WestofHouse

I'm guessing a lot of hardcore gamers will happily shell out the $150 for the Elite controller. It looks like an amazing controller. For a casual player like me, however, it is definitely not worth it. That would be like me paying $2,000 for a Fender Strat when all I know how to play is "Smoke on the Water" and a couple of chords. I stand by my claim that EA Access is the best value in gaming right now, and Titanfall only makes it better. The best thing about that announcement is Titanfall servers are about to become fully populated again. The backwards compatibility news is a game changer. I installed Elite Dangerous and had a go at the tutorial last night. I might as well have been trying to fly the actual space shuttle.

I am blown away by the announcements on the Xbox side of E3 this year. Fallout 3 to be bundled with Fallout 4 (an Xbox Exclusive) Star Wars Battlefront game play trailers Elite Dangerous now available for preview and early purchase at a discount Cortana via Kinect Titanfall added to EA Access (which is free this week for gold members) New Elite controller (to the tune of $150) I'm sure there is more that I've missed or forgotten. Microsoft knocked it out of the park this year. I'm feeling really good about my XBO purchase.

Excellent. Thanks! I had already read the plots for 1 and 2 on Wikipedia but those Kotaku articles are much more indepth.

I was going to pass on Witcher 3 for the time being because I don't need another time-consuming RPG in my life right now, but the recent Target sale price was too good to pass up so here we are. Besides, the reviews are off the charts, so as an RPG fan I felt obligated to try it. And the developers are just plain awesome (What other developers include a "Thank you" insert in a game?) so it's nice to support them. I played the original on the PC years ago but only made it about half way through. I've never played 2. Now I'm scared to death of the difficulty level. I started the game last night and played for only about a half hour. It throws so many things at you at once that it's overwhelming (for this geezer, at least). There's even a card game within the game that you have to learn. This one is going to require focus and dedication, but it seems it will be very rewarding for those who perservere. It certainly looks gorgeous. Anyone else playing it? Thoughts so far?

If your Xbox One power supply is loud you have a bad power supply. If I put my ear right down to it I can barely hear the fan running in it. Otherwise with it behind my entertainment center I can't hear it or my Xbox One at all. I love my XBO, but as others have said, hang on to your 360, too. I have a PS3 and a XBO, which makes for a nice combo.

I so wanted not to have to buy that game. Thanks a lot. I got the special edition deal at Target. It was the last copy at my location.

Agreed. Shortly after I finished the game I traded it in. The good parts were great, but there is entirely too much busy work in it.

If you like racing games you should also check out Need For Speed Rivals. Not the best racer I've played but it has some great action.

Nice!

I recently learned about xboxdvr.com, which lets you view and share all of your Xbox One video clips and screenshots. You don't have to create an account if you don't want to, but doing so makes it easier to share your stuff. If you like you can just enter your (or anyone else's) gamertag on the front page and see your clips. It's pretty nifty. Here's an example -- a clip of Battlefield 4 that the game automatically recorded for me after an especially satisfying kill (hint: keep your eye on the guy skydiving): https://xboxdvr.com/gamer/JockoPablo/video/2641513

I finally finished the game. The story goes on about an hour longer than it should (about four too many "Oh, that way is blocked -- find an alternate route" scenario), but overall it is probably the best survival horror title I've played, and is a remarkable love letter to fans of the franchise. I even went back and watched Alien again after finishing the game, and there were so many little design details I noticed in the movie that the game copied perfectly. I'm going to play some other games now and then revisit the game with the Crew Expendable expansion in a while so I can check out the Nostromo.

CLICKY I know nothing about the game other than that it is a F2P MOBA (And I just filled my acronym quota for the day), but I grabbed a code so I can have a look.

I think I'm just over half way through and it is starting to get somewhat tedius. There is one section in which the game places you in an entirely different environment for a while (and it is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen in a video game), and that was a great change of pace, but there are only so many times you can sneak from point A to point B just to flip a switch or fetch an object before things get repetitive. I think a break would benefit me immensely but I'm torn between putting it down for a while and lowering my head and plowing through it.

Forza Horizon 2 is on sale for around $38 at Best Buy this week. With Gamers Club it's around $31.

That book looks amazing. Thank you! Do you plan on releasing a softcover version at some point?

One thing that bothers me about this game (aside from the annoying and unnecessary androids) is that the Alien's behavior seems to be uncharacteristic. He/she is constantly walking around searching for victims, whereas in the original film he was practically hiding, almost as a survival technique. Obviously the game wouldn't be fun if the alien just hid and stayed out of your way, but it definitely does not feel Alien-like.

Honestly I can only play for short stretches because it's so tense. I practically hold my breath until I reach a save point, and by then I need a break.

I soiled myself.

I'm getting ready to install an external drive on my One. I've seen it recommended that you put games on the external drive but leave apps on the internal, and that makes sense. I've also seen that when you first install a drive you get the option to set it as the default for all new game and app installs. I'd like all new games to be installed on the external, but what if you don't want new apps to install there? Do you get a choice which to use when you install?

Well this is interesting. No ironsight aiming. http://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-battlefront-no-ironsights/

I've seen that before but most reviews pan it. Seems like it's a couple of years away from being a solid game.

I don't mind the lack of story mode at all. It certainly hasn't lessened my enjoyment of Titanfall. And Destiny proved to me that having no story mode is better than having a pitiful, unfinished one. Destiny also taught me never to pre-order a game again based on hype or reviews, so I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm for Battlefront 3. The lack of space battles disappoints me a bit, but honestly I'd rather them just get ground combat right and for someone else to release a proper reboot of Xwing or TIE Fighter that focuses on space combat only.

Without a doubt. From everything I've read and experienced so far, the PS4 seems to be the better gaming machine, but the XBO is the better overall home enterainment machine. I love the Skype integration. I bought an Xbox Music Pass so I can listen to music on the XBO. It's great being able to explore new albums on the Xbox Music website, add them to my collection, then plop on the couch and play them on my HT system. I've also tentatively made my XBO my primary BD player, but I'm still confused on the audio output and whether or not it's passing True HD to my receiver, so I may end up going back to a standalone player. Using the voice commands for audio and video playback is quite handy. Gaming-wise the only thing missing for me on the One is a Major League Baseball game. Every other game I've been interested in so far is either available for both platforms or an Xbox exclusive. I know EA get a bad rap, but their EA Access subscription for Xbox is probably the biggest value in gaming right now. More importantly for me, as I've mentioned before, my best friend has an XBO, so being able to play online with him was a major factor in my decision.

Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor is only $20 again at Best Buy this week. I already have a back log of games I haven't even started yet but I couldn't pass up that deal. I got lucky and nabbed the last one in stock at my local BB yesterday.

The Oasis is definitely a pain, but it's a breeze compared to Emprise du Luin. The shards in the areas between are much easier to get and can usuallly be picked up on your way to another rift or quest.