This holiday if you have an Xbox fan who loves the Gears of War franchise (many do!) on your gift list, the Xbox One S 2TB Gears of War 4 Console Bundle could be the perfect choice. This is the ultimate gaming console for Gears of War enthusiasts, and one of the coolest designs ever for an Xbox console.
Incredible design Gears of War fans will love
The bold, deep red colour is easily the most striking feature of this custom-designed Xbox One S console, and stands in stark contrast to the traditional black Xbox One and white Xbox One S consoles. Looking a little closer, you’ll see incredible details on this console, like laser-etched scratches as if this machine has survived the brutal war against Gears of War 4’s terrifying new enemies—the Swarm. These scratch marks appear on the top of the console, and across the Blu-Ray disc slot at the front, so no matter which way you orient the unit—vertical or horizontal—you’ll always see these eye-catching battle scars. The console also has the iconic crimson omen Gears of War logo (a skull in the centre of a cog) on the lower, ventilated half. This limited edition Xbox One S Gears of War 4 console will stand out prominently on any gamer’s shelf, and they will surely want to show it off to their friends and family.
Includes Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition
I had a lot of really great things to say about Gears of War 4, the newest chapter in the fan-favourite third-person shooter series, and in this bundle comes a full download of Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition for both Xbox One and Windows 10. The Ultimate Edition includes a Gears of War 4 Season Pass, which will grant you access to the Vintage VIP Pack (includes Vintage JD and two Vintage weapon skins), access to two additional DLC maps per month for a year (24 maps total), the ability to play all released maps for private play on dedicated servers, an exclusive Developer Playlist where you can try new maps, modes, and features prior to wide release, and six Gears Packs that unlock character and weapon skins, emblems, and boosts.
Matching controller
The custom-designed Xbox One controller included in the bundle looks just as awesome as the console itself. Featuring a similar battle-worn motif, the red-coloured controller features carefully etched claw marks right around the front XYAB buttons, and a smaller version of the crimson omen just below the left analog stick. I also really love how both the controller and the console aren’t uniform red—the colour is splotchy and uneven, giving you the impression these devices have sustained tremendous wear and tear during the devastating war against the Swarm.
2TB of storage
As Xbox One games have become more advanced over the last three years, so too has the amount of storage space they occupy on your console’s hard drive. The Xbox One S Gears of War 4 Console Bundle comes with a large 2TB drive (the biggest drive size available for Xbox One S) so you have plenty of space to save your games, movies, and other media. To put this size in perspective, Gears of Wars 4 takes up about 55GB of storage space, which is less than 3% of your overall capacity. Gears of War 4 also happens to be one of the biggest Xbox One games ever, so the vast majority of games you install on your hard drive will fill less space. In comparison, the original Xbox One model that released in 2013 had only 500GB of storage, so Gears of War 4 alone would take up more than 11% of the overall capacity. Even if you only plan on picking up a few games each year, you’ll be glad you have the larger 2TB drive since that means you can install many more games and media worry-free, and have a lot less data management to do down the road.
Save precious space on your entertainment unit
Another great aspect of the Gears of War 4 Console Bundle is that it comes with Microsoft’s brand new Xbox One S model. This upgraded version is 40% smaller than the original Xbox One, making it the most compact Xbox console ever. Amazingly, Microsoft was also able to integrate the power supply into Xbox One S chassis, which means there’s no bulky “brick” power supply to deal with. If you live in, say, a major urban city or in a university dorm, places typically where space is at a premium, you’ll really appreciate just how little room Xbox One S takes up. For added convenience, this is the first Xbox One model that you can position in a vertical orientation (using the vertical stand included in the box), giving you more flexibility in your entertainment area set-up.
HDR gaming
Xbox One S supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) gaming on 4K TVs, and Gears of War 4 is one of the first games to take advantage of this incredible new TV technology. Playing Gears 4, and other Xbox One games that support HDR like Battlefield 1, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and Forza Horizon 3, you’ll see a much wider range of colours with brighter whites and deeper blacks. Playing Gears of War 4 on a 4K TV with HDR is extremely impressive and will appeal to gaming enthusiasts who want maximum picture vibrancy and clarity. Even if you don’t have an HDR-ready TV, by picking up the Xbox One S Gears of War 4 Console Bundle your gaming system is future-proofed for when you’re ready to upgrade.
4K media playback and upscaling
No matter what games you play on Xbox One S, they’ll look better on a 4K TV thanks to the console’s 4K Ultra HD upscaling technology. Games I tried like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Forza Motorsport 6 looked cleaner and sharper when compared to the original Xbox One. Xbox One S also has a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc drive, letting you watch incredibly detailed versions of hit movies like Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman, Ghostbusters, and Sausage Party.
Bring home the ultimate Gears of War console
As you can see, there are so many reasons why the Xbox One S 2TB Gears of War 4 Console Bundle would make the perfect gift this holiday, whether that’s giving to someone special on your list or treating yourself to this amazing piece of hardware. Microsoft has one of their best fall line-up of games in years, including ReCore, Forza Horizon 3, Dead Rising 4, and many more, so when you want to take a break from the awesome-ness that is Gears of War 4, you have plenty of great options to choose from.
Final Score
Performance 4.5/5
Features 4/5
Design 5/5
Value 4.5/5
