Xbox One backward compatibility is great for classic games despite issues
Digital Foundry has gone through and tested "every major game" which is backward compatible on Xbox One. As one would expect, some played better than others.
According to the report, "less demanding titles" match the original Xbox 360 experience while "more demanding titles" are hit or miss.
"But the bottom line is that for the most part, Microsoft has got it right here, and being able to centralize two generations of Xbox titles into one box is a highly compelling proposition," said Digital Foundry. "If some of the remaining performance issues can be eliminated or reduced this could become the best way to experience classic Xbox 360 titles."
We pulled some of the tiles tested from the report along with the final verdict on each. See below.
- Gears of War 3 - Playable with some performance issues
- Gears of War Judgement - Nearly unplayable due to severe performance drops
- Halo Reach - Nearly unplayable
- Shadow Complex - Almost perfect
- Mass Effect - Exploration and cut-scenes are improved; combat is a mess
- Hydro Thunder - Better on Xbox One
- Braid - Perfect
- Condemned - Improved
Microsoft announced 10 new Xbox 360 titles are now backward compatible for Xbox One. One of the titles, The Witcher 2, is free for all Xbox consoles owners through February 5.
The firm also said going forward it would release backward compatible games as they are ready instead of on a monthly basis.