The power of the cloud. Does anyone remember that refrain? It was something that Microsoft used excessively back during the reveal of the Xbox One, to the point of satire and parody. Back when Microsoft had to justify not only the console’s relative weakness compared to the PS4, but also its then planned always online connectivity, Microsoft had to fall back on the mythical cloud, and all the benefits that it would provide to games on the Xbox One, via the extra processing power that it could theoretically support and provide.
The original vision for the Xbox One is long gone at this point, as is all the rhetoric about the cloud, but one upcoming game, at least, is still going to rely on the cloud to enhance the experience that it can deliver. Crackdown 3 will use the cloud in the multiplayer mode, to provide players with a fully destructible city. This kind of performance, Crackdown 3 producer Dave Jones claims, is possible because of the cloud, which does in fact make the Xbox One an effectively more powerful console for as long as the system has access to it- the most powerful console ever, as a matter of fact.
Of course, this is all theoretical and temporary, and advantages provided to the system transient. Still, it is something intriguing, and the first time that Microsoft has seemingly walked the talk, as far as its cloud rhetoric is concerned. Whether or not Crackdown 3 will indeed benefit from the cloud in ways that we are being promised is something that remains to be seen.
