With its close-up third-person camera, an emphasis on spontaneous, explosive action, and larger-than-life mythological names like Zeus, Hercules, and Medusa, Smite

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Hi-Rez Studios misses almost no beats in translating the excellent Smite PC experience from keyboard to controller, thanks in large part to that unique point of view, where you directly control one of over 60 gods, demigods or monsters of myth that all look and sound fantastic. But though it is very good, the translation isn’t quite perfect.Nearly every attack or ability in Smite is a skill shot – meaning it has to be aimed, there are very few free shots here – and so the reduced precision and reaction time from keyboard to controller means some abilities are just inherently more difficult to aim. But outside that slight hinderance, Smite’s customizable controls are accessible, and its many systems have been completely retooled for intuitive controller support without losing all those layers of functionality.For example, the in-match store that houses a seemingly endless number of clickable items and options to customize your god is tackled in a streamlined system of organized menus. Smite’s depth is here from top to bottom, and nothing has been watered down – but it comes at the cost of some minor interface blemishes, a few clunky menus, and the occasional stutter. But there’s thoughtful design at work behind this version of Smite in the menu redesigns, the on-the-fly, in-match systems, and the core controls that bring every intense engagement to life.And that feeling of epic, strategic battle with superpowered gods is alive and well on Xbox One. Hovering high in the air with Thor’s powerful ultimate and gazing down on a battlefield full of targets before crashing down hammer-first and obliterating an opponent is as potent as ever. As is running through the jungle cloaked as Loki, waiting to ambush an enemy god out of place, and burying his twin daggers deep in their back.Smite remains a fast-paced game of smart strategy that demands cooperation and communication to survive and thrive in its spontaneous eruptions of white-knuckle team combat. And with its many varied game modes, it’s near-never-ending progression system, it’s one-time progress transfer from PC to console, and its reasonable, and genuinely unintrusive free-to-play pricing, you’re free to become as wholly invested in Smite on the Xbox One as you can on the PC.