"Xbox One: How it Games"

I was doing my  routine email check this evening, and happened upon an interesting email titled "Xbox One: How it Games". Naturally this peaked my curiosity, and I had to click on it to see if Microsoft had finally let any significant details out of the bag. It turns out that the email, as brief as it was did bring to attention some details about the Xbox One that I did not know. Things concerning achievements, graphics, and matchmaking were explained in vague details. I'm going to use this article to discuss my thought on each of the topics explained in the email. You, of course can chime in, and comment on what I've said if you wish to do so. It will be an open discussion as long as there are no trolls that add there two cents worth in.

The first things discussed within the email was listed under a titled section called "As Real As Life". The content provider briefly described both the visuals, and the AI as being like "Real Life". The photo accompanying the said claim though has me questioning just how realistic the graphics will look though. In the photo there is a cropped image from an undisclosed racing title. The image shows a city street, and a sports racing vehicle with some damn good lighting/shadowing. In a way it does look quite real, but for some reason the body of the car just doesn't look as real as the rest of the display to me. I think that the newly enhanced lighting, shadowing, reflection capabilities, and overall rendering is where most of the next-gen "look" is going to come from. While that's definitely not a bad thing, the photo included in the email just doesn't speak well for Xbox One's graphic capabilities.

Next up is preview titled "Unlock a new generation of achievements". This extremely brief topic is quite puzzling indeed. Microsoft hints at an achievement system that sounds just like this current one, but then they go and say achievements are no longer confined to a single game. WTF does that mean!? It's a very confusing comment to say the least especially when you factor in a graph-like diagram that is as vague as the comment itself. I'm thinking they mean there's gonna some sort of achievements tied to out of game experiences as well as in-game experiences. Honestly though, it just sounds like a slightly revamped achievement system to me.

This next preview/sneak peek is what got my undivided attention. It's titled "Find the perfect match", and it details a new matchmaking system called "SmartMatch". This is something I've been waiting for for a long damn time. According to the Microsoft representative SmartMatch will pair you with players of the same skill rank, language, and reputation. While skill rank, and language mean diddly squat in my opinion the reputation based matchmaking sounds like a huge step in the right direction. My only concern with this is how Microsoft plans on managing reports, and claims. They've obviously done a piss poor job in the past, and I'm not sure they'll be able to do any better on the Xbox One. That is a huge concern of mine. I'm still a firm believer that each game's security should be managed by the developer, and each game created should have a proper in-game replay & upload feature that can be used in sync with a developer specific website. Putting the responsibility of online security solely in the hands of Microsoft staff will no doubt result in the same poorly managed online experience that we have now.

Lastly in the email there's this brief comment about "Living Technology". The topic title is called "Your games keep playing even when you're not". To sum it up Microsoft is basically saying that in-game worlds continue evolving, and changing while you're not actively playing the game. I think this is where the always online falls into place, most likely. I could definitely see it being a cool addition to an RPG, or MMORPG game. It could possibly even be used in other games as well with positive benefits. Perhaps this "Always Online" is not such a bad thing after all?

Okay guys, and girls you have my thoughts, and opinions on the Xbox One's updated offerings. What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment, and I will reply asap. Keep in mind though I will not tolerate trolling of any kind.