Gaming

Xbox One X Review Roundup

The Xbox One X launches this coming Tuesday, November 7, and the reviews from various outlets who […]

The Xbox One X launches this coming Tuesday, November 7, and the reviews from various outlets who had the opportunity to go hands-on with the console have started to pour in. If you’ve been following the Xbox One X launch train for a while, then you probably know exactly what to expect.

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We pretty much expected every review to conclude with some variation of “It’s the most powerful console out there, but it’s really expensive,” which is in effect what we are seeing. What we didn’t expect to see is such a wide variety of opinions about whether it’s worth the investment right now.

The folks over at ResetEra have collected all of this morning’s reviews (thanks Cornbread78) in one place, and we’re going to pull some of the conclusions here for you to read. If you’re on the fence about picking up an Xbox One X next week, take a look at some of these reviews; I think you may be surprised.

Xbox One X Review Summaries

Digital Foundry

“But really, it all comes down to whether you own a 4K screen or are considering investing in one. The right ultra HD display with decent HDR support really does offer a huge improvement in many cases over standard 1080p. Forza 7’s precision lines and often beautiful lighting are a world apart from the base Xbox One experience, while the richness of detail in Gears of War 4 (or the doubling in frame-rate, if you prefer) are transformative experiences. Work needs to be done on beefing up the lacklustre 4K media support, but as a top-tier games machine, Xbox One X is an excellent piece of kit.”

GameSpot

“If you game on a 1080p TV and don’t have any plans to upgrade to a 4K one, the Xbox One S is going to be a better fit for you. While you will get some graphical enhancements with the X, you don’t really get your money’s worth if you don’t have a 4K HDR TV. But what if you already own a 4K HDR TV and an Xbox One? In this case, I’d only recommend getting the X if you have the disposable cash to spare for the increased visual fidelity and performance benefits. If you have a 4K HDR TV, don’t have a current gen console, and are looking to purchase one, however, the Xbox One X is a great choice.”

Windows Central

“After experiencing a game with Xbox One X enhancements, particularly in 4K, it’s simply hard to go back to standard HD. There are no doubts about the hardware potential. It’s just that as of writing, it’s hard to know for sure how much waiting you’ll have to do to see the console and that expensive 4K display achieve their money’s worth.”

“…a brilliant bit of hardware and so very little to play on it.”

Wired

“The Xbox One X is what the Xbox One should have been at launch: a well-designed practical console that, like the Xbox 360 before it, makes a generational leap in graphics. If it had been, perhaps Microsoft wouldn’t find itself in the situation it’s in now: a games company with a brilliant bit of hardware and so very little to play on it.”

Engadget

“Ultimately, the Xbox One X offers some major performance upgrades that gamers will notice — especially if you’re coming from an original Xbox One. But it’s also a bit disappointing since it’s coming a year after the PS4 Pro, and it doesn’t offer VR yet. For Microsoft fans, though, none of that will matter. It’s exactly what the company promised: the fastest game console ever made.”

ArsTechnica

“If you’re already satisfied with the games on your old Xbox One, $500 is a lot of cash to part with for graphical improvements and tweaks for a subset of the same available games (and if you don’t have a 4K and/or HDR TV, the value proposition looks even worse). And if you’re looking to buy your first console to go with your new 4K TV, you should probably decide between the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X based more on their competing software libraries (and prices) than any sort of overwhelming performance difference. If you want the best-looking versions of games like Halo, Gears of War, and Forza Motorsport for much less than a 4K-capable PC, though, the One X is here for you.”