If you read my stuff then you know that I recently got a Xbox Series X for Christmas. I wanted to talk a little about it with this ditzy blonde's impressions of it.
First off, I am not going to trash talk the PS5; they are different consoles and though both play games, each have their special things about them. The whole thing about one being better than the other is just foolish. I am sure the PS5 is good at what it does and I will eventually get one in the future. The series X has some serious strengths and I am going to talk about them here.
Second, yes the thing is surprisingly heavy for it's compact size. Everything is contained in the console itself and it just has 2 cords, a standard power cord,(actually like the PS4's one), and a 2.1 HDMI cable. Note: I am also using a Ethernet cable instead of wireless. And yes, for some REALLY dumb reason, the Series X does NOT have a USB c port. Why? who KNOWS!!!!! Soooooo stupid, seriously!
It's small size and standard cables make is really easy for me to move it between the house and gaming house to play on my different screens.
Third, if you have a TV that can do it, you can FINALLY get proper 2.1 HDMI support for 4k 120 hz and have a 4.4.4 chroma 10 bit signal. BUT, and this is a big but, you gotta configure your TV properly for that 444 10 bit, or it won't work properly. It is easy to do, just look on the internet for instructions for whatever tv you have, and remember, it ONLY works for tv's with 2.1 ports, otherwise you are stuck with 8 bit 444 if you have 2.0 HDMI.
Ok, so what about the games, right? ;p
Well, I am SURE you have heard the whole thing about how Xbox has no exclusives if you have a good computer, right, and how people say it's a negative.
UGH, that is SUCH a bunch of elitist PC bullshit from geeks with too much money waving their expensive computers with their $800+ video cards around like some kind of huge electronic penis.
There are many, many people out there whose computer does not have the capability or for that matter, even have a computer at ALL, to play these games that are out for both Xbox and PC at max graphical capacity.
Ok people, look, I HAVE a computer that, except for the video card, can play those games fairly well graphic wise. If I wanted to, I COULD have gone the Nvidia 3xxx route and spent $400+ on a new card to get the best graphics, ray tracing, and all that crap.
But I DIDN'T, and do you know why?
Because for my $500, instead of getting ONE computer part, I got a whole compact game system, WITH a controller I might add, that is capable of HDMI 2.1, next gen graphics, ray tracing, and all that other crap. So I am able to play those new games AND have them look all pretty!
Plus, it allows me to wait for all the craziness for those new graphic cards to die down and get one in a few years when they are much, much cheaper, OR when the BETTER ones come out in a few years! ;p After all, my computer is wicked fast for 1080 and 1440, and that's all I need right now from it.
Ok graphical crap aside, how are the games? Well, games are games no matter what system you play them on, just the performance matters and the performance on the series X is great! They look pretty, run well and load up really, REALLY fast thanks to it's memory.
Ok, yes, there IS the whole HDR thing and trying to make it look right for each game, but I am not going to go into that. It is an issue with ALL systems, including PC's, and is an annoyance to everyone trying to figure out proper HDR settings for games. Honestly, if you don't care, just stick to SDR, you will be happier.
But, OMG, the 'instant game response' :O :O :O :O It is one of the most amazing things I have seen in gaming!
Seriously, being able to stop a game by going to the home screen, do something else like play another game or watch a movie, and then come BACK to the previous game RIGHT where you left off instantly, (or 5-10 sec depending on various things) is just AWESOME!!!! And get this, it will work even if the console gets turned off. That's RIGHT! You can turn off the Xbox, leave it for a few days, start it up, start the game, and it goes RIGHT to where you left off, instantly!!!!! It is Microsoft Voodoo people!!!!
It's simply the best thing about the new Xbox's and it REALLY spoils you. It makes playing games for short periods of time effortless since you know you can easily get back into the game with little to no waiting time. Also, ignore what you read about it on the internet, that was an early issue. The issue is fixed now and it works just fine, I have had NO issues with it.
Note, that if you have a disc based game, you DO have to have the disc in the machine for it to work, so remember to put it in first if you took it out. ;p
As for game selection, people say that there is just nothing to play on the new Xboxes. And I say, Honey, oh Honey, that is a load of crap and THEN some. Not only are there the new games from many companies that have enhanced versions for the new consoles, but there is Ultimate Game Pass! For the cost of ONE $60 game, you can get an Xbox Gold card for a year and convert it to Ultimate. This opens up sooooooooooo many games for you to download and play. OMG there are SO many! Sure they are not the newest, but hey, out of the hundreds of games on there, I am SURE you could find something that interests you. And WAIT, YES there ARE also new games on there depending on the release! With Ultimate access you will have more games to try then you have time to play them and from many, MANY different sources. PLUS, if you have a computer, you can play them on the PC as well, and even Game Pass PC only games! People it's win/win.
So there you go, my impressions of the Series X. It's mostly great with little annoyances here and there like no C port and the whole HDR thing. Also, the memory might get to be an issue in the future but you can plug an external SATA drive into it to store games for future use and move them over to the faster drive.
I am happy with the thing and can't wait to try out all the new stuff coming out, well when it gets cheap. I am soooo slow playing games and with Cyberpunk, Valhalla, and Immortals, I got my hands full now. Poor Annabel is going to get neglected ;p
dearest anbel, would you kindly take your annoyances someplace other than lodestone blogs? i have noticed over time it is getting excessive. there are many more appropriate platforms where you can nag all you want. your presence in the community is not a very positive one, many people across the realm agree. if it's not an xbox you take issue with, it's some poor lad in your party. it's getting awfully stale. by all means express yourself, but be more mindful of your tone. yawn
dearest xandur, if it's not for you, find a different platform.
Ah another Annabel hater. LOL
I assure you, you are not the only one who does not like what I write. And yet, despite not liking my content, you, like the others, STILL read my stuff and are drawn to it! ;-)
Face it honey, in the sea of Lodestone selfies, house pictures and FF logs, my stuff is interesting.
I am quite envious that you got to play on the new Xbox. It sounds really cool. I haven't invested in a good gaming device (not even my computer is set up for gaming) for a long time, so I sort of get use the the lag and loading time :p Then I really only have time for FFXIV, so a lot of big hit games I just watch cutscene on youtube instead of playing it.
Let us know if you run into really cool game on it.
Sig, Immortals is really really good if you like Zelda type games.
It's easy to get into, looks beautiful, has challenging puzzles, fast combat, cool toys and abilities to play with, fully voiced with good voice acting, and has some wickedly funny humor, some of which is surprisingly 'adult' for the type of game it is. It's one of those 'hidden gems' that has not really been marketed much, but has been getting really good word of mouth.
it's also for PS 4/5, but I don't know if PC too.
