Infinite 1UP

Minecraft Gets New DLCMinecraft players, rejoice!New content is coming in the way of downloadable content (DLC) for the classic survival slash sandbox game. The DLC would come from the classic tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Recently announced in a D&D direct, Mojang and Wizards of the Coast revealed the paid content will be coming to the game for all consoles. The additional game will allow players to experience an epic campaign through Minecraft’s versions of the D&D setting, The Forgotten Realms. Aside from this, players can choose from four D&D character classes and battle iconic creatures from the TTRPG such as Mimics and Beholders. No release date for the DLC has been announced.

Super Mario Lore: 1-Up Mushrooms Grow from the Bodies of Dead MariosThe name of this blog is Infinite 1-Up. That name, of course, comes from the 1-Up Mushroom in the Super Mario Bros. franchise. If, at great risk, you can acquire one in the game, you gain an extra life.But where does this life come from? I bet you’ve never asked yourself that, even while consuming these magic mushrooms.The larger question is: where does life itself come from?This panel from an obscure 1996 manga suggests that life comes from death. It is a cycle. At some point, your Mario character dies. His corpse decays and from that death comes new life.Kotaku emphasizes that this manga is not a canonical work. It does not speak to what is true in the Mario universe. But it does speak to an eternal truth.-via Frank J. Fleming

It’s The End For Xbox Game Pass $1 Subscription Rest in peace, $1 Game Pass subscription. You were of service to many gamers.For those unaware, this deal was available for new users for the first month as a trial period before moving on to the long-term plans available for gamers. The deal applied to both Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and the PC Game Pass was pulled out by Microsoft. According to a spokesperson, the company is “evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future,” which is something we have to look out for in the future. A possible replacement for this introductory deal is the  Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family scheme, which was only available in some international markets since last 2022.Read more about the changes for Game Pass users here!Image credit: James Bareham/Polygon

Is Bioshock Infinite Still Good Today?Was it really good during the launch though? It was, actually.Bioshock Infinite, released in 2013, is a first-person shooter game that is part of Irrational Games’ hit Bioshock franchise. The third in the series, the title received massive acclaim from critics and fans during its launch. Review website Metacritic (and its users) gave it a score of around 93-100, which essentially means “universal acclaim.” A decade after launch, however, fans are singing a different tune entirely. While the game was able to change direction and lead players out of the dystopian, retro-style depths of the underwater city Rapture and into the vast airborne city of Columbia, they are now rating the game in low numbers. "Not sure any game in history has had such a negative shift in opinion since it originally launched to unanimous praise and every GOTY award imaginable," game developer Dave Oshry remarked. Gamers, when asked what rating they’d give to Bioshock Infinite now, seem to state around five or six, or even lower. As to why they’d rate it so low, players remarked that its story seems to try a bit too hard to the point that it failed to really drive home what it wants players to realize. "It tries to make racism a 'both sides are bad' styled argument which is... gross, even if unintentional," a player commented. Aside from the game’s plot, which did tend to drag on in a lot of segments, players also point out that the gameplay didn’t really age well. "It has identity issues gameplay-wise, and the plot is a messy mix of dysfunction, both sides are bad, diet racism, and aggressive self-aggrandizement. The DLC does not improve things. Barely feels like Bioshock. 5/10. Unremarkable and inconsistent," another player shared.Do we think that Bioshock Infinite is the best in the trilogy? Certainly not. Personally, our favorite out of the three remains to be Bioshock 2. The game managed to beat the difficult challenge of making players excited about going through Rapture again. Additionally, a lot of quality-of-life improvements can be seen in the second installment that is honestly better executed compared to Infinite. We will say however, that Infinite still looks beatiful and is a dream to play, even if you’re playing on the go via the Nintendo Switch. Image credit: Irrational Games/2K

The Game That Led Bill Gates To Create The XboxThis one game truly made the big boss at Microsoft develop one of the major gaming consoles today. During Bill Gates’ time as the company’s leader, the Xbox idea didn’t really match the organization’s vision towards software manufacturing. When it was first introduced to shareholders and staff, it was obviously met with strong skepticism.Gates apparently fell in love with the old classic game called Minesweeper. The tricky, logic puzzle where players are required to click on squares and avoid ticking on mines to clear the game is what pulled the man into making a console. According to Ars Technica, he got so obsessed with Minesweeper that he had to take it off his computer because it ate too much of his time.Minesweeper, along with Solitaire, Reversi, and the original Flight Simulator, proved to the company that there is a bigger market for video games, and that adults will buy products so they can also play. This became one of the stepping stones to Microsoft releasing the first Xbox. The rest, as they say, was history.Image credit: Wikimedia Commons 

A First Look at Star Wars Jedi: SurvivorThe new game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The action takes place five years after the events of the earlier game, surrounding the protagonist Cal Kestis, now a seasoned Jedi knight, as he seeks safety from the clutches of the evil Empire. The game promises new Force powers and new weapons, as well as plenty of new characters. For quick reference, here is a timeline of the Star Wars games, movies, and TV series in chronological order.