Microsoft Xbox One, The Full Review

At its core, the Xbox One was designed to be a game console. As such, we’ve had high hopes for the Xbox One’s gaming prowess, ever since Microsoft first announced the console back in May.

For the last week or so, we’ve been tooling around with our Xbox One, playing an assortment of games, which included Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct, Zoo Tycoon, LocoCycle, and Powerstar Golf. There are, however, quite a few other titles arriving with the Xbox One in a few days. The full list of titles arriving with the Xbox One include:

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Digital, Disc) Battlefield 4 (Digital, Disc) Call of Duty: Ghosts (Digital, Disc) Crimson Dragon (Digital Only) Dead Rising 3 (Digital Only) FIFA 14 (Digital, Disc) Fighter Within (Digital, Disc) Forza Motorsport 5 (Digital, Disc) Just Dance 14 (Digital, Disc) Killer Instinct (Digital Only) Lego: Marvel Super Heroes (Digital, Disc)

LocoCycle (Digital, Disc) Madden NFL 25 (Digital, Disc) NBA 2K14 (Digital, Disc) NBA Live 14 (Digital Disc) Need for Speed: Rivals (Digital, Disc) Powerstar Golf (Digital Only) Ryse: Son of Rome (Digital, Disc) Skylanders: Swap Force Xbox Fitness (Digital, Disc) Zoo Tycoon (Digital, Disc) Zumba Fitness: World Party (Digital, Disc)

Note that some of the titles will be available only as digital downloads, while others will also be offered on disc. This is an important consideration, if you're the type that likes to sell or trade old / used games.
 
Before we get to our experiences with a few of the games we played, we want to point out some of the associated behaviors with gaming on the Xbox One. When downloading or installing a game from disc, for example, we found that virtually every title was playable before the installation was complete. Forza Motorsport 5 was playable once the installation hit the 15% mark. Ryse, however, wasn’t playable until the installation hit the 50% mark. We’re not sure of the exact percentages for each title, but wanted to point this out should those of you that pre-ordered the Xbox One witness similar behavior. Don’t walk away should an installation be taking longer than you’d like—you’ll probably get to play the game sooner than you think.

With that said, we also found load times to be somewhat long for most games, though we’re not ready to draw and conclusions about that since our Xbox One (and a few of the games) were continually receiving updates over the last few days. Microsoft and its software partners are still tweaking code, and likely will be right up until the last second before launch.

Of the games we did have a chance to play, Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome were easily the most impressive. 

Forza Motorsport 5 on the Xbox One

Unfortunately, due to embargoes that remain in place on these two titles, we’re not able to show you any new game assets or discuss the story lines and game play. We felt compelled to show some previously released video footage here, however, to help drive home how good these games looked.

Ryse: Son Of Rome On The Xbox One

Keep in mind, we’re PC gamers here at HotHardware, and we have access to some killer hardware. A decked out PC, connected to a high res screen (or screens), is able to produce visuals that exceed the capabilities of either of the “next-gen” consoles. There is no denying that fact. With that said, the attention to detail, fidelity, and graphics and animation quality of Forza 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome were still jaw-droppingly excellent. Really, the videos posted here do not do the games justice. Ryse in particular sucked us in like few games have done before. The story telling, voice acting, graphics, and fun factor are awesome.