Microsoft released its revolutionary entry in the “next-gen” console war against Sony’s PlayStation 4 Nov. 22, and it’s not just winning battles, it’s changing the entire landscape of the conflict. Though the PS4, in many ways, resembles a more mature and sophisticated update to its predecessor, the Xbox One is a huge evolutionary leap from the original Xbox 360 released in 2005. While still maintaining some familiar elements and concepts, the Xbox One manages a genuine sense of wonder, all without losing sight of the strong gaming foundation the Xbox was built on.

Priced at $499, the Xbox One does cost $100 more than its direct competition. Sony’s aggressive price point has converted many Xbox fans, but it must be noted that the PS4 doesn’t include a motion-sensing device: that retails for an extra $59. The Xbox One lacks the profile and space-saving considerations of the PlayStation 4, both the console and Kinect sensor are larger than the original Xbox 360. Microsoft has opted for a system designed to blend into the other components of your home entertainment center, and it does that – for better or worse.  The Xbox One, like the PS4, has gone digital – only with its audio and video; it features only HDMI and optical audio ports. However, the Xbox One also features an HDMI input in the back, intended for the system’s television capability, but it will actually work with any HDMI device. Meaning fans who are especially disappointed by the lack of backwards compatibility can keep an Xbox 360 plugged into the back, which will work, although the most lag-sensitive players may not want to play that way. Taking a lesson from previous console skirmishes, the Xbox One will, unlike the Xbox 360, feature a Blu-ray disk drive.

The Xbox 360 controller was universally praised so, unsurprisingly, the Xbox One controller is very similar. The new controller will boast a few upgrades to the rumble features, triggers, D-pad, and thumb-sticks, in addition to an ergonomic texture much improved from the slippery feel of the old one. The most exciting addition to the new controller is its surprisingly long battery life, which is due to coordination with the Kinect to monitor its use – if you set down the controller to watch a movie, for example, it automatically enters a low-power state.

The user interface found on the Xbox One should be familiar to anyone who has used Windows 8; the colored tiles are easier to navigate than the multiple cluttered pages that made up the Xbox 360’s dashboard. The most impressive addition by far, though, is the ability to skip entering codes for pre-order bonuses, DLC or other game downloads by scanning QR codes with Kinect.  The most immediate shortcoming of the user interface is, like the PS4, the lack of an intuitive form of library management.  This means that the fastest way to navigate the Xbox One’s user interface is via the incredibly robust suite of voice commands. Kinect is also used for lots of little things throughout the Xbox One’s user experience. Profiles support fast facial recognition for sign-in. Once a profile has a face associated with it, the console will sign that person in whenever they sit in front of the console — it even says hello. Controllers will even sync automatically based on who’s holding them.  Gamers will be surprised by what the system can distinguish, and by all the small but smart usability enhancements provided by Kinect.

In order to keep its long-standing edge over Sony in the online gaming category, Microsoft has embraced the cloud — a reported 300,000 servers have been dedicated to supporting everything from cloud-based saves to actual computational assistance, so Xbox Live will be returning bigger and better than ever. The Xbox One has also raised the friend list maximum from 100 to 1,000 with one clever addition: followers. Instead of requiring two-way authorization, the Xbox One allows players to follow anyone’s profile, like Twitter but full of your game activity.

Microsoft has every intention of making the Xbox One the centerpiece of your living-room entertainment experience. The television integration and One Guide work well as an augmentation to your existing cable or satellite provider, especially with the ability to navigate TV shows and movies via voice commands. The ability to jump from game to TV and back again, or run TV in a picture-in-picture frame while playing a game, is a major step forward in set-top boxes and makes the Xbox One the obvious center of any living room. Every app on Xbox One can also be snapped to the right side of the screen in a mini window, either by pressing the menu button on the app, or saying “Xbox, snap [app name].”

Microsoft secured a comparatively large number of Xbox One-exclusive titles for launch, assembling a lineup with broad appeal including both “Dead Rising 3” and “Forza Motorsports 5.”Microsoft managed to complement a competent collection of third-party releases with a strong lineup of games that are only available on Xbox One.

The Xbox One is aptly named as the world’s first “all-in-One” home entertainment system. Microsoft repeatedly outlined a vision for a console based around entertainment, apps and connected experiences, tied together by Kinect, and that’s exactly what it delivered. The PS4 is, in many respects, equally impressive gaming console – but it is just a gaming console. The Xbox One offers an unprecedented, and unparalleled, amount of integration which in the war of the “next-gen” consoles gives the Xbox One an imposing advantage. It’s not without flaws, but the Xbox One is an impressive marriage of software and hardware that raises the bar in terms of what we expect from a home entertainment system.