The Official Xbox One Launch Thread

Well it only took 8 years :-), but a new Xbox console will finally launch this Friday!!

Reviews are already starting to come in on few of the launch day titles available. Feel free to link the reviews in here as well.

And on Friday, we can share some of our thoughts here with the Xbox One.

Gamespot has the review up for Crimson Dragon...As a fan of the Panzer series, I am a bit disappointed. ....

Crimson Dragon review.

Seems like the review for Ryse:Son of Rome will be reviewed on Thursday. Here is a quick preview link.....

Ryse preview.

Posting on your phone again? :P

I went ahead and hot linked those for you. Man, it has been eight years hasn't it? That's nuts. Honestly, when I said I wish the cycles would be longer, I was thinking six years maximum. Eight really is way too damned long, so is seven, as a matter of fact. I'm beyond ready, I've rearranged and cleaned my living room, and have a place emptied out in the entertainment area for the big black beast, and the console too! (that was a power brick joke, you see)

On launch day morning we'll have to start compiling a list of Bone Buddies to play online. My own time will be sporadic, my day off November 22nd was axed because the man I am replacing as Assistant Manager made his last day that same day. But I'm still looking forward to fooling around on KI, and getting my hearings both for that game specifically, and with playing with an arcade stick.

Disappointing launch so far. It all rests on Ryse, I guess.

Yep. Forza 5 is going to be the only killer app for either console it seems.

@Black_Knight_00:

Looks like MS might be in the same boat as Sony with a disappointing launch line-up...So far the highest rated game is DR3. Hope that Forza 5 and Ryse deliver the goods.

Oh how I hope that nomenclature does not stick.

Which, of course, means it likely will. Curse you Rand! CURSE YOU!

ok...here is one of the first Killer Instinct reviews...Not bad...4/5 great review...Posting from my phone guys so I cannot appropriately link....

http://www.gamesradar.com/killer-instinct-review/

There you go. :)

@ZZoMBiE13:

Thank you....here is an excerpt from the review

"The Xbox One reboot keeps that streak going, with vibrant graphics, superb sound design, and a clean, easy-to-read UI. It also has one of the best exciting-moments-per-second ratios I've ever seen in a fighter. KI's gameplay flow is heavy on combos, but it treats long strings of attacks like a two-way street. Instead of having to just sit there and take big damage, you're constantly engaged during every moment of the one-on-one brawls, looking for any opportunity to bust out a combo breaker and reverse the momentum of the match in your favor."

Dead Rising 3 getting 8/10 pretty much everywhere, game looks awesome super pumped for that.

@GodModeEnabled:

Yes...seems like its receiving 7s or 8s.

So excited I can Hardly wait. I recently won an Xbox One in a contest which is pretty damn awesome. It'll take a few weeks to be delivered to me. I also got Killer Instinct for free from Microsoft. Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5 will be my first purchases. I'm also very interested in Ryse and Crimson Dragon. Looks like it should be a very solid launch. I'm very pumped.

Ryse is pretty much the only launch title (both consoles) with any kind of pedigree for which I don't know what to expect, which is why it's the launch title that interests me most. I finished the KZ campaign, and now I'm just waiting to start any other single player game until Ryse gets here.

@Randolph:

Randolph thank you for linking this for me....We"ll have to get a thread going on Friday with Gamer tags....

Guys...IGN just posted their review of Killer Instinct....they gave it an 8.4. Seems like this game will be a must have for the Xbox One...

http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/11/18/killer-instinct-review?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

@Areez: It's a solid game, it just lacks content. That's the message overall, which is why I've been saying that we should expect a lot of harsh reviews. It's plainly a game being released while still under construction, but the foundation is solid as hell. With only six of the already small season one roster of eight being available at all at launch, I expected a firm critical panning on that point alone. (Spinal arrives in December, Fulgore sometime early next year before season two starts) It's an investment in the future by and large, but for $19.99 I'd say it's a good one, especially when the whole cast is available and they can implement story mode.

I'm getting the $39.99 version myself, for the retro costumes and Killer Instinct '94.

@Randolph: It still has a metacritic higher than KZSF. I'd hardly call 74 harsh.

Anyway, Cant wait to play Ryse this weekend. Give me those graphics! All over my face.

Really? I don't pay too much mind to reviews when I've already decided to buy a game, (they are a purchase guide after all, and I'm already purchasing) but I was hearing that quite a few reviews knocked it hard for it's game in progress status. I really wanna play Ryse as well, my time to play will be very limited that night, I'll likely play it first, then set my downloads for Killer Instinct and Crimson Dragon and go to bed.

I'm stoked for this Friday. So far, the games I've pre-ordered are BF4, DR3, AC4, Destiny (which is delayed until June. :( ) and I plan on getting Crimson Dragon, and I may pick up KI when more characters are available. Ryse has me hesitant to pull the trigger. That preview sounds promising, but I want to see sites I frequent review or preview it. Has anyone seen any reviews for the game?

@Randolph:

I have not ready to many reviewers, only one to be exact, that complained about the lack of content. Most reviwers have praised the game for what it is...

The only review I want to see is Ryse. At first, it seems like the reviews being held until Thursday meant bad things for the title, as if MS wanted to keep the bad press under wraps. Then again, Crimson Dragon already got shit on and Forza 5, which I suspect will land close to a 90 average on Metacritic, doesn't have reviews either.

Ryse's embargo lifts later this week, so... no, not yet. Curious to see how that's received. Everything shown so far has looked bland.

As a PlayStation gamer that just enjoyed the hell out of the PS4 launch, I hope you Xbox fans have the same great experience.

Here's to a new generation.

i hope Ryse and Forza reviews will be out tomorrow

Ok so I got the call, supposed to go between 6PM to close Thursday to get a pick up ticket. Then at midnight opening just wait until my ticket is called, walk in, and get the system and my stuff. Assassin's Creed 4 for the Bone will be available tomorrow in fact, so I'm going to apply this $50 coupon for Gamestop that I have to it and go ahead and get it. Then I'm gonna go ahead and buy some XBL cards from Target, (they already have cards that say they can be used on either the 360 or One marketplace) and pay off everything else.

My haul is as follows.

• Xbone (paid in full)
• KI TE edition arcade stick ($200, yikes.)
• AC4: Black Flag
• Dead Rising 3
• Ryse
• Forza 5

Then when I get home I aim to download Killer Instinct after I get the day one update and set up a spiffy new Gamertag. That is, unless we have a PS4 esque two days or so of ass online, but XBL is typically super stable, Holidays 2007 aside. (nothing could prepare XBL for both COD4: MW and Halo 3) Hopefully if it is down, we get another apology game free, and maybe this time it won't be something Don Mustard squeezed out of his posterior.

I will download Crimson Dragon as well, just not day one. I'll be working Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in a row… the run up to thanksgiving. So my gaming time will, quite sadly, be sparse.

Max pointed out a review that makes a great point that drives home something people forget about Killer Instinct. It's essentially a $20 Live Arcade game.

Minor nitpicks aside, Killer Instinct is an amazing game for the $20 price tag. The character count leaves a little to be desired, but for the price you can't complain too much. If you opt for the $40 version, you'll get the original arcade classic as well, but no online play for it at the moment. If the game had 24 characters, a Story mode, and was priced at $60, it would be a system seller for the Xbox One. Even as what is essentially an Xbox One Live Arcade game, Killer Instinct is one of the best titles for the Xbox One, and will only be improving as more characters are added. Do yourself a favor and at least try out the free version for an hour. It could be the best decision you make at launch.

Link.

BTW, here's a great watch for long time fans, Ken Lobb and some friends from way back showcase the Xbone version of KI '94 that comes with the $39 Ultra version of KI. (it includes both he "original version" of the game that is hilariously broken in terms of strange combo glitches, and the "fixed" 1.5 version, a wonderful nod to long time fans)

Ken Lobb is a great guy, well worth watching just to hear him relay stories about the games development, the origins of the Humiliation dance, the extreme aggravation with the constant Ultra 64/ Nintendo 64 delays that left the first KI stuck on the ancient SNES hardware, (and KI2 on N64 hardware it was actually not able to be ported to very well at all) and the story of how he had to explain to Howard Lincoln why naming TJ Combo "Mr.Fist" was a bad idea.

@The_Last_Ride:

Believe that both reviews will be out on Thursday.

@Randolph:

Whoa! You have a busy work schedule! And props to investing into some sticks for KI. Pat would be very proud of you for doing so......I hope he makes hi way to KI, it would be great to connect with him on Live again...

Did your GS tell you had to go at mid-night? My GS told me that I could come at anytime on Friday to pick my Xbox One up.

i heard 21st from Rev3Games

To anyone getting an Xbox One: Persuade me.

The triggers vibrate. How can you resist?

Here is some additional Ryse game play footage from Gamespot.....Review should be up Thursday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNYkcePBsRw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I ordered Ryse after watching the Gamespot Xbox One Pre-Launch video. Although the killing animations were repetitive, from what I've read before, you have to unlock/upgrade more of them.

I wish I was getting mine this week. :( That Forza 5 is going to be awesome! Dead Rising 3 should entertain for a long time as it looks to be a really fun game and challenging game. Ryse looks to be interesting but not sure if it can capture the audiences attention for long. I think Forza 5 is going to be the launch game for most but I may be wrong.

Here is some additional Ryse game play footage from Gamespot.....Review should be up Thursday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNYkcePBsRw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

@Areez: Well no, I could go Friday. I'm just impulsive, so a midnight launch is my kind of thing. I come from a group of kids who used to wake up at 4 AM Christmas day and start opening and playing with their presents. :)

No. :) If you can't persuade yourself to drop $500 on a game system when you have the exact same tools at your disposal as far as informing yourself of it's games and features as the rest of us do, then that's the best sign, the only sign you need that it's not something you need to get.

Pretty decent launch lineup with all of your big multiplatform games plus a solid fighter, great racing sim, a unique survival horror game and a big budget blockbuster in Ryse. Then you have Titan Fall and Project Spark hitting in March then Halo, Fable and Overdrive hitting later next year.

The point is that the games will be there. So you are eventually going to get it anyway. If you have the cash right now and don’t care about the $100 price difference then join the launch fun. There is nothing like launch day.

@S0lidSnake: I can't believe I m reading this...wow...Great post.....its like 50 shades of Solid Snake. ...

Their is so much dirty potential in the lis line of conversation, are you sure you want open that can of worms? :P

@Randolph:

LOL....well Solid has rarely said anything positive about MS...and we have had some heated debates that lead to him imposing an embargo on debating with me...I m just surprised by his post...

Here is a link showing off the Xbox One recording features. ...

http://www.destructoid.com/major-nelson-shows-off-xbox-one-s-recording-and-sharing-265983.phtml

Does anyone know if the 94" original Killer Instinct game included is the Arcade game or the Snes version? The arcade game rocked and I would pay the $39 in a second to play that again, but the Snes version sucked big time!

It is the arcade original. Both versions of the arcade game, in fact. The hilariously broken one with all the insane combo exploits and glitches, and the "fixed" version. Both the SNES version of the first, and the N64 version of the second sucked big time, this is really KI's first un-compromised foray into home consoles, ever. The SNES was too old for the first KI, and by the time the Ultra 64/ Nintendo 64 actually came out, it was too weak for the more advanced engine of KI2 and had to be scaled back big time in presentation, not to mention that god awful N64 controller rendered it nigh unplayable. Hopefully we get KI2 arcade next year, that'd be great.

Ok, went ahead and picked up AC4 with the $50 coupon since it was available and paid off my remaining games and the arcade stick. Most of the Xbone was paid with in store credit, I just sold my Wii U for cash today, and used it on what was left after Ac4, resulting in only spending about $400 out of my bank account for the system and four retail games plus the arcade stick. Then I went to Target and got point cards for me and a friend. So, my bod is ready, and my wallet is already licking it's less substantially than initially feared wounds. :)