I don't really WANT to get an XBone, but...

[Revolutionary]

Spoiler: WARNING: Contains opinions from someone who actually has all the systems and can make a non biased assessment.

If you're going to ditch your friends, which I wouldn't recommend by the way, take the PC route. However don't have to much pause about the Xbox, I'ts not a bad system, I'd ignore what most of the snobs on this site say about the system itself. I understand your reservations about Microsoft, but the Xbox One itself is a pretty decent system.

Let me break it down for you as someone who in the past went against the friends-console-buying trend and who has the next gen trifecta (PS4,XB1,PC).

1.) Don't leave your friends if you're into multiplayer gaming, if you only really play singleplayer then don't worry about it.

2.) PC - Literally the best in every respect, my PC gets used every day.

3.) PS4 - It's okay, I haven't used it in months though, and it currently resides in it's box under my bed.

4.) XB1 - Again, It's okay, I don't use it very often, but hey, at least I use it frequently enough that it's actually plugged in unlike the PS4.

5.) Regardless I don't think either next gen consoles are worth the price tag at the moment.

 

[Ieyke]

Thing is, Halo 1&2, as a combo, was maybe my #1 game of Gen 6. (FF10 a close tie). If they made Halo 4 available for Xb1 and a Halo 5?

They might snag me.

I can't name a single Xbox exclusive I have any interest in.
To me, the Halo series is just the most generic sci-fi story/setting with underwhelming FPS gameplay.
I've played several different Halos, and I've reached the conclusion that this series wouldn't have taken off at all if it hadn't been first out of the gate in the upgrade from Goldeneye 64 to dual analog shooters.

*shrug*

I haven't finished the Half Life games yet. The gameplay does seem superior but I found the Halo games to be intuitive and fun. The tone was epic, especially this one battle in an ice area in the first Halo game. First time I can think of that the sound track included screaming guitars. So many different vehicles to drive, different weapons, interesting situation. I guess it either hits you or doesn't.

Funny story: my boy plays COD a lot. One day, he thought he'd play some Halo multi. He told me he was about to shoot an enemy when the guy "flew away" and he said to himself, "oh yeah. I'm playing Halo, not COD."

Is there a non-generic shooter you prefer? (FPS).

Well, that really depends on what you're looking for. They haven't really mastered the format yet.
For gameplay, things like Titanfall, Call Of Duty, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 are rock solid. They're not exactly great with the storytelling though. Well, actually Left 4 Dead kinda is, but it's a story you have to piece together from the environments you travel through.

For story things you have stuff like Fallout 3, which is LOADS of story, but then that seems to come at the expense of bland gameplay.
BioShock and BioShock Infinite have great story and atmosphere, but the gameplay is just decent.

Half-Life is pretty high up there just overall.

I don't think any FPS I could point to really manages to be great at both story AND gameplay. But maybe that depends on who you ask. I'm not lenient in the standards by which I judge games.

See, Dishonored is a GREAT story and GREAT game. It's first person, but it's not really a shooter. Somehow, adding in a gun as the primary method of interacting with the world seems to make great gameplay and great storytelling almost mutually exclusive. ....and I haven't yet worked out why...
By my standards, that I can think of, there is no game that does both aspects extremely well, but they seem to be getting better and better at it.
Deus Ex:Human Revolution has pretty solid gameplay and story. Neither is perfect, bot both are good.
I think it's just a matter of time before someone hits just the right formula.

When I play an FPS long term, they tend to be purely gameplay focused. I've played LOTS of Team Fortress 2 and left 4 Dead 2.

I'm trying to think what else they had exclusive to the 360. Forza. Fable. Having a brain freeze. What was that hide behind the walls 3rd person shooter? That was supposed to be good.

Gears Of War.
It's alright if you like plodding around and looking at a lot of waist-high walls.