Xbox 720 complete guide

Microsoft has never been cool, but the Xbox managed to turn more than a few heads when its first blocky black box challenged the PlayStation for the hardcore gaming throne. The 360 converted more Sony fans with its lower price and crop of exclusive games, and eventually even lured millions of casual gamers from Nintendo's grasp with the controller-free Kinect add-on.

And so, with the last generation of consoles turning six years old, our focus turns to the Xbox 720. Will Microsoft manage to build on its gaming muscle and strike the perfect balance between riotous action and wholesome family entertainment?

With hints that the next generation Xbox will be capable of Avatar-level graphics, frankly we couldn't care less. Just bring on the gorgeous new games! Let's open the doors of the rumour factory and see what we can find.

Graphics

Games such as Battlefield 3 and Gears of War 3 show the Xbox 360 can still push out outstanding graphics, but we all have an annoying mate eager to put our console to shame with their top-spec PC. Thankfully, today's PC is tomorrow's Xbox, which gives us plenty of clues about what to look forward to.

The big thing in PC gaming at the moment is Microsoft's own DirectX 11, which powers some of the most eye-popping games available.

Games developer Crytek told Eurogamer that the next generation of consoles will be at the sort of level that DX11 is at today, and made this comparison video to show off what it can do:

A similarly impressive demo by Epic shows a potential game called Samaritan in which the shapeshifting anti-hero roams the streets like a dystopian Robin Hood. The city is strikingly detailed, and we love how those neon lights glow through the smog. Pollution never looked so good.

Simulating realistic light behaviour seems to be the next big thing. Square Enix, best known for Final Fantasy, has been working on a clever system it calls the Luminous Engine which simulates the way a real surface reflects light. The result is an astonishing level of photo realism, leaving little room for graphics to improve in the 2D realm:

The new Xbox will undoubtedly bowl us over, but it takes a heavyweight combo of hardware to make these kind of graphics a reality. The gaming boffins at Tech Report recommend PC configurations, and mark their current top-spec machine at about

View the Original article