Head of Xbox Phil Spencer just published a series of tweets commenting on a variety of games, starting with today's biggest story: the reveal of the Nintendo Switch. His first impressions are that Super Mario Odyssey looked new and fresh, while The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild should be great. Overall, it will be fun to see what game developers can come up with for the new hybrid console by Nintendo.
Mario looked new/fresh. Zelda should be great. Hybrid console, will be fun to see what new game ideas come from that.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 13, 2017
Spencer also gave a few updates on two highly anticipated Xbox One/PC titles: Crackdown 3 and Phantom Dust. He said that he just played Crackdown 3 and it was the best Crackdown experience he had so far, really fun with diverse enemies and a world that is 'very alive'. He also got a look at the Phantom Dust remaster and apparently the game still holds up really well after all these years.
Just played Crackdown3 w/ @shannonloftis Best CD exp I've had. Agent control, world is very alive, diverse enemies, really fun.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 13, 2017
And I got a short look at Phantom Dust with @shannonloftis and @RealKLobb , game really holds up, team is doing nice work.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 13, 2017
Xbox gamers were particularly concerned about the state of the lineup after Scalebound was cancelled a few days ago, so perhaps these comments will reassure them a bit. Still, let's hope Microsoft has a few surprises left up its sleeve, or the lineup in 2017 might not hold up to Sony's.
Crackdown 3 has been delayed multiple times, but last month Art Director Dave Johnson confirmed that it's coming before Holiday 2017 on Xbox One and PC. The game's biggest feature by far is that it will use Microsoft's Azure cloud network to deliver real-time destruction. Apparently, the technology provides twenty times more power than playing on a single Xbox One, which is also why destruction will be significantly toned down while playing the campaign mode since that will have to be available offline.
Crackdown 3 will run at 4K resolution on Xbox Scorpio, the enhanced Xbox One also due for release in Holiday 2017. The Phantom Dust remaster is also scheduled to launch this year, though we haven't seen a lot of it yet.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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