Since the announcement of the Xbox One, Microsoft have been fighting an uphill battle. All of their new technological arrangements – games watermarked to play on only one console, an “always on” Kinect sensor, having to update the console at least once a day – were all then double-backed on when consumer reaction was less than positive. Trying to rebuild a sales platform from scratch is difficult, but Microsoft have managed to (mostly) pull it off, thanks to a solid batch of launch games and the feeling that the Xbox One is looking forward to being your home's new entertainment centre.

The console itself is quite bulky, its size dwarfing the Playstation 4, and the Kinect is also quite large when compared to Sony's Playstation Eye. However, the Kinect is a much superior camera and motion tracker than the Eye, and the console itself isn't positioning itself to be just something you play games on. While not quite set up to do so outside of the States, the Xbox One should eventually be able to hook up to your TV channels provider, and coupled with the new addition of a Blu-Ray player, can potentially be your one-stop-shop for all things entertainment in your home.

Games wise, it's a bit of a mixed bag, with Ryse: Son Of Rome obviously the headliner, but it's fancy graphics can't distract from the repetitive gameplay. Dead Rising 3 has the opposite issue, being a lot of fun to play, but the graphics don't scream next-gen. Forza 5 has great visuals and a true sense of realism, but lacks choice to make it the fun last long-term. Killer Instinct is a hugely addictive fighting game, but with a max of six characters to choose from, again suffers from a lack of choice. Other games including Zoo Tycoon (cute, but kinda boring) and Fighter Within (just plain bad) round out the exclusives, leaving multi-platform releases like Assassin's Creed IV, Call Of Duty: Ghosts and Lego Marvel Super Heroes to pick up the slack.

So, the real question is, providing that you're not one of the lucky few who can afford to buy both, why should you buy the Xbox One instead of the Playstation 4? While it's difficult to forecast the future of both consoles, Sony seems to be looking at being where you need to be to play the best games, whereas Microsoft are hoping to become the official centre of your home. At the moment its full potential is difficult to perceive, but it's not ridiculous to assume that in a few months or a year's time, the Xbox One will become that voice-controlled hub we assumed living in the future would be like. Watch this space...