Xbox One X reviews are starting to appear, so I thought I'd start a review thread, will try and update as frequently as possible
Here is the first one I found:
Windows Central 4.5/5
The Verge 8.5/10
Engadget No Score
T3 5/5
IGN (Review in progress) 8.7 (Review in progress)
Gamespot No score
True Achievements No score
What Hi-Fi 4/5
Rolling Stone No score
Wired 7/10
Independent No score
Here is the first one I found:
Windows Central 4.5/5
After experiencing a game with Xbox One X enhancements, particularly in 4K, it's simply hard to go back to standard HD. There are no doubts about the hardware potential. It's just that as of writing, it's hard to know for sure how much waiting you'll have to do to see the console and that expensive 4K display achieve their money's worth. And that's unfortunate. With the hardware totally nailed, it all depends on how much faith you're willing to put in Microsoft to deliver those games, and how long you're willing to wait for that promised 4K content.
The Verge 8.5/10
That said, the X does offer the best graphics currently possible on a console. If you don't care about Sony's exclusives then the Xbox One X will be the best console to play all the cross-platform games coming out. If you already have a large stack of Xbox One games and you're using the original console, this is going to be a nice upgrade if you own a 4K TV.
For anyone else, this probably isn't the console for you. Sony really has some impressive exclusives on the way, and it's hard for Microsoft to counter this despite its great job on the hardware. Microsoft promised the best hardware, and it delivered — but that's nothing without games.
Engadget No Score
Ultimately, the Xbox One X offers some major performance upgrades that gamers will notice -- especially if you're coming from an original Xbox One. But it's also a bit disappointing since it's coming a year after the PS4 Pro, and it doesn't offer VR yet. For Microsoft fans, though, none of that will matter. It's exactly what the company promised: the fastest game console ever made.
T3 5/5
So no, be under no illusion, the Xbox One X is a premium piece of kit and you'll need a premium set-up to truly appreciate it. As such, if you've been looking for a console to finally catch up to your premium 4K, HDR, surround sound home cinema setup, then this is it. If you're not that person though, at this stage it's looking like you might want to make your upgrades elsewhere before investing in the most powerful console around.
There can be no doubting the Xbox One X's power, with Microsoft's new console capable of pushing out over a whopping 8 million HDR-equipped pixels. Indeed, from what we've played so far, games look and sound better than they ever have before and, when the hardware is fed a title built purposefully to tap into its raw power, such as Forza Motorsport 7, the audio-visual experience is spectacular. If you're thinking of pulling the trigger though, then you better make sure you have the setup to fully appreciate the X before parting with your hard earned cash.
IGN (Review in progress) 8.7 (Review in progress)
The Xbox One X is a very impressive collection of hardware crammed into a sleek case. It runs cool and quiet as it delivers impressive performance in the enhanced games we've been able to test out so far. It's hard to believe Microsoft exclusives like Gears of War 4 can look so good and run so smoothly on a box that costs less than half of what you'd pay for a high-end gaming PC. Plus, it caters to home theater enthusiasts with 4K ultra-HD Blu-ray playback and Atmos sound. However, the big question of how it compares to the PlayStation 4 Pro in running third-party games remains, for now, unanswered. We won't know for sure until those enhanced updates come out around the November 7 launch,
Gamespot No score
While the Xbox One X is an expensive box, from a hardware standpoint, you're getting a very powerful and capable machine. You'll be hard pressed to build a comparably powerful PC for $500. On top of that, you get a 4K HDR Blu-ray player, which can cost several hundred dollars on its own.
The Xbox One X isn't perfect. From what I can tell so far, its load times don't live up to Microsoft's claims, and I noticed some poor HDR implementation, but when a developer is able to take advantage of the hardware, you can get sharper visuals, more vibrant colors, better performance, and added graphical bells and whistles. Playing Gears of War 4 on the Xbox One X really feels like it's the way it's meant to be played.
True Achievements No score
Should you buy this console? The answer really comes down to two things: affordability, and your existing setup. There's no doubt that £450 or $499 isn't cheap as far as a new console goes, but then the most powerful console ever made was never likely to be. For anyone upgrading from a vanilla Xbox One but who already owns a 4K TV, you'll instantly see a huge difference — it will be like going from a CRT to HD all over again.
If you've not got a 4K set yet, you might want to hold off until you do; likewise if you've recently upgraded to an S and don't want to shell out again. For everyone else, or anyone who just has to have the latest piece of shiny kit sat below their TV, this is a significant step up, the benefits of which will be immediately obvious. Plus, Christmas is just around the corner, and what would you really rather have instead?
What Hi-Fi 4/5
The Xbox interface has never been better and the X's new bitstreaming ability brings it into line with common 4K Blu-ray decks, which can only be a good thing. There's also a bump in Blu-ray picture quality and its audio abilities are more rounded.
But the Xbox One X isn't flawless, and its usefulness as a 4K console partly hangs on the will of game developers. However, if you're all geared up for 4K and want the most capable, all-in-one console currently available, this is it.
Rolling Stone No score
Those are ultimately minor issues that only stand out at all because of my annoyance at the Xbox One X's price tag. It doesn't cost too much, mind — just more than I want it to. It's not so much that I'm not going to pay it. Microsoft articulated a vision for the Xbox One X that it wasn't clear it could achieve, but even now, a week prior to release, it appears to have been successful.
Microsoft has been cagey about what the Xbox One X means for the traditional console generation, whether it signifies an iPhone style model moving forward, of iterative hardware in a more static ecosystem, or if this is just a half-step toward another, more traditional console generation. Neither would especially surprise me at this point, and neither would make me angry — as long as Microsoft keeps the promise that the Xbox One X seems to be making.
For now, it's unclear if Microsoft's pivot to power and to legacy will be a turning point in this console generation, or if it's just a cool way for Xbox owners to experience their collection and the games to come. For players with 4K televisions, or who want the best possible console experience for third-party games, Microsoft has created the hardware to find it — assuming you're willing to pay the price.
Wired 7/10
The lack of Xbox One X enhanced games at launch mirrors the lack of compelling games on the Xbox One as a whole. When it all comes together — when HDR makes games as bright and as colourful as developers imagined them, when 4K resolution makes them pin sharp, when high frame rates make them wonderfully responsive — the Xbox One X is without doubt the best place to play. It has the power of the PC with little of the faff and killer controller. Even the user interface, once one of the most frustrating to use on a consumer device, has been pleasingly overhauled to be faster and to put games front and center.
But there are so few games on the Xbox One I actually want to play. Sony's recent press conference in Paris had its problems, but the ambition and quality of the games it showcased was never in doubt. The Last of Us 2, Spider-Man, God of War, Detroit: Become Human — these are games that sell systems. As good as Forza 7 is, the Xbox One doesn't yet have a single exclusive killer app, let alone enough to fill a press conference.
The Xbox One X is what the Xbox One should have been at launch: a well-designed practical console that, like the Xbox 360 before it, makes a generational leap in graphics. If it had been, perhaps Microsoft wouldn't find itself in the situation it's in now: a games company with a brilliant bit of hardware and so very little to play on it.
Independent No score
Thanks to these upgrades, the Xbox One X just about snatches the title of best console available on the market when considering the sheer power of the machine. However, you still have the issue of the Xbox One's back-catalogue — unless you're a Halo fan, there's just no competing with the game's available on PlayStation. Still, if you want the best experience playing Call of Duty: World War II on a console, look no further than the X. Whether that's worth the upgrade remains debatable.
