Well yes and no is my honest answer. Whilst neither title is a fully-fledged game on its own, it doesn’t mean they don’t at least deserve a playthrough and a worthy place in your gaming library once more.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero serves as a prequel to Dead Rising 2 and puts players in the shoes of Chuck Greene and infected daughter Katey, after their escape from the Las Vegas zombie outbreak, to arrive in the quiet country town of Still Creek – a town also affected by the raging zombie outbreak. During their short stay, players must guide Chuck to various motorbike parts whilst dealing with the ongoing outbreak in order to put together a working vehicle to get Chuck and Katey out before the military arrive to purge anything infected – zombie or non-zombies.

Dead Rising 2: Case West on the other hand, returns players to the trusted shoes of the sarcastic, (he’s new and improved in DR4) hotshot reporter Frank West, from the original Dead Rising. With the game serving as the canon overtime mode to Dead Rising 2, we see Frank teaming up with Chuck to further investigate the connection between the Phenotrans and the Fortune City outbreak, helping to clear Chuck’s name in the process.

Whilst both games are very short in length, both pack in enough of the quality seen in the main games to justify a playthough, even if it’s just for the first timers amongst you. Those that finished them both back in the day will certainly not feel much worth in a return to the content, but if you’re looking to do a series playthrough should certainly include both, even if it’s just for the extra links that each one connects to the main storyline.

Next up is a Disney family favourite, with Lightning McQueen making a trusty return to action as Cars 2: The Videogame races onto Xbox One. It may not quite possess the same quality found in games such as the Forza franchise and even though this is a completely different kettle of fish, that doesn’t mean it’s a terrible game. Serious gamers will probably want to find themselves steering clear if it’s a fast-paced racer you’re after, with Cars 2 very much tied to the casual racers out there, but that said, the story in Cars 2 is certainly not bad, especially if a spy story combined with that smell of burning rubber is for you.

The final addition for this weeks latest batch of titles is another Disney title, this time in the form of Meet the Robinsons. Now whilst most of you may well only know of this one if you have kids or found yourself watching the adventures of Wilbur at some point over the last few years, those who did play will say that they probably got a fairly average experience out of the whole affair. After all, after following Wilbur through forty various missions in six different locales, it would have been nice to have found a little more action, but then again, what do you really expect from a movie tie-in that isn’t covered in LEGO bricks? There may be some of you out there that will find yourselves giving this one the old install treatment for those days you want to keep the little ones quiet, but it’s probably fair to say those of an older age will probably want to stick with the native offerings on Xbox One for a true gaming experience.

So, there we have it, another batch of backwards compatible titles arriving our way and our thoughts on just which ones you should and shouldn’t be devoting that precious time to once more. Do you agree with our thoughts? Let us know in the comments below or via our usual social channels.