XB1XvsPS5

If you can comprehend the meaning of the title of this blog post, then you have real talent at deciphering acronym soup.  In truth, I wanted to write about the XBox One X announcement shortly after the presentation concluded.  Unfortunately, the event was a bit lacking in content so I decided to hold off until the PlayStation 5 had made its debut.  Now that both consoles are known entities, I'd like to share my thoughts here.

Aside from the original Xbox (which apart from being a bit bulky was fine), I've always been wary of the hardware used in Microsoft's gaming consoles.  I'm sure just about anyone reading this can recall the red-ring-of-death debacle back in the early days of the Xbox360.  Thankfully, it looks like the designers have taken that costly lesson to heart when it comes to the Xbox One X hardware.  Regrettably, the software side of the console seems kind of lackluster.  Specifically, there hasn't been much shown in terms of gameplay - a fact that has been aggravated by Ubisoft mislabeling one of their videos as such.   There's also a distinct lack of "killer apps," i.e. games that make the console an uniquely desirable purchase.  Perhaps the new Halo will fill that role, but as of right now there really isn't anything to get particularly excited about on Xbox One X.

PS5, on the other hand, has done a much better job of showcasing numerous interesting titles (some of which are exclusive to the platform).  That said, I don't think there was all that much variety with regards to genre.  Aside from the next entry in the long running Grand Turismo series and that basketball game, everything was either a first or third-person action/adventure game.  Well...at least they tossed some original IPs into the mix.  Also, is it just me or were several games that felt like they were aping films a bit too much?  Specifically, "Interstellar", "Edge of Tomorrow", and "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" all seemed to be on display in video game form.

On a final note, I'm curious to see how the Demon's Souls remake/remaster turns out.  It arguably has the best storyline of the entire Souls series.  Too bad that the oppressive gloom and eerie foreboding have been replaced by a more generic fantasy atmosphere.   Hopefully, the team working on it restores the archstone cut from the original...and overhauls some of the boss battles to make them more interesting.  As I recall, fighting dragons in that game was exceptionally tedious.