Xbox One S 1TB Console - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle [DISCONTINUED]

First off, I'll talk a bit about the console. Pulling it out of the packaging revealed a sleek looking system that makes my PS4 blush a little. You get an HDMI cable, power cable, controller, batteries, (Duracell at that, surprisingly) and all the paper inserts with the codes for your trials of services and the code for the download of the bundled game.For those new to the Xbox's OS, it can be a little overwhelming. Compared to a PS4, it's super cluttered. It feels like they're trying to cram as much info as possible into each screen, and that to me is a big downside. I'm not saying Sony does a much better job, and Nintendo is about ten years late to the party, but for me personally, I just want to turn on the system and not be bombarded with boxes advertising a new game while my actual games are a tiny box on the screen. Maybe there is a way to change this. I'll have to look into it. It isn't unsimilar to the way PS4 games will have their dropdown menu, but it's much less organized. On a PS4 game it'll show how much space it takes, whether the disc is in, recent trophies, add-ons, and then to the right it'll display advertisements about add-ons to a game, maybe some game clips or trending community videos. It's displayed almost like a website would have it. On the Xbox it's just a bunch of boxes piled next to one another without showing even half that previously mentioned content. I'd love for there to be a way for you to start the system, have all your installed games right there on the home screen without all the clutter, and for you to just jump right in.Everything on it works just fine, it's just cluttered. It's something that takes some getting used to depending on what platform you're used to playing on. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, and it looks great on your shelf next to all your other media players.Jedi: Fallen Order - Spoilers aheadThis one is a very mixed bag. Depending on what side of the fandom you lie upon, you'll either love it or hate it. As many people have already mentioned, it has a very Dark Souls feel to it. Even a simple stormtrooper can reduce you to nothing if you aren't careful or attack carelessly. You rest at a meditation spot, think bonfires from DS, which refill your healing item and also respawns all enemies, just like DS.If you're like me, you played Force Unleashed, and loved that. It's true to its name, giving you an ultimate Star Wars power fantasy that's remained a gem even today. This game is not that. Almost every single enemy aside from the base stormtrooper can absolutely destroy you; you, a lightsaber wielding force user. Perhaps the game borrows a little too much from Dark Souls in that your moves are slow and once you press the button, you have to commit to it. This means that if you swing too early, you might get curbstomped. You swing too late, and your attacking animation won't even begin before you're knocked back. Sounds reasonable, right? It would be if your actions happened when you pressed the button. It takes some getting used to, that's all. If you can learn to parry well, you'll breeze through the game. (Just like Dark Souls) Throughout the game, Cal regains the use of abilities he had as a child, these being force pull, push, wall running, and double jump. You start off with slow, an ability that slows down your target. After regaining the final ability, Cal says "I'm back to where I was" referring to having regained all his prior abilities from childhood. You don't get anything new though. Cal has an ability called Force Echo which lets him perceive events or information by touching an object through the force. It's a pretty cool ability but only serves as a way to get lore dumps in game, which is how you fill up your data logs which you can read at any time. You also find upgrades for your little droid companion which allows for greater traversal and close to the end, a few combat related abilities. There is also a skill tree which nets you power boosts and a few new moves here and there. Combat does not work the same way as in Force Unleashed in that there aren't many button combos that mix up powers and lightsaber attacks. You get a couple, but nothing that feels too powerful. For example, a force push won't do much to anything aside from the base stormtrooper unless you catch them offguard. Everything seems to have major force resistance, or Cal isn't very strong with the force.In terms of story, it's a great departure from the usual stuff. You're a scared former padawan who slips through the empire's fingers and lands himself in a plot to retrieve a holocron that somehow contains names of force sensitive children even though it's probably been hidden for many years (not the first time it's been done, but it's fresh enough still.) There's a big focus on exploration, and this is where the game truly shines. Even though the levels are very linear you feel like you're going through places no one's ever seen before. When you look at the map after you've done most of it, you see how big the main worlds really are. With the exception of Kashyyyk, they all look phenomenal. My hat's off to the environment designers; they make you feel like you're in there. There are six planets you get to go to, with Zeffo and Kashyyyk being the big ones, Dathomir feeling mid sized, while the rest are small. The last one is basically just a final corridor to the ending, but it's really good. What's wrong with Kashyyyk, you may ask? Well, that segways into my next point.Graphically, this game can look amazing one second and awful the next. Sometimes textures take upwards of 15 seconds to load leaving you running through areas you'd expect to see on an N64. Yes, it's that bad. Kashyyyk gets the absolute worst of it. It's to be expected, but I wonder how they pulled off Battlefront 2 looking as incredible as it does with large open areas and here we get a game that loads its areas in segments and looks horrible at times. What's even worse is that all areas are plagued with massive framerate drops. Perhaps this game was meant to be played on the xbx or ps4 pro only, because without exaggeration, the game chugs hard when you have a few opponents on screen. Sometimes just running through the world with no one around causes these framerate drops. If there's one thing I have to fault the game with, it's the performance. When coupled with the slower, more deliberately paced gameplay, you really do get flashbacks of playing Dark Souls on a ps3 on launch.There are moments that make you feel like an awesome jedi, exploring and fighting in a way that makes you wonder whether Luke even did anything cool in Disney's new canon. Then there's slow junk. As I said, it's a mixed bag. Darth Vader is indeed in the game, and I love what they did with him. I played through the game on normal, and after beating the second sister, the final boss, Vader shows up. When you regain control, I tried running up to him and striking him just to be knocked aside. There is no fighting Vader here. All you can do is run away. I love this execution, because at the end of it, Cal really isn't anyone special, just another Jedi trying to find his way. Really, this story's already been done in Star Wars rebels with Kanan. As it was in rebels, Vader is an absolute monster. Running really is all you can do. As you do so, he's destroying the structures you used to get to the final room, killing stormtroopers as you go. When taken as a whole, it shows you that anyone who has ever stood up to Vader and did anything of note had to be a truly exceptional person, and that no normal person, even a Jedi, is of any concern to him. This is one of the best depictions of Vader I've ever seen.When all is said and done, the holocron is destroyed and they have nothing left to do. There's no tie-in to anything else aside from Saw Guerrera and Tarfful showing up for brief cameos, but it's not blatantly implied that Cal is going to go off and help either of their causes.It's a game that is very much worth the time to be played despite all its flaws. The fact that it comes bundled with the system for this price is even better. If you've been on the fence about picking yourself up an xbox, I recommend it. Don't let my nitpicks or calling out the negatives of the product deter you. I prefer to be upfront about what's bad about something so that anyone reading can be better prepared and appreciate all the good coming out of it.For this price and what comes with it, it's a hell of a deal.

Good God in Heaven.This thing is fantastic.I’ve been out of the gaming circuit for years, but was a vet of the early Halo Wars and CoD games.But it’s been years. I’m 40.The last console I purchased was a WiiU like 4 years ago. And it was okay. Not fantastic. But cool.So, I live on Long Island and the coronavirus is freaking everywhere. So hanging out with friends is difficult at best. I needed something to help me reach out and pass the time.My friend told me he was playing Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Jedi Fallen Order.I’m a Star Wars guy. Big Time. And a cynic. So this was no small decision.So I found this unit on Amazon, and took a shot.I got it in two days, which was outstanding because originally it wasn’t supposed to be here until the following week.I have a wall mounted TV so I disconnected the WiiU and used the pre-snaked hdmi to connect it. Plugged it in, batteries (included ❤️) Installed in the super- sexy controller and updated the software.This console bundle also comes with a download code for Jedi: Fallen Order so I went ahead and got that going.Free month of Xbox Live. Awesome. Thanks Microsoft. That’s mighty nice. Set that up.EA all access for a month. Okay. Won’t use it but set it up. Thanks all the same.Xbox Game Pass is fantastic. I’m playing Batman Arkham Knight on it. It’s really outstanding.So okay. I’m all logged in.I used to roll heavy in the 360 days, but that was a long time ago. It asks for my Microsoft Live credentials. I put them in.I get my Gamertag Back, all my gamer points and achievements, and every digital game I purchased in my 360 back. My Jaw hit the floor.So now, not only do I have this INSANE console which I really do love, but I’m back.This console is the best entertainment purchase I’ve made In a very long time. I am truly impressed on every level.The Jedi game will receive its own review, but it Is fantastic, dear reader. It is fantastic.If there was one sole criticism, it’s that it does not come with a headset. It said it didn’t and I didn’t expect one. I have ordered one and will be reviewing that as well.It also allows me to enjoy multiplayer games with my friends from the safety and comfort of our homes. In these times, that is so important.So I hope you found this useful.In closing all I can say is this: If you are considering buying this unit, I recommend and endorse your decision completely.FANTASTIC PRODUCT.(Kudos to the seller and Amazon as well. Good job all around people.)

I am The really impressed by the care and attention that they took in packaging and shipping this product. I am very excited to start using it, and it even came with a headset which I’ve never had before so this will be fun. The only downside is the headset was dead when it got here, but it’s a type C charger and that’s an easy fix, but I am so excited to set this up.Update to this morning:I set it up last night, system booted up just fine, minor surface marks on the system it’s self but that’s fine. Did however notice that the controller, well packaged I might add, one of the trigger buttons was not functional. I thought it was stuck but there is no sound indicating that it is connecting with the rest of the controller. So I am going to see about pulling it apart to see if I can fix it. Other than that I am so happy with my product.

Man...I missed the Black Friday deals and just wasn’t sure if I even wanted to spend almost $400 for a console and Star Wars game (which is hours of entertainment btw) BUT...$200...is it worth it? YES. Exactly as promised. Brand new in box with original packaging (I can tell the re-wraps). All equipment works and performs awesome. All the codes worked for everything. You don’t get the disc game, it’s an xox code to download to your system, but that’s pretty typical and they never promised that. I’m very happy with the console and am enjoying a bunch of games with the EA month free pass.