I've been playing through L.A. Noire for the last month and a half on Kotaku's Twitch channel. This weekend we finished the game. The conclusion is bittersweet but there was no other way for a tale of crime and corruption to end. Controversial in its day, L.A Noire's ending is perfect when viewed in retrospect.

This weeks marks the release of the final wave of toys in Lego Dimensions year two, possibly the final wave ever. If the game's going out, adding Teen Titans, Powerpuff Girls and Beetlejuice to the mix in one fell swoop is a heck of a way to go.

Video games aren't what kept José Muñoz in his parents' basement for much of the past seven years, slipping into depression. They aren't why the former honour roll student dropped out of university, and they aren't why he couldn't get a job. Video games aren't what sent him to a therapist's couch, and video games aren't what kept him on one in front of a TV, day after day.

If you like moody teenagers having mysterious adventures, you'll be pretty excited by Oxenfree's inclusion in Games with Gold this month. There's also Forza 5 and Battlefield 3 if you've had enough of thinking about childhood. As always, these games are only "free" if you have an active Xbox Live Games with Gold subscription.

Last month, we started streaming L.A. Noire on Kotaku's Twitch channel. While the start of the game has some problems, its homicide investigations take a darker turn, adding nuance and moral ambiguity to the tale of LAPD detective Cole Phelps.

Xbox Live is experiencing some serious downtime at the moment, with many owners unable to play games or even sign in.

Last week, we started playing L.A. Noire on Kotaku's Twitch channel. It's a 2011 detective game with a lot of cases to solve. Recently, we finished the cases for the traffic detective desk. It's a good introduction to the game that also has a few problems.

There's a range of games available on Xbox Live Games with Gold this month. As always, these games are only "free" if you have an active Xbox Live Games with Gold subscription.

There's a range of games in July's Xbox Live Games with Gold lineup, from the adorable Grow Up to the gritty Kane & Lynch 2. As ever, these games are only "free" if you have an active Xbox Live subscription.

Remember Microsoft's Avatars, those wobbly caricatures that danced around the Xbox 360's dashboard? They have been sidelined ever since the release of the Xbox One, but that doesn't mean the company has given up on them.

Backward compatibility is a big draw for console gamers nostalgic for older titles, but new data shows that Xbox One players don't spend much time revisiting backward-compatible Xbox 360 games.

June's Xbox Live Games with Gold has a solid lineup, including Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed III. In addition to the usual four games, subscribers can also get multiplayer DLC for last week's Phantom Dust.

Red Dead Redemption released seven years ago today and remains a triumph. The tale of John Marston's failure might be Rockstar's finest story.

The makers of the horror game Alan Wake said today that they're pulling the game from Steam and Xbox Live Monday because of a music licensing issue. Although you can keep the game if you own it, you won't be able to buy Alan Wake again as of May 15.

You can go several hours in Grand Theft Auto IV before you get a gun. Soon after that, you're blasting your way through shootouts with SWAT teams. But for those first few hours, you're just some guy in Brooklyn, trying to make a new life.

When a company like Bethesda is trying to debug a massive game like Skyrim, where do they even start? Skyrim lead programmer Brett Douville tackled that question (and much more) on this week's episode of Kotaku Splitscreen.

Here's a blast from the past — behind-the-scenes motion capture footage for Silent Hill 2 from almost 20 years ago. It focuses on the perhaps the most critical revelation in the game's narrative, so consider this your one and only spoiler warning! For everyone else, enjoy this rare peek behind the curtain.

I'm betting that a lot of people who played Far Cry 2 didn't finish it. It's a chaotic, gruelling game, and it's at least five hours too long. If you made it to the end, you got a finale just as flawed, ambitious, and bleak as the game preceding it. Spoilers will follow, of course!

May's Xbox Live Games with Gold lineup features a couple of Star Wars games and some Lara Croft. Remember, these games are only "free" if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription.