LTTP - for real, tier 2 Swedish launch happened friday 5th september 2014, almost 10 months too late.
I almost didn't buy it, people complained too much, and I've been gaming happily on PS4 since day 1 and started feeling like I simply didn't need another console besides PS4 and WiiU.
But I'm so glad I caved in to the "launch hype" and bought it. I just love the console!
The UI is super slick. I love the suspend/resume feature and speed when going to the shop etc, it really shows that MS has experience in OSes. I don't have Kinect though or a TV box so can't use some features, but what's there is really well done.
It's crazy silent. I've been gaming on PS4 for almost a year now and XB1 is almost too quiet, at first I was seriously worrying that it was something wrong with the cooling, that the fans weren't spinning even though they should, it was simply too quiet for what was going on on screen compared to PS4 which aren't exactly hiding when a game is pushing the boundries of the hardware, on XB1 I can't hear much difference from when it's idle on the dashboard and when Crytek tries to melt it in Ryse. The power brick gets really hot though so maybe that's the trick, the external power brick that everyone hates came with some nice benefits.
I really like the controller. The tight and clicky D-pad is wonderful, the sticks are great too just like on 360. Using PS4 for pretty much 100% since day 1 made me dislike the placement on the XB1 sticks at first though, but I'm getting used to it now after 2 days so it's no biggie. Trigger rumble is kind cool too even though Forza 5 is the only game I have that use it properly.
Forza 5 looks and plays absolutely lovely. It's not nearly in the same league as Driveclub on PS4 visually, or even NFS Rivals, but OMG 60fps needs to be in more racing games this generation because it reeeally makes a difference. First HD 60fps racer this gen and omg I love it!
Feels like a waste that Forza Horizon 2 goes down to 30fps, takes away the feeling of premium quality, it's just NFS with another name really.
Anyhow, trigger rumble is cool too, felt odd at first but it makes you feel when you're losing the grip on the tires so it's really useful. I don't like the expensive car packs though. Not one bit. I didn't get the correct nordic Game of the Year Edition which I believe has more DLC cars uncluded, I just got the "old" imported Day One 2013 edition by mistake with 3 extra cars. They should've made a bunch of car packs free for everyone that had to wait this long for the game and console. But other than that - Great game!
RYSE is surprisingly fun too, just finished it last night and came away quite impressed by the whole thing. Felt like playing through a movie but it was not nearly as QTE heavy as I was led to believe. Great story and acting. Definitely worth a play through. Looks incredible too, haven't seen anything like it really, you really can't say when it's in engine or a video, and all that without the console sounding like a hairdryer is impressive on so many levels. Can't wait for more nextgen games from Crytek.
In short, my feeling so far is that this box definitely has got it's fair share of unjustified slamming here. Won't listen as much on the bashing in the future.