Got the series s last week on a good monthly package with gamepass ultimate. This is my first xbox since owning a ps1 through to ps5. I could have went for the series x, but decided on the smaller form factor of the series s, as a compliment to my main console ps5.
I love the form factor. It's small but feels premium, it is heavy and has that premium weighty build which makes you think of all the tech they crammed into it. I initially didn't like the menu interface , wasn't a fan of all that green, but after some updating and changing around themes, it looks nice. I can see some similarities between the ps5, not sure who influenced the other first.
I love the fact the media server download option which the ps5 lacks, yet was on the ps4, and it was was able to read my usb to play movies with sound, which I couldn't get to work on ps5 ( mkv h.264 files would play but no sound)
I love the instant turn feature. Split second from off to on and back to the menu. I don't know how they keep that small beast so quiet. The part where the heat gets extracted does get hot though, which is a good thing probably. I'd say twice as hot as the ps5, but the ps5 is much larger and does it's own cooling thing.
I haven't played any games yet, been playing catchup on ps5, but I have tried some and downloaded some games to be future ready. Halo infinite, gears5, forza horizon5, flight simulator, sea of thieves, ori, the gunk, the ascent, it takes two, art of rally.
My major gripes. The fact you can't turn of system menu sounds. Why??
The xbox controller.. Have they always been like this? I don't mind the way it looks, or the button placements, coming from 25 years of dualshocks and one wiiu pro controller. But the controllr doesn't feel as refined as the dual sense. I feel like i'm picking up a solid piece of plastic, not as comfortable to hold. The worst thing is the sound of the buttons, the lound clicks.. It reminds me of one of those cheap knock off/ after market controllers you got as a kid, where pressing the buttons would either get stuck, or made of plastic were hard to press and would be loud, plastic rubbing against plastic. Have they always been this loud? Or does it break in over time ? I thought I may have got a defect but it's doing it on both controllers. Both were bought from a different place. One is white, the other is a "volt" lime green, which looks nice.
Overall, it's still an impressive piece of hardware, and I plan on doing some more research of the tech that went into it, just to appreciate it more.
