Xbox One X review: Game-limited pow-er!

Teased for quite some time under the name Project Scorpio, the Xbox One X was officially revealed during Microsoft's press conference at E3 2017 and released on 7 November 2017.
Unlike traditional console releases, Xbox One X is not a complete departure from Microsoft's current Xbox One platform, but simply a more powerful version of it. Of course, power can mean a number of different things, from higher frame rates and smoother performance to 4K resolutions and fancier graphical effects.

Microsoft likes to brag that the hardware is 40 percent more powerful than any other console. Though unnamed, that nearest competitor is obviously the PlayStation 4 Pro: Sony’s recent 4K upgrade for the PlayStation 4. The biggest problem with the Xbox One X continues to be the problem that hangs over the head of all things Xbox One: limited first-party games and third-party exclusives.

Though the capture of PC Early Access phenomenon PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds for exclusive Xbox One release is a neat console-exclusive coup for Microsoft, if you’re running out on day one to buy the Xbox One’s new-release “killer app” game, you’ll be found wanting, unless you count the cutesy, cartoony Super Lucky’s Tale. It’s a shame, really, because the Xbox One X is a powerful machine, for more than just gaming.

Design

• Exclusively available in black
• Deceptively powerful
• You're going to need an extra hard drive

• Read our full review of the Xbox One X's design

  Like the Batmobile, the Xbox One X comes in black. Exclusively. This isn’t a con as much as it is expected, even if the crisp white design of the Xbox One S looks more attractive at first glance. Actually, the Xbox One S and Xbox One X look very similar during that same first glance (outside the colour). Look a little closer and you’ll notice the UHD Blu-ray tray is lower on the Xbox One X, pretty much flush with the narrower base. Outside of that, they might as well be twins, aesthetically.

  Despite the hardware bump over the Xbox One S, the Xbox One X is still in a comparably smaller form factor, measuring in at 30 x 24 x 6cm, and weighing around 3.8kg. Compare that with the Xbox One S’s 30 x 23 x 6cm dimensions and 2.9kg weight. The Xbox One X is effectively the same size as the Xbox One S, but the hardware beneath the hood is a lot more powerful.

  In terms of ports, it’s identical to the Xbox One S, most notably with the lack of a dedicated Kinect port and its three USB ports. The lack of additional USB ports for the Xbox One X is particularly concerning for this otherwise future-proofed console, given the additional storage space required for Xbox One X-enhanced games (4K textures ain’t tiny) means you’re pretty much guaranteed to want to expand the storage via at least one USB 3.0 external hard drive.

  If you want to take advantage of the spatial-sound benefits (like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X) with a decent set of cans that use an external amp, there’s another USB port gone. For those who want to capture footage onto an NTFS-formatted drive, for easy plug-and-play editing between Xbox One and PC, that’s the last port spoken for. That means no charge-and-play, and you’ll have to hot-swap between items on the lonely front USB port, especially if your Xbox One X is tucked into a TV unit and you don’t want to mess around with the rear ports.

  Initially, I was worried that Microsoft had reverted back to the original Xbox One controller, but while they look identical, the Xbox One X controller boasts the same textured grips as the Xbox One S controller. It feels as good as the Xbox One S controller but pales in comparison to the almighty Xbox One Elite Wireless controller.

Performance

• Faster than the Xbox One S and PS4 Pro
• 4K Games look incredible
• Game availability is still Xbox's Achilles Heel

• Read our full review of the Xbox One X's Performance

  Without getting overly technical, the Xbox One X’s hardware is beastly. It has a faster CPU than the Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 Pro, a more powerful GPU than both, and even beats out the PS4 Pro’s impressive 9GB with 12GB of faster system memory. On paper, it lives up to the claim of the most powerful console ever, but it’s tricky to fully acknowledge its power pre-release without the right kind of games to show off its glory.

  For instance, my go-to game for showing off the power of the PlayStation 4 Pro is Horizon: Zero Dawn. That game looks stunning in 4K, and easily showcases the power of the system. Granted, Horizon: Zero Dawn wasn’t available at the release of the PS4 Pro. For the Xbox One X, I’ve really only been able to appreciate it in all of its 4K glory with Gears of War 4.

  Gears of War 4 has always been a pretty game, whether playing on the original Xbox One (which I did), or the Xbox One S (which I also did recently). But when performing some comparison tests between the three consoles recently, the Xbox One X version of Gears of War 4 looks positively stunning. More important than this, The Coalition has empowered players with the option to prioritise 4K fidelity at 30fps, or boost the frame rate to 60fps, for a consistent 60fps gaming experience across modes.

  Despite Horizon and Gears being both third-person games, the difference is in the worlds. Where Gears of War 4 funnels the player through restricted area while looking beautiful, Horizon: Zero Dawn looks stunning in a sprawling open world. The fidelity on top of the scope of the open world is what adds to the double-punch of what makes Horizon’s technical achievements so impressive.

  With Crackdown 3 bumped to 2018 (it was originally slated as an Xbox One X launch title), and the release date of Xbox One X-enhancement patches up in the air for a number of titles, it’s been slim pickings this past review week. Sure, the family-friendly Super Lucky’s Tale platformer looks prettier on Xbox One X than it does on the older Xbox Ones, but its cartoony art design means the power of the Xbox One X loses its impact.

  Killer Instinct looks better in 4K, for sure, while crucially maintaining its 60fps frame rate. But like Super Lucky’s Tale, Killer Instinct has a highly stylised art design that makes it tricky for the lay eye to appreciate the fidelity boost. Similarly, games like Disney Adventures, Rush: A Pixar Adventure, and Zoo Tycoon all look better on Xbox One X than on older systems, but they’re not exactly system-sellers, and they have that same stylised art-style issue.

  Other games I’ve either played or seen played in preview form, in 4K on Xbox One X, are currently unavailable, and Microsoft hasn’t been able to provide solid release dates for them, pointing me, instead, to this list, which is reportedly updated daily. It means the stunning games I’ve experienced in 4K previews, like Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Forza Horizon 7 were unavailable to be played and compared during this pre-release period, which is both a shame and a missed opportunity.

  What’s more impressive for the impatient gamer is faster loading times. Microsoft claims the internal hard drive (still HDD, alas, and not solid-state drive) is 50 percent faster, assumedly compared to the Xbox One S. I’m used to gaming on a PC where all of my games are installed on an SSD, so loading times tend to be a lot faster than consoles. That said, as an impatient gamer, I do appreciate the shorter loading times, even if it feels marginal.

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  Better, though, was the ease of getting ready for the Xbox One X. By ticking the right boxes in the settings of my Xbox One S, and choosing to install games on an external drive, I was able to pre-download enhanced games. Then I simply had to disconnect the hard drive from my One S, plug it into the Xbox One X, and I was ready to go. Players can also do this with network transfer, or even mirror games between Xbox Ones on a home network, with the only catch being that these transfers only work if a game isn’t being played or updated.

  One of the biggest points of difference next to the PlayStation 4 Pro is the UHD Blu-ray drive. If you’re armed with a 4K TV and don’t yet own a UHD Blu-ray player, the $649.99 price of the Xbox One X may well be more appealing knowing it can handle both 4K gaming and UHD playback. I had no issues with playing UHDs in the Xbox One X (they all, understandably, look and sound stunning). I even tested an imported 4K Blu-ray, and it played without any issues.

Verdict

• The most powerful console this generation
• Game availability limits appeal
• You'll need a fast Internet connection to make it work

• Read our full Xbox One X Verdict

  The real question, though, is this: who’s it for? If you already own an Xbox One S, it’s tricky to justify the cost, especially considering that Microsoft’s plan is to not have Xbox One X exclusives. Exclusive enhancements, sure; but not exclusive games. On top of this, the trend seems to be that online multiplayer games will have their frame rates balanced based on the lower-model Xbox One consoles, meaning if it’s 30fps on Xbox One or Xbox One S, it’ll also be 30fps on Xbox One X. So, you’re not buying a competitive advantage with the Xbox One X, in this regard, unless you’re playing a game where faster loading times are advantageous.

  If you don’t own a 4K TV, there is actually a reason to consider the Xbox One X: supersampling. This fancy compound word means your games will look better, even on a 1080p screen. The Xbox One X achieves this by using 4K textures but rendering them at a lower 2K resolution. While the image won’t be as crisp if you stacked it next to a 4K display, games played on Xbox One X on a 1080p screen will still look better on the X than on the Xbox One S (or the original).

  And, really, that’s what it all boils down to: how much fidelity matters to you. Given the limited range of currently available Xbox One X-enhanced games (which will surely change for launch), it’s hard to point to more than one instance (Gears 4) to best show off your shiny new box. If anything, early adopters are future-proofing themselves, or hanging out to play third-party titles on a more-powerful console which, even pre-release, was already starting to pull ahead in terms of pretty when next to comparable titles on PS4 Pro [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzPsxUyoe3E].

  The bigger concern for all of this visual flair, though, is a problem that Microsoft can’t control: namely, Australian internet. Updating your existing library of Xbox One games to their enhanced versions has the potential to chew through a download quota, especially considering you can’t opt out of downloading the enhanced versions of games on an Xbox One X console (even if you’re on a 1080p TV). Similarly, while the Xbox One X supports 4K capture and even the streaming of 4K content, the former uses up a stack of storage, and the latter is reliant on 25Mbps bandwidth (minimum).

  If you own a 4K TV, love Xbox One games, and don’t own the Xbox One S, the Xbox One X is an easier recommendation. In the same breath, if you’re looking for a boost to your third-party gaming, the Xbox One X is already flexing its fidelity muscles over the PlayStation 4 Pro. As we move into 2018 with titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Anthem, this may prove to be more relevant than it is at the launch of the Xbox One X. And, really, that’s where Microsoft has to compete with Sony – on the third-party front – because Sony is too far ahead with its library and line-up of exclusives.

  Newish releases like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and Call of Duty: WWII should look sufficiently stunning when their respective 4K updates drop. Legacy titles, like Titanfall 2 and Rise of the Tomb Raider should also enjoy similar treatment, if the PS4 Pro versions are anything to go by. At the end of the day, though, the Xbox One X isn’t an essential purchase at this point of time, and that’s okay. For those who don’t need to own the latest, greatest tech on day one, your patience will likely be rewarded in 2018 when the true power of the Xbox One X is showcased in multi-platform third-party titles and first-party titles like Crackdown 3.

Specs

Deals

Xbox One X Console + Forza Horizon 4 (1TB )

Microsoft Store

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Xbox One X

Microsoft Store

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Buy a 1TB Xbox One X

Amazon

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FAQ

• Will my ordinary Xbox One games work on Xbox One X?

  Yes. All past, present and future Xbox One games will play just as well, if not better, on Xbox One X. This is thanks to the increased power of Xbox One X, which grants existing games higher visual fidelity and faster load times right off the bat. Even better, some game developers are going back and patching their existing games to take full advantage of the Xbox One X hardware, resulting in even greater improvements to visuals and performance. Free 4K updates have already hit for a number of existing Xbox One titles, and many developers are announcing ahead of time the ways in which their upcoming games will take advantage of the Xbox One X's added grunt.

• What's all this about 4K?

  The Xbox One X is a console built for 4K resolution entertainment. 4K is a smidge less than 4 times the size of regular 1080p HD resolution, which effectively translates to a higher level of detail in images and video. For comparison, the base level Xbox One and PS4 consoles are limited to 1080p, and sometimes games run lower than that at 900p and 720p. In the worst cases, this can result in games looking slightly blurry.

  Xbox One X can support resolutions all the way up to 4K. However, rendering games in 4K requires a whole lot of power, and although Microsoft has shown off games like Forza Horizon 7 maintaining a steady 60fps at 4K, some games may run at lower resolutions and use techniques like half-resolution and sparse rendering to achieve a sort of pseudo-4K that may or may not look quite as good.

• What if I don't have a 4K TV?

  While Xbox One X is geared towards 4K, 1080p TV owners will still see a marked improvement in visual quality and performance. For starters, any boost to frame rate Xbox One X enjoys over the Xbox One will be apparent regardless of what resolution your TV is. Additionally, Xbox One X can use a technique known as super-sampling to improve image quality on 1080p TVs. This basically amounts to the Xbox One X rendering a game in 4K, then scaling it down to 1080p while still retaining a lot of the extra graphical detail. For an idea of what this looks like in practice, check out Windows Central's comprehensive image comparison.

• Will my Xbox One accessories work with Xbox One X?

  Yes, all Xbox One accessories are fully compatible with Xbox One X.