Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@BAMozzy The XBX screenshot looks like a massive improvement over the XB1 S. There shouldn't be that much difference when comparing graphics between XBX and PC now when Digital Foundry and other YouTube videos compare games between the two systems.

@MaccaMUFC It certainly looks great!! I wish I could find the high res version of the top image that was shown during the Xbox Daily show as that was much clearer when looking at the comparison shots around the edge. Unfortunately, all I can find is a screen capture so when you look at things like the 4k Textures, 4k Resolution and Glossy reflections, it was much clearer. The bottom image at least shows a high res version to show how 'different' the quality of these two images are and a better indication of what the XBX version should look like.

DF no doubt will have fun looking at the versions. I wouldn't be surprised though if they split things up into 2 - the HD (Base consoles) versions compared with a 1080p 'ultra' PC version and a 4k comparison with the Pro, XBX and PC rather than all 5 in one. With 'exclusives' we will probably see the Win10 family compared together but I don't know they will do all 5 together. I notice that often they do a 1080p view and a Pro vs PC view - Tekken was an exception because all versions are 'HD' inc the Pro.

change of topic but does anyone know what's going on with Hololens, paired with the XBX that could be AMAZING but i haven't heard anything since it's E3 reveal in 2015

@FullbringIchigo As far as I know, its still in devkit status...

Have you seen this?

Personally I can't see AR being anywhere near as useful in gaming as VR - especially not with a small window...

Games with Gold for July...

Hmmmm, seems a bit of a bum month. I have Kane and Lynch on disc so I'll get rid of that but the two Xbox One titles don't really grab my attention.

@crippyd I wasn't overly impressed by this months - especially the XB1 games. I have the Lego game - its OK and may add K&L2 to my download list but won't bother with the other 2 games.

well i'll only download Kane and Lynch 2 if i want to play a short bland looking game that makes you throw up

i already have Lego Pirates on PS3 so i don't need that and i have played the other 2 and didn't like them so nothing for me this month

I tried Kane and Lynch 2 when it first came.out, but I didn't enjoy it anywhere as much as the first one. Will probably skip this month.

The Ultimate Game Sale Summer 2017 started today on the XBL marketplace. Pretty much the same stuff that PSN is offering now and Xbox exclusives but a pretty good sale overall especially if you don't have a PS4. Over 300 games are listed.

https://majornelson.com/2017/06/29/ultimate-game-sale-2017/

@Tasuki I bought the Witcher 3 DLC for £10 (50% off) ready for the 4k patch on the XBX. I already beat the DLC on the PS4 as I bought the GotY edition so this will give me a reason to play it again on Xbox.

Not a lot else grabbed me - well not that I don't already have or can get cheaper physically...

@KratosMD WOW that's big, i was thinking of finally picking that up but i don't think i have the room

@KratosMD I wonder if that's the update to add 4k Assets in readiness for the Xbox X launch? MS, or morre accurately, 343, have confirmed this will be getting an update to native 4k with 4k Assets...

@KratosMD I just finished Gears last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it too. Halo is my top series and I enjoyed the campaign but I think the mp is not as good as the 360 games, I find the maps are too big so there is too much travel to get back in the fight when you die.

@KratosMD I really haven't had any inclination to play Halo 5 - not since 343 have really messed with what a Halo game should be. As a Gears fan, not only do I have the Gears 4 custom XB1s, the Ltd Edition Gears 4 Elite controller I also have the Gears 3 custom XB360 controller too, I was disappointed by Gears 4 - not to the same degree I have been disappointed by 343's Halo - but I really wasn't impressed by the Campaign at all. In places it felt 'lazy', using the 'Horde' mode not once but twice during the campaign. The new characters missed the mark - not like Dom and Marcus, and the robot enemies were pathetic too. Mechanically it was a Gears game but after the ending, I was left with an 'is that it' feeling and the last mission was weak.

Its a shame, in my mind at least, that MS have built studio's to churn out nothing but Halo and Gears games. I really do think these studio's missed 'something' that made the Bungie Halo games and Epic Gears games 'special' and it wasn't 'just' the MP - something I feel 343 in particular have focused on at the expense of the campaigns. The Coalition at least seemed to try and deliver that 'campaign' that made Gears what it was but just missed the mark. I would have preferred it if MS set up studio's with more 'freedom' to make what they wanted - similar to Naughty Dog or Guerrilla Games - both of which were becoming synonymous with Uncharted and Killzone but were able to make Last of Us and Horizon:ZD. Sucker-Punch are expected to be working on something new instead of another Infamous. I think that makes it more exciting - not knowing what's coming next. It also gives developers more freedom to take a break, to explore new ideas that may help prevent franchises becoming Stale. Whilst we may be on the 5th Halo, its not like we didn't get 2 spin offs - ODST and Reach, Gears is the 5th one as we also had Judgement. Forza 7 is coming next and no doubt next year will be Horizon 4....

For me, the first Xbox was Halo, the 360 was Gears but I am still waiting for the Xbox One to have its 'defining' and 'memorable' new Exclusive.

@KratosMD Yeah, it was Warzone. I was playing Firefight and Slayer and a couple of other modes.
@BAMozzy I agree that the One hasn't got a truly standout franchise yet but there have been some absolutely fantastic games on it and I am certainly not disappointed with my console choice. Also I'm hovering over the pre order button for the X as soon as it goes live!

@crippyd I am almost certainly going to be pre-ordering the 'X' as soon as it is possible to do so. @crippyd I am not saying the XB1 era hasn't had 'great' exclusive games, its just that they have tended to be from established franchises and not 'new' era defining games. Sunset Overdrive and Titanfall were potentials but both 3rd Party developed and Titanfall 2 wasn't 'exclusive'. Games like ReCore and Quantum Break missed the mark too in terms of being 'that' game that really sold the Xbox One. Even the upcoming 'X' doesn't have a 'unique' game that could sell it - not like the Pro with Horizon: Zero Dawn and the promise of games like Days Gone, Spider-Man. God of War and Last of Us 2 to look forward to playing in '4k HDR'.

The X has Forza 7, which won't be that different in a lot of ways to its 'predecessors' and Crackdown 3, game that really doesn't look to be pushing the 'X' visually. Its also a game that had a disappointing sequel and 10yrs since the first game - which also had a bit of a 'niche following' so its not got the pulling power.

To me, it looks like MS are positioning the X more as a place to play the biggest 3rd Party multi-platform releases rather than selling us the console on what 'unique' experiences it may offer over the competition. I know what the benefits of 4k Assets can bring with the increase in Resolution but others may not and thing the 'Pro' is the equivalent to the XB1 was with the PS4 - a slightly less powerful but ultimately similar device. As such, that £100 difference is a hard sell - especially as the cheaper Pro also has the 'best' (and/or more numerous) exclusives. People may think that they can save £100 and just buy the Pro for their 4k gaming and still play the big multi-platform games at a 'similar' resolution.

Of course I know that the 'X' blows the Pro out of water in terms of Specs. I know that if developers utilise it properly, the gulf between the Pro and 'X' will be far more than the XB1 to PS4. The PS4 had sightly faster RAM but still the same quantity, the CPU of the XB1 was nearly 10% faster and the GPU of the PS4 was only 30% more powerful. The X is a whole PS4 more powerful than the Pro in its GPU. Not only does it have 64% more RAM allocated to gaming, that RAM is also 50% faster than the Pro too. CPU may seem like its still a little bit faster BUT its also customised and unlike the Pro, aspects like Audio processing for example is handled else where. Draw instructions are significantly reduced - the most intensive workload a CPU has to handle meaning that the CPU has far less workload and is still 'faster' than the Pro's too. Its just a shame that MS doesn't have a 'killer' game that really pushes the 'X' and makes those with PS4's seriously consider the 'X' as their 'upgrade' of choice - maybe just keep the PS4 for exclusives. I really think an ambitious game like Scalebound could have been that game. Drop that stupid 'co-op' in dungeon, focus more on the big Open World fantasy world and single player game where you and your dragon 'evolve' and bond. The initial game-play review where Drew and the Dragon were fighting that 'army' and beast really had some Rodney Matthews inspired look to it and was really looking forward to this. Much more than yet another Halo (inc Wars), Forza (Motorsport mostly), Dead Rising, ReCore, Crackdown, sea of thieves, etc etc.

Talking of SoT, I really can't see that selling the X either - especially not after seeing Skull N Bones and visuals that was targeting.

I will still buy the 'X' but I really can't see me buying many, nay any of the upcoming Exclusives - unless MS has a big surprise announcement for Gamescom due out in the upcoming year. Seems I will be buying it for Multi-platform releases and keeping my Pro for numerous and exciting exclusives.

@BAMozzy again, I agree with you on the games as I'm not interested in online only games like SoT but I'm still happy to have Xbox as my gaming choice even though I'm missing out on the PS exclusives. I just don't have the time or money to have two consoles, plus my marriage couldn't take it. The up coming PS games look really cool, especially Spider-Man but again I'm happy I chose Xbox and I don't see that changing. I'm looking forward to the new Mordor game and Forza and when it's announced, the new Halo. I've not played ReCore or Quantum Break although they both look like really cool games.

@crippyd Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy my Xbox gaming too. Like I said earlier, I have the Gears 4 2TB Xbox One S (as well as the original Xbox) and will be getting the 'X' (hopefully day 1 but reliant on delivery services) and own a Day 1 Elite controller and the Limited Gears 4 Elite too. Its not like I have spent all that money just to gather dust . My 'Destiny' year 1-3 is far more hours spent on Xbox than PS4 and waiting for the 'X' now to play the Witcher 3 DLC in 4k. I think I have about the same number of games on both systems - maybe a few more on Xbox, not including all the GwG/IGC games either.

Personally I like owning both. I couldn't stand not playing the PS4 exclusives as they have been excellent and during the previous 2 generations, MS seemed to be able to keep pace with great exclusives - as I am not a JRPG fan it seemed Xbox had just as many exclusives I wanted. Halo and Gears were both great, Forza was starting to get stale by the 4th but Horizon brought in the arcade fun. We also had Crackdown before 2 let it down and of course Fable as well as the 3rd Party deals with games like CoD and Fifa (not that I played Fifa). Now it seems like MS are relying on games that don't feel right anymore, grown stale or quite average and the only 'big' games are multi-platform or on Sony's console. Yes Halo is still there and its MP might be 'good' but with CoD, Battlefront, Battlefield etc there are a lot of FPS games that do it better and have better campaigns too (in some cases), Forza has competition from Project Cars as well as numerous other racers and it feels like if you've got one Motorsport, you've basically got them all. I know these are 'ok' games but not exactly pushing boundaries here. Nothing that in a few years time will look back and remember the XB1 generation for.

When you look at defining games of an Era, the Xbox had Halo, Jade Empire, Fable, Project Gotham - even Forza, XB360 had Gears, Forza Horizon, Crackdown, Alan Wake, Dead Rising (as well as Mass Effect, Bioshock, etc) and this generation has yet more of Forza (3 now +2 Horizon's), 2 Halo games and a budget 1, 2 Dead Rising Games, Gears 4 and a handful of other games that people often forget existed - like Ryse, Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break... Not a Lot that will be remembered or stand up. I think this gen will be remembered more for its 'mistakes', the very difficult 3rd - that maybe with enough time could turn it around - PS3 managed to do so eventually. Right now though it appears that MS are relying purely on performance to sell the 'X' rather than adding in unique and amazing software to support it - much like Halo did for the Original console and then followed that with a good library of exclusives to keep gamers coming...

@KratosMD The reason these games didn't sell is because they are going downhill, getting very stale. Gears 4 isn't as good as the original trilogy - especially not as good as 2 was. Halo is nowhere near as good as the Bungie era was at that time. Sunset Overdrive was made for the Club 18-30's puerile teenagers - no wonder Sony turned it down and Forza Horizon was good but in a franchise that's almost as old as the hills now. Miss this one, pic up the next in 2 years time that does virtually the same thing - next up though is 'Motorsport 7', the game that's just like 6 but now in 4k and we will sell you car pack after car pack after car park to drive around the same boring tracks....

I would say not one of these would be 'game of the year' but Forza Horizon 3 would be best Racing game, and no doubt Forza MS must have won one of these by default as we are now coming up to the 3rd on this gen and apart from Project Cars, I can't think of another 'decent' racer to challenge it. This year it has competition from PC2 and GTSport of course.

That doesn't mean that some of these games don't have 'good' moments. Gears 4 and Halo 5 can provide some good moments in its MP with friends but the campaigns are not as good as what came before it. Gears 4 campaign was quite average but it did have some great HDR visuals but the Locust was a better enemy and its not until the second half that it starts to feel more like a Gears game - the ending was weak though and I really can't believe it ended like that...

I know Sony took a while to get going with their games - Killzone wasn't the best in the series, the Order was style over substance, Infamous, while good, was quite short and Delsin was no Cole. Bloodbourne was well received - not my type of game but seemed to be a great 'Souls' game for those that enjoy that. Then we had a few games like Until Dawn that seemed divisive and DriveClub that was a bit of a mess at launch and only 30fps whilst other racers, like Project Cars were 60fps and just as good looking. But then we started to see games like Ratchet and Clank - not quite a 'new' game but still fun and good looking, then Uncharted 4 a real step up from Uncharted before it. That was followed up by Horizon:ZD and of course we have games like Days Gone, Spider-Man, God of War, Detroit, Last of Us 2 etc - maybe not all games that all PS owners will play but games that people will remember. Horizon:ZD, Uncharted etc are all Game of the year winners/contenders and I wouldn't be surprised if games like DG, GoW, LoU2 etc all are award winning games.

Point I am making is that Sony really seem to have taken a while to get into their Stride and start really pushing their developers to come up with something that is a 'must play', something bigger and better than we had seen before. I know the Coalition are 'new' to Gears and at least had Rod Ferguson to help keep the 'Gears' formula but it kind of missed the mark - partly because of the lack of the 'bromance' in the characters and partly because of the Robot enemies in the first half. If you have played Gears 2, then you understand what I mean - even 3 I felt was better. Gears 1 (or the Ultimate if you missed it on the 360) is better with RAAM being quite Iconic and the first was still quite a dark game. I also felt disappointed by the 'Horde' mode missions - which felt cheap and unnecessary. Still I guess it wasn't 'bad' considering 'Judgement' but still kind of missed some of what made Gears special in the first 3 games. Halo really has missed the mark since 343 took over. I guess 4 was 'ok' as a campaign but still felt short and missing the scale of Bungies epics. It seemed to switch focus more to the MP - something 5 did too and the similarities to CoD was very divisive. Its almost as if MS gave up the exclusivity deal to CoD to make Halo its eSport CoD clone. Now CoD is going back to its roots though, the difference will be more noticeable. The Campaign was weak - fight the same boss not once, not twice, not even 3 times but at least 4 or 5 times. Barely features Master Chief and overall very mediocre - again mainly because it seems 343 spent more time trying to make the MP and getting it up to 'eSport' standards.

The main difference I see between Sony's Exclusives and Microsofts at the moment is that Sony's seemed to be moving forward, keeping pace and maybe even pushing beyond the big 3rd Party developers whilst MS seems to be locked in a '360' era at best, stood still whilst the games around have pushed ahead. Maybe games like Halo 5, SO, etc would have felt better on Last gen, would have stood up against their peers better than they are now. I am not denying that Forza keeps pace with the competition in its genre and 6 was better than 5 and 7 looks to go beyond what 6 was - the weather is far more dynamic and impacts on handling etc rather than just 'cosmetic effects' - something 5 didn't even have so I can see progression and how it can hold its own against Project Cars 2 with its 'live track 2.0'.

Its just I really wanted MS to come out fighting with its games. Yes its given us quite a few, but I feel its mostly mediocre/average games that haven't pushed forward, still stuck in the 360 era in a lot of ways. 343 still haven't caught up with what Bungie achieved - even with ODST and Reach - two obligatory games that Bungie had to make to effectively buy themselves out of MS.

I still feel like MS are pushing the 'media' side, trying to make the Xbox the one stop box for all media and gaming - rather than a 'focused' gaming console that also does media. That was evident in the Slim, a great 4k HDR bluray player, 4k Streaming box but a 900p (average) gaming device. The Xbox 'X' is the 'gaming upgrade' but I wonder if its too late. I almost wish the 'X' was just called the Xbox 'Scorpio' not the Xbox 'One' X because now I feel that the console will be restricted by the 'XB1' base console. I know that 'Exclusives' are likely to be built to 1080p standards so 4k won't be unreachable on the 'X' but I still think MS should have made the Scorpio its 'next' gen console but, like the XB1, had BC with the older gen hardware. Games then could be 60fps on the X and 30fps on the older XB1 hardware. As a mid gen upgrade, I feel 4yrs is too late in - especially considering the XB1 is struggling to deliver even a full HD gaming device - at least the PS4 has more 'leeway' here. It can at least drop to 900p but we are seeing games like Tekken for example, having to release at 720p, with lower levels of texture drawing etc just to keep 60fps. I know the PS4 is less than 900p and the Pro only manages full HD but as we move forward into 2018, 2019 etc, I wonder how many more games will fail to hit 900p on the XB1, how many more games will be limited to 30fps and therefore limited to 30fps on the 'X'? How many more games will MS make that feel like 360 era games to hit the 1080p/4k? The telling aspect is how 3rd Party games run not 1st Party because they are built to the specs of these consoles. Even ND and Sucker-Punch struggled with the PS4 and its CPU limitations - hence Uncharted 4 ended up at 30fps but the more limited area of the MP could hit 60fps if they also cut the resolution to 900p and Sucker-Punch too felt the limitations of the CPU with Infamous - even the Pro can't run that game at 60fps because of the CPU.

I really felt MS should almost have wiped the slate clean and started again with the 'Scorpio'. 4yrs is maybe at the lower limit but not unheard of when it comes to 'next gen'. The N64 and Original Xbox were both around for 4yrs before the Gamecube and XB360 released. I still can't see Sony going 7yrs, 6 at most before we see the PS5 - which could play into MS hands if they do, because MS can bring out its PS5 'killer' in 3yrs time - but if Sony take the initiative in a years time, they could leave MS with an 'expensive' box. By that I mean the PS5 would cut ties to the PS4 but offer 4k/60 to MS's up to 4k/30 for at least 2yrs before MS can respond. I can't see MS building the 'next' box in 2yrs - not with a 'X' on the market. I know its 'similar' to the Pro in concept, but the Pro isn't as 'big' a jump and a PS5 can offer a significant reason to upgrade - where as the 'X' can't. The PS5 could offer a 4k HDR Bluray, Atmos, 4k graphics and Assets (thanks to a beefier GPU and increased RAM) and a 'new' CPU to target better frame rates. The only real upgrade MS could offer is a better CPU and slightly beefier GPU as its 'X' and Slim for that matter already offer the full 4k media suite - It would really need a sizeable 'jump' in GPU to warrant an upgrade status - more than a few teraflops. You wouldn't buy a GTX1070 and replace it with a '1080' a year or two later.

As I said though, it also comes down to software. I am buying the 'X' regardless but I still think MS needed to WOW. Give PS4 owners the feeling that the X was worth investing in, had that library of Exclusives with the promise of some big heavy hitters, big game of the year contenders as exclusives so they feel its worth buying the 'X' as their 'upgrade' console and keep their PS4's for 'exclusives' rather than buy a Pro because it does the same thing and they are not missing out on what MS has to offer too much. Arguably games like Agents of Mayhem could be the multi-platform 'Crackdown', GTSport replaces Forza 7 or even Project Cars 2 could, Sea of Thieves could be 'replaced' by Skull n Bones, State of Decay 2 didn't exactly sell itself either but if H1Z1 arrives, there's a comparison or Days Gone is 'enough' of a Zombie Game to offset that. Most of the others at E3 will be coming to PS4 'eventually' so what's the 'big' reason to consider the 'X' over a Pro? The 4K HDR Bluray player? maybe but you can now buy a XB1s or dedicated player for £200 for that or go for the Pro and just stream 4k HDR content (might be lower quality but cheaper than Blurays). Point is they didn't exactly sell the ecosystem or the console - at least not yet. People still think the 'Pro' is a better buy because it does the 'same' thing only £100 cheaper and maybe not as high a resolution but has the better library.