Written by Zima Beck.
XBOX ONE SPECS, FEATURES AND EXCLUSIVES
Microsoft failed to surprise and excite there community at this years E3. In my opinion only 3 things in there presentation really stood out and those are the new MGS, DEADRISING 3 and HALO 5.
Now let's take a look at the insides and see if Microsoft can sway us back.
SPECS:
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray/DVD
RAM: 8GB DDR3
CPU: 8 Core Microsoft custom CPU
Storage: 500 GB Hard Drive
USB: USB 3.0
Web Connection Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi
BlueTooth Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)
A/V Hookups HDMI input and output (4K support), Optical output
RELEASE DATE: November 2013
INTERFACE:
Yet to be revealed
SMARTGLASS:
Xbox SmartGlass turns your mobile phone or tablet into a second screen that intelligently interacts with your Xbox 360 to elevate your entertainment experience. Xbox SmartGlass allows your devices and TV to talk to each other and enhance your favorite TV shows, movies, music, sports and games.*
CLOUD SERVICE:
According to Jeff Henshaw, Microsofts group program manager the cloud service will be as important as the hardware itself. In an interview with OXM he went on to state
" [ for every Xbox one ] we're provisioning the CPU and storage equivalent of three xbox ones on the cloud"
" We're doing that flat out so that any game developer can assume that there's roughly three times the resources immediately available to there game, so they can build bigger Persistent levels that are more inclusive for players. They can do that out of the game.
KINECT 2:
It will have a 1080p camera compared to the VGA sensor on the original Kinect. The new motion controller would process 2 gigabits of data per second to accurately read its environment. The Xbox One Kinect is designed to accomodate smaller environments than the Xbox 360 Kinect. The Xbox One Kinect is not going to be required for all games, just the ones that the developers want to use the hardware for. The Xbox One Kinect will also feature 1:1 movement ratio with little to no lag.
BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY:
The Xbox one will not support backwards compatibility meaning gamers will not be able to play any Xbox, or Xbox 360 games it is still undetermined if there will be any streaming or download services for previous games
USED GAMES:
Due to gamers complaints, Microsoft has eliminated there used games policy.
Check-in:
Also due to gamers complaints, Microsoft has also eliminated there check-in policy
EXCLUSIVES:
Forza Motorsport 5 - is the newest installment in the self-proclaimed best racing franchise of the past gen. It’s looking to be quite beautiful. A groundbreaking new AI mechanic known as “Driveatar”, has been promised to mimic human intelligence, mainly yours (for better or worse) and race against other players while you’re away/busy. It’s a very revolutionary idea; in order to completely phase out human input for the impending insect overlords, we need concepts like this.
Ryse: Son of Rome - is a gorgeous hack-and-slash, made up of combat, QTEs, and having an entire army at your disposal. As you brutally and graphically slice through enemies, you can command your army to commander catapults, to name just one example. Originally slated as a Kinect-exclusive first-person game, the Kinect is still to play some part of the game, but will be completely optional.
Sunset Overdrive - Not much is known about Insomniac Games’, creators of Ratchet and Clank, Spyro, and Resistance; new game, Sunset Overdrive, besides the fact that it will utilize the Xbox One’s cloud to some varying degree of it’s potential; the reason for it’s exclusivity; it will be multiplayer, and will contain that signature brand of over-the-top, colorful action that is Insomniac’s namesake.
Dead Rising 3 - takes the sandbox zombie-slaying of the past 3 games, adds guns, vehicles and sets it in a gritty, post-apocalyptic city, looking like it’s going to play as the best Resident Evil this side of 4. It will make the silly, wacky mood of 2 completely optional; meaning if you want to play it is as the gritty horror game it is, you can; or you can dress up in silly outfits, and do all kinds of crazy shit. Gunplay has been incorporated, to allow for more playstyles, besides melee; if you want you can play it as a TPS, or as the hack-and-slash the others have been, or mix it up!
Smatglass will be integrated as a source of optional missions, given to you straight through your phone, by some dude hidden in a military base; and can also be used to airstrike large groups of zombies that you’d rather not deal with (though I’m sure there’s some sort of limit).
Titanfall - Easily the most impressive Xbox One exclusive shown off at E3, Titanfall, is a multiplayer-only FPS, by the former Call of Duty alumni; incorporating many cinematic, single-player elements, such as a cast of supporting characters, and cutscenes; and some truly groundbreaking parkour mechanics, never attempted (well) in an FPS before. Titanfall refers to the mech suit that drops from your ship, which you can pilot, and will aide you in your plight against other players and titans. It is an impressive, technically-proficient shooter, with some truly revolutionary ideas; the next step forward for the genre. If they can pull this off, it could very-well be one of the best FPS’ ever made. (And yes, I’m aware that Titanfall is going to be on PC and Xbox 360, as well as Xbox One. It’s on here because it’s a “generational exclusive”; and the 360 version will not be utilizing the cloud technology for a smoother, better gaming experience.)
CONCLUSION:
The Xbox One is an incredible bundle of new technology and forward-looking initiatives. There are numerous features, including Kinect, Xbox Live cloud connectivity and HDMI-in, that the PS4 simply does not have and, more importantly, can’t easily emulate. And I didn’t even get the chance to talk about the Xbox One’s operating system, which is based on a Windows kernel and supports multi-tasking.