Xbox One with Kinect: Assassin’s Creed Unity Bundle, 500GB Hard Drive

A real step in the right direction with the next-generation of video gaming. The Xbox One certainly fell flat on it’s face after announcement and launch, but damn is it back up and running like Usain Bolt in the Olympics now! There aren’t any major problems I have with anything about the console, software, hardware, or otherwise. Yes, I have complaints, but they are minor and pale in comparison to the positive features that the console has. I’m also not sure why anyone would be buying the Xbox One w/ Kinect bundle that has no games. Even if you don’t like AC, why not at least get a console that comes with games, even if you aren’t going to use them. In fact, at the time of purchasing this one, the Xbox One w/ Kinect bundle and no games, was actually more expensive than this rendition of the console bundle. Also, I understand if you don’t have the money to afford the luxury that is the Kinect, but I really feel like the Xbox One just isn’t itself without the counterpart. Some may find it as a novelty item and that it cannot be useful in gaming and that the voice commands are just fluff and whatnot. And then there’s the tin-foil hat society, reeking their havoc all over the internet, convincing people that the Kinect is always watching and listening in on you and that Microsoft is recording that data and could be recording constant video and selling your information to private parties and whatnot. First of all, if you’re buying a Xbox One and plan to connect it to the internet in any way shape or form, your information is bound to be farmed, that is the unwritten privacy agreement of using the internet in the first place, is that of course putting your information in a virtual world that is accessible to the world is going end up having people see it. After that rant, let’s begin:To prevent TL;DR issues, here’s a quick summary:PROS:Kinect features (voice commands, recognition software, no motor)Xbox One’s low temperature from large powerful fansXbox One’s completely silent operationXbox One’s slot-loading (compared to disk tray loading)Xbox One’s Blu-Ray capabilitiesController (everything about it)CONS:Xbox One’s whirring power supplyXbox One’s small storage spaceXbox One’s inability to sit verticallyXbox One’s sizeNo indicator as to how many controllers are in use and which controller is which playerNo more green indicator lights on the Xbox or controller, they are now whiteMust be connected to the internet to initially set upIf you want any detail regarding anything mentioned in the summary above, read on…Kinect:The Kinect is amazing. The voice-commands make multi-tasking while using the console an absolute breeze. You can start up the console, open up Netflix, search for a movie, select a movie, play a movie, then pause, rewind and fast-forward that movie, all without touching anything except the TV/TV remote. For those concerned, you CAN make it so that the Kinect and console both SHUT DOWN when turning the console “off.” And if you’re really paranoid, they sell Kinect privacy covers here on Amazon and in stores. The Kinect has many abilities. The microphone has been revamped massively, even so that in a Skype call, the other player cannot hear your game through the television, but can hear you when you speak. It can recognize your heart-beat, every limb (including fingers and the direction of the limb facing the camera). Instead of having a motorized base like the older Kinect, when in a Skype video call, the camera itself will follow you around the screen (it’s software powered, not hardware, nothing moves) and will zoom in on you as you get further away from the screen. Some games also chose to incorporate motion features, such as Battlefield 4. They allow you to look around when in a vehicle using your head, as well as lean around corners in game, not to mention the voice-commands they included. The Kinect also has the ability to sense who is in front of it, and will log all people with an Xbox account that are in front of it, in.Console:The console is obviously the meat and potatoes here. The console itself is a large-sized VCR essentially in dimensions and even look, to some extent. It is massive, but light. This is due to Microsoft’s due diligence regarding the past issues with overheating and cooling malfunctions on the Xbox 360 that led to the infamous Red Ring of Death error. There are huge fans installed in this bad boy, and let me tell you, you wouldn’t even know they were there. When using the console it is whisper quiet, and if I mute the TV, I can’t hear anything at all while it’s running. The satellite/cable feature is nice, but I don’t use it since I don’t have satellite/cable. The only hardware complaint I have, is that the power brick for the Xbox One makes a whirring noise when on, and it happens to be the only thing I can hear when I mute the TV, as mentioned earlier. The Xbox dashboard has been completely overhauled, some ways good, some ways bad. They did make it much harder to get to where you want to go most of the time and some things are ridiculously hard to find on the console, but you’ll get it all sorted out soon enough, like I did, I’m sure. The only other console complaint I have, is that the 500GB hard drive space GOES FAST. VERY FAST. You will run out of space before you hit 15 games for sure. I have 5 I think, and I’m at 41% hard drive space usage. Fortunately Microsoft is allowing users to attach external hard drives to the console and use them for storage, and I know at least a few 1TB drives that will work, so the problem is really moot, considering you can fix it fairly easily. It also is required to sit horizontally now, however, it was NEVER a good idea to operate a console in a vertical position, even when it was a option. There’s also no more indicator on the controller/Xbox as to how many controllers are connected and as to which controllers are which players, and the green indication lights on the Console and the Guide button on the controller have been changed to white now. You must also connect it to internet to use it. Period. There’s no getting around it, but once you set it up, you can take it off the internet and leave it off, if you like.Controller:The $2 billion that Microsoft poured into improving and modifying the Xbox 360 controller design and style and functionality, paid off well. The new controller is a home run for sure. The new triggers are heaven on your fingers, as you can now wrap them around the trigger and controller smoothly. The triggers also have very nice quality rumble motors in them individually, as well as a dampened/muted contact point when pulled all the way against the controller. An issue I am having with the triggers is that my right trigger squeaks occasionally when pulled toward to the controller, but that may be an isolated case and shouldn’t be present on every one of them, so I wouldn’t worry about that. The new buttons look great. They are every so slightly closer to each other on the controller layout, and seem slightly smaller in circumference, and have a more “buttony” feel when pressing them down, as they seem to have a slightly noticeable actuation point.The bumper buttons are a decent improvement over the old controllers, however I do have a complaint in that they make much, much more noise than the old ones did. Be warned, they are very “clicky.” The new battery pack housing is the second best improvement, as it now sits flush with the back of the controller and doesn’t protrude as the old one did, which makes holding the controller much nicer. The start button and back button were replaced by the “menu” and “view” buttons, but they essentially function the same way as before when in most games. The Xbox “guide” button got flattened and moved up the controller on its own little section and now illuminates white instead of green, and does not show which controller number it is, nor is there an indication on the Xbox One itself either, which is a slight disappointment.The analog sticks stayed the same distance from the controller I believe, however the actual part your thumbs go on got smaller, but the improved textured rubberized edging on them makes up for that because it allows for great grip on the sticks. However, I can imagine someone with bigger fingers having a problem using this controller’s analog sticks. If you have this issue or are concerned about it, I would look into Kontrol Freek’s analog extensions, as they may help. They seem to move and click pretty much the same as before, but I am noticing a slight wear in the left analog stick towards to front of the shaft from holding it upward/forward in games like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. So far it is not impeding on anything, but a forewarning, in case it becomes further worn and becomes inoperable or impaired after a long period of extended daily usage.The D-Pad has been improved as well, getting it’s own little crater to reside in so that it is not so obtrusive from the face of the controller, and now makes a very distinct “click” when pressed, which is something I love dearly about the new controller, as I hated the completely muffled D-Pad buttons from previous controllers. Some may find it too loud or maybe slightly annoying, but I can’t foresee anyone having a major issue with it.All in all, the new controller definitely shines, and the $2 billion in research funding and tinkering definitely went to good use and will not go unnoticed. This controller should go down in history as the best ergonomic game pad created thus far, I feel.

There are now several Xbox One bundles to choose from over the holidays, and this Assassin’s Creed bundle is one of the better options in my opinion. But just in case another one will be a better match for you, here is a comparison with holiday price drops:Xbox One, no Kinect: $349- Barebones, nothing extra, not a great deal, don’t get this one.Xbox One with Kinect: $449- Same as above, but includes Kinect. No other bonuses, don’t get this bundle.Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Bundle, no Kinect: $349- This includes both Assassin’s Creed black flag (digital version), which is playable immediately after download, and Assassin’s Creed Unity, which you can pre-download, but it is not playable until release date, which is still 1-2 weeks away (UPDATE: Available now!). As you can see, this is the same price as the barebones XBO, but includes 2 free games, making it a pretty sweet deal if you don’t care about the Kinect.Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Bundle, with Kinect: $449- Same as other AC bundle above, but also includes Kinect. It also includes a free Kinect game: Dance Central Spotlight. The Kinect sells separately alone for $149 MSRP, so this is an *extremely* good bundle. The standard MSRP prices would put this value at $399 console + $149 Kinect + $30 AC Black Flag + $60 AC Unity + $20 Dance Central Spotlight = about $650 total. Even if you believe the separate prices are kind of inflated, or they go down further over time, still a great deal.Xbox One Sunset Overdrive Bundle: $349- This bundle does not include a Kinect, but includes the new Sunset Overdrive game for the same price as the barebones bundle. But what makes this one stand out is that both the console and controller are white, which is pretty cool. Color preferences are subjective, so you’ll need to look at it and decide if this bundle is right for you, or if SO is the type of game you’ll like. It is currently the only way to get a white XBO. If you really want the Kinect, you’ll have to buy it separately for $149, which makes the deal less awesome. But if you don’t care about Kinect and like the look of white, this is a great choice.Xbox One Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Bundle: $449- This bundle is priced the same as the normal Kinect bundle, but this one does not actually include the Kinect. Instead, that $100 premium gets you Call of Duty Advanced Warfare (digital version, not physical), a custom Call of Duty themed console and controller design, and a 1TB hard drive. This is the only way to currently get a 1TB hard drive, which to me is the biggest selling point of all. But again, if you want the Kinect, you’ll have to buy it separately for $149 which makes it not as great of a deal. But that 1TB is great, and with how large full games are, will quickly become necessary. I’m hoping 1TB becomes a standard hard drive size very soon for this console, but for now, you’ll have to get this bundle to get that extra space (or get a separate external drive).Since this review is on the AC bundle, which I actually did purchase, I will specify in a little more detail what it includes. The design you see in the product description picture is a cardboard sleeve over the normal green Xbox One box. Inside that box, is completely identical to the normal Xbox One + Kinect bundle, except for those extra cards with download codes for the two AC games. There are no actual physical games or discs included in the bundle. The console is the standard black with the standard 500GB hard drive. Prepare to spend a few hours waiting for the games to download and install. Xbox Live definitely does not utilize my full 50 megabit connection, it seemed to download at around 10mbps consistently, which meant a long wait to actually play, since these game files are HUGE.After the last few system updates, the Xbox One has become an even better gaming/media device that I am still using and enjoying just about every day. So pick the bundle that works best for you and you won’t be disappointed!

I’m a 50 year old dad that bought this for my teenagers for Christmas. I’ve never been a gamer and didn’t think I’d use this very much once I set it up. But, you know what, this is hands down the best media device I’ve ever used! I can’t believe how well the Netflix and Amazon apps work on this box. I don’t even want to go downstairs to use my DVD player or Apple TV any more! Blu Ray disks never looked so good!Oh, by the way, in the evening, when Netflix can barely get a signal to my house, and my DVD player is choking on the low bit rate, I can go upstairs to the XBOX and watch the same show in 1080P. For this reason alone I might buy a second one for downstairs!

works great, well packed, good price. I did buy the coverage for it in case something goes wrong.

Bought it as a gift for my fiance and he loved it! If you have someone who is a gamer, then this is a great gift. 🙂