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Xbox One

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Today in Redmond Washington, the next generation Xbox was finally revealed. With all of it's glory, the box has been deemed simply, "Xbox One". The sleek design is unlike any previous Xbox model. Being quite rectangular, the top is half  "liquid black", a smooth gloss with half matte airflow vents that create in my opinion, a sophisticated yet rugged look that I imagine consoles to be.

The Guts

Let us first take a look at the hardware. The tasty internals.

  • 8 Core CPU
  • 8 GB System Memory
  • 500 GBN HDD
  • Blu-Ray Drive
  • 802.11n Wireless with Wi-Fi Direct
  • HDMI In/Out
  • USBN 3.0

 

With all of this beefyness going on, the system is sure to be a literal hot mess right? Or maybe loud as all hell with all those fans running constantly trying to cool it down. Wrong! Those crafty developers have minimized the size of nearly every component in the system making for better airflow and having the box operate as cool and quiet as a cucumber. Added freshly to the system is a 500 GB hard drive encased with a sought after custom built Blu-Ray player. A single chip containing both CPU and GPU that's actually less than half the size of even one of the two separate chips placed in the 360.  Needless to say, the graphics on games will be stunning and hours of gaming wont over heat your system.

I remember playing Donkey Kong Country and thinking "This is it. Graphics can go no further." Boy was I wrong. We have been told that the graphic performance will be 8 times greater than that of the 360. 512 MB of memory to the Xbox one's 8 GB is a huge jump.

Ze Controller

A big fear I had was the developers messing with the grand design of the controller. The Xbox has always been ahead in the controller designs making it comfortable for everyone and versatile for all different platforms of gaming. luckily, it hasn't changed much. The battery pack is now integrated so there is no large hump in the back, which I'm hoping wont take away from the weight to the previous controller. Holding my current model without the pack has an awkwardly airy feel to it. Some gamer friendly tweeks have been added however, they have improved response triggers, and the over all ergonomics have been upgraded. Even the D-Pad has been refined. Seems promising thus far.

Kinnect

I was a fan of the kinnect when it was released in 2010. Controller free and voice activated? Yes. The more technology makes me feel like I'm in "Minority  Report" the more I'm on board. Of course there were the initial issues being a first gen, such as different body types, delayed and sometimes no response and the fact that you had to move around your furniture to play games like Kinectamals and Zumba ( which I so did) was a little underwhelming. The new new however, has brought it's A-game. The system can send out an infrared light that measure not just the room, but anything in it to create a 3D map of it's surrounding for optimal tracking, tracking so precise in fact, it can even monitor your pulse. Even in a dark room, the responsiveness is impressive.

The Kinnect can be utilized for multiple applications. turning your console, TV , or even your cable box on with just your voice. Xbox One even monitors it's own frequencies, it consumes more power when needed and backs off when smaller tasks like watching a movie are being performed. While doing so, it multitasks, updating when less power is being used.

With a 1080p camera and capturing 60 fps, Kinnect now has Skype connectivity. Capturing precise skeletal movements and differentiating between hand and controllers is just, beyond impressive. You go Kinnect.

Home Entertainment

Integrating your Xbox with your everyday television at first, to me at least, didn't seem impressive. I didn't quite see the accessibility  after hearing, seeing and reading about the possibilities, I'm more open to the idea. Simply stating " Watch Science channel " or " Watch Gremlins" is soon going to be a reality. Perhaps gremlins isn't on at that moment, well the system will quickly inform you of this minor problem and give you options for recording or tuning into next time it's showing. ( which is like, all the time luckily) You can browse stations or just look for something specific with either your remote, controller, or voice.

A task switching system has been added being deemed "snapping in". This my friends, is multi-tasking at it's finest.  Running internet browsing, TV, and even gaming simultaneously is definitely possible. Here's an example. you are well into Bungie's new baby Destiny. The soundtrack isn't your favorite so you snap to Pandora and play your favorite smash mouth channel then go back yo game. Uh oh, you are stuck! Better snap to the browser and find the solution. Maybe you want to Skype while watching "what not to wear" . Echo-cancellation tech cancels all noises from what you are playing or watching for optimal Skyping sessions.

Gaming

Unfortunately we didnt get to see much in what games will be released other than out of 15 games being released initially, and 9 will be brand spanking new franchises. We saw a bit from EA sports demonstrating the mechanics and ridiculously responsive characters brawling it out in UFC, Basketball and familiar EA titles. We saw Forza 5 with incredible detailing and realistic dents and scratches that happen with street racing. I was impressed with the trailer for "Quantum Break" which was created by the developers of Alan Wake. I've been a fan of the cinematicly dramatic games Sony has put out, and a little jealous Xbox has  not yet made an equivalent.

I've never been a fan of Call of Duty for some reason, there's never been a reason but that's just how it's been. Call of Duty Ghosts however, is going to be the bee's knees. The developers compared what I thought were pretty flawless graphics  from the most current CoD to Ghosts, and my goodness. The detail has gotten so realistic you can now see the dirt under the soldiers fingernails. The environment artists have really outdone themselves, the shots were so lifelike it didn't seem like game play. Also, you now have a dog companion modeled from an actual soldier pooch complete with scratches and bullet proof dog vest. It's hard to say if I'm sold on the game because of the pup or the graphics, wither way, I'm super on board.

I'm sure we'll get more on games in a few weeks when E3 airs. Until then, let's hope more bad-assery is in store for us.

So overall, I was impressed with the system. Sony and Microsoft and practically neck and neck with their new releases, so it's really about the games and preferences now. We don't have  a release date other than "some time later this year" or even a price. Of course, a few questions have not been answered. The rumors of not being able to play used games or even 360 games still remains a mystery. With E3 being only a few weeks away, lets hope we will not be left disappointed.

 

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