Other things we’ll be playing with will be the games, because – let’s face it – you generally buy an Xbox for the games.
First up, we played Killer Instinct, a title which this writer remembers pumping quarters into arcade machines to play when he was living in America. Later on, when he returned to Australia, he would play against his brother on the Super NES.
It was one of those fighting games you just had to love, because it wasn’t so much about the button mashing, but about how many punch and kick combos you could do to nail your opponent.
Over in the Xbox One, Killer Instinct is returning as a free game to all who buy the console. It’s not technically free, mind you, and yet it also is, acting as freemium, and providing you with one or two characters to fight with. If you want more, you’ll have to shell out cash, making it a decent demo, and one that you can probably win the game with if your combos are good enough.
Despite being in a world of 3D fighters, Killer Instinct on the Xbox One is a 2D fighter with 3D graphics, looking great and responding very quickly, and forcing us to remember the sheer amount of combos that the characters had. We didn’t, but hey, we still beat the opponent we were playing against. Twice. Yay.
Next up was Forza 5 which, as many can expect, is Microsoft’s Gran Turismo killer, sporting sexy graphics of photorealistic cars with lovely cockpits and excellent driving mechanics.
This is a launch title, and with less than 60 days before launch, it looks positively wonderful.
Cars have shiny and speckled surfaces, lighting looks superb, and when you get in the race, driving through either the cockpit, above the bonnet, or direct to the windscreen all look amazing, and make us yearn for a curved screen or VR headset.
Microsoft have also made improvements to the Xbox controller, making what feels like a compromise between the original and the 360 model.
The shape is all 360, and the weight is a little lighter, as the wireless control has been built into the controller itself, with the battery pack no longer an accessory, and microUSB ports making the wireless controllers wired whenever batteries are an issue.
The directional pad is a little firmer and closer to what it was like on older console gamepads, while the analog joysticks now feel tighter.
Most of the same design is here from the last 360 controller, though, and you get bumpers, four buttons, triggers with rumble and haptic feedback behind them, and a grip that is much more comfortable than the PS3 controllers we’ve been wishing Sony would redesign for years.
One thing that might bug gamers is the port choice on the Xbox One controller for accessories, because it no longer supports your accessories. In fact, headsets, keyboards, and anything else you’d normally plug in here will definitely no longer work, as this is an entirely new proprietary port.
Oh well. Time to pony up for more accessories.
At least you won’t have to buy the Kinect, though, as Microsoft’s motion controller is part and parcel of the package, and while you don’t have to use it, you will want to with some of the titles.
One of these isn’t a launch title, with Kinect Sports Rivals actually arriving in 2014, but promising some very cool uses of the Kinect motion capture technology.
For starters, this game can scan you look into the game.
While other games have promised this by taking a photo and mapping it to a head, Sport Rivals goes one step further by analysing your facial and body characteristics, and creating a digital avatar in that image. This writer has a beard and moustache, and did quite a good job getting the look and shape right. In fact, we want some tips on how to trim it the way it suggested we look.
As this scan is going on, you can see parts of the new Kinect in motion, with blocks and shapes forming your onscreen digital DNA, and displaying your head in 3D glory. From here, you can see the Kinect can watch your eyebrow movement and lips, doing more than the basic head movement that the first Kinect had.
