Xbox One Console - Titanfall + Kinect

First off - If your Xbox One does not come with a cheat sheet for your Kinect sensor, I highly recommend it. It is available online. You can just Google it. It gives you all the major voice commands that can be performed by your voice e.g. "Xbox use a code" and then you can just show your Titanfall game code card that comes with the console. Your Kinect will read the code within a second whether you are far away or close. It is really awesome and works perfectly. Note: The Titanfall game took me about 4 hours to download on 30 Gigabytes through my cable internet provider. All the needed upgrades when I first turned on my console took maybe 15 minutes. It all depends on how quick your internet is. I finally got my Xbox One. I am fully aware that on May 13, 2014 Microsoft made the announcement that they would sell on June 9 the console without a Kinect for $399. I like the move because some do not have the need for a Kinect attached to the console. Although, I found out that it is actually pretty awesome to have one. Microsoft is not dictating that some of us have to buy the Kinect sensor anymore. They always had a certain attitude that it is their way or no way. Therefore, I was just sitting on the sideline. I did not like the bullying and all the rules because it did not make any sense. I did not like their attitude from the start. As a consumer I felt this was very arrogant but they finally listened to the consumers. Microsoft did their mea culpa so to speak and I bought the Xbox One Titanfall bundle with Kinect based on their actions. My thinking was for $499 you get a game. Basically, it is like paying $50 or so extra on the $399 for a camera plus a game included. Not too bad pricewise. Microsoft has listened to us. A bit late but nevertheless they did. In addition, they announced that starting with June they will offer free games for Xbox live Gold members on Xbox One as they already did for Xbox 360. This should have been done sooner because this did not make any sense why you could get 2 free games on one console and not on other one with Xbox Live Gold. My Xbox Live membership is active for both consoles and work flawlessly on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Note: One thing I noticed is that the Xbox 360 has more APPS than the Xbox one. I am sure that this is a work in process. Also, everything is nicer now on the homepage for Xbox one compared to Xbox 360. Less confusing you could say. The installation was pretty easy. The Xbox One connects straight to your TV and replaces the connection from your cable box. The nice thing is at least it does not require an extra HDMI port on your TV. That HDMI cable from your cable box goes now straight to your Xbox One. The Xbox one Kinect allows you to change the channels by voice e.g. "Xbox watch CNN" or of course by remote. It is up to you. It is pretty neat and I am sure Microsoft is going to improve on any issues. Another feature I like the best is that you can split your screen for a game you are playing and watch live TV at the same time. Under your Xbox One "options" it gives you the ability to control the volume for your game and TV. If you want the volume to be higher for your game while you are playing you can do that and whatever you are watching on live TV will have a lower volume or vice versa. It is up to you. This is really the feature I like the best on Xbox One. I can do 2 things at once. It gives you plenty of choices. If you want to split your screen with Skype and a game you can. I have not played Titanfall yet. The only game I played so far is Tomb Raider Definitive Edition. The graphics are awesome and the game is extremely fun. I get back from work. I say: "Xbox on" and everything turns on such as my cable box, TV, Xbox One console and surround sound. The Kinect signs me automatically in once it sees my face, click on my game that I played last and within a second I continue where I left off. All in all, I am pretty satisfied because this is a pretty awesome console. The console is always powered on in the background when you watch TV and connects within seconds to your favorite games. The console stays quiet and does not heat up. One last thing I would like to mention. The controller for Xbox One has to same sensations as the Xbox 360 to me. They are both excellent controllers.

After resisting the Xbox hype for months, I finally broke down after getting my tax check and bought the Xbox One with Titanfall bundle. It was delivered on 3/11/14 as promised, but thats where my satisfaction ends. I setup my new gaming system and ran the initial setup and downloaded a software update, which I expected. What I did not expect is that when I attempted to login with my Microsoft user ID/Gamertag I given a message that the Xbox One is unable to reach the sign-in service and suggestedt that my home network settings must've changed and that I need to reset them to default. I know my internet is working, I just downloaded an update! I reset my router, switch, and modem and try again. Unable to sign in. I'm able to browse the marketplace and watch trailers for Titanfall, but not able to sign in. I did check Microsoft's support page and found their Live service was having problems with sign-in, but the rest of the service was "up and running." So from what I understand, people who already had their xbox's signed into Live were still able to play, yet as a new purchaser of a console, I could not. My very first impression of the Xbox One is extremely poor. I paid $500 for a system that sits in my entertainment center (that I had to tear apart and put back together to accomodate this new machine) and does not perform as promised (or at all). Beyond that, the packaging for this new unit is poorly designed and feels cheap compared to opening up a new iPhone or MacBook. The new controller has unnecessarily sharp plastic edges along the bottom ridge. Also feels like lighter plastic than the XBox 360 controllers. The "plug" for the headset is enormous! Theres a large assembly that clips onto the bottom of the controller for the headset that includes a mute button and volume +/-. The headset itself seems poorly thought out because the microphone boom is mounted on the inside of the headband so you can't fold it up easily and wrap the cord around it for storage. The main problem is definitely the giant assembly for the headset. I never owned a Kinect for the 360 and I have very little interest in using it for this generation either. I plugged it in anyway since I was unable to sign into Live to actually play a game, I figured I'd see what I could do with my $500 brick. I find the red lights on the front of the unit very distracting. At this point I don't see any real benefit to the Kinect and will not be keeping it plugged in. Another flaw I see is the continuation of an external power brick using a proprietary power cord. Sony uses a universal power cord with an internal power brick (on PS3 anyway) and I was expecting Microsoft to follow suit this time around. Most of my dissatisfaction stems from being unable to even log in and get my game download started before going to bed. Now I'll end up having to start the download after work today and it will be yet another day before I might be able to play the first minute of Titanfall. I've been boned by the XBONE!