Developer: Hi-Rez Studios
Publisher: Hi-Rez Studios
Platform: PC, Xbox One
Tested on: Xbox One
SMITE (Xbox One) – Preview
We’ve already done a couple of previews on SMITE where we discussed the closed beta, the open beta and a beginner’s guide of the pc version. This preview is a little bit different. SMITE is coming to Xbox One and we’ve checked out the beta. It’s always interesting to see pc games coming over to a console as it’s usually the other way around. Let’s dive in.
The PC version of SMITE was released last year and we’ve already discussed the mechanics of the game in depth in previous posts so let’s not waste time on that. How does it play on Xbox? Well, pretty good. As a noob in the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre, I mastered the controls pretty quickly as they feel quite intuitive. As you know, you play with the camera set in a third-person perspective which combined with the thumb sticks makes moving around the map feel natural. Your basic attacks are done by pressing the right trigger and abilities are then selected using the X – A – B – Y and can be used by pressing the corresponding button again or by pulling the right trigger. As you can imagine, firing of certain abilities with the trigger can feel very satisfying. Selected abilities can also be cancelled by pressing the right bumper while the left bumper in combination with an ability, upgrades said ability. At first the whole system might feel a bit overwhelming to new players but it’ll grow on you soon. While you can’t remap the buttons yourself, there are also some pre-sets to choose from if you don’t like the default control scheme. It would be nice to see a custom control binding make its way over to this Xbox One version. The only moment in which I felt annoyed by having to use the controller was when browsing the in-match shop, having to scroll through all the items separately can get a bit cumbersome.
Graphical quality is an aspect where you’ll really notice the game is still in a beta phase. Menu’s don’t always feel quite as snappy as you’d expect them too, pop-in issues occur regularly (especially in the start of a match) and overall the game just lacks some more graphical fidelity as it doesn’t really look “next-gen”. However the game does manage to bring over that unique art-style which is also used in the pc-version of the game and that greatly helps in giving the game it’s unique identity which we’ve become to know and love. Some other features are still lacking as well such as the ability to download customized builds for the characters. The feature is already in the pc-version so let’s hope it also makes it way to the console. Another annoyance is communication. While on the pc, it’s easy to quickly type some messages, the Xbox One relies on voice communication which can be a barrier for some players. Most gods currently available for the pc version of the game are also in the Xbox One version and even some new ones as well like Bellona, the Roman goddess of war and Cabrakan, Destroyer of mountains. Also all known game modes are to be found in this version of the game: Conquest (classic MOBA mode), Joust (simpler version of Conquest), Siege (destroy each other’s structures and collect points), Arena (death match) and Assault (single lane with random god).
Conclusion
The MOBA-genre on Xbox One is still pretty much an open market with no games that quite match the scope that SMITE offers. So far it’s looking pretty good with some minor annoyances which are to be expected in a beta. If the game manages to overcome those, it’s well on its way to become the game to play for any MOBA enthusiast with an Xbox One.
SMITE (Xbox One) - Preview,
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