Name: The Xbox Series X (almost) completes Microsoft's console comeback story
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The Xbox Series X (almost) completes Microsoft's console comeback story

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All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.It’s been more than seven years since Microsoft royally cocked things up with the Xbox One. The price, the Kinect stuff, the game sharing (or lack of), and the lacklustre power. It was a disaster.Despite all the time that's passed since then –&nbsp;not to mention a lot of effort and billions of bucks –&nbsp;the tech giant has never quite pulled things back. It was called long ago: PlayStation won the last generation.So, behind the scenes, Microsoft has been working hard to return to form and rekindle the spark of Xbox's heyday; a console that knows what it is, and doesn’t try to be something else to the detriment of the game-playing experience. 2017’s underrated and quite brilliant Xbox One X was a step in the right direction, but Xbox remains the underdog. Now, on the verge of a next generation, Series X is the best indication that Xbox is ready to challenge PlayStation again; it just needs some killer games to get there.The Xbox Series X is the most powerful games console ever made, even than the . We won’t bore you with the technical specifications because, quite honestly, we don’t understand what a teraflop is. But get this: Series X is capable of 4K resolution gaming at 60 frames-per-second, which is a performance benchmark previously resigned only to the top-end of PC gaming. And with Series X that performance comes at a fraction of the cost compared to a comparably specced desktop. The value for money here is quite frankly remarkable.It’s not just the graphics. The console’s new SSD architecture also means it’s blisteringly fast –&nbsp;loading games and getting around the interface in the blink of an eye, and with the fans not making a sound under load. Booting the console from a standby status to the dashboard, it takes about 2 seconds. Loading up your save in Ori and the Will of the Wisps takes around 4 seconds. This rapidity is a huge step up from Xbox One and PS4, even SSDs on PC in places, and at times it’s a joke how old game design tactics – like tooltips on loading screens&nbsp;– just don’t fit in this new world of hardware. You simply don’t have time to read them before the game has skipped to its next level or scene.&nbsp;Furthermore, Series X implements smart and intuitive new features like Quick Resume to let you flit between games instantly, without needing to save and exit one before playing another. Quick Resume is wonderful when it works. Moving between games, you don’t have to save; just open up the dashboard and switch. A few seconds and a ‘Quick Resume’ badge later and you’re back playing from the exact same spot from where you left off a few hours, days, weeks or even months ago. Switch between them at will –&nbsp;even when you unplug the console, it saves this state and means you can come back months later and pick it up with ease.Throughout our testing, though, it’s sometimes a little unclear what games support Quick Resume and what don’t. We also found a few minor problems early on where we would resume a game, only to find it freezes and we have to quit it and restart. We found it fine with Gears 5, Ori, as well as a few backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games such as Fallout 3, but for Forza Horizon 4, Yakuza and Halo 5 it seemed to never work. With such a fundamentally baked-in feature as this, you want to know when you need to save your game before leaving to go play another, as it could cost you precious progress.I love the physical design of this thing. It’s big, chunky, and monolithic. It might, from pictures you’ve seen off the internet, look overly imposing, but get it into your living room and it... actually really works. The matte black design of both console and controller feel utilitarian and sleek, but you should try to avoid touching the console too much. Greasy fingerprints smudge all over it pretty easily, which definitely ruins the smooth, single chunk of obsidian look that the console’s architects were clearly going for.Most PopularYou obviously can’t not touch the controller, but that actually seems more resistant to fingerprints. It’s a slightly updated and upgraded version of the traditional Xbox One pad, which, for my money, is one of the most comfortable you’ll ever use. The Series X iteration has got slightly textured grips and triggers, which feel much nicer in the hand, but that’s basically where the visual differences end. The analog sticks are still perfectly placed for both your thumbs, and it just fits so nicely in the hands. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?The console itself is much more unusual and the biggest departure from the Xbox family. Unlike a PS4, an Xbox One, or basically any other game console in history, Series X does not have the size or stance of a chunky coffee table book. It instead stands upright, tall, and proud. It’s entirely flat on the front, with a single power button, a sync button, a USB drive and a disc drive. It’s minimalistic enough that its physical size –&nbsp;which is still small compared to the PS5 – hasn’t ever felt problematic or garish for my living room.Admittedly, it doesn’t fit into the gaps on my TV unit, thanks to some relatively small slots in the unit itself, and you may likely find this a problem for you, too. But the Series X, with its exhaust fan at the top, is a perfect candidate for sitting to the side of or behind your television – out of sight and out of mind –&nbsp;or even on the floor. It does sit horizontally, but it doesn’t look that good this way.If you needed any more proof that Microsoft’s aim is to create a coherent ecosystem between older Xbox consoles, PC and the new Series consoles, the user interface seals the deal. It’s sort of disappointing, as there’s no sense of exciting discovery as you turn it on for the first time to explore around a new UI, but it makes sense considering the strategy. Just thank your lucky stars that SSD means the interface isn’t such a slog now.Where Series X's entire package is less convincing – at least at the time of writing – is in its games. Considering everything I just said about the console being a dedicated and extremely powerful games machine, that may seem like a pretty big problem.Most PopularIt sort of is… but it’s a temporary one, and stands to change within weeks or months. Of course, we can’t blame Microsoft for COVID-19 and what it has undoubtedly done to development of games like Halo Infinite – the big poster launch game until it was pushed to 2021. Without it, Series X simply doesn’t have the showcase spectacle game to properly show it off.Compare that to PS5, which still doesn’t have tons, but at least has Spider-Man Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls to both pump a bit of next gen graphical excitement into your veins. Instead, Microsoft has been playing the long game for a few years now, buying up development studios to bolster the first-party developers making games for the Xbox, and it seems we're going to have to wait a little longer before these purchase bear fruit. It spent $13bn on acquiring Bethesda (the makers of Skyrim) for crying out loud, and has poured countless more dollars into Game Pass, which genuinely feels like a game changer for how players access content.&nbsp;You could pick up a Series X on launch day, subscribe to Game Pass (from £7.99 per month), and have a library of games at you disposal. The variety is vast, ranging from any exclusive Xbox game (think Forza, Halo, Gears and more) to popular multi-platform titles like Batman’s Arkham series, and soon a whole number of EA games like FIFA and Battlefield. It’s more than large enough to keep you busy for months and that’s an amazing proposition.For the review period we’ve had access to Series X optimised versions of mushy shooter Gears 5, the beautiful watercolour platformer Ori and the Will of Wisps, and the open world racer Forza Horizon 4. On Series X they run smoothly at a locked 60fps at dynamic 4K resolution. They look incredible across the board. But they’re not new entities. Neither is Yakuza Like A Dragon, which came out on PS4 earlier this year, and which also doesn't really hold a candle to the visual fidelity of Gears or Ori as it doesn't yet seem to have Series X updates.Other than that, I’ve sort of been left to fend for myself and find games to play, which meant digging through my Game Pass subscription and looking at my old game library. Which for a new console launch is quite absurd really.Game Pass games served me well, but they weren’t Series X optimised. My existing game library is also totally available, which is nice, but this isn’t a new feature; I could do this on previous Xbox consoles. Fallout 3 runs how it did on my One X, for example. As does Outer Wilds. As does .&nbsp;These both don’t feel like killer incentives to pick up a console.Based on my several weeks with it, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Series X is a console capable of presenting new and old games in a way never before seen on a console. 4K. 60FPS. Blistering load times. Absolutely zero fan noise. The Series X I’ve been reviewing feels like a phenomenally powerful machine cutting through the games I have available like a knife through butter. It’s a dedicated games device that’ll serve hardcore gamers who want the best looking games and the highest performance.Most PopularBut it’s hard to fully, and fairly, judge Series X right now. You, dear reader, will be able to play Assassin’s Creed and when you pick up your Series X on November 10th. Both will have their Series X enhancements like ray-tracing –&nbsp;a feature I haven’t even seen in action on the console while reviewing. You’ll also get a brand new Destiny 2 expansion, a new Call of Duty game, and Cyberpunk 2077 within a few weeks. All of which will have their own specific next gen enhancements. Add backward compatibility and Game Pass and there’s a lot to look forward to from launch day until Christmas. Looking even further afield and seeing games like Halo Infinite, Fable, Everwild and Avowed –&nbsp;and probably The Elder Scrolls VI –&nbsp;the future of Xbox has never been more promising.But don’t currently have access to any of that stuff. So, yes, Series X is a step forward in console design. Microsoft’s architects and designers should be commended on its size, form factor and the performance. It’s slick, sleek and silent. It's really well priced for the punch it’s packing. It’s an achievement, but its potential is yet to be fully unlocked.£449. At Now read

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.It’s been more than seven years since Microsoft royally cocked things up with the Xbox One. The price, the Kinect stuff, the game sharing (or lack of), and the lacklustre power. It was a disaster.Despite all the time that's passed since then –&nbsp;not to mention a lot of effort and billions of bucks –&nbsp;the tech giant has never quite pulled things back. It was called long ago: PlayStation won the last generation.So, behind the scenes, Microsoft has been working hard to...

The Xbox Series X (almost) completes Microsoft's console comeback story

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