Calls for backward compatibility have echoed across Xbox One forums for over a year, and Microsoft finally looks to give the community what it wants. Slated for wide implementation this fall, backward compatibility is currently in beta through the Xbox Preview Program At present some 20 games are available, many of them early 360 releases. A couple of high profile titles, Gears of War and Mass Effect, have been added to the list. Anyone who owns a physical copy, or who has a digital copy in their purchase history, may download these games in digital form to their Xbox One. Using emulator software to mimic the Xbox 360, the Xbox One is capable of playing these last gen games as if they were running on an older console. Essentially, it works as though you were using an Xbox 360, and earns achievements exactly as it would on an actual console.
I recently tested backward compatibility on both Gears and Mass Effect. Though still in beta, it seems to run with few problems. When players start up a game, there is a short pause before the old Xbox 360 startup logo comes on screen. The first time I did this I also received a message that my Xbox One was verifying my Xbox 360 info from the cloud. Then my game saves were imported from cloud storage. If you wish to use old game save and continue a playthrough, they must be transferred from your 360 to the cloud. If you’ve sold your old console and lost the saves, you can still play a backward compatible game, but you’d need to start a new playthrough.
Both Gears of War and Mass Effect worked seamlessly. Graphics were not improved in any way, which is to be expected, since they are not being upgraded for backward compatibility. Mass Effect DLC “Bring Down The Sky” could not be detected when I loaded a previous save, and thus would not load, forcing me to start over. Microsoft is reported to be working on this issue. None of my Gears of War DLC was present, so I’m assuming it was the vanilla game. Since the Gears DLC was all multiplayer maps, if I recall correctly, it didn’t have any impact on my progression saves. It remains to be seen whether all backward compatible games will come with a full slate of DLC. For instance, I own copies of Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas in “Ultimate Editions”. If either of those games is made compatible, how will it recognize that I have a second disc for all the DLC? Or will only vanilla versions be released?
An even bigger question is, how often will people play backward compatible games? Most of us buy new consoles to experience better graphics and to see how games raise the bar in each successive generation. The first thing that struck me when I started Mass Effect for the first time in years is how dated it looks. Clunky gameplay doesn’t help either. Say what you will about EA’s influence on later games, but at least many kinks were ironed out of the controls. That being said, 20 minutes into the session I wasn’t paying too much attention to how dated the game looked and felt anyway. It was like losing yourself in a classic movie. I have a handful of games that I would go back to no matter how much time passes, including both Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, as well as the Elder Scrolls Games and Demon’s / Dark Souls. I also have games which were downloaded either as purchases or Free With Gold on my Xbox 360. I should take the time to fire them up, but never do. Perhaps the novelty of playing them on the One might motivate me. I’m a fan of the improved controller on Xbox One, so this provides extra incentive to play on the new platform.
