Should You Buy PS5 or Xbox Series X? (Part 3- Features and Services)
In our recent deep dives into the PS5 and Xbox Series X and how the two consoles stack up against each other on multiple fronts, we've spoken about the specs and the controllers of both. This time, we're stepping away from hardware, as we compare the various services and features on offer with both consoles, from their backward compatibility capabilities, to their online offerings, to streaming, and more.
PLAYSTATION PLUS AND XBOX LIVE GOLD
Paid online has been a thing on PlayStation for a while, and even longer on Xbox, and it doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon, sadly enough. There were some recent rumours that suggested that Xbox Live Gold would be discontinued, but Microsoft have since shut those rumours down. So yes, we will be paying for PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold on next-gen consoles as well- but both also offer some neat perks as well.
The biggest perk is free games, with PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold subscribers being offered a selection of free games every month. In this area, PlayStation has the clear edge. PS Plus consistently offers excellent free games- in 2020 itself, we've had the likes of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Uncharted 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Call of Duty: WWII, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fall Guys, Star Wars Battlefront 2 and many more offered for free. Xbox Live Gold, on the other hand, rarely has anything on that level to offer. Across the first eight months of 2020, other than a few games like Batman: The Telltale Series in January, Batman: The Enemy Within in March, and Project CARS 2 in April, it's hard to think many eye-catching names.
That's not to say Xbox Live doesn't have any advantages over PSN. For instance, while cloud saves are locked behind PS Plus subscriptions on PlayStation, Xbox makes cloud saves free to everyone, while storage space for cloud saves is also higher on Xbox. Then again, the PSN has the edge over Xbox Live in terms of free-to-play multiplayer games, which require an Xbox Live Gold subscription on Xbox, but are, you know, actually free on PlayStation and can be played online without PS Plus.
Another important thing that has to be considered is pricing. Until not that long ago, pricing for both PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold was more or less comparable. If you're only considering monthly subscriptions, both are still at the same level at $10 per month. Recently, however, Microsoft discontinued the option to purchase Xbox Live Gold on an annual basis, which was a real money saver. Of course, Xbox Live Gold is bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, but that doesn't offer annual subscriptions either- and at $15 a month, that comes to $180, which is far, far beyond the $60 annual subscription fee of PS Plus.
Thanks to its better pricing and its consistently compelling selection of monthly free games, we have to give this one to PlayStation Plus.
BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY
Microsoft have taken an admirable stance on backward compatibility these last few years, working overtime to get scores of Xbox 360 games and even several original Xbox releases working on the Xbox One- quite of few of which are also enhanced to leverage the Xbox One X's more powerful hardware. Meanwhile, though the PS4 is not backward compatible, the PS5 promises compatibility with its predecessor's library, which means competition between the two consoles in this area is fiercer this time around.
What's interesting with the backward compatibility features of both next-gen consoles is that they both will be able to natively upscale older games on a system level. PS5's lead system architect Mark Cerny has said that the console will be able to run PS4 games on "a boosted frequency". Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X will natively run select backward compatible games in higher resolutions, while it will even add HDR to select titles that didn't originally support it.
But to what extent are the PS5 and Xbox Series X going to be backward compatible? As per Sony, at launch, the PS5 will be able to play the vast majority of the PS4's library while more games will continue to be added over time. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X will similarly be able to play the vast majority of the Xbox One's library, while all Xbox 360 and original Xbox games that are currently playable on Xbox One will also be playable on the Series X. We can also Microsoft to keep adding games from its legacy consoles to its backward compatibility program.
Both consoles have impressive things to offer as far as backward compatibility is concerned, especially with system-level upscaling, but with support for three past generations, the Xbox Series X wins through sheer brute force. Frankly, it's not even a competition.
SERVICES
Without the shadow of a doubt, Xbox Game Pass is perhaps the greatest idea Microsoft have had in the last decade, maybe even ever, and it's no surprise – given how popular it is and how successful it has been – that their entire strategy and business model going forward relies not on any single console on device, but a platform-agnostic ecosystem that revolves around Xbox Game Pass.
With literally hundreds of games on offer, the Xbox Game Pass library leaves little to be desired in terms of quantity, but even in terms of quality, it makes a solid case for itself. Major AAA third party releases can be found in the Game Pass catalog, often very close to their releases, while several major AA and indie games even join Game Pass at launch. And, of course, every single Microsoft first party release sees a day and date release on Game Pass as well- the fact that the likes of Fable, Avowed, Halo Infinite, Forza Motorsport, and many more will be available on Game Pass the same day they launch is a huge deal.
Sony does have something comparable to offer in terms of services. PlayStation Now has been around for a while, and though it doesn't make waves the way Xbox Game Pass does, it's a solid service as well. Even so, it lags behind Game Pass in more ways than one. For starters, its library isn't as compelling as Game Pass, nor does it have day and date releases. It's also a little costlier than Game Pass subscriptions- though it's worth noting that games played via PlayStation Now don't require PS Plus to be played online, while Xbox Live Gold is still required for multiplayer games played via Game Pass. Of course, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundles Game Pass with Xbox Live, which solves that problem, but it is also slightly costlier than a PS Now subscription at $15 a month as opposed to PS Now's $10 monthly fee (as well as the cheaper 3-month and 12-month alternatives).
All in all though, this one definitely goes to Xbox. Game Pass offers ridiculous value in so many ways- it's surprisingly cheap, it has a great library, it holds the promise of excellent exclusive content, and it gets so many day and date releases.
CONCLUSION
As far as online services and backward compatibility features go, the Xbox Series X is far ahead of the PS5. Sure, the primary concern for many will be actual next-gen games when deciding which of the two consoles to buy – and that's something we will eventually get to with a separate feature – but the Xbox Series X offers just so many incentives in the form of Xbox Game Pass and its immense backward compatibility library, that it's really hard to make a case for it not winning this face-off. This one, at least, is a clear win in its favor.
Marvel's Iron Man VR Update Adds New Game+, Ultimate Difficulty
Camouflaj has released a new update for Marvel's Iron Man VR, adding a number of new features and quality of life features. Along with New Game+, which lets players carry over their Research Points and unlocks, update 1.06 also brings Ultimate difficulty for those keen on the toughest of challenges. Four new weapons have also been added to the mix.
These include the Continuous Beam Repulsor that fires a beam for longer; the EM Charge Cannon that can unleash charged shots through shielded enemies; and the Micro Swarm which is good for crowd-control. Players can also unlock eight new Custom Armor Decos by completing challenges. One of these includes the Iron Patriot.
If that weren't enough, the update also provides shorter loading times for missions set in Shanghai. You can also skip cinematics when replaying missions and also have the option to skip two specific missions. Completing them is still required for their Trophies though.
Fall Guys Season 2 to be Revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live
Mediatonic's bizarre battle royale collection of insane mini games and hilarious ragdoll physics – also known as Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout – has moved from strength to strength since its recent launch, and has been enjoying immense success on both PS4 and PC. But though the game is still rather fresh, it looks like it's already ready to take a big step forward.
As announced by Geoff Keighley on Twitter, Fall Guys: Season 2 will be unveiled at Gamescom Opening Night Live later this month on August 27. Keighley says it's going to be a sneak peak, so perhaps it won't be too extensive a look, but we're curious to see what it will entail. A release date will probably be announced, but can we expect new features, cosmetics, and games? Here's hoping.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is available on PS4 and PC, but the developers have said that they would love to bring it to other platforms as well. You can read our review of the game through here.
Fall Guys is great and all….but what if I told you there is @FallGuysGame: Season 2!
Don't miss the world premiere sneak peek from @Mediatonic during @gamescom Opening Night Live.
Thursday, August 27 at 8 pm CEST / 2 pm ET / 11 am PT at https://t.co/AFycLZXKPd pic.twitter.com/WQB08qadhb
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 21, 2020
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Gets a Launch Trailer Two Weeks Before Launch
Tony Hawk was once one of the biggest franchises in the games industry, and an entire generation of audiences have a fond memory of it. Soon, it will be returning, hopefully with a bang, thanks to Vicarious Visions' duo of remakes in Tony Haw's Pro Skater 1 + 2. And though the game is still a couple of weeks away from release, we already have a launch trailer for it. Take a look below.
Tony Hawk, the man himself, has had great things to say about the upcoming release, saying "hardcore fans of our original series are going to be satisfied and probably overwhelmed by how good this is." The game's nostalgic soundtrack has been revealed, but in addition to some returning favourites, several new tracks will also be joining the list. Meanwhile, in addition to all the skaters from the original games, some new faces will be showing up as well.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 launches for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 4. The game will require roughly 60 GB of free storage space on your platform of choice.
Thanks to datamining of the game's recent demo, there's been some evidence to suggest that a Switch version might also be in the works, though Activision have made no official announcements yet.
Another recent datamine of the demo uncovered files mentioning possible hidden returning characters. Read more on that through here.
Destiny 2 Xur Exotics – Lord of Wolves, Astrocyte Verse, Eternal Warrior
Everyone's favorite/most hated Exotic vendor is back in Bungie's Destiny 2. This week, Xur is in the Winding Cove in the European Dead Zone. He'll be there until the weekly reset next Tuesday so make sure to browse his wares before then.
The Exotic weapon for the week is Lord of Wolves, a burst-fire shotgun that can unleash a longer burst when holding down the reload button. It costs 29 Legendary Shards but has seen a number of nerfs since its days of terrorizing the Crucible. Pick it up for fun in PvP and avoid it for PvE.
The Exotic gear this week includes Eternal Warrior (Titan helm), Astrocyte Verse (Warlock helm) and Young Ahamkara's Spine (Hunter gloves), each for 23 Legendary Shards. Astrocyte Verse allows for blinking further and more often while also readying weapons more quickly when exiting Blink. Young Ahamkara's Spine is perhaps the best choice since it increases the duration of Tripmine Grenades along with their blast radius. Ability damage will also provide grenade energy.
Metro Developers Are Most Excited About Ray-Tracing on PS5 and Xbox Series X
Metro developers 4A Games' releases are always some of the most technically impressive for their times, and in recent years, they've really begun going all-in on ray-tracing, with Metro Exodus in particular leveraging the technology on PC in rather impressive fashion. With the PS5 and Xbox Series X also confirmed to feature hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, the expectation is that it's going to become much more standardized in games, and 4A Games are quite excited about that prospect.
The Polish studio has expressed its excitement about ray-tracing support in upcoming consoles in the past, and speaking recently in an interview with VGC, they did so again. Executive producer Jon Bloch said that of all next-gen features, the one 4A Games most excited about are is ray-tracing, mentioning that the studio is fully rebuilding its proprietary engine's rendering technology so that it will be able to leverage ray-tracing tech properly going into next-gen.
"Ray tracing is the future," Bloch said. "Ever since Nvidia came to us with their plans for a ray-traced future, we jumped on board with big excitement. Being a part of pioneering RTGI with Metro Exodus has been a groundbreaking thrill and we're all in for ray tracing moving forward. We are fully rebuilding our proprietary engine's render technology to be centered around ray tracing, so it will continue to be exciting to see what the future brings there."
In the same interview, Block also spoke about 4A Games' work on and aspirations for the upcoming multiplayer Metro experience. Read more on that through here.
4A Games were recently acquired by THQ Nordic's holding company, Embracer Group.
Destiny 2 – Bungie Details All Content Being Vaulted on November 10th
Earlier this year, Bungie announced its plans to vault a large amount of content currently in Destiny 2. It already confirmed that campaigns for the base game, Curse of Osiris and Warmind would be vaulted along with planets like Mercury, Mars, Titan, Io and so on. However, in its latest weekly blog, it revealed the full extent of content that's being removed.
Along with aforementioned campaigns, narratives for Season of the Forge, Season of the Drifter and Season Opulence will also be leaving along with their associated activities. You can also expect Crucible modes like Supremacy, Countdown, Lockdown, Momentum Control, Doubles and Scorched to be vaulted. If you want to earn Exotics like Outbreak Perfected and Whisper of the Worm, then you'd be better hurry because their respective missions are going away as well.
Several Exotic quests for items like MIDA Multi-Tool, Rat King, The Last Word, Le Monarque, Izanagi's Burden, Sleeper Simulant and more are also being vaulted. Said items won't be removed from the game – instead, they can be acquired through a Memorial Kiosk that's being added in Year 4. Details on how this works will be revealed later this season.
All of the above content and more will be vaulted on November 10th when Destiny 2: Beyond Light releases for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X, PS5 and Google Stadia. The expansion will add a new destination, Europa; a new raid; new armor and weapons; and a new element called Stasis. Head here to see Stasis subclass abilities in action.
Crysis Remastered Launches on September 18th for PC, Xbox One and PS4
After being delayed for a few weeks and launching for Nintendo Switch first, Crysis Remastered has a release date. Unfortunately, it's not today as some reports claimed but September 18th on Xbox One, PS4 and PC (with the PC version exclusive to the Epic Games Store). In the meantime, check out the sneak-peek trailer below which highlights the gorgeous new visuals.
Along with a new lighting engine and updated assets, the remaster sports textures at up to 8K resolution. Ray-tracing is in effect for both normal reflections and water reflections. Other technical additions include "state-of-the-art" depth fields, sparse voxel octree global illumination or SVOGI, motion blur and much more.
Overall, the results look pretty good and worth the extra time for additional polish. Whether Crysis Remastered will fulfill the meme of being nigh-unplayable on most modern PCs remains to be seen but expect some fairly hefty system requirements. Stay tuned in the coming weeks.
Injustice 3 Probably Will Not Be Announced At DC FanDome After All
Tomorrow will see the digital fan expo, DC FanDome. The event will be over the course of the day tomorrow and feature announcements about DC properties ranging from TV shows, movies and video games. There was hope that this would also see the announcement of Injustice 3, especially since the Creative Director and longtime member of NetherRealm Studios (who develop the Injustice games) is attending the event. But it seems unlikely at this point.
As reported via DSOGaming, WB put out a press release earlier today about the event, stating explicitly, "In case you missed it, two games will be announced. So, be sure to tune-in for those announcements and much more!" We already know the two games in question: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League from Rocksteady and the next Batman game from WB Montreal that will most likely be titled Gotham Knights. While it's certainly possible there could be a surprise announcement, the fact this was put out probably means we should only expect those two games.
The last game in the series, Injustice 2, released in 2017 with the last game from NetherRealm releasing in 2019, Mortal Kombat 11. So, by the typical schedule, it's getting about time for an Injustice 3 and there's rumors that an Injustice and Mortal Kombat are already in development for next generation consoles, just don't expect it at tomorrow's DC FanDome.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Listed To Require 60GB On Xbox One
Next month, it is time to shred with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2. The game will be a recreation of the original 2 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater titles, and promises a return with some powerful nostalgia, maybe even including some hidden characters. Like any game, you'll have to have to have some space for your grinding sessions, and now we have an idea of how much.
The original listing for the game has been updated on the Xbox store for the Xbox One version, and it's listed to require 60GB. You can see the listing here. While not huge in comparison to some titles that have ballooned up to well over 100GB, it's a little bigger than probably expected for a game of this scope and size. While this is only for the Xbox One version, it will most likely be similar for each other version as well.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 will release on September 4th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Some datamining has pointed to a potential Switch version in the works, but as of now, no announcement has been made.