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‘Onrush’ is a racing game with no finish lines
Normally, a race requires a finish line. In a game like Forza Motorsport or Need for Speed, you're tasked with hurtling between two points or completing a certain number of laps before your opponents. Not so with Onrush, the next title by racing specialist Codemasters. Instead, you're fighting for points in a range of bombastic modes centered around a chaotic swarm of drivers. Outrageous crashes occur every second alongside ridiculous speed boosts and a death-defying medley of jumps, flips and barrel rolls. It's like the peloton in cycling's brutal Tour de France mixed with Mad Max and a monster truck rally.
Xbox One will automatically use your TV's game mode
Many TVs have a game mode that disables image processing to reduce lag, but it can be a pain if you regularly do things besides gaming. Do really want to switch the mode off every time you want to watch Netflix? You might not have to before long. Microsoft has unveiled a bevy of upcoming Xbox One updates that include support for Auto Low Latency Mode. If you have a compatible TV (some Samsung models will qualify), it'll recognize your Xbox and invoke its low-lag mode only when you're actually playing -- all your TV's processing will come back the moment you curl up with a movie. The improvement arrives later in 2018.
'Burnout Paradise' is back with a $40 4K remaster March 16th
Burnout Paradise was one of those rare racers that transcended its genre and was just a killer game. If its recent 10th birthday had you feeling nostalgic, then we've got good news. Come March 16th, you'll be able to hit the streets of Paradise City once again, to the complete original soundtrack, and replete with all 150 cars and eight main expansion packs -- including the "Big Surf Island" premium DLC -- in Burnout Paradise Remastered.
PS4 Pro will make more games look better on older TVs
The next PlayStation 4 firmware update will make the PS4 Pro a lot more like the Xbox One X. No, I don't mean the patch will malevolently shrink the breadth of Sony's first-party games lineup next time the console is in sleep mode, either. Instead, software version 5.50 adds a supersampling mode to the PS4 Pro.
'Overwatch' update downgrades Mercy, adds 4K on Xbox One X
After weeks of testing, Blizzard has moved several Overwatch changes from their test servers to the wider gaming population. This new patch brings 4K team shooter action to players on Xbox One X, but the big changes affect two popular characters: Mercy and Junkrat. Both have seen their capabilities downgraded, with the healer Mercy seeing the biggest adjustment in what is just the latest change targeting her Ultimate ability, Resurrect.
Microsoft stops selling the Xbox One Kinect adapter
You knew Kinect peripherals weren't long for this world when Microsoft stopped producing the Kinect in October, but it's still a sad day. The company has stopped making the Xbox Kinect Adapter that lets Xbox One S, Xbox One X and Windows PC users attach the depth-sensing camera without the presence of the original Xbox One's proprietary port. Microsoft wants to focus its efforts on "higher fan-requested gaming accessories," a spokesperson told Polygon. In short: there wasn't exactly rampant demand for an adapter to support a peripheral that had effectively been declared dead.
Xbox's lack of compelling games won't be fixed next year
Microsoft's 2017 started six months early. At E3 2016, Xbox chief Phil Spencer closed out the company's keynote by teasing the "most powerful console ever." At this year's show, he finally revealed the Xbox One X, and in November, the hardware was at retail. In the time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree, Microsoft addressed one of the internet's loudest complaints about the Xbox One: that it wasn't powerful enough compared to the PlayStation 4.
The best gadgets of 2017
2017 hasn't been the easiest year to live through, but we've found joy and comfort in some of the hardware we've tested over the last 12 months. Last year, we saw VR surge in prominence, but our picks this year are more conventional -- not to mention more diverse. The usual suspects include the iPhone X and Surface Laptop for getting helping us get things done, and the Nintendo Switch and the Sonos One for their ability to let us luxuriate at home and on the road. There's some more unexpected stuff on our list, too, like the easy-to-use DJI Spark drone as well as the Mighty, a tiny music player that won over much of the Engadget staff. Ultimately, we appreciated these picks for the ways they made our lives more pleasant, even if only a little.
Nearly three years later, 'The Witcher 3' runs in 4K on Xbox
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's performance on Xbox hardware has never been what I'd call "great." So, when Microsoft announced that CD Projekt RED's massive single-player RPG was one of the games getting an "enhancement" patch for the One X I got pretty excited. Finally, the game would be playable on the system I got it for. The patch recently arrived, and with it an "advanced" tab in the display options. You can pick from either 4K Mode or Performance Mode. The former gives you 4K graphics at a locked 30 FPS on a UHD display. For 1080p TV owners, that translates to super-sampled visuals and 60 FPS in my brief tests.
As ‘PUBG’ finally exits beta, its creators look to the future
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) has been this year's biggest surprise. Since launching on Steam Early Access in late March, the game, which conceptually started life as a DayZ mod, has picked up 25 million players on PC, not to mention a marketing and publishing deal from Microsoft for an Xbox One version. This week, version 1.0 arrives on Steam, gaining a second map and new instant replay feature in the process. But for PUBG Corp CEO Chang Han Kim, even though the game is losing its beta status, work is far from finished. "When we first started this project and thought of the Early Access model, we never took it as a model where you start developing a game, you complete it, you ship it out and then be done with it," Kim said through a translator. "As long as we have fans out there playing our game, it will never be complete."
Buy an Xbox One X and get 'PUBG' free for a limited time
From December 17th through the 31st, Microsoft will give everyone who purchases an Xbox One X a copy of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. A post on Xbox Wire says that over a million people played the battle royale game within 48 hours of being available. Not bad for a game that hasn't even hit 1.0 yet. The move makes a lot of sense; the folks who've play PUBG in Early Access for almost a year are exactly the type of audience Microsoft has been targeting with its "most powerful console ever" One X marketing campaign. That said, the lovably clunky game's appeal might be lost on the folks who are buying the $500 console just to show off their new 4K TV.
Which gaming console is right for you?
There are three main contenders in the video game console market, and each one has unique advantages and drawbacks. The PlayStation 4, for example, is easy to use: Sony has made a powerful console designed to appeal to as many players as possible, and its gamble has largely paid off. While Microsoft clearly wants just as many people playing Xbox One, it's tackling the market via its ecosystem, which is more open than any of the other consoles. The Xbox One supports cross-play with Windows 10, and its built-in livestreaming architecture, Mixer, is an impressive tool. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is a strange treasure, packing less power than the other two systems but making up for this technical loss with an innovative hybrid design. Here we break down the best and worst bits of the PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, Xbox One X and the Switch for anyone looking to buy into the video game universe this fall.
'PUBG' console version will run at 60 fps on Xbox One X (update)
In a magazine interview, PlayerUnknown himself Brendan Greene dropped a few details about the console version of his popular shooter. One tidbit is that when PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds arrives in Game Preview December 12th, developers are expecting to have it running at 60 fps on Microsoft's just-released Xbox One X, however it may be lower on Xbox One. From the November 194 issue of Games™ (via Wccftech): On Xbox One, we're not sure. We may have to limit it at 30FPS, maybe, but the last time I saw it, it was running at about 30 to 40. We're still constantly improving it so, you know, the aim is to get to 60. That's why we're doing Game Preview, because I think the great thing about console is it's a locked hardware system, so we can do really specific tweaks that tune it for those systems.
Microsoft will create game studios to ensure more Xbox One exclusives
Microsoft's Xbox One X is launching this week. It's the most powerful video game console ever made, but we don't know who will end up buying the $500 mid-generation system, or any Xbox over a PlayStation 4 (or PS4 Pro). Microsoft has been chasing Sony in console sales for years, and subsequently entered a pattern of shuttering internal studios and cancelling games. Now, according to an interview Xbox chief Phil Spencer gave to Bloomberg, the Washington-based company is going to do the opposite: Start or acquire studios to develop more games and software in-house.
Xbox One X review: A console that keeps up with gaming PCs
The Xbox One X is the ultimate video game system. It sports more horsepower than any system ever. And it plays more titles in native 4K than Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro. It's just about everything you could want without investing in a gaming PC. The only problem? It's now been a year since the PS4 Pro launched, and the One X costs $500, while Sony's console launched at $400. That high price limits the Xbox One X to diehard Microsoft fans who don't mind paying a bit more to play the console's exclusive titles in 4K. Everyone else might be better off waiting, or opting for the $279 Xbox One S.
Xbox One X will support 1440p monitors
With less than a week to go until its release, more details are emerging about the Xbox One X. We've known all along that Microsoft's all-powerful console would output at native 4K on a 4K TV or display. And, if a 1080p screen was connected it would supersample games -- rendering them at a higher resolution before dropping them back down to 1080p. But, what about all the gamers with 1440p monitors? If you thought your display would end up with the same scaled-down image, you're wrong. According to Xbox group program manager Kevin Gammill, the console will output to native 1440p on a supported monitor. So, you can stop fretting about the picture getting upscaled from 1080p.
'Halo 5' Overtime update adds 4K and brings back Oddball
We knew Halo 5 was among the chosen titles due to get the 4K treatment for the Xbox One X, and now we know when the upgrade will land. Tomorrow, the Overtime update will bring with it the resolution bump, along with the return of fan-favorite Oddball multiplayer mode. More content will continue to roll out over the coming days and months, including skins for Halo Championship Series eSports teams and fine-tuning for select items.
Amazon Prime Video is available on Xbox consoles worldwide
There's more to the Xbox One X than just 4K gaming. Beyond playing UHD Blu-rays, the console will stream media from your provider of choice in 4K, too. That includes Amazon Prime Video, which is now available worldwide on Xbox consoles following its launch last year.
Microsoft's redesigned Xbox dashboard is now available to all
Microsoft's next big update to the Xbox dashboard is now ready for public consumption. The first "Fluid Design" interface comes with a redesigned Home page, which is all about simplicity and customisation. The top-level section has four shortcuts (your current game, two personalised suggestions, and a deal from the Microsoft store) and a horizontal carousel underneath. The biggest change, however, is the new "Content Blocks" that sit below this screen. Scroll down and you'll find a series of large, visual panels dedicated to games and friends. These are completely customisable and act like miniature hubs for your favorite titles and communities.
Try the Xbox One X before it launches at select Microsoft Stores
With less than a month to go before you can get your hands on the new, more powerful Xbox One X, Microsoft is giving the unconvinced a chance to try it out at the company's retail outlets. You can try the new console connected to a 4K display at flagship Microsoft Store locations like the one in New York and Sidney, along with spaces at Bellevue Square Mall and University Village. You'll also get to try out Forza Motorsport 7 on the new console, win prizes and see special guests.
