As the first consoles hit the city stores, Abu Dhabi Week takes a look at the long-awaited Xbox One
Gamers across the capital will be warming up their thumbs, setting up their snacks and settling back into that well-molded armchair as Microsoft’s Xbox One is about to hit the shelves across the capital. Abu Dhabi Week takes the lid off the box for a further inspection.
Incredible bulk
The new console is very simplistic in design. Black, crisp-edged, sleek. Nothing more, nothing less. Microsoft has clearly concentrated more on the function than the fashion of this product and that’s evident in both design and the size. The unit itself is larger than the Xbox 360, and for good reason.
The new console brags an 8 Core CPU, 8GB of RAM, a Blu-Ray drive, a 500GB internal hard-drive along with three overlapping operating systems. To a newbie, this may sound like enough power to run part of Wall Street, but to tech-sperts across the world, this means a lot of power for a lot more than gaming.
Microsoft wants to offer a machine to feature on your TV unit, being the ‘one’ and only device connected to your television set. As we mentioned, the system already contains a Blu-Ray drive. The Xbox One will be also able to show live TV as well as video-on-demand from channels like Netflix. But what is really cool is the Snap Mode. This allows multi-screen programmes to run simultaneously, from making a Skype call, surfing the internet, to scrambling your squad on Call of Duty.
Thinking outside the box
One of the biggest topics of conversation amongst gaming bloggers has been about the controller, rather than the console itself. If it isn’t broken, don’t try and fix it, right? And that’s exactly what the Xbox One developers have taken on board. Minor tweaks have been made. The triggers and thumb-sticks are slightly smaller, along with textured plastic, which looks and feels more premium; it manages to reduce that slippery feel after a lengthy session, so you won’t need to worry about it flying out of your hand like a bar of soap.
We also like the brain of the controller. The handheld device works with the Kinect (which we will talk about, next) and monitors its usage. For example, putting the controller down to watch a movie, allows it to enter into a low-power state, saving more battery and utilising the Kinect in a practical way.
The user experience for the new Kinect is exciting. In fact, it’s astounding. Apart from obvious upgrades like the high-definition, the 1080p wide-angle lens means the Kinect turns this console into a friendly, more personal piece of tech.
So imagine sitting in front of your TV set, the Kinect recognises you and says hello! You and your friends pick up a controller each and are about to sync each controller to each player. No need, Kinect has already done it. The accuracy is so sharp and responsive, your voice and movement will now navigate you through every part of your Xbox One experience.
Play Time
The first thing to take note of, is that the Xbox 360 games won’t work on the Xbox One. But with an abundance of games that will be released on launch and over the first year of sale, there will be plenty to choose from; 15 exclusive games in the first year will be released, eight of which will be new franchises. Thanks to Kinect, typing in the 25 characters using the on-screen keyboard to download games is now a thing of the past; simply flash the QR code in front of the screen and your game will begin downloading.
As expected, the sound and graphics are sublime. Game-play is so realistic, the sound effects, even without a surround sound system, are astonishing. All of the usual favourites will feature on the Xbox One, including the likes of Call of Duty and Halo. We can’t wait to play Ryse: Son of Rome. Living the life of a Roman centurion just sounds, well, awesome.
Verdict
The Xbox One is the next generation of gaming. It has not only expanded the Xbox 360 console, but has developed a system that video-gamers across the world will be astonished by. Your new machine marries software and hardware in perfect harmony; stand by to open a lid of a box that is bursting with brilliance.
Packages from Jumbo Electronics
| Package type | Booking payment | Final Amount | Pre-order special offer | Offer for day one of sale | Offer after first day |
| Xbox One + Kinect | AED 199 | AED 2199 | 5 games free | 2 games free | No offer |
| Xbox One console only | AED 199 | AED 1749 | 5 games free | 2 games free | No offer |
Jack Dignum
