Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking Fast-forward to more recent times and I’m fortunate again to have received an Xbox Series X from Microsoft for review, but it’s a familiar problem: there’s a whole lot to love about this next-gen console, but there’s not a killer app to truly justify its purchase. I already had the app installed, so it migrated my account settings to the Xbox Series X and prompted me when it needed my input. I was up and ready to play in a few minutes and, refreshingly, the controller was connected out of the box, so I didn’t even need to sync to get started. Once it’s ready to go, it looks very familiar to the Xbox One user interface, but while that familiarity misses the mark with a novel next-gen sheen, it does make for straightforward already-learnt navigation. Plus, it also means you can use neat old tricks to access international streaming content. Now that 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps) is the new standard, Microsoft has sagely put effort into ensuring that playing on the Xbox Series X feels more responsive than ever. While developers will have the option of releasing 30fps games that prioritise fidelity over frame rate, you won’t want to go back, and with the pledge of 120fps multiplayer for Halo Infinite, fans of competitive online play in particular are going to appreciate the low-latency feel of Series X. The disclaimer there is that you’ll need a TV or monitor that supports HDMI 2.1 if you want to play at 4K 120fps, but it’s a nice future-proofing step. In terms of the Xbox Wireless Controller, it’s also great that it can connect to PC via Bluetooth without a dongle. If, for instance, you’re a massive Gears 5 fan or missed it at launch, this game is a no-brainer purchase or one of the first games you should download (or transfer over) from the absolutely killerXbox Game Pass. For people with active Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, there are hundreds of games to choose from, and this subscription carries over from Xbox One to Xbox Series X. When those big-name next-gen first-party games do come, they’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one, so its value continues to be highlighted. That said, the next-gen games you’ll be able to play at launch are third-party ones, which means they’re also available on other platforms. I spent a chunk of my review time with a game that’s unfortunately under embargo, so I can’t name it, but I will say that the 4K resolution made for gorgeous visuals and the 60fps gameplay felt great. Whichever game I played as part of my review – Yakuza: Like a Dragon, The Touryst, Gears Tactics, Gears 5, Dirt 5 and Forza Horizon 4 to name a handful – I was constantly impressed with speedy loading times. As a gamer who plays predominantly on PC, I’m used to short loading times care of fast SSDs, so it’s great to see the fast-loading trend has finally landed on console. Games like Forza Horizon 4 – another classic Microsoft title that’s received the Xbox next-gen optimisation treatment – prompted me to update to the best version of the game via Smart Delivery, which is a welcome feature that’s made the journey from One X. There are 30 Optimised Titles ready for launch, which is a great number, but outside of a tweaked Gears Tactics – a game you may have already played on Windows 10 (I have; it’s great) – nothing in that list demands that you must own an Xbox Series X to play it. Microsoft says that thousands of games across Xbox generations are playable on Xbox Series X and Series S, and that was certainly true of the games that I played. Even original Xbox games like Too Human and Crimson Skies worked well, while transferring these older-generation games to the internal hard drive meant noticeably faster loading times. This was the case with Battlefield V, which is an absolute snail when it comes to loading on the Xbox One X, but loads in under 10 seconds on Xbox Series X. Refreshingly, this backwards-compatibility push also extends to peripherals, meaning if you have an officially licensed Xbox One accessory, you should be able to bring it over to your next-gen Xbox. While equalisation tools are unfortunately lacking, there is an equalisation ‘Mode’ button for cycling through presets: Bass Boost, Signature Sound, Treble Boost and Vocal Boost. The setting you should get most used to, though, is tapping the power button to activate Superhuman Hearing. This setting boosts sometimes-quieter audio cues, which is great for shooter fans. Speaking of competitive edges for shooter fans, the real added bonus is support for free Windows Sonic virtual surround sound, or you can fork out for a Dolby Atmos licence, too. USB-C charging is a great touch for an entry-level wireless headset, and 15 hours of battery life is plenty for even the lengthiest of gaming sessions. And at $169.95RRP, the price is absolutely right for a surprisingly powerful entry-level wireless headset that also boasts basic PC compatibility. While the Xbox Series X advertises a 1TB internal drive, there’s only 802GB of internal storage available to install games. That’s quite a bit of storage all things considered, but installing all of my Optimised Titles from my library, Games Pass, and what was provided by Microsoft quickly chewed up most of that. Microsoft’s solution is the Seagate 1TB Expansion Storage Card, which will reportedly net you around 931GB of next-gen storage, but it comes with a hefty $359.95 price tag. It’s tricky to come down too harshly on this, though, given the cost of NVME SSD technology, but it doesn’t change the reality that the more next-gen games that are released, the more reliant you’ll be on juggling games. While this is incredibly handy for reviewers like me, it ultimately amounts to less time waiting around to get back into the games you love most. Best of all, you can fully power down your Xbox Series X and still pick up where you left off. It’d be great if Microsoft can let users pick the games they want prioritised for Quick Resume, otherwise you’re reliant on the Xbox automatically picking your most recent ones. But if you’re ready to embrace the 4K future at a smooth 60fps as the new standard – or, better still, have a TV or monitor that supports HDMI 2.1 for 120fps gaming potential – the Xbox Series X can be viewed as an investment in faster-loading, better-feeling games today. Had it launched with a killer app or two, the only proviso that I’d offer is that same one for Windows 10 PC gamers, and it would otherwise be wholly recommendable. Without those truly next-gen first-party games, though, the Xbox Series X isn’t an essential purchase right now, and there’s a good chance you’ll be able to pick it up cheaper or bundled with some great games if you can hold off until 2021.
