Five weeks ago I reviewed the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty Ghosts. So why are you now reviewing the Xbox One version you may ask. Well, I wanted to see how the two versions compared and whether there was a case for buying the Xbox One version over it’s little brother. On the 360 I happily gave it top TXH marks despite a couple of niggly issues, but would that still be the case for the next gen? Read on and I’ll let you know.
Well, without treading over old ground too much, this could well be the shortest review I’ve ever had to write. The game is pretty much exactly the same as the 360 version. There are no new multiplayer features, there are no additional story campaign missions, there are no new dogs (not even a gorgeous looking next gen one!). It’s the same game, just run on a slightly different, more powerful, more expensive system.
The story is still the same engrossing one that it always was and I’ve had good experiences playing through the campaign for an additional time. Again, the scenery and backgrounds throughout are absolutely first class, looking rather amazing for the most part. Or at least they would if this was a 360 game. But it’s not, this should be the epitome of next gen and whilst I understand the need to get the game out quickly as a launch title, I personally would have preferred a slight delay to make the graphics at least look like proper next gen stuff. The character models are still rather basic and don’t stand up well to those in other Xbox One titles (throw in a comparison of this and Ryse and you’ll see what I mean). Character models in multiplayer are even further from the now norm that it’s really rather scary.
The multiplayer itself is still good fun, with squads and extinction still being the standouts for me, but get together with a group of mates and the standard deathmatch and team games found in the multiplayer aisles are most definitely worth a session or two, but again perhaps it would have been nice to have had something else for your extra bucks added in to keep the interest alive.
The gameplay through both single and multiplayer is great though and even if some are now deciding to tread the Battlefield 4 route, there is no reason to skip Ghosts for something new.
So is it a worthy upgrade over the 360 version? Well, if you have sold your old console, then you’ll have no choice but to buy it if you wish to get a COD fix, but if you own both consoles I can’t really sit here and tell you to throw £50 at something that is hardly any different to what you already have. Just keep hold of that cash until a proper next gen Call of Duty hits the market.
It’s still good, but good is no longer good enough. With a new powerful system and full next gen rocking and rolling, things really need to be better than good nowadays. They need to be exceptional and unfortunately this time round, Ghosts isn’t quite there.
Even Riley can’t bring it up to a 5/5!
*You can read my original thoughts on Call of Duty Ghosts in my 360 review here.
