Topic: New to XboX, please help.

I'm not new to gaming, I've been around since the Atari days.
My console of choice has always been Nintendo.
I own every Nintendo console.
I own a PS2 and a PS4.
After just about two years, I now, today, was finally able to get a Series X.
I will be delivered next week.

Before I start using it, is there anything I should be aware or, things to do, settings to apply?

I'm into Fantasy and Sci-Fi Single-Player offline games.
I am looking forward to playing Fable: Anniversary Edition and No Man's Sky. I just recently tried them with a free month XBox Ultimate Trial on my new computer.

What games are recommended by you all?

It does not come with an optical port, so if you're using optical for surround-sound audio, it won't work. It must be able to connect to Microsoft servers to do its initial firmware update.
As for games. If you have Xbox Gamepass then definitely try Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice, Tunic, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (if you have Ultimate). Heard Grounded and No Mans Sky are great. As for AAA, Halo Infinite and Forza 5 could be worth taking a look.

@SingleStooge
I have Fallen Order for PS4 and I hate the way it controls (movement). I assume it's pretty much the same for this system.

I signed up for the All-Access Pass. 2 years of Ultimate.

Will a 360 controller work with the XSeX?

Sure, just like a Wiimote will work on the Switch.

@Spider-Kev love the Ben Reilly costume btw!

A 360 controller won't work unfortunately. Xbox are notable for locking down controller's for the systems and with the lack of popularity they had last generation, 3rd party conversion adapters are much more expensive than they are for Nintendo and PlayStation.

As for games, particularly sci fi, I played the first mass effect on game pass a little while back and I thought it was awesome. Had a few 360 era RPG quirks to it that I had to overcome but overall the experience was great

I also played Dead Space and thought that was ok, it's a horror sci fi so has all the trappings of the horror genre. A bit like a modernised Resident Evil.

Halo and Gears of War have got some great sci fi settings to get immersed in. I'm not too huge on the gameplay but the lore is interesting, particularly in Gears of war.

Titanfall 2 has a fairly short (about 6 hours) and fun sci fi campaign too. Oh yeah and Quantum Break is a good cinematic experience and not a shooter! Well it sort of is but it's not the crux of the game at least.

Oh yeah, it has the whole Doom series on there. They are great but I absolutely love Doom 2016 nd Doom Eternal. Best modern shooters in my opinion!

I can recommend Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle. Both point and click games but quite funny and Full Throttle has some brilliant music. They're sci fi but not like space sci fi.

There's a few other sci fi games on GPU that I haven't played. Just had a look as well and I haven't played many/any fantasy games on there either unfortunately! I played Greedfall a little while back but that has since left the service

Most of the settings are going to personal choice and/or related to what features your TV has for example - whether you can have 4k, 120fps, VRR or HDR depends on your TV. Other things, like instant on/power save modes will come down to personal choice.

I cannot recommend Game Pass Ultimate enough - Not only do you get access to the Game Pass library, but you get access to EA Play, Game Pass for PC/Mobile and of course Streaming. It may not be the 'best' way to play games, but streaming does allow you to jump straight into any 'streamable' game and play immediately to get a very good idea of what the game offers. It maybe 'good' enough to play through via Streaming, but if you want higher resolution and slightly better latency (if you even notice), you can then download to play but then have to wait for it to be ready.

You basically have access to any of the hundreds of games available on both Game Pass and EA Play - so that includes sci-fi/fantasy games like Mass Effect, Gears of War, Skyrim/Oblivion, Fallout, Doom, Halo, EA Star Wars and numerous other games you may enjoy if you try them...

@BAMozzy
I have a 4k Dolby Vision TV.
I have GamePass Ultimate. Currently, with a free month, but 2 years with All-Access when it comes in next week.

@ralphdibny
Thanks, it's an old costume. 2010, Halloween, Honolulu, Hawai'i

@Spider-Kev that's cool, so your settings will reflect what you can/cannot display - obviously you can enable 4k and HDR, but whether you can select VRR or 120fps for example will depend on your TV. The point is that most are either 'preference' - how you want to 'customise' what you can and/or what options are available to you so I can't really make you 'aware' of any settings specifically to apply or things you should do before you start the set-up process.

I could also recommend numerous games, but its easier to recommend the Game Pass service because you have access to so many games that will cost you nothing to 'try' and some you can start trying immediately thanks to the ability to stream - no need to wait for downloads, installations, updates etc - just jump in/out as you want. I don't like recommending specific games, implying you should spend your money on these titles because 'I' enjoyed them over others when the 'others' may actually be better in your opinion and more enjoyable to you. At least in recommending Game Pass, there has to be numerous games that you'll enjoy playing for 'many', many years. Maybe you'll recommend some of the games you end up trying and/or discovering some gems that you perhaps missed, overlooked or wasn't sure enough to purchase, but really enjoyed. All Access seems a fantastic way to jump in to Xbox and have a decent Library of choices to keep you entertained with no need to invest anymore money...

Anyway, welcome to the Xbox family. If there is anything you want to know, want help with etc when its all in front of you, ask away. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that you should do, need to know about etc 'before' you start the set-up process and start gaming so can't really help in advance. There are numerous Sci-Fi/Fantasy games from indies to AAA, from 1st/3rd party devs across numerous different 'genres' RPG's, FPS's, 3rd Person Action games etc etc so have fun exploring the options.

The one thing I will say though is that if you want to download and install a game (like Skyrim for example) and think you can kill time by playing a game via the Cloud (streaming) whilst waiting, it pauses all downloads. Its great if your SSD is full and you don't want to move/delete anything yet, great to try a game before you waste time downloading etc. You could be up and playing a variety of games in minutes after setting up instead of waiting 'hours' to download, install and 'update' before you can play. Any games you play on Game Pass (PC or Cloud) in the meantime will also save your progress and achievements so that if/when you play on Series X, you are not starting again from scratch.

@ralphdibny
Feel free to send me a friend request on XboX

@BAMozzy
I sent you a friend request.

@Spider-Kev Thank you - added you too

@Spider-Kev Hi and welcome! I think I cannot beat the great recommendations by @SingleStooge @ralphdibny and @BAMozzy. But I will try to add something nevertheless, frm what I have played via GPU.

I will say Psychonauts 2 is a great game (even if is more of a platformer). Scarlet Nexus is interesting too, even if somewhat derivative and a little conventional on the story side. There's Crackdown 3, too. And I greatly enjoyed Immortals:Fenyx Rising, one of the best Ubi games in recent years, IMO.

Hope it helps. Welcome, enjoy your new Xbox Series X and happy gaming to all!

@SingleStooge
Feel free to send a friend request.

@HarmanSmith
I went to send you a friend request, but I don't know which one is you.

@Spider-Kev Request sent! Hope I got it right.

@HarmanSmith
You did

@Spider-Kev cheers for the offer, much appreciated but I like to keep my gamer tag private. I appreciate it though!

Okay, no worries @ralphdibny

I just remembered hearing something about a confusing Protection Plan with All Access, can/does anyone remember it?

I am not entirely sure about this at all as I have not looked into the All-Access route myself. However, MS does provide a FAQ on All Access which may have all the answers you are looking for - https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/subscriptions-billing/man...