XBOX ONE (MRU's updated impressions)

[MRU]

OK so I'm not new to consoles or computers. Yet my experience with the Xbox One is borderline one of the most frustrating consoles EVER.

Firstly....

So here we have Microsoft advertising Xbox One with emphasis on the voice command features.

So after finally getting my Xbox One turned on and waiting for something to happen (seemed to take forever first time to boot up even) it finally came on - connected it to my network and did the first big update.

Little did I realise that I would still have to download blu-ray player etc.. separately.

I then proceeded to put Dead Rising 3 where it prompted me to download a 13GB file.... My internet connection is brutal. It took 2 days. It wouldn't let me play the game until I downloaded the patch.

Plenty of time to get used to the menu system..... WHAT a cluttered mess. Seriosuly it's like someone had binged on a diet of speed and heroin before coming up with what must be the most confusing anti-intuitive interface ever. Yes it looks like 'MODERN/METRO' but its an outright mess.

Next up - I try the voice commands. 'XBOX ON'.... nothing
'XBOX ONNNNNN'...... nothing 'XBOX FOR FECKS SAKE TURN ON'.. nothing
ARGGHHHHh. I then proceeded to Xbox One support who tell me to re-calibrate kinect. With that done..... 'XBOX ON'... nothing again.

So finally scouring support forum I discovered that if the country is set to Ireland Kinect features don't work - neither does TV

So here we go... No figging working TV controls. No figging Kinect voice commands... (despite constant advertising of Xbox One with voice commands being predominant feature as well as TV integration)....

Seriously WHAT IS THIS BLOODY BOX I JUST SPENT €500 on doing ?????

Games seemingly take longer to install their contents from the disc to the HDD too.


MICROSOFT - YOU NEED TO FIX THIS THING. FAST. It's just such a mess to use in comparison to the breeze that PS4's XMB is - and hey get this Microsoft - voice commands on the PS4 work in Ireland too ....




--------------------------------------

So yeah not the greatest starts to my Xbox One experience.



That being said .... Game experiences.


So after two days of downloading Dead Rising 3 boots up. It's ok. Noticeably not as sharp as some of the PS4 launch titles - but still nice looking game. Frame-rate seems ok to me despite reports of it being choppy elsewhere. (perhaps the patch helped?)

Forza Motorsport - ok not the biggest racing car driving game fan - but this is fun and I am enjoying it a lot more than Need For Speed Rivals on PS4 which I will now be trading in.

My favourite game of the titles I bought though.... Zoo Tycoon. Yes I am a big fan of frontier with RCT3 and such and this game is just great. Menus are bit overwhelming but its by far for me the most engaging game I have played yet on the Xbox One.

Still downloading Killer Instinct. Max and Crimson Dragon.

 

[Taustin Powers]

A 13 GB patch?? What the hell, did they rewrite the entire game?!

One thing I keep hearing about this new generation of consoles is how much hard drive space even the disc-based games take up now. That makes the stock 500GB hard drive kind of a joke in the long run.


Besides that - I never was interested in the One in the first place, and I sure as hell don't want to own one after reading your post!

Thanks for taking the time to write up your experience!

 

[AaronM5670]

Thank you Sony for having the sense to make the HDD upgradeable!

 

[MRU]

A 13 GB patch?? What the hell, did they rewrite the entire game?!

!

Yep!!! And to make matters worse if your online you simply can not just choose to say NO and play the game sans patch offline like PS3/PS4/WiiU

It's basically choose yes to download or click cancel. Click cancel and your thrown back to the cluttered home screen.

It's just a pure example of an exercise in frustration for the end user....


Seriously the Wii U takes some stick for its menu system & GUI. Yet it's still vastly more intuitive than the XO's.

Oh and can anyone tell me can I have a background behind the modern tiles ? Like windows 8/8.1? Plain black is just so 2007....



On a positive note - like the controller. It's really comfy,
On a negative note - why do I have to spend ANOTHER €25 to make it rechargeable ? Aghhhhhh. Even Nintendo & Sony don't do this.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Sucks about the Voice Controls and TV, it's pretty integral to the experience IMO.

That 13 GB Patch is a stability patch and yeah it does replace a lot of the existing game code

MS made the controller batteries only because they wanted people to be able to swap out batteries and continue playing instead of having to tether it to the console. I ended up getting a charge kit anyway. On the plus side, your batteries should last a long time because the Kinect detects when you put the controller down and puts it to sleep.

You can't change the UI background

Try Ryse. It can get repetitive but it's nowhere near as bad as people said it was.

Waiting for Titanfall

 

[gkarris]

Looks like you need to speak "American" if you want the XBox One commands to work...

Will be interesting to see what the new CEO and MS Board Chair handles all the MS devices...

 

[irnchriz]

Try speaking slower and leaving a slight gap between your words as speaking quickly just mucks up voice recognition software. This is an issue for many languages but effects the Scots and more so Irish as we speak fairly quickly.

If you want to stop the patch disconnect the internet. Pita I know.

I find the home screen easy to navigate just pin all the stuff you use often.

As for the initial setup it's no different from the PS4 which had a 400 mb patch to install. My xbox one even came with a sheet stating to just turn it on and it would sit for a while on the green screen and to just leave it till done, no biggie, only does this once.

If you read any reviews etc you would know that the tv commands etc are very limited outside of the US at this time too.

Personally I think it's great, I love Forza 5 and have been splitting my time between that on the One and Killzone and Tomb Raider on the PS4. Ryse, son of Rome was great fun, pretty much a button basher like god of war etc and has amazing visuals, AC 4 is great, CoD Ghosts is okish. Killer instinct is great fun, crimson dragon is an abortion. Resogun on the PS4 is class, BF4 is still ropey, maybe one day they will fix all of the bugs.

The PS4 controller battery life is utter ****, they need to have an option to turn off the stupid lightbar (I bought a 3 metre USB cable so no longer an issue, LOL). The XMB is pretty spartan at the moment and I have had a few crashes in both killzone and tomb raider where it just dumps out with a program closed error. Going by the guys on this forum it must be a lack of RAM. Hahaha

 

[MRU]

Try speaking slower and leaving a slight gap between your words as speaking quickly just mucks up voice recognition software. This is an issue for many languages but effects the Scots and more so Irish as we speak fairly quickly.

If you want to stop the patch disconnect the internet. Pita I know.
.

Sadly if your country is set to Ireland - it doesn't matter how slow you speak - as voice commands full stop are not supported in Ireland even though you have the language set to English.

It just doesn't make any logical sense to not support kinect voice commands for Ireland.

Likewise it's not that TV option is sparse, if your country is set to Ireland it's non existent. You can't even set it up to adjust volume of your TV.

Sure I can change to UK country and gain access to those clearly missing features - however doing so causes headaches for the store / Xbox music / Xbox live / updates etc and it would mean repeatedly swapping over back and forth. It's just a total PITA.


Don't get me wrong there is a lot of potential there, but sadly it's just locked away from me and I'm at the mercy of Microsoft.

I bought Killer Instinct ultimate, Max and the magic crayon, and Crimson Dragon. Killer Instinct is fun, but noticeably 720p and not very next gen looking. Max is very good but can't help feeling it would be better suited on wii u control wise. Crimson Dragon is indeed a poor mans Panzer Dragoon Saga, and clearly an xbox 360 game at heart.

I have Lego Movie video game and Titanfall pre-ordered for it.

 

[MRU]

UPDATED Impressions.

Ok so I'm now climatised to the Xbox One dashboard, however I still feel it is far more disjointed than it needs to be. It's also despite being a wash of tiles - actually quite bland.

Forgetting the fact that I can not use kinnect voice commands or tv features for my country setting (if I change country to UK I get nag error messages saying my account doesn't match country setting and prompts me to change back), my impressions of the games themselves has improved.

I messed around with my TV settings and actually changed the input from HDMI setting to DVI and for some reason this has given me a sharper less aliasing picture - especially in those titles where the game is upscaled internally from 720p.

The only problem with this setting is that you can not have HDMI audio - so I use optical out connected to my Dolby DTS system.


____


Forza

A game I bought merely because I had a 30% off voucher from Gamestop as a birthday reward and I am finding myself really getting into it.

The game is beautiful looking with a couple of exceptions. The crowds are still 2D cutouts for the most part and it now is a bit jarring when watching replays simply because the rest of the game looks so damn beautiful.

Big mention has to go to the DTS audio. My goodness its really impressive.

I am not a racing game nut. I am not a car nut in real life either - but this is impressive nether the less and the familiar voices of the top gear team adds a nice feel of familiarity to the proceedings.

Microtransactions are present but I haven't felt the need to approach them in my 3+ hours with the game so far.

I appreciate the level of assists on this game - it at least allows people like myself to tailor the experience so that there is a challenge without being penalised for our non racing credentials.


_________

Zoo Tycoon has me enraptured. It's just so pretty - so well formed and so addictive for me. This above all the games I expect I will be playing for many moons to come.

My only gripes with the game is the kinect features. I simply can not get the kin next gestures to work - although the voice commands in the game work without too much trouble. Thankfully you can override kinect motion controls with controller so it avoids frustrating me.

 

[Miharu]

I'm happy this beta device isn't released in Finland yet - You guys can do all the testing first

 

[MRU]

I'm happy this beta device isn't released in Finland yet - You guys can do all the testing first

Lol. Yeah well the GUI certainly feels BETA to me here with most of its "features" not working or available.

That being said I like it for the most part.

 

[VI™]

Have you ever thought about learning how to speak 'Murican? I'm not sure how hard it is to speak Irish, but a 24 pack of budlight, American flag bandanna, and a wife beater will get you speaking 'Murican pretty quickly.

 

[MRU]

Have you ever thought about learning how to speak 'Murican? I'm not sure how hard it is to speak Irish, but a 24 pack of budlight, American flag bandanna, and a wife beater will get you speaking 'Murican pretty quickly.

You don't think the Irish know how to drink, smoke and beat their sheep ?


Like I say it's not that the Kinect doesn't understand us - when I change country setting to UK voice commands work fine - it's that when the country setting is changed to Ireland - kinect voice commands simply do not work at all - the kinect is not even listening.

Sadly you can not leave your country setting wrong as soon as you start to do anything you get nag error screens telling you to change back that your account and country setting are conflicting.

So yeah..... its a pain and a pain that involves waiting for Microsoft to issue a patch enabling kinect features in other countries.

 

[alent1234]

bought an xbox one for my kids and love it

the disk installs are way better than sitting through 5 minute load screens
the optical drive is literally silent when playing games
the internet features are nice and Metro is better than on the 360
downloading games is for dummies, buy the disc versions that you can trade in later

and the good games always come out in the second and third year of a console's life. right now we are still on the updated versions of last gen games

 

[MRU]

Been playing Lego Marvel most of the evening on the one. Such a great game, can't wait for lego movie game....

 

[antman2x2]

Welp, my experience with the xbox one went as followed.

First console: Disc drive grinding. Filed advanced replacement, console took 2 days to get here.

Second console: Fan grinding noise after 2 days. Unable to file another advanced replacement because the previous case was not closed. Waited a week to speak to the customer advocacy team, he closed the case and over nighted me another console within an hour.

Third console: Most certainly had some sort of power issue ALONG with the fan issue that console number 2 had. Thing would start clicking and turn off. I called the customer care agent who was taking care of me and within 10 minutes he had shipped ANOTHER console.

Fourth console: This was the winner. Not a problem with it. I love this thing to death. HOWEVER, I was PREMATURELY charged $544.16 because they "did not receive my third console back yet", I shipped it and checked the tracking number and they had gotten it THREE days prior to mistakingly draining my bank account.

I called my customer care agent and he immediately issued me a refund, which didn't process correctly. A week later I called back and yet again he was unable to appropriately process a refund for me. It wasn't until the third call that I got a refund, a free game and $126 dollars to spend in the xbox store.

All I can say is the console is amazing, but what I had to go through to get a working refund, and my god damn premature charge back was ABSURD.

Although I can say I was compensated nicely and the console is great, my initial console launch was ruined.

 

[roadbloc]

In my opinion both the Xbox One and PS4 suck. This generation of game consoles have been very underwhelming, the XB1 and PS4 being a streaming device, media device and mediocre gaming PC all stuffed into a VCR box. After helping a friend unbox his XB1 and set it up, just to be greeted by a lovely next gen loading screen that lasted a good hour, I was most certainly put off the idea of purchasing one.

The only one that remains true to consoles appears to be the WiiU, but lack of titles and modern hardware appears to have hindered it somewhat in the sales department.

I'll stick with my gaming PC and hope for a generation of consoles that leapfrogs what the PC can do like new generations used to do, rather than just barley catch up and push the focus off gaming and onto TV.

 

[0098386]

In my opinion both the Xbox One and PS4 suck. This generation of game consoles have been very underwhelming, the XB1 and PS4 being a streaming device, media device and mediocre gaming PC all stuffed into a VCR box. After helping a friend unbox his XB1 and set it up, just to be greeted by a lovely next gen loading screen that lasted a good hour, I was most certainly put off the idea of purchasing one.

I just think that's endemic of current tech in general. When I bought my iPad straight from the Apple store I was greeted with a firmware update and there are updates every couple of months for the 3DS and PS3 (probably for the others too but those are the 2 I play the most). The Wii U took ages to transfer my Virtual Console games across too. I think the Wii back in 2006 had a hefty update on launch day too... or a small update that took ages due to hammered servers.

The out-of-the-box experience of these machines is really falling behind.

 

[MRU]

The only one that remains true to consoles appears to be the WiiU, but lack of titles and modern hardware appears to have hindered it somewhat in the sales department.

I'll stick with my gaming PC and hope for a generation of consoles that leapfrogs what the PC can do like new generations used to do, rather than just barley catch up and push the focus off gaming and onto TV.

I just think that's endemic of current tech in general. When I bought my iPad straight from the Apple store I was greeted with a firmware update and there are updates every couple of months for the 3DS and PS3 (probably for the others too but those are the 2 I play the most). The Wii U took ages to transfer my Virtual Console games across too. I think the Wii back in 2006 had a hefty update on launch day too... or a small update that took ages due to hammered servers.

The out-of-the-box experience of these machines is really falling behind.

Remember Wii U launch buyers were also greeted with a near 1gb install..... So it's three for three

God help people with NO internet...

 

[AaronM5670]

God help people with NO internet...

Honestly, if someone spent €300 or €400+ on a brand new console I'd imagine they'd have an internet connection - most who don't have a connection are elderly and would likely have no understanding of what a games console is and no interest whatsoever in using one; others might not be as lucky as us and be able to afford an expensive new console.

Of course I completely agree that there is still a need for disc-based games for those with slow internet, or for those who don't want to be ripped off and who are those not willing to pay extra (such as myself; I don't understand why we should pay more for less)... especially if it involves waiting for 5 days or so in some cases for large games to download - I was in this boat until there was investment in 30mbps (although some people have access to 120mbps+ in the UK) fibre-optic broadband in my area.

 

[MRU]

Honestly, if someone spent €300 or €400+ on a brand new console I'd imagine they'd have an internet connection - most who don't have a connection are elderly and would likely have no understanding of what a games console is and no interest whatsoever in using one; others might not be as lucky as us and be able to afford an expensive new console.

Of course I completely agree that there is still a need for disc-based games for those with slow internet, or for those who don't want to be ripped off and who are those not willing to pay extra (such as myself; I don't understand why we should pay more for less)... especially if it involves waiting for 5 days or so in some cases for large games to download - I was in this boat until there was investment in 30mbps (although some people have access to 120mbps+ in the UK) fibre-optic broadband in my area.

Yeah I'm in rural Ireland (far from a city) and the internet infrastructure is pretty bad. The majority of folks who do have connections here are often dealing with 1mb lines.

 

[roadbloc]

It isn't always if you have an Internet connection, but if you have one fast enough to handle all of the updates and downloads. My brother's xbox 360 spends more time downloading on our piss poor connection (120kbps at very best) than he does actually playing games. God knows what the XB1 would be like if we got one.

Saying that, Steam updates take the piss often. But at least you don't NEED the latest update to be able to play like it appears to be on the Xbox.

 

[hagr182]

I want to get both, actually I kind of lean to the PS side of the fence. however this time a sale plus some store credit I had led me to purchase the xbone yesterday at around 250 usd, I love it, except kinect stopped working this morning, the sensor just wont light up or be detected. Anyone with this issue?

NOTE: MY unit is brand new.

 

[gkarris]

however this time a sale plus some store credit I had led me to purchase the xbone yesterday at around 250 usd...

who has them on sale?

Thanks...

 

[hagr182]

who has them on sale?

Thanks...

Well forgot to tell you, im outside the US for now, currently working in Mexico, here the official price is about 650 USD with tax included. This shop called gamers added a sale that reduced the price to 490 with taxes included, so its cheaper than the 499 + tax pricepoint you get on the US, which is around 542 where im from (TX).

Plus I had about 240 in store credit from games I sold a while back in preparation for next gen, so that´s how I got my cheap xbone.