Xbox One First Impressions

     After having my Xbox One for about two weeks I feel I can pretty safely give my overall impression. Much like my "PS4 First Impressions" post I'll talk about the console itself, the interface, controller, games, etc. So let's get to it!

     First of all I like the look of the Xbox One. Sure, it doesn't have the sleek slanted design of the PS4, but the console still looks really nice. It's not as big as it looks in videos either. It's maybe an inch or two longer than the PS4, but it's the same width. The console runs really quiet too. Set up was super easy and the day one update took maybe 2 minutes to download. Right after that I navigated the dashboard which I really like. It's less cluttered than the Xbox 360, and still uses the tiles which I like. You only have three tabs on the dashboard (Pins, Home, Store) so it's more organized. The new store looks great and each "shop" has a detailed picture displaying the item(Games, Movies, Music, Apps). User profiles look much more vivid with a large image of your avatar, gamerscore, recent activity, uploaded game clips, etc. Even the game profiles and achievements are more detailed with their own pictures and info.

     I love the new controller. It's very much the awesome Xbox 360 controller, but with better thumb sticks, triggers, and other new features. I like that the triggers feel more solid too. The new Kinect is great and picks up on your voice commands very well. One awesome feature is the ability to have Kinect scan your pre-order bonus codes. All I did was say, "Xbox, use a code"  and Kinect instantly pops up ready to listen. Then I held the code about three feet from the Kinect and in two seconds or less the code was scanned and I got confirmation to download the code. So much quicker than entering the whole 25 digit code! Another very cool feature is the snap ability. Now if you have a Windows 8 device you are use to this. If not, the snap ability let's you run multiple apps at the same time side by side. I had a game running, then brought up Internet Explorer to view info on that game from a webpage. Now sure, I'm not going to be running multiple things side by side all the time. But just having the ability to do so is cool!

     I've dabbled with the game dvr and Upload Studio some. I've never recorded gameplay before so I'm a complete noob at it. However, being able to say "Xbox, record that" and have it record the last 30 seconds is great. The Upload Studio is very easy to use. I was able to select a game clip, edit it, add a skin or effect, give it a title and upload it without any trouble.

     The games I have spent time with on my Xbox One have been varied and all great experiences so far. Even though I am not a huge fan of fighting games I have had a good time with Killer Instinct. The game looks good and the effects are great. The game also runs very smoothly and the level backgrounds are pretty slick. Of course just the nostalgia factor of thinking back to playing the original on my Super NES is great too. I have only played a little bit of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag but I can already tell how much I'm going to like this game. The environments are gorgeous, combat is fluid, and the whole pirate theme is a much welcomed addition to the series.

     Call of Duty: Ghosts looks good and runs smoothly. So far the campaign is pretty good and has tons of action. I like some of the new modes and perk system to the multiplayer as well. I kind of knew what I'd be getting with CoD: Ghosts but I'm not disappointed. Dead Rising 3 has been a blast so far. Graphically the game kind of looks like a higher resolution Xbox 360 game, but the "next gen" aspect comes from the sheer amount of zombies on the screen, and the massive sizes of the city. Oh, and no loading screens is awesome! Finally I've been playing Ryse: Son of Rome. Holy crap is this game gorgeous looking! The character models, facial movements, lighting effects, environments, music, and just everything about this game is great. The executions are brutal and there are a lot to unlock.

     The time I've had with my Xbox One so far has left me extremely pleased and very glad I bought one. The interface is much less cluttered, more intuitive, and vivid. The games run smoothly and look great. The new controller is both familiar and improved, and the new Kinect works well and already has offered several helpful and useful functions.  I applaud you Microsoft. Great job!

Grade: A

Written by: Alter Ego 83