Xbox One Storage Upgrade

So many games, too little storage

With Forza Horizon 3 coming out I was trying to figure out how to make room on my Xbox for the download. No matter what I could not delete some games off my two existing 500GB hard drives. I went to a store and found the Western Digital MyBooks on sale. It was a weird sale because the 2TB drive was $20 more than the 4TB and the 3TB was $10 more than the 4TB, so I got the 4TB MyBook. I have it installed and already I love it. I't a lot of storage for all my games and best of all it's fast. I timed starting up GTA V on the internal drive and it took 1:45 from selection to in story mode; the MyBook took 1:30 for GTA V startup. I didn't test other games yet but I do know that the timing does scale. A game that takes 20 seconds to startup is more like to see a 3 second decrease for 17 seconds. In games that have load times you will notice a difference in those times but not during game play. For large open-world games you will notice that your game won't stutter as much while it tries loading up the world.

The MyBook looks really good sitting next to a black Xbox like mine as they match. It is heavy and big when talking about hard drives so I do not recommend putting it atop your Xbox. It was very easy to startup as you plug it in and you follow the steps on your Xbox. The USB 3.1 cable included is long enough to just about fully circle your Xbox so you've got lots to place it close. The power cord is more than long enough for really any setup in my opinion as you should be using a power bar and they usually are placed close to our electronics.

In conclusion the WD MyBook 4TB drive is a great expansion drive for your Xbox One and I would recommend it for anyone needing more storage or improve load times. My one complaint about the drive is the piano finish. The finish collects dust and finger prints like crazy, but it just looks and not functionality.

Recording videos

I'm quickly going to write about what I use to record my Youtube videos. I use very basic and inexpensive equipment compared to people that do it professionally.

For playing games I have an Xbox One and the first iteration of the controller. I also use my PC and Corsair K95 Mechanical keyboard with Cherry browns supplemented with a Mad Catz MMO TE mouse or an Xbox 360 controller.

My PC is custom built. It features an i7 4770k, 16GB of DDR3 Corsair RAM, and an ASUS Maximus VII Hero motherboard. Graphics are powered by a Gigabyte G1 Gaming 970.

For recording my Xbox One I use the Xbox app on my Windows 10 PC. I then stream my Xbox to the PC and by having a Gigabit switch that both are connected to I can stream in the Xbox's native quality. I then set Shadowplay to record the desktop and it will record everything except the dropdown menu that appears for streaming which is a lifesaver. For recording PC games I also use Shadowplay. My only wish is that Shadowplay would recognize Windows store apps as fullscreen games. This works extremely well for me, however once in a while streaming my Xbox does cause a sound or graphical glitch.

To record audio during gameplay I use garageband on my Macbook Pro with a Samson Meteorite microphone. I started off using my keyboard to match the audio to video but then used the 1-2-3 method after trying to match 2 videos. To record a voiceover I use the iMovie built in feature after editing my video in iMovie. However I have acquired Autodesk Smoke and hope to be using that in the coming days once I learn the advanced UI.

I hope this gives a little insight into my setup and how I work. It's getting easier and cheaper to get into videos which is one reason I've been into it more recently. I hope to improve my setup as well as video quality as time goes on.

E3: Ubisoft Conference

Queen music is playing to open the conference. Lots of singing and dancing until Aisha Tyler comes onto stage. It was to bring in Just Dance 2017 and how it's coming to all platforms.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands trailer is shown and it looks really pretty. It also looks like a couple of Ubisoft games put together. It takes place in Bolivia which gives a Far Cry feel to the landscape. Gameplay is shown and the combat looks like Division. The technology and out of character cameras looks like they are from Watch Dogs. The game looks absolutely amazing!! I can't wait for this game.

South Park has an interesting open sequence. They then bring on gameplay and it's weird. I'm really not into this game at all. And the name is a terrible play-on words. And the crude humor was actually kinda funny. If you pre-order the game you get the stick of truth for free today.

The Division comes out to show upcoming DLC Underground. To celebrate the Ubisoft 30th anniversary being a part of Ubisoft club gets you three new outfits in Division. A trailer for some brand new DLC also debuts. It will be the Survival expansion and it says coming soon.

Ubisoft has Occulus on stage to talk about VR games. The game Eagle Flight is debuted with live Occulus gameplay.

Star Trek from Ubisoft is announced and we get a trailer. The game will feature VR in a multiplayer co-op experience. The game looks really good and like a true VR game. The only thing is the always online part. I do hope they have a portion where you don't need a VR headset because I don't have one but would love to play this.

For Honor shows off a trailer and it's combat heavy in a few certain eras of time. After about two minutes the video they showed got extremely boring and dull. Boss fights were no different from the rest except it was one on one. It releases February 14, 2017.

Grow Home comes on stage. It was really good for a little experimental game Ubisoft did.  Bud gets his sequel as Grow Up. The games end goal is to go to the moon and it comes out in August.

The creative directors of Trials and Far Cry come out to show off a new collaboration. Trials and Far Cry: Blood Dragon collide to bring you Trials of the Blood Dragon. It's an action packed trials game with over the top graphics and commentary. Out now on all platforms.

There was information about the Assassins Creed movie. I don't know what to think of it but I am really interested so I will probably end up going to see it.

Dedsec takes over the show to introduce Watch Dogs 2. San Francisco looks really good but we'll see what they look like when the game looks like. The car hacking actually looks really easy to control. The new UI also looks really good and much better than the original. I'm so happy because the driving looks to be so much better and cars have actual physics. It's really nice to have music during missions when not in cars because you put on headphones. The new parkour looks really good too. And now Watch Dogs gets a film too.

And now a new IP. It's open world multiplayer. The trailer features a whole bunch of winter extreme freestyle athletes. Steep will be a game to do all types of extreme sports on a mountain. They even have gameplay to show. It's really cool that you can be doing one sport while your friend does another one right beside you. Creating challenges is really cool and snow deformation is insanely gorgeous.Beta signup is right now and the game releases in December.

Ubiosoft was by far my favorite conference and it has the most amount of games I'm looking forward too. Look for first impressions and reviews from me as some of the games come out.

E3: Microsoft press conference

The conference starts with a video of what looks like the Xbox console. And Xbox One S is introduced! Its 40% smaller, Up to 2 TB hard drive, and an integrated power supply. HDR gaming, An IR blaster and the ability to watch 4K are also added. The new controller has textured grips, Bluetooth and longer range are featured. Starting at $299. Expect more information and maybe even a review from me in the future.

Rod Ferguson comes out for Gears of War 4 news and also introduces the new Xbox play anywhere program. A feature I know I'll be taking advantage of and be reviewing in depth later on. Gears of War 4 launching in October and will be cross-platform multiplayer. The voice of Kait, Laura Bailey, joins Ferguson to show of gameplay and co-op. And a brand new Elite controller styled with Gears of War lore.

Next up is Killer Instinct. You can play for free this weekend.

A beautiful landscape comes on. And a beautiful Lamborghini appears, It's Forza!! This Forza looks like it will have focus on off-road as well. Drifting super cars through the water? This game is going to be amazing!! Four people join the presenter on stage and each one is on a different system and controllers. Each one is also driving a different style of cars. Speed, drift, off-road and a buggy! Multiplayer starts seamlessly and suddenly they're all in the same world. There's going to be some sweet races you can do!

And a player introduction to Re-core starts and it looks really good. The mechanics look really good.

Final Fantasy 15 comes on stage. They show off some new game demonstration and how the battle mechanics work when all three factions collide.

The Division is on to announce their new DLC, Underground, which will be released first on Xbox. Battlefield 1 will also be out first on Xbox.

This summer Xbox gets a new major update. You can now listen to your own music as you play games, Language is now unlocked from the region, and Cortana comes to Xbox. Clubs will be the biggest new feature. It's communities that allow you to connect with people that like the same things that you do. Looking for group will be coming too and it's a place to find people that want to be in a group and play the way you do. Arena will be a place to compete against others on Xbox.

Minecraft comes on to talk about unison across platforms. The friendly update is coming out and introduces Realms to Windows 10 and all mobile devices through Xbox Live. You can also get a Xbox achievements on all platforms. And now for a shocker. Texture packs and mods will be coming to Windows 10 and mobile platforms. I feel like they will be very limited.

And Microsoft announces design labs. It allows you to customize your controller to any way you like. I'm glad I waited to get a new one as I will be getting one of these.

ID@Xbox comes on now with inside being shown off. Limbo will be free on Xbox soon. A montage of indie games comes on and in surprise Stardew Valley appears. I'm excited for quite a few of these. A game called We Happy Few premiers and it looks like a Bioshock style world where you're running away after wanting to get out of a drug induced happiness.

CD Pojeckt Red comes out to announce a new card game. Gwent will be a fully multiplayer and single-player experience that has been rethought. It keeps it's main components and the added parts are new cards and factions.

Tekken 7 comes out to talk about being available in 2017.

Dead Rising 4 trailer is shown. It looks like a re-make of the first one. Then Scalebound gameplay is shown. It actually didn't appeal to me.

A new trailer for Sea of Thieves is revealed. They took a bunch of Youtubers and had them play the game without tutorials. They were put into three crews and had to captain a ship. My complaint about this game already is it looks like you have to be in multiplayer and need a crew to captain your ship. But it does look really good.

The new State of Decay was shown in trailer form and multiplayer looks to be a big part of it. A trailer for Halo Wars 2 came out and it has a beta period June 13 -20.

The conference ends with a teaser of a brand new system. It will be called the Scorpio and has an 8-core processor and 6 teraflops of video processing power.  Holiday 2017 will be when the console comes out and all games will still be playable on the original Xbox One. If they can pull it off it will be good but they could also mess it up for those of us with original Xbox Ones.

My one complaint about the conference was the trailers weren't always full screen. They missed out on Crackdown which I have a feeling will be coming out with Scorpio. What games are you all looking forward to and will anyone be getting the Xbox One S?

E3: Bethesda press conference

Bethesda starts off by showing off Dishonored 2 and the release date of November 11, 2016.

Then a DOS screen appears and Quake shows up out of no where. Quake Champions is revealed and with unlocked frame-rates and fast fighters in an arena-type combat multiplayer game. Quakecon will be in Dallas in August where more details about tournaments will be announced.

They went over all that happened last year at E3 in their showcase. Then over to Elder Scrolls Legends. They have a new cut scene for for the campaign mode. They made a bunch of changes to the card game and are offering a beta by going to Bethesda.net and signing up. PC and IPad will get this as well as all mobile platforms.

Fallout 4 DLC info is up next. First Contraptions that adds a whole bunch of mechanical stuff to make a Rube Goldberg machine coming next week. Also some racks to show off your accessories. Next month the DLC Vault-Tec will arrive where you can build your own vaults. Then in the August Nuka World comes out and it looks like a Disney Land type place. Fallout shelter is also coming out with a large update but will also be available on PC.

Skyrim starts playing and the comparisons start. PS3 to PS4 Then Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Everything got a remaster and mods will now be available on consoles.

The developers of Dishonored are now on but talking about a new game. They were working on Dishonored 2 at the same time. It's a futuristic game that looks bright but suddenly takes a turn.
The game is Prey and yes Bethesda bought the rights for this game and made it new instead of a sequel. Things have gone wrong on a space station when you become hunted by aliens. More details to come at Quakecon.

Doom news at E3 is mainly about free updates for snap map. It's starting to be full dev kit for people to modify in the game engine. New free multiplayer modes incoming and Unto the Evil will be the first premium DLC coming out in July. You can play Doom for free this week only.

Elder Scrolls Online will be available in Japan now. On Tuesday the Dark Brotherhood expansion will be coming out. It's right out of Oblivion. There's a trailer to go with the announcement. One Tamriel will make it so that there will be no level and guild barriers to explore the world and available this fall.

Bethesda VR is going to make VR available for most games. You can play Doom and Fallout 4 VR at E3 and in 2017 it will be coming to the Vive headsets.

Dishonored 2 gameplay is shown and it looks incredible. The first few minutes were full of showing off the new scenery and mechanics. The end was full gameplay of a mission showing off Emily's abilities.

Which games are you excited for by Bethesda?

E3: EA press conference

Titanfall 2 up first! PS4 players are now welcome! Teleportation is a thing and I'm not sure how I feel about that. The grappling hook is the coolest thing in the trailer. Single Player will be in the second game. October 28, 2016

Madden 17 is another football game with better graphics and updated rosters. New commentary team, taking your team all the way and new franchise game play will be added as well. $1 Million dollars for you if you can be the best at Madden 17.

Mass Effect: Andromeda up now! They will be using the FrostBite engine. I am thoroughly intrigued of what the game will be like but yet again it's all just teasers and not as lot of details.

FIFA 17 is also coming out and is going to be using the FrostBite engine. In September FIFA gets a mode called "The Journey" where you follow Alex Hunter on his journey to the Premier leagues. Premier managers will be in the game now. Playing soccer myself I notice the moves and actions of the players are a lot better this year.

EA originals is being launched. It's all about bringing unique and different games to a larger market and helping indie developers get off the ground. Fe will be the first EA Originals game. A 20 person studio will develop the game all about the world around us and how it's all connected. The game has a wacky art style but looks like it will be a good casual game.

Lots of Star Wars games coming out. Looks like every studio will be working on one. Dice and Motive working on a New BattleFront. 2018 Visceral will have an original narrative. Respawn Entertainment will be a third-person action-adventure game.

BattleField 1 is up. This game looks amazing!! Weather will be changing in match. You can take control of some major vehicles released in WW1. Open Beta starts later this summer. I have a feeling this will be my game of the year as it not only looks amazing but a lot of technical and changing elements of the gameplay. I'm looking forward to this game the most.

Watch Dogs 2 Reveal

My reactions during the reveal!

With one minute to go I was getting super excited! Ubisoft always does better on the second game. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Go Time!!

Johnathan Morin talks about being inspired to be different with their games. It took them 5 years to create the game. Watch Dogs was a new IP and they took our feedback after launch to create Watch Dogs 2. I really hope driving improved in the second. San Fransisco will be the new setting for Watch Dogs 2. And now for the announcement trailer. Graphics look good but let's hope it's not just pre-rendered cut scenes. Looks like Dedsec will be a very large part of the game. The city is supposed to react with itself, like NPC's fighting, calling the cops or getting in accidents. It looks like you can hack into large corporations. New protagonist!! Marcus Halloway! Looks like Marcus will be a member of Dedsec. Marcus brings new weapons he will be a parkour master. Almost everything electronic can be hacked meaning a lot more to explore. Hacking is more useful when it comes to vehicles as you can drive anything that has a drivetrain, although yes the muscle car in the trailer doesn't have a computer. And Marcus's toys look so cool, especially 3D printers, as well as the taser is new and really cool to play a non-kill run. Mass hack looks so cool being able to hack all electronics in an area! The UI got a massive overhaul and it looks good! I'm so happy they did improve the vehicles. Also the new multiplayer looks kinda cool too, coop is a good thing. I hope this coop is where you can just go around admiring San Fransisco too. The world looks not only massive but also extremely open-ended.

A release date of November 15 of 2016. That's this year so look forward to much more and possibly gameplay at E3 in a matter of days! Are you guys excited for a second Watch Dogs?