jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Happy 30th Birthday NES - One Of The Best Gaming Systems Of All Time

On October 17th the Nintendo Entertainment System turned 30 and to ring in the occasion CygnusDestroyer made a video showcasing the original 17 games in original NES launch lineup. Funny to consider it's been that long that I obsessed over getting one. I remember the Christmas morning opening it up and being able to finally play Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt whenever I wanted.

Mod Mass Recall Recreates Entire Original Game And Brood War In Starcraft II

If you cut your teeth on PC gaming you might have played the original Starcraft and Broodwar. These games were LAN staples at parties of days past and that love has translated to the new series in Starcraft 2. As with most things in the mod community, they have awesomely remade the original Starcraft and Brood War single player experience in Starcraft II. Using the original levels, cues and voice acting they cut it in with the Starcraft II engine to build a really polished final product. If this interests you head over to the mod project and install it.

The installation directions seem complex but it's a really easy process and worked for me the first time. As old games are lost to time, it's nice to see the mod community breathe life into this gaming classic.

http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/starcraft-mass-recall/#w-auto-install-using-the-scmr-installer

Travis Admin wrote on 10/24/2015 at 04:39am

Great idea. It's still playable on modern systems, but as things improve I find 800x600 to be quite lackluster.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2015 at 04:42am

My smartphone does better than that so yeah, I do too.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/30/2015 at 02:19am

I've played quite a few missions already and DAMN are they hard. The Starcraft 2 missions are really easy in comparison. Like if you don't build just right for the situation you get wrecked. It's not too bad to get wrecked, learn the mission and tank up accordingly but it makes for way longer missions and a much rougher time.

Conversely I don't think I ever played a Starcraft 2 mission twice by it being hard but replayed them because I enjoyed them so much. The original Starcraft story isn't great nor are the characters or storytelling as good, but it's still fun and I like the direction they are going.

One thing I noticed is that Kerrigan and Raynor are NOT boyfriend/girlfriend. In Starcraft 2 they sort of retcon this and since it was so long I just sort of didn't think about it. Kerrigan calls Raynor a pig at one point and they don't have much interaction to warrant a relationship before she becomes the Queen of Blades. Not that a relationship couldn't happen between missions, but it's not called out in Starcraft directly and it's a huge story point in Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm.

Not a huge deal, but something I noticed.

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Doom Alpha Drops As iD Software Releases More Footage

The Doom multiplayer alpha is out and iD is focus testing on one map to run the online portion through it's paces. This isn't the beta we all got as a pre-order bonus for Wolfenstein: New Order but I imagine that isn't too far behind. The multiplayer footage looks great and for a non FPS multiplayer looks like something I might try.

Now I wonder how many face stomp finishing moves I will be able to pull off with actual humans when the game launches? The little demon on my shoulder says a lot, the other one isn't as optimistic.

Stream Steam Games To Your PC or Android With Moonlight

http://moonlight-stream.com/images/steam_framed.png

I just found an awesome open source project that allows you to stream Steam games to any PC, Amazon or Android device called Moonlight. If you have an NVidia card setup with the NVidia experience for streaming, Moonlight is an open source client that can connect to it. Want to stream your PC library to your Android phone or tablet? You now can.

One cool thing about Moonlight is I was able to get my Steam games to stream to my television through my existing Nexus Player. After installing Moonlight on my Nexus Player I paired it with my PC and could start streaming games. It detected the games on my PC and after that was able to near seamlessly stream Borderlands 2 to my television. Some games don't pickup the controller though so not everything works but it's an amazing step to getting PC streaming to my TV using my already existing hardware.

If you have an NVidia powered PC and an Android device you should check this out and let me know how it worked out.

http://moonlight-stream.com/

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable: S3 E6 - Hallowon't

Welcome to the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable Halloween special. We talk about what we've been playing, if it's good to release two triple a games at the same time a few retro games and the new Star Wars trailer.

This is a shorted Roundtable as we take off a bit early to stream a bit of Telltales the Walking Dead which you can watch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HE42nZac-Y

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/22/2015 at 08:38pm

Tim, there are other Final Fantasy games for the PSP you might want to check out. We may have talked about them long ago, I've forgotten. I refer to FFVII: Crisis Core and FFI and FFII. There's also Dissidia, but I'm not sure if I'd recommend it and its sequel. I spent a lot of time playing the first one, though. Oh and there's also FFIV: The After Years, which I also have.

That's cool, Jon, that you have Kirby's Dream Land. I remember playing that on my Gameboy, too. I'm not sure if I still have the cart for it. Oh and there are some Final Fantasy games for the original Gameboy as well, but again I'm not sure I'd recommend them, though I have them.

I don't recall the original Gameboy having a wall charger. I do remember the Super Gameboy, the SNES cart that lets you play Gameboy games.

As for the new Star Wars trailer, I think it looks cool. I also wonder where Luke is. I think I read that he may be in hiding. Also, I liked the newer movies for the first three episodes. I'm not saying they're the best movies ever, but I liked them. I realize many people don't though.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/23/2015 at 01:54am

> That's cool, Jon, that you have Kirby's Dream Land. I remember playing that on my Gameboy, too. I'm not sure if I still have the cart for it. Oh and there are some Final Fantasy games for the original Gameboy as well, but again I'm not sure I'd recommend them, though I have them.

I played Final Fantasy on Gameboy and at the time thought it was OK. It didn't standup to FF Mystic Quest or FF 2/IV, FF 3/VI but it was fun enough.

> As for the new Star Wars trailer, I think it looks cool. I also wonder where Luke is.

IT'S THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR... AGES? But yeah, I don't know either. I think it may be a significant plot point of the new film.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/23/2015 at 02:08am

You know what, I was referring to a different Final Fantasy game and didn't specify that. Final Fantasy Legends, I think is the series I really meant when talking about the Gameboy games. I didn't really like them, but I didn't give them much of a try. Weapons were used as consumables, I didn't like that.

As for Mystic Quest, I was disappointed with that one. It seemed to be too short. However FFII and III on the SNES are awesome! I do have those carts and their later ports. I paid about $50 or more for each of them (the SNES carts) maybe 15 years or so ago. I have no idea what happened to the SNES I used to have around that time, too, though I have a suspicion about how it disappeared.

As for Star Wars, one of the "teaser" trailers had Luke talking about how his parents had the force "and so do you." I don't know if he'll be in the movie, but it makes me think that he or Leia (did I spell that right?) had a kid (or more) and that's one of the main characters in the new movie. Seeing as how I wasn't disappointed with EpI-III, I probably won't be disappointed with VII either.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/23/2015 at 02:14am

Luke is confirmed to be in the movie, but we don't know in what capacity he'll appear.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/23/2015 at 02:18am

> As for Mystic Quest, I was disappointed with that one. It seemed to be too short.

I played Mystic Quest after Final Fantasy II/IV and I was disappointing with it to a point, but finished it because it was a fun simple adventure. The biggest bummer was that Adam had Final Fantasy III/VI and hew as playing it and I was borrowing Mystic Quest from him. Again, it was fun but I really wanted to play III

And yeah, Luke is confirmed as he was in the now iconic shot of the cast meeting before shooting the film.

http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA0LzMwLzVhL3N0YXJ3YXJzZXBpLmZhNjQ4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/bffc1745/1e5/star-wars-episode-7-cast-announce.jpg

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/23/2015 at 02:23am

Mystic Quest was a simple adventure. I'm not saying it was bad, but after having experienced many of the other FF games at the time I played MQ, I expected more.

Thanks for the Luke confirmation!

Travis Admin wrote on 10/23/2015 at 02:33am

Mystic Quest was released to be Final Fantasy for Dummies basically, to try to get Americans into the series more.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2015 at 12:35am

Right. Still enjoyed it, even if it did have the bumpers on

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"Artanis: Sacrifice" Is A New Prequel Comic For Legacy Of The Void

http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/i2/I24EJGX2HNXM1445300573216.jpg

Blizzard has released a new 10 page comic called Sacrifice that catalogs Artanis and how he got his position as head of the Protoss for the upcoming game Legacy of the Void. Artanis is the new protagonist and Blizzard is doing much to introduce him as to date he hasn't, to my understanding, been in the game yet.

You can read the whole story below on the webpage or download the PDF.

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/media/blizzard-comics/artanis-sacrifice/
http://media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/blizzard-comics/issue/1/en-us/artanis-sacrifice-en-us.pdf

What Do We Do When The Cart Batteries Die?

Recently I picked up Metroid II: The Return of Samus from a local game convention. Metroid II is one of my favorite Metroid games as, for me, it really started my love for the franchise. Metroid II really gets the dark lonely vibe the series is known for and draws this out even more with the monochrome aspect of the Gameboy visuals. That said, when I booted it up on my GBA after about an hour play through I noticed something. Saving didn't work. I tried it a few more times and yeah, I can't save a game to the game cart. Zelda Link's Awakening is another Gameboy title I have that saves and I tried it out too and yeah, the saves no longer stuck on the game cart.

Was I the only one that experienced this? Clearly these games don't last forever but maybe I bought a bad game? Come to find out my game wasn't alone but that the original method for saving games on old game carts is slowly dying. Here is what I found from a very informative Atari Age post about this very subject(i'll clip out the relevant parts but I recommend you read the whole thing):

"In the case with NES games, the battery usually only powers a low-power (or a very-low-power) SRAM chip... Dividing the charge on the drain therefore tells us that the average lifetime of a typically battery-backed NES cartridge is around 70 years (+/- 10)

The other class of cartridge systems I have looked at is Gameboy games. After examining quite a lot of those, I see that two different batteries were used. Older games, usually from 2000 and earlier, uses a whimpy CR1616 battery cell with only about 55mAh (200C). Later cartridges has the CR2025 cell, with 150mAh (540C)... Old MCB1 games with the CR1616 are expected to retain data for 15 years +/- 5 years. About now, in other words."

That post was in 2012 so we are long past the expected battery life of all Gameboy games made in the pre 2000 era. I find this fact a bit depressing as the only way to now play certain games with a save is to emulate them or re-purchase them on a modern system. I still enjoy having the original carts for collecting and they still work I just can no longer save them, which is extremely unfortunate.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/193374-battery-life-of-old-game-cartridges/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:10am

Bummer dude! I never gave much thought about Gameboy cart saves, but I knew that NES carts had batteries for saves. The only other method around that was by using codes.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:19am

One of my copies of the original Legend Of Zelda no longer saves. I got a replacement because of that.

I also had a multi-slot memory card for the PSX that was partially battery powered. I didn't realize, however, that when the battery died all the saves died with it. I lost a ton of save games, mostly from Final Fantasy game, that way. And it didn't last 15 years either, more like 3 or 4.

Nowadays you can play the PSX games on PS3 and not have to worry about all those memory cards, but you still have to worry about dead drives, etc.

And modern games have save corruption all too frequently.

Are we never safe?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:35am

Gosh, I forgot about those PS memory cards we had, Travis! Mine are some where around here, along with GameCube memory cards. I like how the PS3 emulates those cards for PS1 games.

Otherwise, I don't really recall running into much difficulty with saves. Yes, hard drives and other storage devices fail. What about saving to "the cloud?" That could help if you have Internet access. I'm not sure how many games actually do that, but maybe it's something we're likely to see more of. Maybe.....what do you think?

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:54am

Cloud saving will save your ass, no pun intended. But for many things it requires a paid account, and corrupted saves can also sync. It helps significantly, though.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:58am

Yeah, don't you get some kind of cloud storage with a paid PSN account? That's what I was thinking about.

Also, what about just replacing the batteries in those carts? I don't know how difficult that would be, but perhaps that's an option.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 03:27am

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-replace-the-battery-in-a-pokemon-goldsilve/?ALLSTEPS

Not terribly difficult with GameBoy carts apparently. But the NES requires some more work.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 03:28am

http://www.thejobbitt.com/nes-guides/nintendo-nes-cart-battery-replacement-guide/

NES replacement instructions, requires soldering stuff.

Zach_Foster wrote on 10/21/2015 at 04:43am

Neat little hack I found, I got a 1st gen DS from a friend, and bought an AceKard aka R4DS aka modchip. It is a DS cartridge that carries a microSD card and runs it's own OS, allowing you to run emulators, watch movies (after formatting to a very obscure format), and play music. With another mod card that fits in the GBA slot, (I had to modify mine because it was for the slims and had a lip on it), I was able to play game boy advance games without even an emulator, everything is simply stored on the card. It enables you to play all your favorite old games again, and save them. Plus it requires no hardware modifications or firmware changes on the DS. Once you take the card out, it's just a regular old DS again.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/21/2015 at 08:43pm

Those all sounds like good options. I have some fear around doing electrical work though. I think the best long term solution is emulation though. Looking into what would be good there, i'd prefer a system where I don't have to mod this or that so the i've been looking seriously at the GCW Zero.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 08:53pm

I have replaced NES cart batteries, with no soldering experience. It was fairly easy. I took out the old battery, and soldered in a battery that could be easily replaced in the future. The hardest part was getting the appropriate screwdriver to open the cart. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 08:56pm

I failed to mention one other possible solution. Nintendo does offer some games via their virtual console. You can check their game shop. While not all games are available, some are and you can play them on your DS, Wii, or Wii U.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2015 at 02:57am

Will: That's not a solution I love but one i'll look into for my Gameboy games. I really don't want to destroy them with a case of sweaty butterfingers.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/22/2015 at 10:53am

@jdodson check the link I posted up earlier about the gameboy games. No soldering needed, apparently.

Also there's no modding involved with the R4 that Zach mentioned, or the CycloDS that I have. It's just a DS cart with a microSD slot. And there are ways to run original gameboy games with them with some success. I got Links Awakening running. I think there are a pretty good amount of emulators for it. And again, there's no modding involved since it's all running from a cartridge.

Basically, standard DS carts are loading a rom that you play-- the R4/Cyclo just lets you pick one of many to run.

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Portland Retro Game Expo 2015

I want to thank everyone that came to our booth at this years Portland Retro Game Expo. Wick and I enjoyed talking with people about the game and seeing what cool stuff people picked up. I also want to applaud the 6 winners of our ranked ladder, some of those scores were no small feat!

Portland Retro Game Expo is my favorite convention of the year because the community and vendors are so much fun. This year I came to the expo with a goal. Replace my broken Gameboy. Beforehand I made the choice to buy a Gameboy Advance SP as it plays original Gameboy games as well as advance games. The backlit display and nicer form factor make the Advance SP a much better Gameboy and after looking at a few booths I bought one from Alex Hobizal. I also picked up the Zelda Four Swords / Link to the Past cart. Link to the Past on Advance is a great port and so far I am noticing a few graphic and musical changes to accommodate the Gameboy hardware but largely it is a nearly perfect port. Alongside those purchases I picked up Kirbys Dreamland in the original box, Gameboy Golf, Metroid II Return of Samus and Namco Museum.

http://i.imgur.com/NaHMEfF.jpg

Another booth I checked out was GraceWorks Interactive. They were showcasing retro bible games like Super Noahs Ark 3D, Spiritual Warfare and Catchumen. While I am no longer religious I played the hell out of Wisdom Trees games such as Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures. It might be my child-like nostalgia blinders, but I had a ton of fun playing those games and they have a special place in my gaming heart. GraceWorks had some stickers from the original promotion of those games I grabbed. It's awesome people still have those in stock and are selling them. I also picked up a pearler bead Moogle from Final Fantasy VI at the Mel Paradise booth.

http://i.imgur.com/ClQFmam.jpg

Oh and did I mentioned I won a raffle and won the Zero Point arcade cabinet. I need to figure out a way to get it into my garage but after that you should all expect a review of it. It's kind of awesome to think that i'll have an honest to God actual arcade cabinet in my house. I bet when it's actually in my house it will feel more real, it's still really shocking I won.

http://i.imgur.com/KFthexu.jpg

If you want to peruse the imgur album of pictures I took from the event check the album below. Look forward to seeing you at next years expo.

http://imgur.com/a/BVik7

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MelParadise
http://www.graceworksinteractive.com/

Just Let It In - The New Star Wars Force Awakens Trailer

The new Star Wars Force Awakens trailer dropped. I liked it but it surprised me. We now have a few questions answered in that Finn was/is a Stormtrooper and that Kylo Ren(the sith in the trailer) wants to finish what Darth Vader started. It shows a ton more footage and what I imagine is some of John Williams new score. Han Solo seems to be discussing the force with Finn and Rey which is odd because I always imagined people knew what happened after the battle the moon of Endor.

I really don't know where this movie is headed and at this point, I don't think that's a bad thing.

If you don't drop your thoughts on the trailer in the comment section the dark side will win. Also, what do you think Darth Vader started that Kylo Ren wants to finish?

Travis Admin wrote on 10/20/2015 at 01:40pm

I love that people don't know everything that happened, and treat the events of the past movies as legends. It shows the whole galaxy isn't well-connected and some people only ever heard stories passed around. It's a nice detail.

They are seriously teasing with the lack of a Luke reveal. He's not in the poster or the trailers. Some people are theorizing that he's Kylo Ren but I doubt that.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/20/2015 at 03:53pm

Adam Driver is Kylo Ren so yeah, I mean MAYBE it's a huge fake out but... I don't think it is.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=actor%20for%20kylo%20ren

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/20/2015 at 03:56pm

EPISODE VII - FINDING LUKE SKYWALKER!

That said, my thought is (i've read nothing BTW this is just nerd thoughts) that Luke he Darth Vaders son right? Darth Vader who killed so many and I imagine many people hate. So he might have gone into hiding to avoid people trying to kill him? In fact, admitting your the son and daughter of Anakin Skywalker might not be a safe thing to admit. So my guess is he is in hiding because of that, some forces in the universe think he might be too powerful to be left alive.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/20/2015 at 04:00pm

Also want to explain more what I meant when I said this wasn't what I expected.

At the end of Jedi the audience knows what happened. We know Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie and how that all ended. That said, from the perspective of everyone else in the galaxy they don't. It wasn't broadcast to everyone. So yeah, I guess they might only have heard rumors about it. Maybe some people still think the Emperor is alive?

Also, I would have guessed the Rebels would be huge at this point but the trailer doesn't make that out to be the case at all. They seem just as rag tag as ever. Again, not a problem but they are taking this in a direction I never considered and that doesn't seem like a bad thing.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 10/20/2015 at 04:31pm

Just saw this comment on FB, and now I'm nervous!

"•Back on Tatooine.
•character designed to appeal to kids.
•The trailer is so epic, the movie can't possibly be bad
•Merchandising overload before the movie was released.
•Different design for the Stormtroopers.

Now tell me. Was I talking about the NEW Star Wars? Or Prequel Star Wars that most fans hate?"

Travis Admin wrote on 10/20/2015 at 04:51pm

I dunno, Star Wars has always appealed to kids, and the merch has always been a booming part of Star Wars. Tattooine has become kinda the default place to start a trilogy so it's like an homage and tradition at the same time. The trailers so far haven't felt epic and over the top like the episode 1 trailers. And the storm troopers getting a redesign is just making them look more modern to fit with the times.

Of course there are major similarities but I just don't see Episode VII being about trade negotiations and having annoying lizard people.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 10/20/2015 at 04:53pm

It's mostly a joke and a reminder to myself to not get *too* excited.

But I am :)

Travis Admin wrote on 10/20/2015 at 07:29pm

I know! So am I! :D

Travis Admin wrote on 10/20/2015 at 07:41pm

Oh and, Jon, we've known Finn was a stormtrooper at least at some point since the first few seconds of the first trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/20/2015 at 09:43pm

Yeah, I saw that thanks. No what we knew is that he was wearing Stormtrooper armor, which if they took a few clips from Luke and Han from Episode IV people may have guessed they were too. Which was fun of them to put that in the first one, because is he a Stormtrooper OR was just wearing the armor.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:09am

Ah, well based on everything else I didn't question that he was a stormtrooper. That look on his face didn't seem like "I'm incognito."

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:36am

I'm late to the "game" and finally caught up. It looks cool, though I have no idea when I'll see it.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/21/2015 at 02:55am

I will be avoiding the internets for a couple of weeks because there's no way I'm getting a ticket for it around launch. Plus those crowds... ugh.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/21/2015 at 09:28pm

So based on the comics that are coming out that take place after Jedi, the Empire just splinters and keeps fighting back. The Emperor also put some plans in place should he die.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2015 at 02:58am

"Open in case I die"

It's a bunch of blank pages...

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Early Steam Machine and Controller Reviews Coming In

http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/64345b2c8747687c26760830532921ef/202806495/hedreshoot.jpg

Gaming on Linux has a great wrap up of early Steam Machine and Steam Controller reviews. One of the reviews that stood out to me was the one from Engadget. It's immense and I recommend you pour over it.

"I used to laugh when I saw Linux users scramble to build compatibility layers to play "real" PC games. I chuckled when Valve CEO Gabe Newell lambasted Windows 8 as a "catastrophe for everyone," proffering Linux and SteamOS as a viable alternative. It seemed so far-fetched, so silly. Truth be told, I'm still laughing -- but now it's because I'm enjoying myself. The Alienware Steam Machine has some growing pains, but it's fun. Lots of fun."

Looks like a solid step in the right direction and from all the reviews i've read it seems Valve is patching bugs in a good clip as they come up. It's not a matter of IF I will pick up a Steam Machine but when. I'll wait a bit to hear what people are experiencing and then decide what to get.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/15/alienware-steam-machine-review/
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/several-sites-publish-their-thoughts-on-steam-machines-the-steam-controller.6077

*update*

PCGamer has a great review dedicated to the Steam Link worth checking out.

http://www.pcgamer.com/steam-link-impressions-fantastic-in-home-streaming-for-50/

If you find any other early reviews of Steam Machines and the Controller drop them in the comments.

jdodson1

2746 Posts

Happy 30th Birthday NES - One Of The Best Gaming Systems Of All Time

Mod Mass Recall Recreates Entire Original Game And Brood War In Starcraft II

Doom Alpha Drops As iD Software Releases More Footage

Stream Steam Games To Your PC or Android With Moonlight

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable: S3 E6 - Hallowon't

"Artanis: Sacrifice" Is A New Prequel Comic For Legacy Of The Void

What Do We Do When The Cart Batteries Die?

Portland Retro Game Expo 2015

Just Let It In - The New Star Wars Force Awakens Trailer

Early Steam Machine and Controller Reviews Coming In