Xbox Series S/X: Thread 03

[nonny]

https://www.axios.com/microsoft-old-...34adc7cf6.html
Spencer says he'd support an industry wide emulation effort to preserve old titles

Agree with this and it's a good thing to hear him say it. I don't know whether that means BC for Xbox going forward will mean developing a standalone emulator capable of playing all titles... But at the very least it's clear Xbox is behind preserving as much as possible.

That also means PlayStation will have to keep up so hopefully it means as we progress beyond current generations we might see equal support on both sides.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I think the lighting effects look really nice in Halo. It's got some nice subtle touches to the lighting, like cloud cover casting shadows and stuff.

[nonny]

I think the lighting effects look really nice in Halo. It's got some nice subtle touches to the lighting, like cloud cover casting shadows and stuff.

Yeah I think it is harsh to call it an Xbox One remaster of a 360 game... sorry Neon.

I've played through all of the MCC collection this year which includes two actual remasters and this is a huge step up. The resolution is higher and there are a tonne of effects going on all over the place.

The art style is definitely going for the old school vibe which is going to put some people off but personally I love how it looks. I actually don't think I would change anything about it's graphics at all... It also seems they've done a really good job scaling it across platforms. One X is particular looks great...

[cutmymilk]

Agree with this and it's a good thing to hear him say it. I don't know whether that means BC for Xbox going forward will mean developing a standalone emulator capable of playing all titles... But at the very least it's clear Xbox is behind preserving as much as possible.

That also means PlayStation will have to keep up so hopefully it means as we progress beyond current generations we might see equal support on both sides.

They really should be the ones with a virtual console. That might be on it's way!

[Neon Ignition]

That's what highlights it as being the opposite for me. I find the art style is almost single handedly carrying the game. From textures, lighting, effects, geometry, animation etc the game reeks of old gen to me and is utterly outclassed visually by MS's other first party big titles let alone those from third parties and on other platforms. There's zero sense that it's the main title from their premier franchise intended to last a decade when it's visual KO'd before Day 1. That it wasn't even supposed to look as good as it does as well is particularly cutting. I'm sure the campaign will be better, they usually are but I don't for one second believe the Series S or X are being pushed by the game at all.

[Brad]

I’ve only seen footage, not played it, but it doesn’t look as good as that launch killzone game on PS4. Looks aren’t everything of course but it’s not a showcase Xbox title like a halo game ought to be and that’s disappointing. MS need a new killer game imo. Forza wins the car game crown over gran turismo by a country mile now but that’s not enough.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, it's weird to see 343 almost walk backwards in that regard with each entry. I remember being really impressed by what a step forward for the series Halo 4 was visually. Maybe it's also 343 getting increasingly bogged down by the fanbase's voices calling for a greater leaning into 'classic' Halo which affects things too. Horizon 5 isn't a 'true' next gen game but it's staggering they're launching aside each other with such a chasm between them. If Halo is going to play like a mid-2000's title it could at least look like a 2020's one

[nonny]

I'm going to graciously disagree on this one. I think you need to go back and look at what a mid-2000s title looked like.

This is pin sharp on my Series S/X at 1440p / 4K 120fps. The lighting and HDR is very nice to boot and I think the art direction they've gone for really makes it feel nostalgic even with modern controls and characteristics.

But each to their own...

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, that's fair enough, but my only slight add on is that it being pin sharp and smooth in frame rate is just the console doing that work, work it's able to do because the game is undemanding. Like playing a B/C game on the hardware too

[MartyG]

I'm going to graciously disagree on this one. I think you need to go back and look at what a mid-2000s title looked like.

I think people need to go back and look at Killzone too - the LoD simply isn't there. Crap bandwidth saving compressed images and video really don't help. Depth of detail, texture quality, shadows, reflections - the detail on the weapons alone is enough to see the difference (I'm installing Killzone now so I can get some proper captures). You might prefer the art style, but there's a marked difference in the fidelity.

















Killzone is mush everywhere by comparison (from anything outside the immediate circle around the player), multiplayer halves the horizontal resolution and upscales to keep it at 60 FPS (this is full-res single player capture from PS5).

[Brad]

LOD is better in Halo for sure. Killzone looks better though, and I don't mean I prefer the art style, I mean it looks better.

[fishbowlhead]

In halos defence, it looks great in action when your playing, looks crap in all the promo vids etc. Not sure what ms did there but its not doing them any favours.

[Neon Ignition]

LOD is better in Halo for sure. Killzone looks better though, and I don't mean I prefer the art style, I mean it looks better.

Yep, if I didn't know better and accounting for it being a screenshot on a forum, I'd say the Killzone screen looks like a sequel to the game above it

[Lebowski]

Yep, if I didn't know better and accounting for it being a screenshot on a forum, I'd say the Killzone screen looks like a sequel to the game above it

Cant believe where arguing about whether a launch PS4 game looks better than the new Halo that its even a conversation is pretty embarrassing for the new Halo

[MartyG]

Clearly objectively nonsense, but whatever, I'll just continue to enjoy playing games rather than moaning about them.