As a Nintendo gamer and fan, I've not personally owned a non-Nintendo console since the Dreamcast. Partially because of money (I'm generally pretty frugal), but also because my favorite gaming style has always been best served by Nintendo. I've owned the WiiU since launch, and really love the little guy (Mario 3D world may be my favorite Mario since Mario 64). After years of being Nintendo-only in the console world, I finally took the plunge and bought an Xbox One on Christmas Eve. Now I have the best of both worlds, the insanely fun and beautiful games produced by Nintendo, but also the stunning and realistic games to satisfy the graphics whore in me. Right now I'm working on Battlefield 4 and just downloaded Forza 5, which is absolutely stunning!
My impressions so far:
- Navigation via Kinect and Voice: REALLY cool, though the voice recognition could use a litte work and the 'Tony Stark' gesture control is very, very cool, but feels a bit wonky at times. I understand this is early after release, and I'm confident Microsoft will improve both of these features with future updates. But when it comes down to it, controlling the menu system with voice and gestures really brings out my inner nerd and just makes me happy.
- Size: The box is big, but workable. Since it's replacing a Blu-Ray player in my media cabinet, it's not causing any space issues for me.
- The controller is very well built and feels great in my hands. I'd put it slightly ahead of the WiiU gamepad, which I also love.
- Media features: The concept is great, being able to control my Cable box, watch physical disk movies, and stream media through the same device seamlessly are very nice features. The implementation could be improved a bit, but again, it's just been released. Overall very workable.
- Performance: The UI is fast and responsive, no complaints here at all.
- UI Design: Took me a few minutes to get used to it, but after a few tutorials it works well. Solid for a launch UI, though it still lags behind WiiU for ease of use & navigation (though it certainly beats it in features)... you just can't beat touchscreen navigation right on the controller!
- Graphical power: Very impressed visually with the games I've played so far. I know it's not quite the technical powerhouse that the PS4 is, but it's certainly enough to satisfy my eyes. Forza 5 is absolutely stunning in every respect, Battlefield 4 looks great, and we all know the visuals can only improve from here. I really think the difference between the new super-powered HD Twins will be negligible to most gamers.
Overall I'm pleased with my purchase. I chose the Xbox One over the PS4 mostly due to the media capabilities (this is going in a home theater, so media capabilities are a huge plus), and the Kinect system (plus I've never been a fan of the tiny Dual Shock controllers). Between my Next-Gen Nintendo favorites and the graphical glory of the more realistic Next-Gen games, I'm a happy gamer. :)
