By the time it was official Blizzard was releasing a new Hearthstone expansion I was excited as I thought the game was getting a bit stale. When Blizzard first talked about standard mode, I was interested and liked the constant rotation of cards entering and leaving the game. I was heartened when they said everyone was getting a free C’thun, some support minions and a few free packs. Like many I also had reservations as they were removing the Naxxramas expansion and Goblins VS Gnomes and placing them in Wild. As a huge Naxxramas fan this was painful but after finally playing Standard mode and the new Whispers of the Old Gods expansion I can firmly say this is the best and most fun Hearthstone to date.

An Ever Changing Meta

One huge change in standard mode, according to Blizzard is the release of new cards in the form of 2 expansions and one adventure per year. This means that we will get a bunch of new cards to play with that should keep the game fresh and not feel too stale.

My first fear with the new Standard rotation was that free to play players would be in a hard spot due to so many new cards. But after doing a bit of math if we keep completing our dailies we should have enough gold to unlock the adventure tiers and buy plenty of packs.

One other part of Standard that makes it great is that older adventures and expansions rotate out to wild. This is nice as it allows the ability for Blizzard to experiment more with card design and also rotates out cards that you don’t like playing against. Hated Dr Boom? Well I did and now I don’t have to play against him in Standard. If you want to play with your old cards you can do so in Wild, but Standard offers a mode that significantly changes with each new year.

The Old Gods Mechanics Are Wicked Fun

Blizzard had it’s “Oprah Moment” when it gave everyone a free C’Thun (“You get a C’Thun, you get a C’Thun, everyone get’s a C’Thun!”) and I think that was one of the best parts about the latest expansion. Giving everyone a great legendary is a solid choice because on day one of the expansion you can play with one of the coolest Old Gods. It also encourages players to open packs and try to find the numerous C’Thun cards that increase his attack and play well with his mechanics. N’Zoth is another amazing Old God that brings back all deathrattle minions you previously lost in the game making for some crazy game reversals when you play him. All the Old Gods cost 10 to play so the game could be over before that or be the game winning play depending on how things go.

Hearthstone’s Future Looks Bright

A popular thought before launch was this expansion would slow the game down from it’s quick pace. Whereas the majority of decks I played at launch featured C’Thun and by nature most of them are slower, lots of aggro decks have come to attention that have proven that in some cases, the pace isn’t slowing.

Whispers of the Old Gods and the new game modes lay the road for a long and full life and that alone is the main part of this expansion. With all the dust I collected disenchanting the nerfed cards and dust from dupes I had enough to craft a very respectable set of cards I love playing with. Chief among the latest crafts are Sylvanas Windrunner, N’Zoth, Twin Emperor and a ton of classic cards to round out my collection. After finally opening another 20 packs of classic cards I am now saving gold for the upcoming adventure. I am not sure when the next adventure will launch but i’ll have enough gold to buy it when it does.

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Oh and I also hit ranked 11 today which is a fun first. Also, make sure to check back as I plan on doing some Hearthstone Dailies for Ghosts where I review some of my favorite cards and decks from the latest expansion.

Hotline Miami is a violently strange game about someone that gets phone calls from a person wanting you to commit massacres against the local Russian Mafia. The game is similar to early GTA games but differs in that you die more and everything is way more bloody. If you loved the game and want a special collectors edition version Devolver Digital has just launched something you might love. Not sure if i'll pick this up but it might look neat next to my Starcraft II Battlechests.

"HOTLINE MIAMI and HOTLINE MIAMI 2:WRONG NUMBER on DVD (you'll also get Steam codes for each game) along with a cassette tape containing highlights from the soundtrack, a pack of five Cameo Cards, an art card and a 50 Blessings Stencil, presented in a presentation case."

http://merch.devolverdigital.com/products/572298-hotline-miami-gamers-edition-low-stock

The new Doom is out and it seems to be getting great reviews. I found an interview with Doom's composer Mick Gordon discussing his process for making the crazy metal insanity that backs new Doom. Spoiler alert, he tunes the guitar really really low to get the extra evil tones.

I've had this episode uploaded to YouTube for quite some time and for some reason, today seemed like the right day to share it.

I continue my Let's Play of Final Fantasy VI and play though Locke's Scenario. Can I get the rich guy the cider? Will I be able to survive sneaking through this Imperial city? Only Bahamut know for sure.

Due to technical issues, I lost the last 1/4th of this stream. It's still a fun time just cut a bit short.

"This is the new Doom on Ultra Nightmare difficulty, it is identical to a single segment Nightmare difficulty run, as in you cannot die. Should be the first completed Ultra Nightmare after game released, but let me know if someone did it earlier."

I haven't played it yet but I imagine new Doom's Ultra Nightmare mode isn't a cakewalk yet YouTuber Zero Master completed it in 4 hours and 43 minutes. Even more impressive considering if you die you have to start over. The video linked above shows off the impressive run and spoiler alert, it shows the whole game start to finish.

Last week PopCap launched Bejeweled Stars which is their latest free-to-play mobile puzzler that takes everything we all love about match three games and brings it up a notch. Bejeweled is a classic game and this latest entry does it justice while realizing that other games like Candy Crush have dominated this space for quite some time. I was never a huge Candy Crush player, it just never really was something I enjoyed playing for very long but Bejeweled Stars seems to have a special something about it I really like.

If you despise the free-to-play mobile virtual currency pay to get power ups model this game won't be for you. There are a ton of ways they use to get you to buy virtual currency but none of it is needed to advance in the main game. Occasionally you lose a level and burn through lives and need to wait to continue, but I don't find that to be annoying.

Bejeweled Stars adds a few features to the traditional match three game that I found neat. Some levels feature butterfly blocks that when you don't match them out, flutter around the screen. This makes for some interesting gameplay as moving blocks can really help... or hurt your game. In some levels you need to match out a certain number of butterflies and other types of blocks making for some really fun scenarios.

If you are looking for a low-key free game on your phone I recommend you check out Bejeweled Stars. It's a fun puzzler that may not be the deepest game your going to play this year but sometimes we only have a few minutes and why not spend it matching blocks?

Currently I am at level 35 and i'd like to know what you think about the game and how far you've progressed so drop your thoughts in the comments. If you attach your game to your Facebook account and we are friends on Facebook hit me up in game, I am interested to see how the social part of Bejeweled Stars works.

If you are looking for some amazing PC games and to also donate to charity, the latest Humble Deep Silver Bundle might be something to check out. I've heard great things about Dead Island and now seems like a good time to try it out!

"Pay $1 or more for Sacred 3 Gold, Risen, Risen 2: Dark Waters Gold Edition, Saints Row 2, Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition, and a coupon for 10% off one month of Humble Monthly for new subscribers

Pay more than the average price to also receive Dead Island Riptide Complete Edition, Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition, Saints Row: The Third - The Full Package, and a coupon for 75% off Dead Island Definitive Collection in the Humble Store.

Pay $13 or more for all of that plus Saints Row IV and Risen 3 Titan Lords."

https://www.humblebundle.com/deep-silver-bundle-2

"In celebration of Terraria's 5th birthday we are pleased to announce the release date for 1.3.1, an update for PC that focuses on wiring mechanics and controller support."

Terraria 1.3 is coming this month featuring a bunch of new stuff including Logic gates, hardhats, yellow wire, coveyor belts, new pressure plates, official controller support, a new campfire, many new statues that spawn mobs, a new block that changes water color and more. The new campfires and controller support look well worth the price of admission alone and with all things Terraria I can't want to try it out.

http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Campfire

http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/1-3-1-release-date.43505/

So this might not come as a surprise to anyone that reads Cheerful Ghost regularly but I enjoy a good game of Hearthstone every now and again. For quite some time i've seen that there is a regular Hearthstone gathering at The Original Taco House off Powell and I finally made it out for my first event. I'll set the mood with the Taco House bracket rules below...

"Single Elimination Conquest Format. Up to 24 people may enter. First come, first served. Each player will create four decks of unique classes. At the start of each best of five series, each player will inform their opponent of the four classes that they have brought. The opposing player will choose one of the four decks that will be banned from play. The players will proceed with standard Conquest rules with their three remaining decks."

Needless to say the couple days before the event I was nervous. Will I totally shit the bed and lose my ass off? I wasn't sure but I played quite a few ladder matches to prepare and tried honing my four decks with a friend*. With it being my first event I also decided to keep my expectations manageable in that I simply wanted to walk away with one game win. As it turns out I did win a single game and considering my free-to-pleb status was happy with how it all turned out.

My first bracket was a buy, which basically means I wasn't paired with anyone and I moved to the second tier automagically. If you don't have a certain amount of participants people will buy up to the next bracket. My first proper bracket match went well and I won with my Warrior. The person I was paired with was great so getting a win was something I didn't expect. The second match I won with my Shaman and then lost the third match with my Rogue. I proceeded to lose the next match and then took the bracket with a final win. Totally unexpected and very happily I took a bathroom break while I collected all my nerves for the next match up.

In the third bracket I didn't fair as well but was happy to have an exceptionally fun moment where my Warrior brawled while I had Sylvanas to steal their fully shielded Tirion Fordring. That epic play didn't seal the match as they handily stomped me for the win. The remaining games of that bracket were also lost sealing the day with a showing I am really proud of.

I couldn't have played a tournament at a more fun venue as The Taco House as it was my favorite haunt when I lived over in SE Portland. Having such an awesome community at an event was really incredible and if you are on the fence about heading down to the Taco House I can say everyone was friendly and accommodating. I plan on hitting up another event and if you are in the neighborhood and want to toss down a few cards with some very good players in Portland I recommend you check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/OTHSEPowell/

* I want to thank Bina for helping me focus things down to my better decks for the tournament.

I've always wondered this and each time I've played Ocarina of Time it sure seemed like it. Jack from Red Letter Media finally settles the question.