General Discussion [ Page 79 ]

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

UPDATE: This is not a real trailer. It's really the game, it's just a very early version that was never meant to be shown to the public. This was posted all over gaming news sites and even the social media manager at Activision posted it, so I don't feel so bad.

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-walking-dead-trailer-we-ran-earlier-is-a-fake-our-apologies-and-an-expl

So here's another game for The Walking Dead. There's the Telltale adventure game, the Facebook game, and now this first-person survival game published by Activision. None of these are related at all except by the source material. I worry this will be confusing for some consumers.

I'll be... Read All

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/03/2013 at 06:40am

Yeah, no. The Telltale game is so good because it captures the spirit of the world/comic perfectly. The show, while decent, doesn't. An imitation of an imitation probably has limited potential.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/03/2013 at 08:57pm

Seems like the video has been pulled. The Walking Dead is hella popular now so it makes sense to me that make things would pop up with that property.

I have heard that the game is stronger than the show, but that the show is good. Haven't started the show myself as I am waiting for it to be over to plow through them all in a few weeks on Netflix. Netflix has forever changed how I approach TV shows.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/03/2013 at 09:55pm

In my opinion it goes Comic->Game------>Show. The show is good but it doesn't have the character power the other media does. It took 1.5 seasons for the show to get good, I think. That said, I haven't watched much of the 3rd season.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/04/2013 at 01:35am

Gary, interesting, as I thought the show was great through season 1, and then not so great in season 2, but is pulling itself back around in season 3. And oooooh season 3. So good.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/04/2013 at 04:58pm

The first half of Season 2 is abysmal, i think. Season 1 is pretty OK but I've got source material to compare it to, which isn't fair, but I can't help it. I think the turning point in Season 2 is the scene in the bar in town. Then it gets good. I'm looking forward to season 3 but I'm waiting for more of it to come out first.

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Jurassic Life

This is a video for Jurassic Life, a new Source mod coming out "when it's ready." This is currently a work-in-progress, entirely fan-made, with tons of new... everything! New AI, new textures, models, environments... and it could be the great Jurassic Park game we've been waiting for. I'm always curious in situations like this whether the IP owners will have anything to say about it. I'd be surprised if Universal doesn't go after them, but maybe they'll be nice about it. Free publicity right?

The joys of couch multiplayer

WARNING: This video is from James Rolfe. If you're unfamiliar with him or his character the Angry Video Game Nerd, there is a lot of adult humor and language. You've been warned! :)

I was catching up on some AVGN when I found a new series with James Rolfe and Mike Matei just playing games and chatting about them. This one in particular got me thinking about the old days with friends all crowded around the TV in the floor, playing the new game you just rented obsessively. Much has changed with games getting huge and the internet enabling remote multiplayer, and not all for the better.

I can remember so many hours spent playing so many games, including but not limited to... Read All WARNING: This video is from James Rolfe. If you're unfamiliar with him or his character the Angry Video Game Nerd, there is a lot of adult humor and language. You've been warned! :)

I was catching up on some AVGN when I found a new series with James Rolfe and Mike Matei just playing games and chatting about them. This one in particular got me thinking about the old days with friends all crowded around the TV in the floor, playing the new game you just rented obsessively. Much has changed with games getting huge and the internet enabling remote multiplayer, and not all for the better.

I can remember so many hours spent playing so many games, including but not limited to Mortal Kombat, NHL, Double Dragon, and of course Super Mario Bros. 3 with friends. There's something special about sitting next to someone that is lost entirely in the internet multiplayer days. The experience just isn't personal. Even with voice communication, it's hard to really focus on everything at once. It's considered a distraction to just talk about whatever and react to things you find interesting or funny as you play.

It seems like there's a resurgence of this lately, to an unfortunately small degree. Games like Borderlands 2 allow split-screen on consoles. Serious Sam 3 even allows split-screen on PC with multiple keyboards and mice. And Nintendo is one major player that still keeps this going strong. Even in Super Mario Galaxy there were minor things a second player could do to influence the world. I couldn't have gotten all the stars without my wife's help!

But for the most part, multiplayer is online-only these days, taking social gaming into a less social place than where it could be. It's amazing that we can play games with people all across the world, but it's sad that some people will never experience the joy of couch multiplayer. Perhaps I'm just being a bit of a gaming hipster, and my gaming proclivities haven't kept up with the times. Maybe I'm wrong, and it's just that I'm nostalgic for a time when gaming was a brave new world to me. What do you think?

2012 Cheerful Ghost Community GoTY Awards

After collecting all the community votes for game of the year the top 5 list is in.

*drumroll*

Borderlands 2

FTL: Faster Than Light

The Walking Dead

Diablo 3

Planetside 2

I am pretty happy with this list and want to thank everyone that voted! Feel free to submit your personal GoTY lists as well, I will collect mine and submit in the next few days!

TonyJapMayo wrote on 01/02/2013 at 02:48pm

I have the first n last.. Hopefully will be able to get the rest too =)

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/02/2013 at 04:55pm

Interesting that FTL did so well. It's a good game but I sort of stopped hearing about it much.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/02/2013 at 04:56pm

I was talking to @WhiteboySlim last night as he was playing it. Seemed to make a big splash earlier in the year but might not have with the regular gaming press.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/02/2013 at 04:57pm

I have yet to get it myself, I am kind of holding back on adding many new games to my list. Its on my "games to get" list though :D

Tungsten wrote on 01/03/2013 at 08:41pm

FTL is definitely on my list. It might have to wait for another couple of Steam Sales, though.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/03/2013 at 08:59pm

Yep, me too. Speaking of, I should put all the games I want on my Steam gift list. For that off chance Santa comes in July or whatnot.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/05/2013 at 08:47pm

A buddy of mine got me FTL for christmas, and I've sunk around 20 hours into it already. It's very good. I highly recommend it. :)

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PRGE 2012 Video Recap

I hit up Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2012 this year and am still surprised to see these video retrospectives come out so far afterward. That said, this is a good video overview of the event as it was back in the summer.

I am planning on hitting up the next PRGE and am working out a fun collab between Cheerful Ghost and Watch out for Fireballs. No promises, but if it works out, it could be fun.

One of my Gifts

I got this gift from some of my friends this Christmas. So awesome to have Spright as a little plushie toy!

2012: Year in Games

Fun video illustrating some highlights of this year in games. No Borderlands 2 or The Walking Dead jokes?

"MMEEEEEEEHHHHHH!"

Game Shop: Furries Can Have Fun Too!

In this episode one of the Game Shop Employees makes a VIDEO GAME!

Community Interviews: Tungsten

It has been way too long since the last community interview with @panickedthumb so apologies to all about that. The lull till the next community interview won't be as long. For all of you that didn't know, Tungsten did the current incarnation of the Cheerful Ghost logo for the site from its very early form as well as being a site moderator. I really enjoyed tossing around game related questions with him quite a bit.

jdodson: What is the last game you picked up? What do you think about it?

Tungsten: Money has been tight, so it's been a while since I picked up a AAA title. Instead, I've been delving into F2P. I just started on Planetside2, and I'm really enjoying it. Other... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 12/28/2012 at 03:04am

In no particular order:

* You have amazing taste in TV. Far more people need to see Better Off Ted. One of my favorites. And you like Doctor Who-- did you see the dalek in Better Off Ted? Have you seen this year's Christmas episode? Are you squeeing as hard as I am?

* I loved Skyrim, absolutely loved it. 200 hours worth of loving it. What disappointed you about it (and Jon, you should answer too)?

* Is Series 3 of Sherlock *ever* going to come out OMG withdrawal Moffat pls

Travis Admin wrote on 12/28/2012 at 03:05am

And I was skeptical at first, but I'm now pretty damned stoked for the new Star Wars movies.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/28/2012 at 10:12pm

Skyrim: I kind of wonder if this is due to all the games I own BUT Skyrim was pretty good. It didn't grab me after a bit of playing it though. The story was pretty interesting I guess but nothing spectacular. I difficulty ramped up pretty high at one point and the payoffs werent that great so I kind of walked away.

My friend said I needed to get into smithing and I am doing that but it doesn't seem to have increased my interest much. I plan on coming back to it though.

Tungsten wrote on 12/30/2012 at 02:23am

Here is what I want from the next Elder Scrolls game: something less <\begin really big text> EPIC <\end really bit text>.

I liked Morrowind. If you want to be a trader, go be a trader. If you want to be a ninja, go be a ninja. The story was great in Skyrim, but I kept feeling that they wanted me to this Dragon Born character that I didn't want to be. If you want a story driven game, take away a bit more freedom and emphasize the story. If you want a true sandbox like you had in Morrowind, then let me be really and truly free. Don't limit my enchantments, don't regulate my potions, let me fly. Let me break the game.

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Must... stay... strong...

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/32481051.jpg

I've done really well at not buying any impulse games this year. GoG almost got me with Witcher2, but I stayed strong. How are you guys doing?

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/26/2012 at 05:50pm

Well actually, I kind of want the Bethesda pack but I haven't picked it up yet... Kind of thinking of waiting, but on the other hand....

But yeah, so far so good :D

vdogmr25 wrote on 12/26/2012 at 07:07pm

Borderlands 2, The Penny Arcade Trilogy, and Dungeon Defenders DLC. I couldn't stop myself.

JarofJam wrote on 12/26/2012 at 08:07pm

I'm trying to be moderate. Some deals are just too good to miss, but I'm not buying stuff just because it's cheap. So far I only got Darksiders Franchise pack, Saints Row: The Third Season Pass and bought some heavily discounted games to give away on SteamGifts. Still hoping to get Natural Selection 2, Immortal Throne expansion pack for Titan Quest and the complete edition of Dungeons of Dredmor.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/27/2012 at 04:30am

I'm kind of hoping more games are added to the bundle as I paid over the average :)

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 12/28/2012 at 01:00am

@jdodson and you got your wish. :) 3 more games added to the bundle.

I, too, have been trying to control myself, but the Humble Bundle came out and I can't resist any of those. Also, my current gaming rig is a little underpowered for most AAA titles, so that's helped, too.

However, I did re-purchase Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for the PS3 since the optical drive died a while back.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/28/2012 at 10:11pm

@bean I totally did. And they added some really great games too.

Your PS3 disc drive doesnt work? Whoa. Thats a huge bummer. I guess we could still use Netflix with it, but not BluRay? Whoa.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 12/28/2012 at 10:17pm

S'ok. I only have two BluRays anyway and a lot of my more recent games have been digital downloads. I had been using GameFly for disc-based titles to play some of the games I hadn't played before, so now I get to save $20/month.

And I'm past the point of paying another $270 for a low-end PS3. Blasphemy, right? Take away my gamer card now.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/29/2012 at 06:33am

No. I think the PS3 is at the end of its life, so if BluRay isn't a big deal then I can see not replacing it. I really dig my PS3 a lot but the only game I still have to play on it I have not is Read Dead Redemption and thats because it didn't come with a PC port.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 12/29/2012 at 02:27pm

Still waiting for that. I'd pick it up. Is it the only one without a port?

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/29/2012 at 04:36pm

Yeah, Rockstar said it would be released without a PC port. It made some sense to me at the time because console games way outsold PC. I wonder if they will break on that and port it?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 12/29/2012 at 08:07pm

Well, we have every GTA, all the Max Payne's, at least 2 of the midnight clubs, LA Noir, Bully.... no Table Tennis though (pretty good BTW). So ya, Table Tennis and Red Dead Redemption. Those are the two they did not port to PC.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 12/29/2012 at 10:02pm

... Gave in... Witcher2...Well, I liked the first one, let's see how this goes.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/29/2012 at 10:27pm

Awesome, interested to hear about how it goes. Seems like a cool game.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 12/31/2012 at 04:14pm

For a taste of what the game is like, watch the opening cinematic. It's... intense.

http://youtu.be/t_wWnLUgXvc

NSFW, well, unless you work at a morgue or something and people being killed in a horrific manner is just a normal part of your day.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/31/2012 at 08:31pm

Wow that is really intense. Putting that game on my list for sure now. Well, prob finish The Witcher first then move to the sequel. Nabbed the first Witcher at the time I was buying a ton of games at it was lost in the mix.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/31/2012 at 08:31pm

Did you play the original and if so how does this stack up?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 12/31/2012 at 09:42pm

The first one, if you can get through some awkward mechanics and a really creepy predatory relationship system, is pretty good.
The new one shares a couple problems with the original, but it has quite a bit of personality.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/01/2013 at 12:38am

Beyond being a predator in a relationship, that sounds pretty good. Looking forward to checking it out.

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