Console gamer advice wanted: Xbox One S · 1:58pm Jul 4th, 2017
So there's about an 80% chance that I'm on the verge of having one.
What happened? Coke -- or in this case, Sprite -- just decided to pull my number out of the hat again. I was playing this instant win game and six plays in, everything came up Xbox.
I was very surprised.
So in two to six weeks, I should have it in-residence. (The 20% vacancy factor is the chance of the site saying invalid win added to the odds of a postal mishap: due to the way the contest works, I can't have it sent to my more secure address -- and asking a package to sit in the open for a while is begging for trouble. Also, this contest is being probably administrated by Hello World and the odds are very good that upon reading that, at least one person screamed. Under their care, 'two to six weeks' may be read as 'sometime this century. But no promises.' ) And as for what happens to it...
{semi-short version}
My last major electronics win was a Surface 2 tablet through the old (pre-receipts-required) Kelloggs' Family Rewards program. This contest took place at a time when the Surface 3 had already been released, which meant the game was a combination of promotion and market dump. But still, I won: the sticker was on the inside of the cereal box, the company honored the mail-in claim and never asked if it had been my cereal box, and I had the tablet two months later, after it had become somewhat more obsolete. It had no network capability, and that meant very limited use in some ways: because I don't have a smartphone, any tablet I use has to be capable of emergency access. But still, it was a tablet, and at the time it arrived, I knew someone in the hospital with nothing to do. (This was prior to having my phone stolen.) So I decided to loan it out. First step: install some entertainment apps. Hulu was first, followed by --
-- nothing.
I got an error code. I looked up the error code. The error meant no more apps could be installed. Ever.
...okay. Reset to factory defaults. Install a different first app this time followed by --
-- error code.
The extremely edited summary version of the weeklong flurry which followed is that the Surface turned out to be hiding a memory pond about a millimeter deep. No matter what I or a much more tech-savvy friend did (and said friend went onto every site which could be found with advice on fixing the issue), the Surface would take one app onto itself before quitting. As such, I did what I thought was the practical thing: taking its silent advice. I handed it to said tech savvy-friend and walked away from the Surface 2. Forever. I haven't seen it since. I think it may be currently serving as a drink coaster. For an absolute maximum of one drink.
{/semi-short version}
So with my knowing that the Xbox's successor was just announced -- you might understand that my first reaction, post winners'-shock, ran along the lines of Oh no, not again.
But past performance only provides strong hints towards future dismal results -- so just for the fun of it, let's say the console arrives in working order, I manage to hook it up to my TV and I'm willing to use it for something more than getting all my disc-based movie viewing off my PC. Under that rather unlikely scenario, I need some advice.
Please tell me about the Xbox One S. What it can do. What it shouldn't.
The One Game I Absolutely Must Play (extant or Coming Soon). The Five I'd Better Avoid.
Talk to me about controllers. Because I'm a PC gamer and controllers are scary. When you take out the joy of seeing other people play, my personal console experience is nearly zero. I watch people use controllers and wonder if there's a press-these-eighteen-buttons-in-rapid-order gene which didn't get as far as me. Some people hate Quicktime events? They save my PC life, because they involve, at most, five keys. What keeps me from being truly competitive in Starcraft is my strange inability to execute two hundred actions per second. It's a personal flaw, really.
If I'm better off just using it as a movie player, or if hooking it to a television is too great a risk.
What the online community is like. Toxicity levels very much included.
If all else fails, I can print everything out and leave it as advice for the package thief.
I was originally going to post a blog update on the Starr Mazer story, but I waited just long enough for good news to turn into bad. Maybe later, after the pass-along dejection fades a little.
Xbox will be fine for you.it can be used for streaming or blue rays as well. As long as you are a gold member which is about $50 a year or so which I am sure you can use some type if rewards program to get. You will also get at least 2 free games a month via the gold program. The controller is very intuitive and easy to use. And depending on the game you play you wont have to worry about complex button presses in sequence. I kow I never have. Xbox also allows expandable external storage. I have a 5tb hdd hoked up to mine for all of the free games I have. Plus any digital games that you own are tied to your account and not your system. If you ever lose all your games just go to your owned games list and reinstall them!.
Online community really depends on the game. Yeah sometines they can be annoying asshats, but most of the people I have met have been pretty cool. And running into a random brony here or there is pretty neat as well.
If you have any other questions or want some clarification feel free to just ask.
Is this a "special version" of it? Different color, or anything? If so you might be much better off selling it on ebay.
I mean the old mountain dew green version of the Nintendo 64 was worth a mint to collectors.
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No idea. Just about the only thing listed on the rules page, which must give all details of a prize, is 'Xbox One S Console.' Generously, they're also telling me the number available in the game plus an approximate retail value. And that's it.
Note the Pocket DJ Mixer on the list. What's the model? What is it compatible with? What does it actually do? Those are very good questions. I like all of those questions. Are there any other questions?
Also note you will have to pay taxes on that retail value....
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Actually, no. Under normal circumstances, a prize under $600 in value doesn't have to be declared. If the administrating company doesn't send the winner a release form prior to shipping, you're typically good.
...I think minecraft is on XBox these days.
I'm a PC gamer, and have no clue about the gaming environment on Xbox.
Compared to keyboard and mouse, controllers can feel really clunky or unnatural, especially for FPS games, but you get used to it after a while. It is REALLY HARD to go back to 30 FPS (for practically all games) after having really high FPS (60-144 with a 144Hz monitor) but I'm unsure of your setup. Have fun!
Of all the controllers/game pads out there, the XBOne's is probably the most comfortable to hold (I'm still unsure about the Switch Pro Controller), so that's definitely a plus.
Online play will not happen without an XBox Live membership; it's required. However, having a membership does get you access to a couple free games each month (that rotate every month), as well as discounts on games if it works like PlayStation Plus does. Cost is ~$50 per year if paid in lump, slightly more if they allow a monthly sub.
Keep in mind that if that sub lapses, you will lose access to any free games that were part of the membership until it's renewed.
If you avoid "esports" titles (Call of Duty and Battlefield included), you're likely to avoid most or all of the people that might vex you.
You can also purchase from a limited library of XBox 360 games that will run in an emulator (I personally have not gotten much use from this feature, and my experience is pretty typical among owners).
The "S" designation is the same essentially as you might see in iPhone 7 S; the same product with upgraded hardware. In theory, this allows it to achieve better gaming performance, but I have no baseline to compare to.
Unlike your last free Microsoft product, the XBOneS comes standard with 1 terabyte of storage, and is compatible with most external USB mass storage, as has been noted already. Bear in mind that all games are installed to the storage, including those on physical media (to compensate for a Blu-Ray drive only spinning at 4x). Memory serving, it is capable of playing back 4K video, if you have a display that can handle that.
I think that's everything you need to know. If you have internet access, you can browse the game selection at the Microsoft store even without the console, so you can take a peak if you like.
Even if you don't see any games that catch your eye, it's still a very competent media player.
Worst comes to worst, an unopened, new-in-box console will probably unload for pretty close to its retail price.
The One S is still pretty new, so it should actually work just fine.
I'm not an Xbox girl (Nintendo and Playstation are where I'm at), but my fiance has one and I tend to regularly use it when I'm by. Download the usual video apps (YouTube, Netflix, Hulu) and that should be all you need in terms of apps. Unless you really want whatever else is there. You'll be forced to make a Microsoft account no matter what, so there's that as well.
Games wise I'd say the Borderlands series, any Telltale game, the Lego series games, Castle Crashers, Resident Evil 7, and what have you. Possibly Destiny as well, though it's going to go the way of the dodo when Destiny 2 comes out. Then again I'm not the best, so that's just what I've seen.
P.S. Not sure how well it'll go, but there is a way to find trials for Xbox Live in game cases still. They vary though (we found some 48 hour ones and at least a few week to month ones). I'd go with what the previous commenters said and if you really want it, get Live for a full year for the free games. Sometimes you get some good ones.
I don't think I can offer any useful advice, as I only every had a PS2 and a Gamecube (the latter bought cheap specifically and only for two Pokémon games) plus handhelds. I've got the majority of my PS2 library unfinished (actually, ditto for basically every non-Pokémon game on my handhelds) and nothing released on consoles has ever peaked my interest (that I couldn't get on PC).
Many of sort of games I play most of (builders, RPGs (isometirc and Bioware (to DA:O and ME3), 4X and latterly, Paradox Grand Strats) - space flight-sims occasionally - don't lend themselves especially to consoles. (Some of the RPGs being excepted, obviously.)
Maybe it'll be just a box with an x, an s, and the number 1 on it.
Old buddy of mine had an Xbone, I made fun of her for it at first but it turned out to be a pretty good system. The free games a month thing turned out some actually pretty entertaining titles. Iirc, you do have to have a gold membership to get those, though. If you like rpgs like Dragon Age, they look really good on the system. Also I really enjoyed that game and played it to completion which is rare for me.
I thought it was dumb as hell that you had to make an Xbox live account just to play the games on your system even when they weren't online, but I guess it works for them. Controllers are simple and pretty intuitive, though my playstation instincts tripped me up a lot at first.
The xbone does have the advantage of getting the remastered/rereleased series of games which can be bought as a single set for much less than the sum of the included games. Obviously, Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a whole host of bugs (still), but it does include 4 Halo games, ODST, and Spartan Ops. Just stay away from multiplayer due to the aforementioned bugs. I also think Gears of War got a similar treatment, but that was never part of my gaming collection.
The Games With Gold offerings are really nice. I got into Assassin's Creed that way and feel in love with the tower defense games Defense Grid. I do actually use the reverse compatibility feature to play things, so I usually get 4 free games per month.
There are number of free to play games as well. I've been on Warframe recently, but the co-operative aspects can be a bit aggravating.
Have you ever used any controllers before? Because if not, That's actually one of the major roadblocks to enjoying a console until you learn to use it. It's not impossible by any means, but it will require at least a few hours of dedicated effort before you get the hang of it, and a number more until you are really comfortable. For that I'd suggest Minecraft as a trainer game, and then as a massive creativity outlet after. If you like building things you can't really go wrong with Minecraft. Controllers are also really good for fighting/third person brawling games, platformers, racing games, and often anything else with vehicles.
Games to really get at the moment... It's a tossup between Prey, Doom, Witcher Three and Subnautica.
Prey is like a modernized System Shock 2, with bits of Bioshock and whatnot thrown in. It has perhaps some of the best level design in a game I have seen in years, and plays amazingly due to the flexibility given in terms of options. You're on a space station that has 10 or so different areas that you can go between, either through internal access or by doing a space walk. There's also a great degree of sequence breaking allowed in terms of when and where you go somewhere, though obviously the main story still requires a specific order. Each area varies in size, but generally you can expect something like this.gamestop.com/gs/images/content-pdp/LEGOStarWars_Guide/Prey-pg92-93.jpg
It also has a rather varied upgrade system, with Engineering, Science and Security as the three initial branches to expand into, but a couple or three hours into the game you get the ability to unlock a second branch, and then you can get things like shapeshifting, mind bullets, flash stepping and more. I'm currently running around like a parkour juggernaut that can toss refrigerators as improvised projectiles. Oh, also like the Fallout games, you can loot near everything you see, but in this game you can recycle all that junk into a fabricator and make anything from guns to health packs to ammo and even Neuromods![Literally upgrade points]. Also: Weaponized Recycling grenades.
Doom 2016 is Fun.
You're the Doom Slayer, idiots are trying to use Hell as a infinite power source, and you have to go kill everything until it's not a problem anymore. Very high speed run and gun shooter with sprawling and sometimes maze like levels, it does a surprisingly good job at characterizing a protagonist whose only emotional settings are RAGE and ANGER at all things demonic. Also, a heavy machinegun with an underslung micromissile launcher also doubles as your sniper rifle. Not much else to say. You fight demons with guns and fists.
The Witcher 3 I still haven't gotten around to, but everyone I know who plays it consider it a really good story along with an amazing world to explore, and I hear it has some of the best sidequests and associated design in the industry. After Fallout 4's less than great performance, that might be something to take a look at.
Subnautica(might be a download title, not sure, but I am pretty sure it's on xbox) is an amazing title. It's not complete at the moment, but what's there is worth every penny.
You're the lone survivor of a crashed survey ship, and stuck on a ocean covered planet. You have to collect supplies and resources to repair what you can and then figure out how to get off the planet. There's some story involved with appropriate quests, but at the moment the core is quite literally a most excellent sequence of 'The scariest cave in equestria' the game, but underwater, and there's submarines and sea monsters. It's not a horror game though. It's kinda like this but underwater:
Avoid No Mans Sky, obviously. And maybe GTAV if you have kept up with Take Two/Rockstar's recent shenanigans.
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Seconded Prey; if you liked the original Bioshock or System Shock 2 it's basically sure to scratch the same itch.
(Or, heaven forfend, System Shock 1. Am I dating myself here? I played the hell out of that one.)
You mentioned you're a PC gamer; what kind of games do you like, generally? Also, how sophisticated of a PC do you have for gaming purposes? Are we talking a rig that can run something like DOOM, or a lower-end rig that runs mostly older/less intensive games?
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Yes, I probably could run Doom if I had to. I just need a DOS simulator, right?
...
My current system is still young enough to handle most of what's out there. I likely could handle Doom without any issues. Prey might require some minor fiddling with the settings.
My first priority with any game is story. As such, I don't do well with pure shooters unless there's a lot of plot going on. I'm also not much for fighting games: see 'press these eighteen buttons in precise order, within 2.1 seconds'. I'm okay with strategy (note Starcraft), but I've never really done any simulations and the next crafting game I touch will be my first. Platformers generally trigger my ability to launch the jump from two pixels past the safe point. Puzzle games both intrigue and break me. (I don't know if Portal has ever triggered homicides. I do know the person who first showed it to me nearly earned one through standing behind me and laughing while I struggled through situations which that party had already solved.) Slipping into someone else's skin for a while? Seldom a problem. Timed reaction events? Generally a problem. Unleash your Ultra Combo? Death. And while I can enjoy clusterbleeps like TF2 and Overwatch as a spectator, I know that 'git gud' probably isn't happening on the player end -- so I tend towards either solo games or You Vs. Campaign Mode.
Basically, give me a good plot, strong characters, and Something For Them To Do and I'm probably there. My Steam library is heavy on the Arkham series, I just added the classic Planescape: Torment during the summer sale, I do too many Telltales despite knowing they're rigged, and I'm slowly working my way through Grim Fandango Remastered and The Talos Principle. Also, as soon as Psychonauts 2 gets a release date? Instant preorder. Hi, Raz!
However, I've knocked myself out of a few batters' boxes before the game began. Because I don't use consoles, I feel free to watch Let's Plays of the best games because there's no spoilers for someone who can't personally run the thing. As such, I've seen full playthroughs of Prey and RE7, taking out two of the stronger possibilities from the list. And I've also watched Doom. All of it. But I have been told that I must play Deadpool because even having seen some YouTube of it doesn't mean I've heard all the best lines. And I would probably run the upcoming Spider-Man game if it wasn't a PS4 exclusive.
The Witcher might have possibilities for me: I've been told the storyline is strong.
And even though I have watched the whole of The Last Of Us, part of me wants to go in anyway.
There is also Xbox Game Pass, which is $10/mo. on top of the Xbox Live subscription, but which gives you access to a catalog of 100+ games, with more added each month. Very much worth it, in my opinion.
(Also worth looking at is Microsoft Rewards, which can be an effective way of turning things you might well be doing anyway - web searches, browsing, etc. - into Xbox credit.)
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I mean, one thing worth considering is "What games are XBox One/Console exclusives that aren't on the PC?" If you already have a fairly decent PC gaming rig, it may be best to avoid, you know, duplication of effort (though of course that also depends on a number of other factors).
Which unfortunately means I can contribute almost nothing to this conversation, because I play on the PC pretty much exclusively. But that's what I would be thinking about if I got an XBox One - not "what games are good" but "What games are good that I didn't previously have access to?"
If we're talking games in general - I can say that I enjoyed The Talos Principle, but it is, well, a puzzle game. Also available on PC (and maybe better to play on the PC? I played it with mouse and keyboard). It has a good story, though it is delivered kind of weirdly. It isn't a horrendously hard puzzle game, though if you found Portal frustrating, it is probably harder than Portal, so... word of warning there (though, on the other hand, it is less mechanically difficult than Portal is). Right now it is on sale on Steam for $9.99, dunno what it is on the XBone.
Life Is Strange is fairly good, though the final chapter is kind of a mess in some ways. Again, that's also available on the PC. It is an adventure-game type thing, though - something more like a Telltale game, though its time rewind mechanic lets you see all the different ways interpersonal interactions can play out with people so you can choose the one you like the best (and also use knowledge gained from the future to choose new options in the past in some cases, opening up new options sometimes). The first chapter on the PC is free to play, and right now the whole game is on sale for $5.
But both of those are things you could already get on the PC, and possibly for less than you could on the XBone.
Uh...
Yeah, I dunno. As you might imagine, I'm not really easily impressed by games.
Incidentally, Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist is free and fun, and very narrative-focused. It is a comedy thing, but it is fun. If you liked that,
The Stanley Parable is on sale for under $4 on steam.
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I've regretted choosing the Xbone ever since learning about that game. Bloodborne, too, but you're not real into stress-inducing action games, so...
I'd recommend Arkham Knight, even if you've watched the campaign. In fact, it's probably better if you know the story, just because of how the devs overhyped their new bad guy. It plays like a dream, with such a fun variety of takedowns, locales, and secrets that I'm still going back every once in a while to pick up a Riddler trophy or two (because I am not going to try and find all those at once). I love the new gadgets (particularly an upgrade to the hacking device), the batmobile is wonderfully destructive in a Dark Knight Returns kinda way, and darned if I don't love a certain constant companion of Batman.
Though the Batmobile is a chore until you get it upgraded, so there's that little pain.
Though, you know, it doesn't have the issues from the PC release. There's that.
I like Transformers Devastation. I play on the easiest difficulty level because I really just like seeing giant robots knock the crap out of each other. You can really run through without learning any of the fifteen-buttons-in-a-row combos. Just upgrade your weapons and stock up on recovery items, since you can heal anytime you pause due to the mechanics.
I like the story quite a bit, but then, I'm a diehard transformers fan. It masquerades as a continuation of the 80's cartoon, while hiding a deeper influence from the IDW comics and Prime, ala dark energon shenanigans.
It's fairly short, so get it cheap.
I've, um, heard good things about Final Fantasy XV...
Honestly, a lot of the really good story-driven games (of those that I care about, at least) are probably available on steam, and the others are exclusive to the PS4. I'm tempted to recommend selling it and getting Sony's latest offering.
Or maybe it's the best time to get into Nintendo, I dunno.
Alas, the most advanced game console I own is a Colecovision, so when it comes to advice about an Xbox... I got nothin'.
And now for something completely different.....
Twilight has become a princess. This means it's time for
*Twilight's First Coins*!
The difference between the face value of a coin and what it costs to mint it is a valuable source of income (called signorage?). +Some proof coins for numismatics (coin collectors), I suppose.
The USA loses money on pennies and nickels ($0.01 & $0.05). It makes money on all others.
I'd recommend Making Money (Pratchett) if you haven't already read it.
I mean, I'm sure Twilight Knows A Better Way to do the job.