A Week In The Hub: 9th-15th Feb 2014

It’s taken until the middle of February but 2014 on Xbox has finally kicked off…..with a bang!

Last week was a rather remarkable week, quite easily our busiest since the Xbox One launch back in November with new games, new trailers, new betas, new content, new accessories and new updates taking centre stage. But which were the really big stories that got the whole Xbox community buzzing? We warn you now, prepare for plenty of links in the next few paragraphs!

We have to start with the February Xbox One system update. Delayed until the end of the week, we had gamers begging for the update to hit their consoles. Bringing with it, amongst many other things, the ability to delete game and application data, improved DLC management, UI upgrades for friends and party chat as well as the much sought after battery indicator, the update should be with you by the time you are reading this. Believe us when we say it’s the little things that make or break a console and these additions are just proof that the Xbox One will be constantly evolving.

Alongside the update, we also heard rumours of a new Xbox One media remote and of something a lot of One owners have been crying out for…..the official XBox One Stereo headset and headset adapter. Most of us have moved straight over from the 360 and no doubt have a headset or two sitting in the corner gathering dust. Well gather dust no more because as of early March, we can clean them off and get them connected to the next gen with the use of the headset adapter. It’s great news that we can get back into some stereo gaming, although first reports of issues with Tritton sets may be an problem for some.

Another massive story breaking in the last week was that of the Titanfall and Project Spark betas. Whilst we all know that the Titanfall beta is now live and rather outstanding (you know this because you’ve a) played it and b) read our first impressions!), the Project Spark beta news may have gone under the radar slightly. So if you have even the slightest bit of interest in creating your own games, make sure you check out that article for the beta date. It promises to be as good on the One as it is on the PC.

Games wise we also saw Far Cry Classic, LocoCycle and the full version of World Of Tanks pop up on the Xbox 360. None of them should be overlooked if you’re serious about your gaming, with each promising to bring unique experiences to your life. Serious isn’t something that Roundabout looks to bring though, instead plumping for a good old fashioned fun time. We’ll have more on that as and when the details drop but we have a feeling it could be something special. Throw in some major downloadable content for Dead Rising 3, Rocksmith 2014, and the usual FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Team of the Week and you can see it’s been a good week for many.

We end our look back at the past week with a few trailers. We had a next gen look at the upcoming UFC title, a rather distressing tale being told in the Humanity trailer for Dying Light, an overview of the rather ambitious but gorgeous looking Bound By Flames, a bit of hilarity from Trey Parker and Matt Stone with a making of South Park video and something from the guys at Milestone with their Motocross game (and Monster Girls), MXGP.

So yes, it’s been busy and apologies for the masses of article links but we don’t want you missing out on any of the news.

As usual, we’ll catch you again next week, no doubt covering a couple of new reviews in Fable Anniversary and The LEGO Movie, but in the meantime why not follow us on Twitter, check out our G+ and Facebook pages or subscribe to our ever flourishing YouTube channel. Hey, we’ve even now got an Instagram page you can do something with….we just need to figure it all out first!