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Xbox One Tour - Highly disappointed in system and graphics

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netBuff

Member
Hi everyone!

Recently, I had the chance to play the Xbox One and its launch games on an event floor at an Xbox Tour event in my region. I returned being highly disappointed in the system: Even knowing the Xbox One isn’t going to be the most powerful of consoles, I expected much bigger a graphical improvement than I got to see with my own eyes.

Even Ryse's and Forza 5's gameplay visuals didn't strike me as a breakthrough, they seemed more of a refinement of current generation graphics than the great leap that I expected to experience after eight years. Battlefield 4 looked downright terrible (and Kinect leaning constantly interfered with unimpeded gamepad gameplay - I finally put a carton in front of the sensor to get a good go at the game), FIFA 14 didn't seem noticeably different from current gen and even Dead Rising only looked so-so.

Another thing to dislike about the Xbox One was the controller: The shape of the lower grips made it uncomfortable to hold, the sticks seemed too tiny and the bumpers were just strange (the amount of force needed to press them just didn't seem right/comfortable).

The Kinect only games on display were on an equal footing with current gen Kinect in terms of gameplay. The increased recognition fidelity wasn't immediately noticeable or beneficial in these games. The console itself seemed pretty clunky and big, and Kinect is a huge monster of a camera bar.

People that recognize my username on this forum may realize that I've preferred the PS4 to the Xbox One for a long time now for rational reasons (better performance, more interesting line up, cheaper): Even then, I didn't expect to get this negative an impression out of this event – it’s kind of shocking, really.

What were other Gaffer's impressions of their play experience? Do you expect people will be disappointed at launch time with the general lack of a visual fidelity leap?



Edit: As people were asking for more detailed information, I'd like to add some additional impressions.

In general, the most obvious graphical flaw: Aliasing absolutely everywhere. Of the "graphical powerhouses", I noticed it the least in Ryse and FIFA (anything but impressive on any other front), most of everything else was marred by it (Forza certainly, BF4: OMG aliasing is everywhere!)

These were the games on display:
Battlefield 4 - was playable in a local multiplayer configuration (8 vs. 8 on a warehouse type conquest map with a bit of an outside area. The game seemed like a huge mess, extremely noticeable aliasing as well as huge amounts of pop in were maring the experience. The already mentioned leaning-interference by Kinect (which can probably be disabled) further soured me on this version of the game.
Crimson Dragon - didn't seem like my type of game, only played it for a short while
Dead Rising 3 - had a free-roam demo without any stated aim, I quickly tired of the gameplay (slaying hundreds of zombies, combining items). Graphics didn't impress either, but didn't notice any performance problems. Could display a huge amount of enemies present, although they never felt all that threatening. Driving over zombies in a car was fun for a short while
FIFA 14 - really hard to see what's "next gen" about this title, there's absolutely no reason to upgrade for this game. Could almost pass for an Xbox 360 or PS3 title, except for the higher resolution (that isn't really a huge factor to the overall impression)
Forza 5 - looked nice, even though I expected more out of it as a graphical showcase. It seemed less of a leap than I was hoping for. The impulse triggers (individual vibration for both triggers) were put to great use in this game, you can kind of "feel" the brakes, which is pretty cool.
Just Dance 2014 - didn't play, just watched - I think what you expect is what you get
Killer Instinct (with gamepads as well as fight sticks) - seemed fun, but I'm not really qualified to judge fighting games. Not something I would ever play were I to own an Xbox One.
LocoCycle - graphics are very plain, as is obvious from all the existing media on the game. In game talk (commentary by mechanic and main character hanging out of motorcycle) seemed rather annoying and unfunny. Gameplay was not complex from what I saw, shooting and beating cars, other cycles and flying enemies.
Ryse - reminded me of a prettier Uncharted in terms of graphics, suffered some small stutters that interrupted gameplay which was wave based arena combat ("horde mode") that got tiresome very quickly as combos are very repetitive and tasks (emptying cauldrons, defeating catapults) to complete among fighting enemy waves in the arena were repetitive in terms of required player action (walking/rolling over to direction marker and pressing a button).
Zoo Tycon - a limited management game, didn't seem to offer much creative freedom in terms of park layout. Certainly don't expect fine-tuning and building on the level of a Roller Coaster Tycoon. This title suffered extreme performance problem, and certainly didn't look pretty in return for stuttering.
Kinect Sports: Rivals - Very reminiscent of Kinect Adventures, gameplay seemed equally uninspired (leaning and opening/closing hands for jet skiing, and stretching and grabbing as well as jumping for climbing. Pretty graphics for games of this type.
Peggle 2 - it's Peggle!
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood - didn't play this one

Edit 2: The event location
This Xbox One Tour event (in Vienna, Austria) was at an event location called "Metahall", still part of the city and urban area but not really located in what people would consider the "city core" (but not hard to get to at all).

I didn't take any photos at all, as the Xbox staff present was averse to it (I probably could have sneaked a few pictures). As part of the (free) attendance ticket, I received one voucher for a free beverage (half liter) as well as a snack (there were multiple options available, bangers with mustard and bread, for example). The atmosphere was pleasant, all stations were very easy to get to (relatively few people were present, many free stations).

Some pictures by the company owning the space:
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StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Edit: NM, not worth it.
 

jbug617

Banned
Hi everyone!

Recently, I had the chance to play the Xbox One and its launch games on an event floor at an Xbox Tour event in my region. I returned being highly disappointed in the system: Even knowing the Xbox One isn’t going to be the most powerful of consoles, I expected much bigger a graphical improvement than I got to see with my own eyes.

Even Ryse's and Forza 5's gameplay visuals didn't strike me as a breakthrough, they seemed more of a refinement of current generation graphics than the great leap that I expected to experience after eight years. Battlefield 4 looked downright terrible (and Kinect leaning constantly interfered with unimpeded gamepad gameplay - I finally put a carton in front of the sensor to get a good go at the game), FIFA 14 didn't seem noticeably different from current gen and even Dead Rising only looked so-so.

Another thing to dislike about the Xbox One was the controller: The shape of the lower grips made it uncomfortable to hold, the sticks seemed too tiny and the bumpers were just strange (the amount of force needed to press them just didn't seem right/comfortable).

The Kinect only games on display were on an equal footing with current gen Kinect in terms of gameplay. The increased recognition fidelity wasn't immediately noticeable or beneficial in these games. The console itself seemed pretty clunky and big, and Kinect is a huge monster of a camera bar.

People that recognize my username on this forum may realize that I've preferred the PS4 to the Xbox One for a long time now for rational reasons (better performance, more interesting line up, cheaper): Even then, I didn't expect to get this negative an impression out of this event – it’s kind of shocking, really.

What were other Gaffer's impressions of their play experience? Do you expect people will be disappointed at launch time with the general lack of a visual fidelity leap?

There was a thread for the tour with impressions.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=690261&highlight=xbox+one+tour
 
I hate Xbox One for all the rational reasons as well, but I still wouldn't expect to be blown away with launch games - for either system really... Part of it is because they're launch games, the other part is I'm largely a PC gamer, so I'm used to high end graphics.

The controller critiques would probably be the most worrying.
 
The complaints are beginning to pile up about the controller. Lots of people saying the triggers are kinda strange, and the bumpers are not quite right. Very curious to see how this pans out at launch.
 
Your experience has no effect on my opinion of the system. Sorry but my own hands experience on will determine my purchase of the system. Thanks though...
 
dis gun b good
What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, I'm still going to reserve judgement on both systems until I get hands on with them. Another thing to consider is launch games are rarely indicative of what a system can really do. It doesn't surprise me that some of the launch games are lacking visually. I imagine PS4 will be the same way.
 

netBuff

Member
Not one good thing huh... sounds like hate IMO lol

Well, I didn't get much of a positive impression out of my time with the Xbox. One positive thing to note are the impulse triggers: They were utilized to great effect in Forza 5. It was great to "feel" the brakes with my finger.
 
Is Kinect the same size as the current one? Or is it bigger?

I saw a unit today (couldn't play it) and the Kinect looks to be thicker but not as long as the current one. It seems more substantial, the current one looks like it would break in a stiff breeze.

Edit: taken from my write up in the other thread

Bumping this to say that I finally got my hands on the new X1 controller (King of Prussia Mall outside of Philly for SE PA GAF, there's a little kiosk on the ground floor and they have a unit under glass, I just asked the guy if I could try the controller out and he said sure). I'm also a 360 only gamer this gen and think the 360 controller is the greatest ever.

The thing feels really great, it's definitely a bit smaller but feels...tighter if that makes sense. I have big hands and the smaller size felt great. The guy pulled out a current gen controller so I was able to compare and I prefer the new one. Triggers felt great and I thought the bumpers were really nice. D Pad seems like it would be more precise than the current one but there was a little bit of "slop" in it, wasn't as tight as I would have liked. Could of just been that unit, I don't know.

The sticks are smaller, at least where your thumbs rest but I really like the way they felt, your thumb is kind of "cupped", feels really secure. Comparing that to my old controller at home with the worn down rubber on the sticks left me with a really good impression of the new one.

I didn't actually get to play with anything, the unit wasn't even turned on, I just held the controller. Overall I came away very impressed with it. Enough to change my current lean toward the PS4? Probably not but it's a really nice controller and I think it's an improvement over the current one.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=86432173#post86432173
 
Even though I've heard it from multiple impression threads, I can't quite grasp the controller negativity without holding it myself.

Refinement is the name of the game, especially when many of the titles you referenced were designed with lesser capable systems in mind.
 
Your expierence has no effect on my opinion of the system. Sorry but my own hands on will determine my purchase of the system. thanks though...

AND?

Hes not trying to use his brainswaves to control your mind. He is just sharing his experience with the console. It doesn't directly affect me either, but it is interesting to hear his appraisal of the system.
 

MormaPope

Banned
This thread wont end well.

It would fucking suck if it doesn't end well. The OP was well written, detailed, non inflammatory.

I have a feeling the PS4 may have the same issues when it comes to third party games looking like a step beyond current gen. EA and Ubisoft probably rushed most next gen ports, first party titles are going to be the showcases for next gen at launch.
 
The complaints are beginning to pile up about the controller. Lots of people saying the triggers are kinda strange, and the bumpers are not quite right. Very curious to see how this pans out at launch.

Noticed that too and that controller cost one 100 million to develop right? Better be gud.
 
So Launch games are well launch games and should never be used to judge any console

XB1 will have pretty exclusives, I'm pro-sony or whatever and I know this to be fact

Quips about controller is more interesting

Overall it certainly sounds like a good controller still but less consistently well-received than X360's controller
 
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