The Ugly
The Halo Infinite Streaming Quality Fiasco
Shortly after the Xbox game showcase, knowledgable techies and PlayStation fanboys alike were talking about the pop-in and texture issues with Halo Infinite. Many were quick to blame the fact that Halo Infinite is a cross-generational title for the visual downgrade, but visual hiccups were apparently due to the limitations of live streaming. Xbox was quick to show off some 4K Halo visuals in 60FPS, which is what Xbox Series X fans will become accustomed to, but the damage had already been done to Xbox doubters. Many people won’t look at the proper footage and will instead use screencaps from a quick snippet of the campaign trailer as evidence that the PS5 is superior but from what we saw, Halo Infinite looks like another quality installment in the lengthy series. It had pop-in and some questionable visuals but the demo was played on a PC, with footage being live-streamed around the world so the circumstances weren’t ideal.
Is Tetris Effect: Connected an Xbox Seller?
The original Tetris released in 1984 and it has undergone many changes since then. Many people will always prefer the original over any of the subsequent titles, but I’ve really taken a liking to Tetris 99 on the Nintendo Switch. The original Tetris Effect released exclusively for PS4 in 2018 and later released for the PC. Tetris Effect: Connected is bringing a Tetris exclusive to the Xbox platform and it will include crossplay between Xbox One and Windows PC when it releases, the crossplay will likely include the Xbox Series X when it releases as well. Sony had a Tetris exclusive with Tetris Effect, Nintendo Switch had a Tetris exclusive with Tetris 99 and now it’s Xbox’s turn to have an Xbox exclusive. Is Tetris Effect: Connected an Xbox Series X seller? No, but because I consider Tetris 99 a Nintendo Switch seller, it could be an Xbox One seller.
As Dusk Falls: Nothing Next-Gen About This One
Watching the trailer from As Dusk Falls is like watching a comic book come to life similar to Telltale’s The Walking Dead and the narrative of the game seems like the main draw, but it doesn’t scream Xbox Series X seller at all. As Dusk Falls could have worked on an Xbox 360 and PS3 judging from the trailer and although the hand-drawn visuals are well done, it doesn’t compel me to buy an Xbox Series X or even an Xbox One. As an existing Game Pass subscriber who’s going with Xbox next-gen already, I’ll probably check this title out in the future, but As Dusk Falls is a sleeper that may not be a hit and it all rests on how good the narrative is.
What did you think of the showcase? Tell us in the comments below.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.