With the announcement of the Xbox One, all of us including the press were curious about a few details about the successor to the Xbox 360. With only a few weeks separating us from E3 where some more questions will be answered, and even more will be raised we’re here to answer some of your questions that have some definite answers.

Always On?

One of the first questions that spawned before the announcement of the Xbox One was the rumor that the console needed to always be connected to the internet. This was also known as the “Always On” internet connection. The issue behind this is pretty simple, while there are 46 million Xbox Live memberships there are millions of consoles out there that have never, and will never be connected to the internet. Some of these are from people who just cannot afford high speed internet access, some are extra consoles in a household that can’t receive internet connectivity. But some are overseas with the troops in countries like Afghanistan where the internet connectivity is extremely spotty or is non-existent.

Microsoft has somewhat handled this question, but in ways it has not. The Xbox One does not require an “Always on” internet connection, but it still requires some connection to the internet. This is a huge failure on the part of the Microsoft and the Xbox team considering the huge amount of consoles that do not get any internet access. the Xbox team is supposedly designing the console to play games  watch live television and watch blu-ray movies (Yes that’s right, Blu-Ray) if you lose your connection. This makes me think, it detects if it had internet at one point in the day and allows you to play games if it passes that check.

Will the Xbox One play used games?

This was another one of those rumors with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, someone out there said it wouldn’t play any used games which I had personally expressed my thoughts on during the New England GameCast. In short, I said the next gen consoles would never abandon the used game market because it’s such a large market, and because it gets those who would have never played those games otherwise now have the opportunity to, and that leads to console sales, and down the road more game sales.

The official answer from Microsoft and Xbox is that they are designing the Xbox One to allow owners to resell games. There is also some news that says if you wish to buy and use a used game, you are required to pay a fee. The validity of this statement is not confirmed and it’s something we might hear more about at E3.

Is the Xbox One backwards compatible?

This is one of the biggest questions asked of any new console release, because the life span of the Xbox 360, its game library is quite substantial and we all want to know if we need to hold on to our Xbox 360′s to play our favorite games or if we’re free to move on to the Xbox One.

Unfortunately we’ve gotten the answer that the Xbox One hardware is just not compatible with Xbox 360 games. Their defense is that they have designed it to play an entirely new generation of games that take full advantage of the architecture and state-of-the-art processors and power of the cloud. They do say that the Xbox 360 will be continued to supported with new games and apps well into the future.

When does the Xbox One come out?

So, according to sources, the PlayStation 4 will be coming out before the holiday season, but the Xbox One is going to lose the release race as it will be releasing during the holiday season. I don’t see this being a terrible idea, but just know that the holiday season is a time where items sell out quickly. Console launches have been notorious for selling out and leaving people disappointed and without a new console. On top of all of this, the Xbox One is following the best selling console for Twenty-Eight months straight, the Xbox 360.

What effect does the cloud have on the Xbox One?

The cloud is able to make the Xbox One more accessible by allowing you to automatically update so there’s no waiting, you can start a movie, television show, or even game on one console and finish it on another, there’s no waiting to streaming movies or television shows or playing games with your friends over Xbox Live, and developers can even take advantage of the cloud to create new gameplay, contain persistent worlds, and much deeper experiences. You can use the cloud to see what your friends are up to whether it be playing games, watching movies or listening to music. But here’s one, we got a bit of this with the Xbox 360 with cloud storage but now you can store entire games and other media in the cloud so you can access them anytime.

What about my Xbox Live membership?

Don’t you worry! Your existing Xbox Live membership will work just fine on the Xbox One so there’s no need to buy a new membership. Although, this means you should stock up on those cheaper $35 deals on a year of Xbox Live starting now.

What about the new Kinect?

So, the Xbox 360 didn’t require the Kinect, but this is all changing with the Xbox One. The new Kinect is essential to the Xbox One and this allows developers to program for it, rather than seeing “Better with Kinect” on every game developers will now automatically assume that everyone has it and games will become much more integrated and advanced with the new Kinect. You will be able to use voice, gestures, and natural sensing that allows you to navigate the dashboard, enhance your games, or even allows you to ditch the remotes completely when flipping the channels.

There are a ton of questions still yet to be answered,

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Level-5′s newest 3DS adventure game set in space, the intro explains to you how there are no tutorials and you’re supposed to figure everything out on your own. An experimental game, sure. Maybe even a survival horror game, sure. If anybody is a fan of point-and-click games, it’s this guy. I love the feeling of exploring every little thing I can in a weird setting trying to figure out how I need to progress even if it gets to the point of me developing a headache. I was fully expecting all that from this title. I didn’t get any of that.

Your character wakes up inside of a sleeping capsule from which you cannot exit. The opening sequence of the game is you activating robots through a computer console. While the computer sequence was a little bit complicated and perhaps got you ready for the road ahead, that was about as complex as the game got.

Through operating these robots, you try and essentially piece together what happened while trying to save yourself. There are bodies and debris everywhere which block paths for your robot. The robots you control can only turn in one direction at a time and it really complicated things. There were many times when I was too far away to an object I was blatantly staring at trying to figure out if I did something wrong.  Robots can only carry one item that can’t be dropped, and this told me that I needed to use it. When I think of great point-and-clicks such as the Monkey Island series, I think of tons of useless junk I didn’t really need to use; or at the very least a bunch of useless junk that wasn’t made obvious to me I need to use it.

I must say I was creeped out by the environment with a pair of headphones on at times. Being on a big, dark abandoned ship has never exactly been the friendliest setting in entertainment history. Exploring the halls with nothing but a flashlight as you take turns into a new corridor not knowing what to expect probably sounded great on paper, but it isn’t done correctly this time. The robots are also, well, robots and I didn’t get the same sense of being alone trying to frantically solve puzzles (that are pretty much explained to you anyways) since my human was safe and snug in a pod.

For $7.99, you’ll definitely get a unique experience that lasts probably about three and a half hours. That isn’t terrible. Although I thought it was not the greatest mechanically and held your hand too much despite no tutorials, the atmosphere is creepy and will at least keep you exploring. I could totally see this branching into a bigger project and maybe it will.

The Starship Damrey is available now on Nintendo 3DS for $7.99 from the eShop.

70/100

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Eidos-Montreal’s THIEF has been officially announced as being in development for the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and PC . If you are not familiar, Eidos-Montreal is the studio that was responsible for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Their aim is to create “the best and most immersive THIEF game ever.” Some of THIEF will be shown off at E3 this year, which is just 19 short days away. THIEF will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2014. No exact release date was set.

THIEF reinvents the classic franchise featuring Garrett, the master thirf. When the city that had created and defined him is threatened, Garrett is required to step out of the shadows and uncover the truth before his home is torn apart forever.

Check out the “Out of the Shadows” trailer

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The game takes place in a ruined America ten years later. You are part of a very specialized team to help TAKE BACK AMERICA and RECLAIM WHAT IS OURS. It honestly does seem like a really interesting concept for at least a Call of Duty title and I’m excited to see some new stuff. The facial technology looks rather insane.

Multiplayer has added full customization of your character for a more personal feel. There will also be dynamic environments such as landslides, earthquakes, floods, etc. There’s also man made ones like doors having explosive traps on them etc. Check out the trailer for yourself and see what all the fuss was about!

Behind the scenes.

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And they SHOWED the system. And frankly, it looks fantastic! The controller is super nice, the system is all blocky and sexy lookin’, even the Kinect got a suave upgrade! It’s cloud based!

The new dashboard looks relatively the same, but is now based on different things. The user also said “Xbox on” to turn on the Xbox One. There is now a trending title.

“Xbox, watch TV.” Your Xbox One will be able to watch live TV.

Instant switching. “Xbox, watch TV.” “Xbox, play game.” “Xbox, watch movie.” By one command, you’ll be able to swap between all the different things you can do with your Xbox.

New gestures lets you easily get back to your homepage. No more exiting to the dashboard.

Snap Mode for the Xbox. Run multiple programs alongside each other without having to shut them down.  You can switch to your game or movie like it’s a TV channel.

Skype on Xbox One. Widescreen HD with best living room camera available. You can do group video calls as well. “Xbox, answer call.” You can see the video feed alongside whatever it is you’re doing on the Xbox. “Skype, end call.”

ESPN works seamlessly with ESPN Fantasy. Everything using voice controls, of course.

The Xbox One Guide. “Xbox, show the guide.” Voice control search and navigation, favorites, and trending. You see all your local TV listings right through the Xbox and can control it using the Kinect. No more hunting for a remote control.

Xbox Favorites. The favorites area lets you see all your favorite shows through pinning them. Trending lets you see what people all across the Xbox Community are watching and what is popular.

500GB HDD, 8GB RAM, Wi Fi Direct, a blu ray drive!

New Kinect sensor will come with every Xbox One. Completely redesigned for Xbox One.

The new Xbox Live is more personal and intelligent. More than 300,000 servers will power Xbox Live on Xbox One. There are currently 15,000 for Xbox 360. Everything is stored in a cloud.

A dedicated game DVR to capture all of your best gaming moments, along with a built from the ground up footage editor. Everything uploaded to a cloud, naturally.

Bigger matches with more player capacity.

EA comes out to show off the new EA Sports. EA’s new gaming engine, EA Sports Ignite. Designed specifically to help “blur the line between real and virtual.” This new engine is designed to bring advanced human intelligence, instinct, environment, player motion, living worlds. The first game footage of these new sports titles looks really, really good.

Forza Motorsport 5. And boy, it looks damn impressive.

Quantum Break. New game/live action hybrid announced. More new titles in development now than ever in Xbox’s history. 15 exclusives will launch in year one. 8 of which are brand new franchises.

A live action Halo television series has been announced. Between 343 industries, Xbox, and Mr. Steven Spielberg. Whoa.

Xbox announced partnership with NFL.  You will be able to live broadcast games, see your fantasy stats go up in real time, and then obviously call your friend via Skype to talk shit.

Xbox One launches this year.

Call of Duty Ghosts is shown off as the first next gen CoD. Steven Gaghan, who won an Oscar for Traffic, wrote the story. A DOG IS PART OF YOUR TEAM. America is in ruins and you need to fight back. Dynamic maps in multiplayer. Doors, explosive traps, earthquakes, floods. Character customization for your soldier. I have to say that I love the campaigns and this one looks really, really great.

End of the conference. No hard release or price, but hey, E3 is 19 days away.

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