Gamers lined up in the rain outside local electronics retailers at midnight Nov. 22 for the release of Microsoft’s Xbox One. The console released one week after Sony’s Playstation 4. Both companies sold around 1 million units at launch despite Sony’s apparent advantage over Microsoft because of negative feedback surrounding the Xbox One.

Xbox fans who preordered before the midnight release received the exclusive Day One Edition of the console. The Day One edition comes in special black packaging instead of Xbox’s trademark green and includes a special controller marked with the words “Day One 2013.” The Day One controller also features a black chrome D-pad in place of the normal controller’s plastic one.

I’ll admit I was surprised at the number of people lined up at Best Buy by the time I escaped the store with my console at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. There was also a sizable crowd of gamers at GameStop. The Xbox One didn’t seem to take a huge hit from the negative hype circling the Internet after its announcement. It outsold the Xbox 360 at launch and became Microsoft’s most successful console release to date.

As soon as I had removed the Xbox from its Day One packaging and began playing it, I realized my expectations for the Xbox One weren’t nearly as high as they should have been. My experience with the console has been nothing short of stunning despite its bad reputation.

As a traditional gamer who mentally cringes every time I hear the words “appeals to casual gamers,” I’d never thought my favorite feature of the console would be the new Kinect. Kinect was first introduced to the Xbox 360 in 2011 to compete with the Wii’s motion-based family gaming. Kinect uses an infrared projector, camera and microphone to allow users to interact with their Xbox without using a controller.

Thanks to the new Kinect sensor, all I have to do is walk into my room, say “Xbox, turn on,” and Kinect will automatically turn on my console, controller and TV. When I sit down in front of the TV, Kinect’s 1080p camera recognizes my face and signs me into my Xbox Live account. When a friend who’s previously signed into my console comes in view of the Kinect sensor, it’ll bring their account online, too.

Although I’d never dreamed of actually using Kinect for in-game commands, it’s extremely useful in Battlefield 4. The new Kinect commands allow players to tag enemies, call for a medic or even record that once-in-a-lifetime kill streak to the Xbox’s game DVR. From there, the clip can be saved, edited and shared with my Xbox Live friends.

Kinect’s voice commands showcase the Xbox One’s processing power by switching between apps almost immediately. The Xbox One can switch between a game, Netflix, Skype, Internet Explorer or any of its other apps faster than you can say “Xbox, go to…”

Another win for the Xbox One are its breathtaking graphics. I died many unnecessary deaths throughout the Battlefield 4 campaign because I was too busy gawking at the glittering skyscrapers and rainy streets of Shanghai to avoid being shot and killed by enemies.

Despite the excitement I feel every time I turn on my Xbox One or tell it to turn itself on, the console does have issues. The new Party Chat has been largely unusable, and the Kinect sensor still gets confused when it hears voices playing over a YouTube video. Some of its launch titles are also buggy, as Battlefield 4 has had problems saving users’ campaign progress and provoked many rage-quits.

Other common issues include the console’s cable interface. The new Xbox allows users to connect a cable receiver directly to the console, and users can switch inputs simply by saying “Xbox, watch TV.” The problem, however, is the Xbox’s lack of support for DVR functionalities, which has become a staple to many TV viewers. Along with its lack of DVR support, the Xbox’s channel guide isn’t a polished experience either, though that will change with future updates.

Though it definitely has its flaws, the Xbox One is a powerful and innovative device ideal for both gaming and multimedia. I greatly underestimated the console, but since realizing its true awesomeness, I could not be more excited for its future.