Well I have now spent a full day with my new Xbox One and here are some of my intial thoughts.
I ended up getting:
-Assassin's Creed IV & Unity
-Killer Instinct Season 1 & 2 Ultra Editions (which include Killer Instinct Classic 1 &2)
-The Master Chief Collection
-1 Extra Controller with the official Microsoft lithium ion battery
And yesterday I ordered the
Headset Adapter along with some the
PSVita earbuds (ironically) because they are cheap and well rated. Currently our only HDTV is in the master bedroom so this will allow me some late night gaming.
I have only played Killer Instinct 2013 and Halo 1 at length at this point. Both look and play great though I did get a weird sound glitch while playing Halo 1 at one point. All the audio had a weird buzzing distortion about it and it didn't correct itself until I rebooted the console. I don't have a Xbox 360 so it will be nice to play Halo 3 & 4 for the first time. I also played a few rounds of Killer Instinct Classic to see how faithful the port is to the arcade. I haven't played the arcade version in quite some time but it seemed pretty spot on. It plays in 4:3 aspect mode complete with a scanline filter. KI1 was my favorite fighter during the mid-late 90's so I am pretty stoked to finally have a decent port of the game.
Random things that I like about the Xbox One:
-You can charge the controller from the console while it is off.
-The official lithium ion battery can hold one heck of a charge. I used it all day yesterday and it barely made a dent in the battery status indicator.
-The controller is very comfortable though a smidge on the small side for me (I loved the heft of old "Duke" controllers).
-The d-pad is quite usable. Though a few hours of quarter-circle motions in Killer Instinct started to wear on my thumb a bit.
-The Smartglass phone app is pretty neat. I'll probably use it frequently with Netflix.
-Being able to play games while they are being patched.
Stuff that I dislike:
-Lack of fightstick options. I think there are two and both retail for $200. Currently the only other option is to padhack or use a CronusMax (heavily frowned on at tournaments). It would cost me around $80 in parts to add a padhack to my current fightstick.
-Paying for Xbox Live. I knew what I was getting into but I still don't like having to pay for the online functionality. The PS3 spoiled me.
-Having to pay extra for a rechargeable battery and the headset adapter. Both should be built in to the controller as with the Dual Shock 4.
All things considered, I have been enjoying the heck out of it and I am sure that I will continue to do so as the platform matures.