Microsoft XBOX One Pro Reviews

When the Xbox One was first unveiled to the public, there were worries that it would embody the Jack of all trades, master of none cliche. While the media integration features need polish and Kinect could use a grammar lesson, the most important things are there: good games, a solid interface and reliable servers for hours and hours of online gaming. From yelling at Kinect to pinning channels and games to sharing uploads from the Game DVR, it's just plain fun to use the Xbox One. Microsoft's gaming torch has been passed from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One. We're really looking forward to what comes next.

Microsoft's Xbox One is certainly that - Microsoft's Xbox One. It's clear that the company is aiming to enthrall the user into continuing to trust Windows with this release, making a number of connections both visually and with software like Xbox Movies that makes a great case for wanting everything Microsoft. If the most major thing you're interested in in your life is playing Xbox games, you may very well be convinced that Microsoft's full device collection is one that's worth having, if only to feel at home with every one of your devices.

If you’re big on having a console that is literally hands-off, then the Xbox One might be the one to check out. We love its souped-up Kinect integration, and have never had as much fun yelling at our televisions save for when it’s college football season, we’re nearing the end of a Lord of the Rings movie, or when our cat has jumped in front of the screen. And, of course, if you’re a huge TV watcher, then the Xbox One beats out the PlayStation 4 by a country mile, thanks to its OneGuide capabilities (even with the added annoyances of always having to use your Xbox One to watch television, and pay for a Live Gold subscription). On the other hand, if you’re keen on sharing your gaming with your friends, we much prefer Sony’s integration of real-time streaming to the Xbox One’s limited DVR capabilities. It’s a bit sad to see such a great camera in the Kinect wasted, thus far, by the Xbox One’s lack of game-broadcasting capabilities. That said, its complete integration with Skype (and video calls) pairs wonderfully with the Kinect. Now, if only more of our friends used Skype… and if only we were a bit nicer on our chats...

On balance, the Xbox One is a fantastic piece of technology, well worth the cost of a new iPad. There are some sore spots, which Microsoft will undoubtedly address in the coming months through software updates. Chief among them are the terrible quality of Game DVR recordings, the inability to stream game sessions, and the total lack of social media integration. People want to share their fun with the world, and “upload to SkyDrive and do what you want from there” is a half-baked solution. The ridiculous policy of requiring Xbox Live Gold to use streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus deserves to be abolished, too. But this is Xbox One version 1.0. This is like the “Blades” interface of the Xbox 360. If this is the starting line, it’s pretty exciting to think about where the console will be in another year or two.

Microsoft didn't just make a new game system with the Xbox One, it made a comprehensive gaming and home-entertainment hub you can control with your voice. Be prepared to pay a lot for all of these features, but it's money well spent.

Xbox One gets points for its forward-thinking mentality and ambition to integrate live TV and home theater control, even if that vision is far from being realized at launch. Of course no console is perfect out of the box, but it will be a difficult road ahead on that specific front. In terms of the rest of the Xbox One experience, time will tell if the system is able to garner a compelling collection of software that makes owning one worth it. Just like the PS4, the Xbox One has a great amount of titles that are already playable on a system you might currently own. For those games, an upgrade isn't necessary. Because the Xbox One and the PS4 are now on the same cycle, they'll both take some time to mature as platforms. That means it'll be a while until there is a reliable stream of software for each system. If none of the exclusive launch games intrigues you, there's no shame in waiting for something that does. To complicate things even more, we can't overlook what Valve has planned with next year's rollout of the Steam hardware. The company's incredibly popular Steam distribution service will soon get its own hardware, that at launch will have access to a gigantic library of games, a lot of which will overlap with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. We don't know much about the pricing format of these Steam machines, but if they're competitive with Sony and Microsoft, the marketplace reaction will be dramatic. The Xbox One feels a bit scatterbrained in its interface and presentation. To core gamers it might come off as a lot of unwanted fluff. On the other hand, the casual audience may be asking themselves why they needed to spend $500 when a $100 (or even $80) Roku might serve just as well for entertainment apps. Where Sony positioned the PS4 as the "gamer's console," Microsoft felt customers would be better served with a console that wears many hats. Thankfully it can still play games with brilliant visuals, but it lands short of its ambitious all-in-one hubris.

It's actually harder to compare the Xbox One to Sony's PlayStation 4 than most gamers would have you believe. Neither console can be distilled down into its shader cores or memory bandwidth. If you're looking for a dedicated gaming machine, the PlayStation does have a big advantage in its specifications and $400 price tag. But the extra $100 for Microsoft's Xbox One buys you more than just the Kinect camera. It also comes with Microsoft's promise to reinvent the way you enjoy content on your TV, and that's a very compelling pitch.

The Xbox One marks the start of a new generation of entertainment, one that's centred around your big screen and one that wants to give you everything from gaming to music, to movies and more. It rolls in the internet, it brings apps and you get Skype video calling too, all packed into a bundle offering gesture and comprehensive voice control. As it is, the Xbox One is a hugely impressive package on day one. The interface is well designed and it's easy to get around. he mixture of ways to interacting with the console - from controller, to voice to gesture - mean that you always have options. The interface is well designed and it's easy to get around. But isn't not redefining everything: this is still Xbox and any 360 gamer will be right at home and looking forward to some great gaming to come. There's a lot still to come for Xbox One, but as it is, we can't help marveling at Microsoft's ambitions. Xbox One changes your TV experience, it realises that vision of having one central conduit that delivers your entertainment, no matter what the source. Even though we're yet to see everything fall into place, Xbox One is still an exciting addition the home. And it's a choice console for gaming, with exclusive titles like Dead Rising 3 and the forthcomingTitanfall hard to ignore. There will be omissions, some might not like the necessity of adding another box to the TV loop, others will criticise its lack of native network media handling and others will slam the lack of day one apps. But this will be a long campaign and having lived with Xbox One, it feels like it's the evolution of the Xbox 360 and of TV that we wanted. Xbox isn't just a gamers' console: it's a gateway to a multitude of home entertainment, pulling all the strands into one interlinked experience. The future is here and we love it.