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With Microsoft’s new console, the Xbox One, less than a month away from release, I find myself surprisingly underwhelmed and it has nothing to do with the console itself. In fact, I love everything I’ve seen so far when it comes to the Xbox One and what it has to offer consumers (me) from an entertainment and gaming standpoint. The problem I’ve run up against is a fairly unimpressive list of launch titles in the initial months of the console’s production. Combined with delays in major games like Watch Dogs and The Crew by Ubisoft, things aren’t looking great for Xbox fans at launch. But, hope lingers on the horizon. More specifically, Spring of 2014.
I could honestly care less about the games coming out at launch for the Xbox One. There, I said it. I don’t care that much about CoD: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, or Assassin’s Creed 4! These are all games I can also purchase for my 360 initially and, to compound the issue, they are franchise games that have, in my opinion, outlived their welcome. Still, I find myself amongst the masses who have pre-ordered an Xbox One.
Yes, I’ll be out there waiting anxiously in line with my fellow gamers on November 21st and I’ll even be picking up my Xbox One version of Ghosts on November 5th, but the two games I’m most looking forward to, Destiny and Titanfall, don’t come out until Spring of next year. These two games, in my opinion, are reasons to be excited for the Xbox One. They’re packed full of creativity and, from what we’ve seen so far, reinvent the concept of the FPS. I hate to say it, but CoD, Battlefiled 4, and Assassin’s Creed 4, while strong launch titles in their own right, just don’t offer much deviation from what core Xbox 360 gamers are currently used to.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’ll have a great time playing Ghosts, but if that’s all Microsoft has to offer me as a gamer right out the gate then there’s clearly a problem. Titanfall and Destiny, on the other hand, have continued to impress the masses over the last few months and are both scheduled to hit shelves during Spring 2014.
It may just be me jumping on the hype train, but I’ve already pre-ordered my Titanfall Collector’s Edition on Xbox One and I haven’t even played the game. You want to know why I’m so excited? Well, it looks new…and different! I don’t always need a game to feel “revolutionary,” but if we’re talking about new IPs, it only makes sense to try to push the limits with new hardware and new ideas. Sure, there probably won’t be a whole lot of differences between the 360 version and the Xbox One version, but it’s a new game on a new console whereas CoD, Battlefield, etc. have already been around for quite a while. In short, I’m much more excited for next Spring than I am for the actual launch of the Xbox One. Until then, I’ll see you and the rest of the CoD fanboys on Ghosts.
-Ocarina of Time Nerd