評測報告：未來游戲機Xbox One志在客廳

????如果Xbox One還沒成為你節日心愿單上最想要的禮物，那它應該占據這個位置。

????美國時間本周五，微軟公司（Microsoft）將推出Xbox One。很明顯微軟這次是瞄準了客廳有備而來，將看電視、玩游戲和上網這三者以空前程度融為一體。這臺設備售價為499美元，要比上周索尼公司（Sony）推出的PlayStation 4貴100美元，但是多出來的這些錢卻能讓用戶獲得下一代的用戶體驗，包括菜單瀏覽、用語音識別和手勢驅動的游戲設置。

????微軟的雄心是，憑借這臺設備，以其以前產品從未做到的方式占領客廳，既靠更先進的硬件，也通過從玩游戲到掃描玩家骨骼和肌肉的無所不能的軟件。這將是一段時間以來，大家第一次在撕開包裝紙后因為看到微軟的標識而激動萬分。

????硬件。形容它就一個字：大！Xbox One就是一頭巨獸，讓PlayStation 4、Wii U和近幾年出品的絕大多數游戲機都相形見絀（實際上它的凈尺寸之大完全可以和老式錄像機相匹敵）。仔細端詳會發現，這臺墨黑色的塑料游戲機頗有特色——它采用了啞光和鏡面混搭的材質，覆蓋機身一半面積的頂蓋為格柵式，一些地方采用了銀色的鍍鉻層，觸摸式電源開關同時也兼做品牌標識——不過Xbox One的工業設計更偏于實用，而不僅僅是為了美觀。全新的Kinect 2動作感應操縱桿也是如此，它的尺寸幾乎和除臭劑罐子一樣大，就是為了和電視機離得更近些。

????手柄和Xbox 360很像，但外觀和手感都進行了優化。兩端的兩個控鍵表面波紋處理得更到位，握持更舒適。按鈕按起來明顯感覺更高檔（特別需要指出的是，方向墊經過了重新設計，感覺再也不是那么廉價了，實用性也強多了）。微軟這次還把振動電機從原來的兩個增加為四個，這樣游戲開發者就不必讓整個手柄都震動，而將游戲帶來的震動感局限于局部。這是一個非常微小的調整，但它能讓玩家在玩《極限競速5》（Forza Motorsport 5）這類游戲時更加身臨其境，比如過彎時就能體會到這種不同。這個手柄的人體工學不像PlayStation 4的那樣到位，后者這方面讓我覺得是所有游戲機中做得登峰造極的一款，不過玩家們也不會覺得微軟的新產品太差勁。

????If the Xbox One isn't already near the top of your holiday wish list, it should be.

????With Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox One, due out this Friday, it's clear the company is gunning for the living room, marrying TV viewing, game play, and Internet-connected services to an unprecedented degree. At $499, it may cost $100 more than the Sony (SNE) PlayStation 4 that was released last week, but the extra cash nets users a next-generation user experience, including menu navigation and gameplay driven by voice recognition and gesture.

????With this device, Microsoft wants to own the living room in a way the company's previous products never could, with more advanced hardware and software that juggles everything from playing games to scanning a player's skeletal frame and musculature. It's the first time in a while you'll be excited to see the Microsoft logo when you rip open the wrapping paper.

????The hardware. One word: huge. The Xbox One is a beast, dwarfing the PlayStation 4 and Wii U and most other consoles of recent years. (It's so large in fact, it'll challenge old-school VCR boxes in sheer size.) There are some nice accents on the jet-back plastic console up-close -- a two-tone juxtaposition of matte and shiny textures, a grill top that covers half the device, some silver chrome, and a touch-activated power button doubling as a logo -- but the Xbox One's industrial design is more utilitarian than looker. The same goes for the new Kinect 2 motion-sensing bar, roughly the size of a Febreze can and meant to sit closer to the television.

????The controller bears a strong resemblance to the Xbox 360's, but the look and feel has been refined. The two handles on either end are slightly more contoured for holding. Buttons click in an appreciably more premium-feeling way. (In the particular, the direction pad has been redesigned and feels a lot less cheap and a lot more usable.) Microsoft also integrated four vibration motors instead of two this time around. So instead of the entire controller rumbling, developers can make the sensation more localized. It's a very subtle distinction but one that adds to the immersiveness of gameplay during games like Forza Motorsport 5, as players take corners. The controller isn't as ergonomic as the PlayStation 4's, which wins my personal award for best-feeling console controller ever, but players won't grouse about discomfort here, either.