Today I'm doing a bit of a non-standard ryview, and it's because I just finally bought an Xbox One!
And there was much rejoicing
So here are my thoughts on the new console:
I want to start off addressing why I waited so long to buy one. There was a small portion that was purely mechanical inconvenience in regards to the number of HDMI inputs on my TV, but for the most part, it was due to the utter lack of launch titles.
I'm not someone who plays a lot of new games. I play games once they're cheap and/or free, so unless there's a really big name title that I must have (read: Halo) then I really am not concerned with super new releases. So, my backlog was large for the 360 (and strictly speaking, I do still have several games I'm actively playing on it). That meant I was unmotivated to get the new console.
The final push was that I found a pretty good deal on one, and I realized I was missing out on Xbox Games With Gold content on the Xbox One, thereby giving me free games every month. So, now that I have one, I'll be aiming to ryview all four games in that program, two for Xbox One and two for Xbox 360.
Now, my first thought about the console was how pretty it was (And how big it was, but who am I to judge?). It's very sleek, very fancy, and even the home menu feels very polished and pretty. It's a very well put together console. It definitely is leagues ahead of the Xbox 360, and that helps me justify why I needed the upgrade. If it just felt the same, it might feel like a bit of a strange upgrade choice.
Ahem
At any rate, I like the new look. And I've tried out the voice controls a bit, they work but not necessarily constantly. I don't really need to tell my Xbox to verbally shutdown, so it's not a dealbreaker, but I would like it to not require me to shout when I did want to verbally do that. It helps ramp up the fulfillment of gaming because it feels futuristic and empowering, but it definitely it's to pure enjoyment level yet.
The new controller is amazing. If you haven't held one yet, I suggest you go to your local Gamestop (or similar) and kick off the 10 year old manhandling the controller so you have a go at it. The bumpers and triggers feel very nice and responsive, the joysticks are well cushioned, the D-pad has lost most of its frustrating edges and I like the slight shape enhancement. My only real complaint is that I'm that much more sad when I go back to the Xbox 360 controller.
As for the game selection, it's still not great. It would be better if the Triple A titles weren't all single player locally. I love splitscreen and it's a bit of a must in my apartment so I can game with my girlfriend, but games like Titanfall don't support local multiplayer, killing the incentive to play it (at least until it's dirt cheap). So until Halo: The Master Chief Collection comes out, I'll probably still quite a bit of time playing on my 360.
Damn you and your alluring remastered graphics
If you don't have the console yet, I think the biggest consideration is the game landscape. If you see games that want to play, even if they're available cross-platform, I think the graphical improvements will be worth it. But if none of the games excite you, there really is nothing special enough to pull you in yet. It's a steep price, and I'd recommend waiting until you have a reason to buy it.
For me, Halo was going to get me eventually, so I bit the bullet and went ahead and bought it. But not everyone is a Halo fan.
Let me know what you think of the Xbox One!
Until next time,
Ryan
Images courtesy of Wikipedia
No comments :
Post a Comment