Xbox One 1TB Console - Halo: The Master Chief Collection Bundle

I decided to buy an Xbox One in July 2015 due to Microsoft's dedication to updating and making the console better, and after their presentation at E3 2015 with the announcement of backwards compatibility.For nearly 2 years I held out and went from the Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 4 because I wanted to wait and see if Microsoft was going to make an effort to change the Xbox One by making it better and worth purchasing after that atrocious 2013 release and the whole talk nobody really cared about ''tv, kinect, drm, all-in-one, etc.'' Boy I'm glad I waited because the Xbox One is officially better, somewhat innovative, simply more exciting than the competition in 2015 and the Xbox One 1TB Halo MCC bundle is well woth it! Here is what I think of it so far with pro's and con's.Pros:Less than $400 and comes with 1TB of hard drive space, new and improved Xbox One controller with a 3.5mm headset jack (should've been like this from launch.) AND the best exclusive sci-fi FPS game series of the 2000s: Halo MCC.Xbox One exclusive games. Loved the exclusives out already such as Dead Rising 3, Titanfall, Ryse, Killer Instinct, and the Forza games. The flagship Halo series is still alive and strong, and a promising long lineup is due starting in Sept 2015.Backwards Compatibility. BC was announced at e3 2015, and will launch in Nov 2015. BC will allow you to play hundreds of X360 games AND DLC that you own without the need of using a X360 anymore. The awesome thing for me is that you can also play multiplayer with anyone that is on the X360 AND someone that is on an Xbox One using BC.Universal Apps. Dozens and dozens of apps like Netflix or Youtube to use on the Xbox one. Some apps require a subscription, but some are free and should never leave you bored. Oh yeah did I mention that twitch is available and you can stream your gameplay and also watch gameplay from gamers that are using ANY console/pc.Multiple apps can be open like you are on a pc, you can close them at your discretion.Xbox + PC integration with Windows 10.DLNA support.External hard drive option. Another feature I wanted my PS4 to have.2 AA battery option for controller. I always have several rechargeable AA batteries on hand, and I never have to worry about plugging the controller itself up for a charge.Quiet console even with a power brick and huge fan inside.Console firmware updates and new features/fixes from user feedback nearly every other month. Microsoft actually have a website for Xbox user feedback with voting/response/comments/status/upcoming updates/fixes.Xbox Live is phenomenal on the Xbox one. Dedicated servers deliver stable online use and multiplayer. Microsoft finally ended the terrible paywall in 2014 that required you to have their paid gold membership just to access certain features and apps with subscriptions that you ALREADY PAID FOR! The only thing that you need a gold membership now is for multiplayer and free games every month. They also adopted the ''twitter'' style for friends as well. No longer do you have to get pelted with friend requests, people can follow you and you can choose who to follow back. Want to share gameplay with more than youtube and Facebook? There is a Upload studio app that allows you to be creative with your gameplay vids, and you can actually attach vids with a message and share among friends. Your vids can be public or trend to everyone that uses the app or whoever view the specific game in the xbox store or hub. Xbox live also has custom themes and a lot more features as well.Phil Spencer is the head of Xbox at Microsoft as of 2014. He actually cares about gamers, listens to feedback, and is a gamer himself. He is the reason why the Xbox One has gotten better and receives updates so often. If he was in charge during the next gen planning and release of the current Xbox, everything listed and updated would have been included at the launch in 2013. He said himself that the Xbox One was headed in the wrong direction in 2013 but he had no control then because he wasn't the boss.Cons:Not all games are 1080p. The Xbox One have a lot of games at 1080p, but due to the GPU, some games on the Xbox One is either upscaled or 900p on up. Microsoft will try to solve that problem with the release of Directx 12 to be updated on the console in Nov 2015. Directx 12 will not fix the problem completely, and I don't think any games are less than 900p on the Xbox One.External power brick still exist. By now the power supply should be inside the system.Frustrating snap and complicated, sometimes slow User Interface. For a next gen console the entire UI should be much faster and instant like the PS4. When you click on something simple as friends or messages, instead of being instant, an image pops up then it loads up. The snap option can take anywhere from 5 seconds to 1 minute to load up while playing a game and the UI will slow down as well. There should be a option to use a guide menu like the X360 have or you could choose to use snap. Microsoft listened to feedback and said there will be a UI change and windows 10 will be implemented on the console in Nov 2015 for a faster, friendlier UI.(I will update when it is released.)No option to listen to music while playing a game without using the snap feature.No option to use a headset and hear people talk over the tv speakers as well.Slow install times for older titles.The settings page don't have its own tab, not visible on home screen either. You have to press the options button or use it as a pin to access settings.The 2 buttons under the controller power button that replace the start and select buttons don't state what the buttons is, just a small image on each. Also, if you have multiple controllers on, there is no extra led lights indicating which is which.No easy option to replace the internal hard drive. You can replace the hard drive, but you will void the warranty that is still valid on the console.Not that much use offline. Consoles these days need an internet connection to give you the full features and great experience.Ok, that's my review and I hope I was clear enough for someone who is considering to purchase this console or not.

While the Xbox One is has met a large amount of criticism from its release date to current, I believe it is a well refined product worthy of some praise. Here are a quick list of pros and cons that I found from using it for about a month now.Pros- The difference in graphics between the 360 and the One are night and day. Anything from frame rate to clarity to resolution is vastly improved. This allows those 1080p TVs do do what they were made for.- The sleek design and interface are crisp, clean, and simple. It did take some getting used to when finding most of the systems functions as Ive been using the 360 for over 4 years.- The game selection is finally becoming something. With all of the titles currently released and the titles that have been announced as being in the works or in development for the One, this system has become a must have for all counsel gaming fans.Cons- Between the space taken up from the operating system and the fact that each game you play must first be downloaded, the 500gb counsel is woefully short on storage space. That being said, for anyone hoping to oven more than 10 or so games needs to have the 1tb counsel or an external storage for their 500gb counsel.- While playing Far Cry 4, I found that while the overall graphics are vastly improved (which allows the game to shine for what it is whereas the 360 ruins it), I noticed that the frame rate did suffer in some larger gunfights or exploration.The Halo MCC is a masterpiece. As a rather casual Halo fan having played each game back when each was released, this collection is by far the best thing to happen to the Halo franchise yet. Its remastered soundtracks and cut-scenes improve the overall theatrical feeling of the games beyond what words can describe. I have not a single regret about buying this bundle.

My specific application is to play a couple games, golf (The Golf Club Game, EA's) and Halo with extended friends/family. San Diego to San Francisco.I had the Xbox 360 and was doing the whole evaluation of Xbone 1TB, PC or PS4. I was cool with buying any one, but have always gone with Xbox, and again... after all my research, I chose the Xbone. Actually bought two... one in San Diego and one in San Francisco. After a couple days use. I am finding it to be just a stellar system. [Although the exec. at Microsoft that allowed the Xbone to be manufactured with less than the best hardware ought to be fired! Oh ... he already was ...]I've been playing with family in San Fran (me in San Diego) on Halo and Golf. And I have to say ... it is like everyone is in the same room! From the moment we turn on our Xbones, we start a Party chat (under "Party" on the main screen) and from there we seamlessly start chartering and go into Halo . . . still chattering away all through the game. Exit the game, and we are still chattering away.We have been stunned at the clarity of the Xbox live chat on the new controllers. With the new controllers on both ends, it is better than any of our phones in the house! There is no delay . . . no echo . . . not even a TV echo in the background. Again . . . the best sound I've ever heard on any device we have . . . land line, Ipads, cell phones . . . Xbox Live wins.I have a 70' Vizio Ultra TV and the Xbone looks great. The Golf Club Game looks Great. Halo looks great. The whole who has the best spec hardware is only a small part of the total equation. And quite frankly, all software publishers should optimize their software to run on PS4 and Xbone at 1080. It all is optimization for the console.Halo plays with virtually no lag in multiplayer from San Diego to San Fran with crystal clear chat ... like you were in the same room.Real happy with the purchase(s). Would buy again.