All things related to the Xbox platforms

So, what are your impressions @nodle? I'm curious what you think as a one time Xbox fan, that has spent the past years favoring PS or Nintendo platforms.

I was actually surprised at how it performs. Having experienced the "drastic" performance gains of an Xbox One X vs. the Xbox One, I didn't really know how much better the new Series X would be. In Sea of Thieves there is a mechanic to return to your ship if it is far enough away. Using this on the One X could take 15-20 seconds sometimes. Even on my PC (older specs now sort of) it takes a bit. On the Series X I'm not even sure if it took a full second.

 
So my first evening was mostly spent setting it up. I have been out of the game for about 5 years, so the user interface took me awhile. For example I forgot about pressing the x button brings up the mini menu. Plus I couldn't really play the first night since it took me awhile to download RDR2. Got to play it some last night. Graphic's are impressive and somehow my monitor is displaying it at 4k. I don't really notice load times so far on RDR2. I heard they use to be horrible though. I still haven't joined Gamepass just yet since I am only playing RDR2 and don't really need it. But I plan to. This weekend hopefully I have a little more time with it. The start time is impressive, that SSD really helps out. Now I just need to go back in Xbox library and play all the games that I missed. Someone recommend that Sunset Overdrive etc.
 
I think Gamepass is a good value, even at the standard pricing for a year, the cost is that same as that of only a few games per year and you get access to a big catalog of games. Some from other publishers come and go. I think RDR2 was in it at one point, but left. All new games from Microsoft (and likely now Bethesda and other Zenimax companies) are available to play as a gamepass member on Day 1, so when new Halo / Gears / Forza / Fallout / whatever else come, they are in there and will always be in it.

It kind of depends how you play though. If you like to play a lot of different games, it's awesome. If you just buy a few of the big name cames (COD, Assassin's Creed, etc) in a year, put lots of hours into the few games and call it good, then it may not be worth the cost for gamepass

Sunset Overdrive was pretty fun, might not appeal to everyone. It was made by the studio that does Ratchet and Clank (Insomniac Games) for the PS; however, after Sunset came out Sony purchased that studio outright, so no chance of a follow up and unlikely to see any updates for Series S/X optimizations

 
We need to get some multiplayer games going.
 
Anyone think the $50 3 year warranty from Microsoft is worth it? I guess it covers controllers as well. We have 45 days to get it.
 
What kind of multiplayer do you even play? I haven't played much for non-multiplayer in years, but varied from games like Destiny that require too much time and commitment, Sea of Thieves, or else things like COD and PUBG.

As far as the warranty, time will tell. There wasn't huge issues with the X1, but 10% of the total cost to protect it for 3 years isn't terrible if it just means a replacement in the event something goes wrong. I'll likely just take my chances that any failure comes up within standard warranty though and that it will be fine for 3 or more years if it doesn't fail in the first

 
I guess I should had said coop, like gears etc. enjoying RDR2 thought graphics are awesome and it’s not even optimized for the system lol.
 
So I had been wanting to post a little more on my Xbox experience. This weekend I got to spend some more time with it. Love the fast loading. You can go from power on to back in to game in less than 30 seconds. Flipping from game to game it almost instantaneous. Red dead redemption is probably one of the prettiest games that I have ever played. The weather and everything in the game is so realistic. I find my self just riding around enjoying the world and sights. Tried out Forza 4 because people kept talking how it was optimized for the Xbox series X and they opening to the game was so awesome. Kids loaded some games and kicked me off for awhile as well. Then I played My Friend Pedro. This game is a blast, pure Matrix feeling, such a blast. Oh and I tried out game pass. Defiantly the future, I hope they keep adding more and more. Next gen for sure!
 
Gamepass will keep having more. Not sure if you just got the Xbox pass, or Gamepass Ultimate. If it's the latter there's plenty to try out on PC too. Just keep in mind that there are basically two types of games in Gamepass:

1) Games made by Microsoft. These games get added on the day they launch now (Halo, Gears, etc) and remain in the gamepass indefinitely. Of note, it's usually just the base version of a game. Example, Forza Horizon 4 has Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate editions. Standard is the version in gamepass.

2) Everything else. These other games will come and go, so if you find one play through it because it could be gone the next month. As some get dropped off, others are added. For example, GTA V was in gamepass for a little bit. Then it got removed and RDR2 was added to the gamepass, and of course not too many months later removed.

 
Says ultimate next to my name. If they remove a game but you were still activated are you still allowed to get it or do you instantly lose it?
 
Some Game Pass recommendations. Recently added Knights and Bikes. It's a childish cartoony game made by Double Fine. Has vibes of Costume Quest. Does't have a leveling system like Costume Quest but how you explore the world is similar. You do find/get power ups though and is a lot of fun. Can be played solo or coop. Worth a play.

Carto is another recent addition. It's a map/world exploration puzzle game. You collect puzzle pieces for each chapter and to solve the puzzles and advance the quest you need to arrange the puzzle piece tiles. Not too difficult but some of the puzzles can be a bit tricky.

Battletoads. Just like the olf NES but with a bit more modern graphics in a cartoon style. Fun beat em up like the original.

So many, and I MEAN SO MANY, more. Just find a genre you are interested in or not and try them out. of course with my old X I have a ton of storage so pretty much install anything and everything. With the new console it's a bit limited since you can't play off of external drives like the old systems.

 
It's a childish cartoony game made by Double Fine.
You had me here will look into this. I’m telling you try My Friend Pedro, it’s simple but fun. Also I would recommend is Lonely Mountains Downhill, a simple mountain bike game but fun.

 
You had me here will look into this. I’m telling you try My Friend Pedro, it’s simple but fun. Also I would recommend is Lonely Mountains Downhill, a simple mountain bike game but fun.
Played them already and yeah fun games.

 
Played them already and yeah fun games.
Pedro as well? It’s basically like your in the matrix, so much shit going on.

 
I see they have sunset overdrive, missed this the first go around some say the colors are great.
 
Says ultimate next to my name. If they remove a game but you were still activated are you still allowed to get it or do you instantly lose it?
If they remove a game it is gone instantly, you only have it because it was part of gamepass. Once the contract period ends, so does the licensing to let anyone play it through gamepass. So you want to watch out or put the app on your phone to see what's leaving. I don't know that you can just find the list in the app, but I get an alert every month about what is leaving soon. You can either finish them up, buy them (you get a 20% discount on purchases while it's in gamepass, full price after it leaves), wait for it to go on sale later, or wait and see if they come back to gamepass.
I enjoyed Sunset Overdrive. May not appeal to everyone, but if it is back in the gamepass you may as well check it out and judge for yourself.

 
Well I couldn’t put down My Friend Pedro last night and ended up beating it, I definitely recommend it.
 
Has anyone played through Doom Eternal yet?
 
I had a good time with @C Pav last night trying out some coop action. It has been way to long. Thanks Brother!

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