You must have been good all 2020! You got a big box under the tree—maybe it was from Santa, your parents, or your significant other... maybe you just treated yourself. Whatever happened, you are now the proud owner of a Microsoft Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. We know what you are saying now: What the hell do I do with a next-gen gaming console?! Well, you’re in luck. Here is a simple guide to getting started with your Xbox Series X|S.
Storage space
The Xbox Series X comes with a 1 TB hard drive that has about 800 GB of usable space. That built-in hard drive will quickly be filled with modern games that take anywhere from 50 to 100 gigs of space apiece, but fear not, as there are currently two options for storage space expansion.
The first is a Seagate expansion card (above). This will act and behave almost exactly like the internal solid-state drive. The catch, however, is the $220 price tag attached to this memory card. If you are super rich and need more space, you can buy multiple and swap them out to play different games.
There is a second option as well: USB drives. These can have storage from 500 GB to 12 TB and cost from $50 to $300 depending on the brand, size, or particulars about whether they are solid-state or hard disk drives. USB drives can be used to store next-generation games, but only Xbox One, 360 and original Xbox games can be played directly from these external options.
Controller
If you want to play games online and talk to people while you do it, you’ll need a headset. While there is no official Xbox headset for the Xbox Series X, there are many options.
A few that come to mind are the SteelSeries Arctis 9x, Astro Gaming A20, and Turtle Beach Recon 200. The factors to keep in mind are sound quality, microphone quality, and comfort. In addition, you have to choose between wireless and wired options. If you end up going the slightly cheaper route of getting a wired headset, the Xbox Series X controller (and many of the later model Xbox One X controllers) have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which should work just fine.
One thing to consider when looking for a wireless headset is to stick with ones that don’t rely on Bluetooth. Bluetooth typically has a bit of a lag, which is the worst while gaming. Even a few milliseconds of lag could take you off course when you’re looking for who’s shooting you from what direction during competitive play.
Now that you have your Xbox Series X|S all setup, you’ll want to get online and play some games. Xbox has several offerings that will help you do that. To help you understand what you can (and can't) do with each of their options, here’s a quick guide to Xbox Live, Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate.
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is the general branding for the online services that Xbox offers. When you are purchasing “Xbox Live,” what you are purchasing is Xbox Live Gold, which lets you play multiplayer online for all the games that offer that option. There are also monthly Xbox Live Gold sales of games. One extra Xbox Live Gold feature is getting two free games to play per month. This runs $9.99 per month
Xbox Game Pass
This is Xbox’s version of a gaming library—think Netflix for Xbox. There are 100+ games you can play via Game Pass. One of the big draws of this is that Xbox Game Studios games (Halo, Forza, Minecraft, Gears of War, etc.) all premiere here as a part of the subscription. The library of games spans the last two decades and includes Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox Original games. This also runs $9.99 per month.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines the features of Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass for PC into one package. In addition to those features, you can stream games directly to your Android phone to play on the go. EA Play is also included with this, giving you access to the Electronic Arts library of games as well.
Currently, Microsoft is offering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 for three months, and $14.99 after that. If you find yourself buying three-to-four games per year, and they each cost $60, you’re spending a grand total of $180 to $240 per year. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is $179.99 per year, which in terms of value quickly pays itself off.
The reason you have this console is that you want to play games. While the general lineup of the Xbox Series X is light on exclusives, it’s heavy on backward compatibility. If a game is backward compatible, and you have your old disc, you can pop it into your Xbox Series X and the console will install it for you to play. Additionally, there are games available on Xbox Game Pass and through purchase from Microsoft's digital store. Here are a few quick recommendations.
Xbox Series X Games
The line up is filled with games that are from familiar franchises. If you have played a game from a franchise in the past, and liked it, most likely, you’ll enjoy these games in the series.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
This has all the markings of a Call of Duty game with a fun and action-packed single-player mode that doesn’t overstay its welcome at about five-to-eight hours. The meat of this game, though, is in its multiplayer modes, zombie modes, and warzone. You always know what you’re getting with a Call of Duty, it’s the comfort food of the FPS genre.
NBA 2K21
If you’ve played a sports game in the last 20 years, then you know what to expect with each installment: Minor gameplay improvements, micro-transactions, updated rosters, locations, animations, and music. Give the gameplay trailers a look; there is a huge graphic upgrade over previous generations, that may be enticing to many.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Ubisoft helped define open-world gaming with the Assassin’s Creed series. There are currently eleven main games, seventeen spin-offs, and a movie starring Michael Fassbender. This one has Vikings! If you like open-world gaming and loose Norse mythology, this is the game for you.
Backwards Compatible Games
If you skipped the Xbox One, 360, or Original generation, or are looking to have an enhanced experience, the Xbox Series X has a wide variety of games that have been updated to run better. These enhanced experiences include higher and steadier framerates, faster load times, and improved textures and graphical fidelity. Even if a game hasn’t been optimized for Xbox Series X, there are quite a few worth playing.
Doom (2016) / Doom Eternal
Doom is fast-paced, hyper-violent demon-slaying. As you play this game, your skill level goes up as each new enemy becomes a puzzle that you must figure out how to defeat. The levels are built as arenas made for running and very quickly killing hordes of demons. It’s not a game built for the squeamish, as the kills are gory, yet satisfying. If heavy metal was personified in a video game, that game would be Doom. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Doom and Doom Eternal are some of the best first-person shooters of all time.
Halo Master Chief Collection
Halo was a game-changer in the first-person shooter genre and the main reason to own an Xbox when it launched in 2001. Halo Master Chief Collection chronicles this franchise and consists of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, and Halo 4. Depending on how you get it, Reach and ODST are DLC that you have to purchase. On the Xbox Series X, these have all been fully optimized.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - GOTY Edition
The Witcher is the predecessor to Cyberpunk 2077. Part of the reason Cyberpunk 2077 was hyped beyond belief is due to The Witcher 3 being one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If you like a Game of Thrones-esque open world, action-adventure,and RPG elements, this may be a game for you.
Untitled Goose Game
This game is not a graphical powerhouse, it is a terrific game. Untitled Goose Game is a low stakes stealth action game starring an unruly goose that terrorizes a small village in a quest to agitate everyone. The unique adaptive soundtrack sounds like a drunk baby playing piano at times—and I mean that as a compliment. The gameplay is worth your time. This roughly five-hour game doesn’t overstay its welcome but opens itself up to side missions and exploration, as well as multiple ways to solve puzzles.
Celeste
Celeste is another game worth playing that tough as nails, but with a compelling storyline. If you are a fan of Super Meat Boy, Cuphead, or anything that could be described as “Nintendo Hard,” then I highly recommend giving this a try. While it’s difficult, the game is still fair. It is a game that makes you better at playing video games in general. A single level can have you die a hundred times in the span of half an hour, but with quick restarts and little to no downtime, it’s very easy to keep playing.
Fallout: New Vegas
Cowboys, Robots, Vegas, wasteland; Fallout: New Vegas has all the elements of a classic. If you can get past the general bugginess found in many open-world Bethesda Games, then you’ll find this critically acclaimed cult classic Fallout: New Vegas, which was created by Obsidian Entertainment. This game is a master class in storytelling and game design. It rewards long-time fans of the series and is also compelling enough for people who are unfamiliar with the previous iterations. It’s a great mix between an FPS and RPG. If you add to that cocktail Book of Eli, Mad Max, and Will Smith’s I Am Legend and set it in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, you’ll get a clear picture of what this game is about.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
There were five GTA games for the PS2, with San Andreas being a contender for the best one. If you have nostalgia for this entry on the series, it’s worth noting you can play it on the Xbox Series X. A word of caution, though: the lens of nostalgia may not wash away the blockiness of a game made 16 years ago.
Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD
Hideo Kojima is one of the most cinematic storytellers in gaming. Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 are some of the best games in the stealth-action genre. I’d argue that Metal Gear Solid 3 was his opus, drawing heavily from Cold War-era action flicks and James Bond. The storylines of these games are bonkers, and the Kojima would go on to make even more outlandish games.
SSX3
When this game came out on the original Xbox, it was an open-world snowboarding game that allowed the player to snowboard from the top to the bottom of the giant mountain the game took place on. SSX3 was a part of EA SPORTS BIG, a sub-label of EA that included arcade action and extreme sports (other games in the EA SPORTS BIG included all-time classics such as NBA Street and Def Jam Vendetta). EA did a great job of enhancing this old game for a new audience, and while it may not sparkle as much as some newer titles, it’s worth the trip back.
If you’ve got an Xbox Series X for Christmas, there are a lot of games to play. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a great deal, and worth the price of admission, especially if you want to play multiple games of different genres. That being said, downloading and installing these games will take a long time and a lot of space. We suggest grabbing some extra storage, setting up your downloads before you go to bed at night, and enjoy a bunch of gaming all day.
