OASIS vs Blur, Ali vs Frazier, Alien vs Predator . . . just a few of the great rivalries that always produce stonking entertainment.
Now gaming behemoths Xbox and PlayStation are going head to head once again in the run-up to Christmas, with both poised to release their eagerly awaited next-gen consoles this month.
Xbox and PlayStation are going head to head once again in the run-up to Christmas
Here, our Digital Technology & Science Editor Sean Keach reviews both to see if the Series X Xbox excites most . . . or if it’s a PS5 out of five.
Xbox Series X
A COMPACT, gorgeous tower of gaming triumph, this is smaller than the PS5 and prettier too.
The real meat is inside, of course, with an eight-core processor and a custom graphics card that handles 12TRILLION operations a second.
The Xbox Series X is a gorgeous tower of gaming triumph
This PC-grade gear comfortably delivers 4K visuals at 60 frames a second, with 8K on the horizon.
Slick racer Forza Horizon 4 was jaw-dropping on this, texture-dense and often photorealistic.
Dirt 5 was also stunning, with flawless lighting, but Forza gets bonus points for being set in Britain’s beautiful North.
Games like these use “ray tracing” to map out light, shadow and reflections like never before.
Other platforms do this but games on the Series X load faster thanks to the nippy 1TB solid-state drive.
This enables “Quick Resume”, letting you hop between games without saving.
I am not wowed by the roster of new games, although Fable and Halo Infinite are coming next year.
But given you’ll have this console for the best part of a decade, don’t be put off by the early gaming drought.
Slick racer Forza Horizon 4 is jaw-dropping in 4K
VERDICT: A powerful, good-looking alternative to the PS5, brimming with gaming potential, though probably not a must-buy . . . yet.
RATING: 4/5
PlayStation 5
IF a console’s size determines its worth, this wins hands down. It dwarfs the Series X.
The design isn’t to my liking and I had to rearrange my Ikea cabinet to squeeze it in. But some people love its look, so maybe I’m just getting old.
The new Xbox can’t match the PS5’s level of controller immersion
The PS5 offers high-frame-rate 4K gaming with impressive visuals. I was awestruck by the new Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which brilliantly renders a snowy New York at Christmas.
You can see right across wintry Manhattan in 4K, with detailed textures, realistic weather and endless city traffic.
It also lets the PS5 show off its ray tracing, with detailed reflections in the windows of skyscrapers.
You have to see it to fully appreciate how big a leap this is.
