Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare console showdown: Xbox One vs. Xbox 360

By Adam Rosenberg Published November 11, 2014

We’ve already taken a look at how Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare runs on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a side-by-side comparison, but now we’re going to consider two versions of the game that have legitimate differences. The Xbox One is Microsoft’s shiny new gaming flagship, a beefy, black box that delivers best-in-class gaming for a 2014 audience. Its predecessor, the Xbox 360, benefits from almost a decade of active development. There’s no doubt that the Xbox One exceeds it, but by how much at this early point in the new console’s life?

Related: Some tips for surviving Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s campaign

Recommended Videos

Quite a bit, as this video demonstrates. The pre-rendered opening cutscene obviously looks identical on both — it’s just a video playback, not a function of active processing — but the gameplay, from the drop pod on, shows noticeable differences between the two platforms. Just take a look at the split-screen comparison of the final descent. There is significantly more detail on the XB1, more visual effects and liveliness to the image, that is just absent on the Xbox 360. The textures are sharp on the older console, but they’re lacking in fine details and don’t pop nearly as much without the enhanced lighting.

Related: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare review

Both videos come from a playthrough of the game’s first mission on the Normal difficulty setting. The Xbox One play comes from a post-completion save, so if you’re noting a difference between the two consoles in the reload time, that’s why. The Xbox 360 version is certainly playable, but it’s very difficult to go back and look at that game after you’ve spent multiple hours on the Xbox One release.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

How to get two primary weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Soldiers battle in an abandoned airport.

Building your loadout in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the same as crafting your build in an RPG. Which weapons and perks you take can completely change how you play and what role you should take in any given match. Typically, you are restricted to equipping a primary and secondary weapon, but previous titles included a perk that allowed you to double up on primary weapons to essentially play double duty. That perk, Overkill, isn't in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, so you will need to look for a different solution to get two primary weapons this time around.
How to equip two primary weapons

Instead of the Overkill perk giving you space to carry two primary weapons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 introduces the Gunner Vest. This is a piece of gear rather than a perk, and can be unlocked when you hit level 20, or you can use the Overkill vest when you hit level 50. The Gunner vest lets you start with more ammo, reload faster, and, most importantly, equip two primary weapons.

Gaming

The best perks in Modern Warfare 3

Soliders take cover behind a riot shield in a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 promo image.

If there's one thing besides your gun that you need to ensure is customized just perfectly in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it's definitely the layout of your perks. You get to choose one perk from each of the four categories, and you'll want to be sure they match ideally with your playstyle. As such, your perfect perk selections will ultimately come down to personal taste, but we've compiled a list of the two best perks from each category that we feel will be useful on the widest variety of loadouts. Read on to see what we've chosen as the best perks in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Best vest perks
The best perk for your vest slot depends a lot on your playstyle. If you find that you're a run-and-gun type, you may prefer the Gunner Vest since it spawns you with the maximum amount of ammo while also providing faster reload speed for every gun. That being said, the Engineer Vest can be invaluable for those who want to take things slow because it shows you killstreaks and field equipment through walls, which can save your life by letting you know exactly what to expect in the next room and letting you plan accordingly.
Best gloves perks
The best perk for your gloves slot is generally going to be the Scavenger Gloves due to them allowing you to restock ammo off of fallen players, keeping you in the fight longer if you can manage to keep dropping your foes. However, you may prefer the faster weapon swapping that comes with the Quick-Grip Gloves in certain cases, particularly if you find that you're frequently swapping to your sidearm to finish off your enemies.
Best boots perks
The best perk for your boots slot is either the Lightweight Boots or Covert Sneakers. The former grants you noticeably faster movement speed both on land and in water, while the former completely reduces your footstep audio to make you significantly sneakier as you run around the map looking for your next kill. If you're a guns-blazing kind of player, Lightweight may actually work best at letting you rapidly approach other players, but being able to slink around with Covert Sneakers is definitely unmatched for those taking things a little slower.
Best gear perks
The best perk for your gear slot is probably Mission Control Commlink, as it reduces the number of kills required to earn killstreaks, which will in turn provide you with even more options in combat. However, don't sleep on Ghost T/V Camo either, as this will stop you from showing up on your opponents' radar while you're moving, making their UAVs and Heartbeat Sensors useless when it comes to you.

Gaming

How to access the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta

A soldier aims their pistol at an enemy at night.

It's been almost a year since last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, which means it's time for the next installment in the annual shooter franchise. This time we're completing the trilogy (again) with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This entry has already generated a lot of hype among fans of the franchise for the inclusion, and return, of some highly requested features such as the mini-map and Zombies mode.

Sticking to the usual late-fall release schedule, Modern Warfare 3 will officially launch on November 10 of this year, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until then to get a taste of what's to come. If you play your cards right, you can get in on the beta to sharpen your skills before the competition.
How to access the Modern Warfare 3 beta

nproxy.org