So I got an xbox one

[Aerozord]

Figured I'd do a running log of my experiences with it.

SET UP
Physical set up was rather painless. You need an HDMI in to hook up you cable/satellite to it. Since I have basic cable I cant even try that stuff. Kinect was the only other issue, mostly I just didn't have a good place to put it more than a failure of the device.

Were a few hiccups setting up the console itself. Initial boot up took so long I thought it froze. Needed to retry connecting the internet, and had to reboot when it froze on initializing the console update. However I easily fixed these issues so while it wasn't smooth it also wasn't a big deal.

INITIAL THOUGHTS
First on the topic of installing games, takes forever. Atleast by my standard of at most one or two minutes.

Now the voice controls. Not perfect but I had little trouble getting the right intonations and timing to control it. I think this is more me than the system. My natural speaking voice is measured and monotone. My nephew tried it and it wasn't as responsive. Upside to this is I never once turned it on by accident. I was shocked with where and when I used it actually.

For example I found myself often using voice commands to navigate the options menu in Deadrising. There was no logical reason for it, I needed to press a button to get into the menu and the controller is in my hand, still I was using voice controls for it. I think this will be most people and personally this is the kind of interface I prefer.

I compare it to writing things down for myself. I often switch between cursive and typed letters just on what my mental flow finds most natural at the time. There is no method to it, one word I write out but later will write in cursive. I think most people will use it like this, not purely voice or controller but jumping from one to another.

It was decent using it when others were talking. Atleast initially, but they were attempting to not talk while I was trying to control it. I mostly wanted to get used to using it so it was not a natural state of game play as I was aiming for as clinical as possible.

As for snapping, again not something I have used much beyond testing it. But it was able to handle netflix and a twitch stream both running (with audio) at the same time with no problems at all. Since it was an extreme example I dont think I'd ever do it was a good indication of its ability to multitask.

The only game I played was deadrising 3. Controller took a moment to get used to. My thumb naturally rested on the B button instead of A, and the other thumb pulled the character slightly to the right. But once I started playing a bit this wasn't an issue. I vaguely recall having this issue with previous generations. Its been so long since the last one I forgot it takes a few minutes to get a feel for a new controller.

Those are my first thoughts. I'll be sure to post more when I get some real gameplay under my belt and start using it normally instead of experimenting.

[Bells]

How does the left Analog feels for you? When i experimented it, that curved-in design didn't feel as comfortable as the 360's. In fact, after playing COD ghosts and KI in it, i was pretty sure i would end up with a sore thumb if i had a big gaming night or something like that.

But i didn't have that much time with it, so maybe it was just me adapting to a new controller? Dunno.

[shiney]

I've heard that people have been getting banned from XBL and stuff for swearing in front of their Kinect even when they aren't using the system. Have you encountered any issues like this?

[Aerozord]

Originally Posted by Bells

How does the left Analog feels for you? When i experimented it, that curved-in design didn't feel as comfortable as the 360's. In fact, after playing COD ghosts and KI in it, i was pretty sure i would end up with a sore thumb if i had a big gaming night or something like that.

But i didn't have that much time with it, so maybe it was just me adapting to a new controller? Dunno.

I think that has alot to do with each individual hand. My only issue was that what I felt was forward was slightly to the right of forward. My right thumb I did need to adjust abit though. Once I did some actual gaming for abit I stopped noticing it though

Originally Posted by shiney

I've heard that people have been getting banned from XBL and stuff for swearing in front of their Kinect even when they aren't using the system. Have you encountered any issues like this?

I have heard these rumors, but well I dont swear so its not something that affects me. The rumors I heard were limited to sports games for some reason. If true they probably figure if you have an M rated game hearing swear words won't be something new to you.

The system for the kinect in game and for the xbox are not the same system. The xbox controls require you to say "xbox" before it starts recognizing what you are saying. In game it will activate from simply mentioning a word. So I believe if its just doing it from casual swearing its probably something intentionally placed in the game than something universal for the system.

Of course its technologically possible for the core system to still detect swearing while otherwise being inactive but that would be a console killer considering their intention to make it a media center. No one will buy it if casually swearing while in a room or watching a movie gets your account banned especially since it might be picking up swearing from the movie or game itself and not you.

[Azisien]

Man, our whole city is still sold out.

[Glabrezu]

I've heard that people have been getting banned from XBL and stuff for swearing in front of their Kinect even when they aren't using the system. Have you encountered any issues like this?

Ah ah, now Kinect can finally stand on its own as a 1984 wall device.

[Aerozord]

So abit more play with it. I was told the reason it didn't respond well to my nephew is it identifies a 'user' and attempts to single out their commands.

Tried running youtube, which was abit of a pain but thats normal when not on a computer. Voice commands didn't go as well as I hoped. Still not horrible but not at the point I'd consider it reliable during gameplay.

They changed how you add friends. Now you 'search' for them and then 'follow' them.

Load times are horrible even with the game installed. The whole idea is that the world is loaded all at once. It is smooth in game, so if you dont mind front loading its not a big deal.

[synkr0nized]

Originally Posted by Aerozord

They changed how you add friends. Now you 'search' for them and then 'follow' them.

I've noticed this trend in various services, perhaps originating more prominently in Twitter and followed by Google+.

Steam, GW2 friends lists, and Live have all embraced the idea of folks just following one another in one-way connections, escalating them to friendship status once it becomes two-way.

I think I prefer having to confirm, but I'd be lucky to get one or two followers anyway.

[Aerozord]

Voice command in game seems to be more spotty than voice command for the console itself, not to mention very little indication of what those commands are. Sure that will vary between games but its worth noting.

I also think I forgot to mention the power brick, while relatively quiet is still a fan going constantly so if its in your bedroom that might be annoying.

I have now run into the first thing I can say I hate. The achievements. The interface is bulky, hideous, and difficult to navigate. Gone are the simple tiles with a nice summary, instead its a giant screen shot with only about 6 on the screen. Worst of all to get a summary of what that achievement is for you have to select the "summary" option FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Geez I just want to know what the achievement was for and since I'm the type to get several and look them over all at once this is a huge inconvenience of what should be a simple pleasure

[Aerozord]

One more of these, unless something major crops up or people have questions I'll leave it at this.

Final Verdicts

Controller
Once I adjusted to it, its an x-box controller. Love it or hate it despite some minor dimension changes that will mess with your muscle memory for abit its essentially the same so dont expect it to change your opinion from the last one.

A

Kinect
So far the camera has had zero issues the few times I used it. I had to put it under the TV and because of specific furniture I did need to prop it abit to get it at the level I wanted but no big deal. The camera could also detect me just fine even though I usually sit only a few feet from it. Though I wont even try to use it for commands. Controller or voice command do this stuff better. Its functional nearest I can tell but that might have more to do with me finding little use for it.

C

Voice Command
As I said before, not perfect but better than I would have guessed. It seems to have more issues with some commands than others. Turning the system on has worked 100% of the time while the only way I can get it to boot the game is to go through a contextual voice command first. In case you are curious its "select" which labels all the icons on the UI then "play disc" or "<game name>". It works well enough that I still find myself using it despite the occasional issue. Its alot like early search engines. Ultimately I'm glad I have it, I just wish it worked better.

B-

UI
Remember when I said I'm glad I have voice command? This is why, not because I find the UI hard to manage. It is basically the 360 UI if you gave it the best qualities of windows 8. Not saying windows 8 is great, but it has its advantages and those are all thats been ported over. What I am saying is I never use the UI. I navigate the console almost purely by voice commands. I just tell it to load netflix, or youtube, or whatever. Only thing I really use the interface for is my friends list because thats one of the problem commands I mentioned.

NA

Console Apps
This is for all things that come on the system. The 'following' thing for friends is odd to me. Maybe I'm getting old but I'd rather just add a friend then have him accept a request than either having to add each other or have one person stalking the other. Most other systems are same and rather lack luster. What kills it is the horrible achievement UI. Its so bad I dont even bother looking at my achievements anymore. Everything else might balance me to indifferent but that tanks it

F-

Games
Ok look I only have deadrising. Take that for what its worth. Graphics for this game are hard to judge. Its not especially pretty, but the sheer amount of crap it can render at a time is insane. Especially since it has a dismemberment mechanic so there can be individual parts flying everywhere. And of course as advertised once the game is loaded that is it, it does not load again. However that initial load is really really long. It even loads exiting the game.

Voice commands are spotty but not like you need them and I do use them alot to navigate menus. Other specific pros and cons I mentioned before. It is a fun game and definitely a water cooler game. I often talk to co-workers about combos and other things we've discovered. Some reason I'm the only one thats figured out food combos.

Now purely as a game its great, but this is about the console so I'm judging it as an extension of the console and what it can do so its more technical. Having an entire open world rendered at once is really impressive and I personally think the lackluster graphics is made up for by by how much can be on the screen at a time. What kills it is that initial loading time. They really need to cut that down, these are Playstation era loading times and eventually they will make games that you cant fit all of it onto the RAM and you definitely dont want to make players go through that multiple times in a play session.

B-

Overall
B

I'd say its worth getting. What really dragged it down for me were the bells and whistles. Friend lists, achievements, ect. Voice command I honestly think has alot of promise. If microsoft can tweak that and its searching program I think it will be a solid advantage over the other consoles. Only worried developers will start trying to use it where they shouldn't. These issues can be fixed with updates so they might be temporary.

The only solid draw back is the load times. I'm not sure if its the specific game or something we will see often but if the processor just cant load next gen games fast enough this will remain a drawback of the console for its life cycle.