The next generation of Xbox consoles are releasing at a bit of an unfortunate time on the surface. Some fans are still reeling from the delay of Halo Infinite which was set to be the big launch title. To compound matters, just four days before the official system launch, developer Blooper Team announced they were moving their timed exclusive from December 10th to January 28th. While this may well have been to avoid releasing on the same day as third-party juggernaut Cyberpunk 2077, it was another blow to the list of exciting new reasons to pick up an Xbox Series X | S immediately.
Taking a moment to gather your thoughts and focus on the vision that Phil Spencer and the team are bringing to the next generation of gaming though, things aren’t anywhere near as bleak as Twitter would make it seem. Halo is a blow for sure, but delays make for better games and when we do see Master Chief in 2021 it is going to be a better experience than we would have otherwise gotten. So now let’s take a closer look at some of the different aspects of the Series X.
DESIGN
It was almost exactly a year ago that the Xbox Series X was both announced and shown off for the first time. I remember initially the console receiving a fairly negative reaction for its aesthetic, but I always liked the bold look of it. Sure it’s big, but we are dealing with really powerful hardware now and I’m afraid that comes at the cost of some real estate in your entertainment centre. I said during my PlayStation 5 review that I liked the look of Sony’s new console as well, but of the two, I think the Xbox wins out narrowly for me. One minor change I would have made Is to have actual green light coming out of the top vents instead of the plastic just being coloured green.
YOU’RE IN CONTROL
In keeping with Xbox’s vision, the new controller is an evolution of the Xbox One pad. Microsoft has added a share button which is a welcome addition. Also, while it isn’t an input I tend to use much, the d-pad both looks and feels great this time around. I think the biggest addition for me is the textured finish on the triggers. It gives the controller a real premium feel in your hands. Going forward I would like to see Xbox investigate adding adaptive triggers and more advanced haptic feedback like the Dualsense on PlayStation 5. In interviews Phil Spencer has been full of praise for Sony’s new controller and having used these new features for a few weeks now I feel confident that they should become the standard in gaming going forward.
For now, the impulse triggers remain impressive. They provide excellent feedback in the likes of Forza Horizon 4 when braking to navigate a tricky corner. AA batteries are still the default method of powering the controller, but charge packs are available at decent prices. This may seem like an archaic way of doing things but it does result in better battery life and the ability to switch batteries down the line when they aren’t keeping a charge for as long.
PERFORMANCE & USER INTERFACE
It may be redundant to say this, but the console is super quick. You go from pressing the Xbox button on the controller to the main dashboard in just a few seconds. The UI itself will be instantly familiar to Xbox One users, but having skipped the previous generation of Xbox consoles it was new to me. At first I did find it a little plain, but it makes up for this by being super responsive.
One thing I am not a huge fan of is the digital store. I would prefer to see everything laid out in different categories on a sidebar, but instead, I found myself having to regularly search for what was looking for. Being able to search the likes of “Xbox 360” and have the store group together over 100 games that are available via backward compatibility is very cool, but then random games are just missing, like GTA: IV. The store feels like an issue on both new systems at the moment, but I think they each have solid foundations to build on.
You can’t talk about performance on an Xbox Series X without mentioning quick resume. This is arguably the biggest feature in Xbox’s favour at launch and it really is impressive. Jumping between multiple games initially didn’t sound like something I would use often, but having a 6-year-old son who is turning into a big gamer, we can now both have games on the go and jump between our respective choices in seconds. Turning off the console with a game still running also allows you to boot straight back to the same point instantly the next time you turn it on.
GAMES
Sadly with the delay of Halo Infinite, the Xbox Series wasn’t able to launch with a major AAA title. The closest was Gears Tactics, which had released on PC back in April but just came to console in time for the next-generation launch. By all accounts the game is superb, but it just isn’t my jam, so I haven’t tried it yet. However, one game I have put about 15 hours into so far is Football Manager 2021, which despite not appealing to everyone certainly has a large fan base and is a huge get as a console exclusive.
I am happy to report that if you are a fan of the Football Manager series you are going to love this port. Thanks to the power of the console and speed of the SSD hard drive the game is impressively quick. Load times are very minimal and after a relatively quick learning curve, the game handles very well with a controller. The match engine can still look clunky at times but there is no question it is improving all the time and it certainly conveys fine details that you can then adjust in the team tactics menu to shore up weaknesses.
Anyone who has ever said “Xbox has no games” hasn’t browsed through Xbox Game Pass. It was an impressive library before, but with EA Play being seamlessly added to the mix it just drives home the incredible value that is on offer here. First-party titles like Gears 5, Ori, Forza Horizon 4, Halo and Alan Wake. Third-party hits like Control, Alien Isolation and Mortal Kombat X down to lesser-known gems like Lonely Mountain Downhill and My Friend Pedro. Now EA Play titles like the Madden, FIFA, NHL and NBA Live series just bolster the service ten-fold. Thanks to backward compatibility you even get the Dead Space games included with your subscription.
It really is the Netflix of games and it offers tremendous value. Parents picking up an Xbox Series X | S for Christmas can literally just pay for Game Pass and know that their child has enough quality titles to keep them going until the next time Santa comes down the chimney. With new titles being added monthly and the promise of all first-party titles joining the lineup day one it is a service that is ever-evolving, so as soon as you think you have seen all there is to see, new additions pop up.
BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY
Having missed out on the last generation of Xbox, one of the biggest lures for me was being able to go back and play some classic Xbox 360 games. SSX, Dead Space, Rockstar Table Tennis, Splinter Cell and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare are games I am looking forward to re-playing down the line. Some games are even enhanced to look better by default, which is a huge win and make the Xbox ecosystem the best way to experience these older games.
BRIGHT FUTURE
This leads straight on to bright future – a header I also used on the PlayStation review. Going into this generation of consoles I feel that both Sony and Microsoft are excellently poised for success. There is no denying that it is disappointing that Xbox didn’t have some AAA games ready for launch. When the exclusive releases dried up for the Xbox One in the last few years I thought for sure this was leading to an explosive start to the Series X | S life cycle, but instead, patience is required.
Halo Infinite should release in 2021 despite its rocky development and while Phil Spencer said Forza Motorsport is still “early in development” I can’t see 2021 coming and going without some sort of release in the Forza franchise. By 2022 though, I think we will see Xbox firing on all cylinders. They have amassed an exciting list of first-party studios, bolstered by the imminent purchase of Bethesda and once they hit their stride we could be seeing an exclusive AAA game three or four times a year from Phil and the team.
SHARING MEDIA
One really nice touch coming from the PlayStation side is how easy it is to share media on Xbox. Over on PlayStation I often find myself tweeting out a picture or video directly from the console, then rushing to my phone so that I can save the media and then delete the tweet and compose a new one saying what I want before re-attaching the desired picture/clip. Instead with Xbox when I take a screenshot I get a notification on my phone that it has been uploaded to the cloud and I can then manage, edit and post from my phone. I know this isn’t new to the Series X | S, but as someone who hadn’t used it before it really is a neat feature.
VERDICT
At launch, the Xbox Series X is a bigger, better and faster version of the Xbox One. It feels like a console that is well equipped for the generation ahead and closer to high-level PC specs than say the PS4/Xbox One was at launch in 2013. While it may be a little disappointing that there isn’t much new to play exclusively on this device day one – unless you love stat-based football (which you should, it’s awesome!) you are buying into the future of Xbox. A future that looks very bright with so many talented studios under the Microsoft banner. And in the meantime, there is no shortage of brilliant third-party games to keep you occupied.
-Craig 🧐
This console was provided by Microsoft for review purposes.
