Gaming review: Xbox One Review

I present to you the Xbox One! Named for being an all-in-one console rather than just being a pure gaming Godzilla, by this, it promises to offer players to use it for everything such as watch television or play Blu-ray movies and the like. The Xbox 360 was a humongous success with its hugely popular exclusives such as the Halo and Gears of War franchises and Microsoft hope to follow on to the next generation with its latest power box.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Dec 2013, 13:31 GMT
Xbox OneXbox One
Xbox One

The Xbox one is beautifully packaged which was instantly noticeable from the moment I opened the box, every component was neatly packed in its own place within the box separated into their own compartments. In the box comes your console, HDMI cable, headset, controller, power cube and the Kinect 2.0. The Xbox One console is similar to the PS4 in many respects such as its squared box appearance made with gloss and matte black materials. On the front is nothing but the disc drive and the infamous Xbox logo which lights up white when switched on. On the back is the usual, HDMI out, Ethernet port, but the most noticeable feature is the HDMI in port. The primary function for this is to connect a Freeview box or satellite TV receiver so that it can be viewed through an app within the Xbox Ones UI. Personally, I thought it was a pointless addition as if you wanted the watch TV, then just switch over, opening an app to watch TV was unnecessary. The Xbox One sports a similar architecture to the PS4 however the RAM is managed differently meaning 3GB of the 8GB of DDR3 RAM is used for the UI and the rest is for gaming.

The UI is an improved overhaul of the dashboard which can be customised to suit you which means you can say goodbye to that bold green dash you have been staring at wondering how cool it would be to be able to change it to red or blue, now you can. Apps, games, music and videos can be downloaded within the marketplace which is on the right of the main screen. Games must be installed just like the PS4 and take considerably longer on the Xbox One for some reason but they look amazing!

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The Kinect has had a major upgrade; it no longer moves up and down to scan the environment and is now able to be played in rooms of all sizes. It pick up people fantastically and is a hell of a lot more responsive. It can also read QR codes to download games or redeem content from a voucher and it now recognises users better and signs them in automatically.

Not a lot to say about the controllers believe it or not as they don’t have as many features as the PS4’s. It has kept the same shape os the Xbox 360 controller but slightly smaller and it feels a lot more comfortable in your hands. The sticks have a rugged edge to them reducing sliding and the triggers now have their own vibrating motors inside which allows for force feedback although this has yet to be taken advantage of.

Summary

Microsoft has developed one hell of a console to see us into the next generation. The mandatory inclusion of the Kinect sensor means a hefty price tag but you definitely get bang for your buck with its monstrous architecture and brilliant features within the nicely designed UI. Games look better than anything we have ever seen on a console before but why would anyone want to watch TV through it? The mind boggles….Halo 5 anyone? I score the Xbox One 5/5

Xbox One

Manufacturer: Microsoft

Price: £429.99

Design – 5/5

Usability – 5/5

Performance – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Related topics:MicrosoftMANUFACTURER