Since it was presented at the distant E3 2018, within the Microsoft conference, we have dreamed of gaining the glove on a more advanced version of Project xCloud, with which the Xbox division will face Google Stadia and other services in streaming. Because it is one of the great technologies of the future.
The idea of playing a console or PC game without a console or PC, using a portable device such as a mobile phone or a tablet, is something very succulent. Especially when your catalog is covered by almost a hundred games in the preview from the service, almost all of them taken from Xbox Game Pass. But how about it unfolds Project xCloud? It's time to see it thoroughly.
Prerequisites to consider
As it happened with the service Xbox Game Streaming, of which we exposed our impressions at the beginning of the year, Project xCloud makes use of the same application and it shares almost all of its prerequisites … except for the fact that we no longer depend on an Xbox One console. Everything goes through the cloud.
So, this is the only thing that we must take into account:
Here we no longer have to worry about Console natsince everything will go through "the power of the cloud" of Microsoft Azure and there is no "physical" console to which we will connect, so we save ourselves an annoying intermediary.
In my case, I have more than met the requirements once again, thanks to the symmetrical 600 MB of my ISP and very little latency in the signal, so at the outset I was more optimistic about this futuristic service from Microsoft. However, the experience has not been the most optimal with all the games, seeing various minor bugs they have slightly blurred the image of Project xCloud… although It should be remembered that we are dealing with a preliminary version And those mistakes may not be experienced by everyone. My colleagues from Xataka MóvilIn fact, some suffered like me but in other cases they have done better. It also depends on the state of the servers. or the quality of the signal.
It should be borne in mind, however, that if we opt for 5 GHz mobile data, it will consume a lot of megabytes in a few minutes, while with Wi-Fi you will not have to go too far from the reception area of the router to minimize packet loss or avoid possible interference noise.
How about the performance from Project xCloud?
Moving on to games, I've tried different from highest to lowest visual impact or use the network to know how far it can be developed and as an alternative to standard use from Xbox One or Windows 10. And the truth is that, for now, its performance is not the same in all games. And we insist, preliminary version.
I started with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night a meter away from the router and from a Huawei P30 Pro. First, because it is not an apparently demanding game for this kind of services; and second, because I have played all the portable Castlevania, how Aria of Sorrow, and do not hurt to look at. The result? Visually I did not notice any loss, except for a few slight jerks, very subtle, when moving with Miriam. And this continued like this when testing in the next room, but nothing to prevent me from properly playing this IGA play.
It was time to level up, of course, and here I was clear: the next one had to be Forza Horizon 4, one of my favorites from Xbox Game Studios. It took little time to start (every game needs at least a minute to start to configure and load the stream) and instantly I was immersed where I had left it a few months ago on Xbox One. The visual impact was tremendous, but right after that something came that shocked me: a constant failure of sound, with backfire that bothered a lot. It was the only "but" to a transmission that was going luxury.
Because that error in the audio did not apply to the game refresh rate, which was completely fluid. Of course, narrowing my eyes, I found that the graphics that shocked me at the beginning were not the same as defined as those of an Xbox One X, since there were impurities in the textures. But playing at that speed and on such a small device (any mobile, no matter how many inches it is, it is), it is hardly noticeable. Hence I tried right after from my mid-range tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab A6, because here the quality of the Android device does not matter as long as the prerequisites are met.
The differences were minimal, except for the higher resolution of the tablet. And they followed those backbones in the audio. Also, in both cases, Project xCloud warns us of the quality of the signal, in case there are fluctuating peaks. And it should be remembered that due to the situation we are in suffering from the coronavirus, there is greater saturation of the network, so it is not the ideal scenario for anyone.
Anyway, after looking at its catalog (at the end of the article we will put the complete list), I was surprised to come across Civilization VIsince that not on Xbox Game Pass. And curiously, with this Sid Meier jewel the transmission was perfect, from beginning to end. Even with cinematics. Besides, as a 4X strategy game, it is very comfortable in portable mode.
I came upstairs, so I wanted to try the Gears 5, but yesterday it was impossible for me:
Gears 5 is currently being updated and cannot be streamed at this time. Try again later
With other games I tried afterwards, sometimes I got the message "Wait, currently the game streaming servers are in use", which reminded me of what I lived with Playstation nowby Sony but without being so marked.
Today, without going any further, I was able to test Gears 5 with Project xCloud and was amazed at how good it was. I even dared to return to the unfortunate Crackdown 3, where he was moderately fluid despite those very improvable graphics of the game itself. These are not titles that I am going to play in this way, straining my eyes, except if in the future I schedule a tablet of more inches to take advantage of a trip.
Good wickerwork for future technology
As for the application itself, it surprises with a design in the Microsoft line, with a sober and effective design, with strong presence for the covers of each game and showing the last ones that we have tried to have them at hand.
To exit a game we will not use the Home button on the controller, but we will touch the upper left part of the screen of the touch device, where three points appear in a row, to select the option "exit the game". This side menu will be hidden, but slightly bordering the screen in black, in the same way as the right side for the signal, blinking as it varies.
With the Home button, in any case, we will display another menu
This minimalist version of the Guide menu It will show us the friends online, the achievements of the game we are currently playing, and other types of social options, such as starting a group, seeing the invitations or looking for someone.
Few more options will be available to us with this preliminary version of Project xCloud, being others from its configuration, clicking on the photo of our profile at the bottom right on the screen, from where we can manage privacy (appear offline or not) or allow mobile data.
A minimalist design for which there is no place, at the moment, the possibility of marking a game as a favorite to have it accessible without depending on the last ones we have played. Fringes, in any case, for a service that, despite its impurities with some games (being a preliminary version, we insist), does not cease to surprise by the vast array of possibilities that we are offered to play from anywhere. A most optimistic future for Microsoft… not to mention how much the console promises (not only potentially) Xbox Series X.
Official list of games for Project X Cloud
As for the video games available on Project xCloud, it is surprising that there are some, such as the aforementioned Civilization VI or Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, among many others, that do not come from Xbox Game Pass. And that's a hoot.
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Absolve
- Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- ARK: Survival Evolved
- Batman: The Enemy Within
- Batman: The Telltale Series
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar
- Black desert
- Bleeding Edge
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
- Bomber Crew
- Borderlands 2
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
- Children of Morta
- Cities: Skylines
- Civilization VI
- Conan Exiles
- Crackdown 3
- Darksiders III
- DayZ
- Dead by Daylight
- Dead Island: Definitive Edition
- Destiny 2
- Devil May Cry 5
- DiRT Rally 2.0
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- F1 2019
- Farming Simulator 17
- Felix the Reaper
- Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour
- For the King
- Forza Horizon 4
- Forza Motorsport 7
- Frostpunk
- Gears 5
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
- GoNNER – Blüeberry Edition
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo Wars 2
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Hello Neighbor
- Hitman
- Journey to the Savage Planet
- Just Cause 4
- Killer Instinct
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance
- Kingdom: Two Crowns
- The sims 4
- Madden NFL 20
- Mark of the Ninja Remastered
- Moonlighter
- MotoGP 19
- MudRunner
- Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
- Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
- Overcooked!
- Knights Portal
- Puyo Puyo Champions
- RAD
- ReCore
- Sea of thieves
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Shadow Warrior 2
- Sniper Elite 4
- SoulCalibur VI
- Sparklite
- State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
- Subnautica
- SUPERHOT
- Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
- Tekken 7
- TERA
- The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut
- The Surge
- The Wolf Among Us
- The Hunter: Call of the Wild
- Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
- Track
- Train Sim World 2020
- Unravel Two
- Vampyr
- War thunder
- Warhammer: Vermintide II
- Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
- World of Final Fantasy Maxima
- World of Tanks: Valor
- World of Warships: Legends
- World war z
- WRC 7: FIA World Rally Championship
- Wreckfest
- WWE 2K20
- Yakuza 0
- Yoku's Island Express
Official site | Project xCloud
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