jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012
  Admin

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2762 Posts

New Doom Footage Escapes Gamescom
iD Software dropped a new Doom trailer that features some new footage we haven't seen previously. The new footage is included with some earlier footage, but if you are itching to get some new Doom in your face, this is it.

New Doom is coming out in 2015 and I can't wait to check it out. That said, the more I watch this footage the more I feel bad for the Demons. Seriously, this game won't be a good time for them.

Those Lovable Angry Birds Are Back With All New Self Directed Anger!
Angry Birds 2 dropped a few days ago and I happily downloaded it, because, who doesn't like Angry Birds? It might be a bit simple sure, but it's fun to fling birds at those pigs. Truth be told I was never a huge Angry Birds fan myself but I did play quite a bit of the original and Angry Birds Space(think Angry Birds meets Super Mario Galaxy). I also don't mind trying a mobile game if the price is right and in the case of Angry Birds 2, it's free.

First off, Angry Birds 2 starts out in the same way as the first game. The pigs steal the nests eggs and the birds want them back. Yup, same plot as before. I know Angry Birds isn't known for it's narrative but Rovio is pulling a entry out of the Nintendo's tried and tested "absolutely do not change the narrative of any franchise" formula. So are you telling me that after the upset avians got the eggs back from the pigs that they learned absolutely nothing and let it happen again one dark and story night? Well yes, yes they are. Which is why I think I understand why the Angry Birds are so upset. The worst kind of anger can be directed at yourself and after seeing the pigs steal the eggs one more time the birds have to direct that rage at themselves. Fool me once? Angry Birds. Fool me twice? Angry Birds 2 - We Have Learned Nothing.

Besides the plot, which isn't that big of a deal in these kinds of games, is the gameplay. Rovio has turned the knob to 11 because they improve on the gameplay of the original Angry Birds in nearly every way. The destruction is more chaotic, the explosions are more fun and the sound effects and graphics are much more polished. The game feels like a triple A mobile effort and at every turn is very polished. I experienced no bugs playing it and found the user interface wasn't confusing or annoying. The massive effort that went into Angry Birds 2 shows, the gameplay is superb.

As I noted earlier, Angry Birds 2 is free. That said, Rovio still needs to pay to keep the lights on so they added a freemium system. You start out with 5 lives and they deplete as you fail to complete stages. Don't beat a stage with the birds you are given? Lose a life. This isn't a big deal in the starting zones but the difficulty ramps up and then you run out of lives. You can get more lives by waiting or by spending in game currency, which is in this case is gems. I felt this was a missed opportunity in that Rovio could have gone with pig bones as the in game currency. It seems much more fitting to spend the remains of the vanquished than gems as gems appear in nearly every mobile game and enemy parts have still yet to be used. The in game economy isn't bad if you don't mind waiting or shelling out money, but like many freemium mobile games you could be waiting a very long time. In the end the freemium nature of Angry Birds 2 didn't bother me as by the time my lives ran out I stopped playing(everbody wins). I am not sure how much i'll end of playing Angry Birds 2 but it's a solid effort and if you loved Angry Birds, you need to come back and get angry all over again.

All The Changes To Star Wars Comparison Series
Star Wars happened so long ago and so far away that it's strange we can't stop talking about it. Star Wars Episode VII is coming out this December and I have been seeing more Star Wars buzz and fan videos than I have in quite some time. It's as if the Internet exploded in fan glee and ... wasn't silenced. When George Lucas mentioned that he was going to re-release the special editions of Star Wars in the 90's I was excited. I watched each new version in theaters and really enjoyed the new cuts of the films. The extra stuff was great and, at the time, I really enjoyed the higher detailed effects and new scenes. That said, what I didn't know was that the original versions would slip away from our fingers entirely and the special editions later released on DVD & Bluray would become the only way we could watch them. Again, I want to make the point I don't mind the special editions for the most part but like most Star Wars fans would really appreciate the original versions cleaned up in HD.

This YouTube series takes a look at Star Wars, Empire and Jedi and compares all the released versions and all the changes made. Many changes are green screen color corrections, light saber coloring, digital enhancement and digital shots than don't upscale well. Some are changes to the scenes that make them a bit less violent, add rocks to shots with R2D2 or make it so Han doesn't shoot first. These changes send fans into a craze and for good reason, they dull one of the most classic films of all time.

Starship Rubicon Interview -w Wick & Beatscribe
I sat down with the people involved with the creation of Starship Rubicon, Wick and Beatscribe for a fun roundtable discussion. Cheerful Ghost published Starship Rubicon so it seemed like a good fit for us to talk about the game together.

Interview Notes:

Starcraft 2 Turns 5 - Celebrate For Aiur!
http://media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/wallpapers/wall061/wall061-2048x1536-standard.jpg
It feels like Starcraft 2 released 5 years ago and because of that, I can't wait to wrap up the trilogy with the upcoming final protoss installment, Legacy of the Void. Blizzard is marking the launch of Starcraft 2 with a free in game portrait drop by simply opening the game from now till August 3rd. So you know, grab that portrait... for Aiur!

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/19831343

Upcoming Patch 2.3.0 Adds New Zone & Horadric Cube
Blizzard is preparing a hefty update to Reaper of Souls and aims to bring back something we all loved from Diablo 2, the Horadric Cube. You can find the new cube, Kanai's Cube in the new zone Blizzard is adding called "Ruins of Sescheron." The new zone was cut from the shipped version of Reaper of Souls and will be added back in the upcoming 2.3.0 update. I am looking forward to checking this out when it ships as one thing that always impressed me about the game is how beautiful and inventive the zones are. It also looks like it features some awesome new monsters as well, which should give high level players something fun to do.

What do you all think of these additions to Diablo 3? Will Kanai's Cube and the new zone bring you back to Diablo 3?

Ruins of Sescheron trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiYqif-AUy8

Classic PopCop Game Zuma's Revenge Free On Origin
EA is giving away the classic PopCap "frog shoots ball from mouth to match colored balls game" Zuma's Revenge on Origin. If you haven't played any version of Zuma you should pick it up and give it a try. Zuma's Revenge on Origin works on PC & Mac.

New Hearthstone Expansion The Grand Tournament Coming Soon!
Blizzard just let us know what big Hearthstone news is and it's a brand new expansion called The Grand Tournament.

"The Grand Tournament bolsters the expanding Hearthstone library with 132 new cards, introducing all-new spells, weapons, and a retinue of Azeroth’s most renowned Champions ready to join your cause. Here’s a taste of what you can expect when you step into this Grand Tournament!"

In the Stream Blizz highlighted 5 new cards that focus on a brand new ability called Inspire that is activated when you use your hero power. I like this new ability and the new cards they have shown off really look to add a huge new dynamic to the game that should be interesting to see in decks in the upcoming months.

Next week Blizzard is doing a pre-sell on an exclusive card back + 50 Grand Tournament packs for $49.99, which is a reduced price from in game. At this point I am not sure if I am going to pick it, it's a damn good deal but I am still on the fence.

That said, excited to see this and I can't wait to see the new cards in action. What do you think about the Grand Tournament news?

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19819218/the-grand-tournament%E2%84%A2-opens-this-august-7-22-2015

Tips & Strategies for New Hearthstone Players
Recently I've been seeing more people starting out in Hearthstone and wanted to write up some tips and starting ideas that helped me out. The in-game tutorials are good but they don't give you a direction or help you make choices about how to spend your time and gold. As you read this you might have something you have that helped you, drop it in the comments. This post is for new players to Hearthstone or people that are thinking about jumping in.

First thing is to keep in mind that you are new to the game and will lose a bunch until you figure out the games mechanics. It's OK, you don't know everything and you don't lose anything in game when you don't win a match. I am also writing this from the perspective of someone that wants to play the game without spending money, to date I haven't and that has worked out well to this point.


  1. Start out by playing all the heroes in Single Player mode and unlock them all to achieve all the basic cards. Don't build a deck, just play as the starting heroes and unlock all the cards in Single Player against the computer. Over time you will understand the basic flow of the game and by the time you level all the heroes you should be able to beat the computer most of the time.

  2. As you continue to unlock the basic cards in Single Player all the gold you acquire should be spent on card packs. You might not know if you pull anything good yet(one my first packs got me a Harrison Jones) but adding more cards to your game is important and you might pull something great.

  3. When you are done unlocking all the basic cards start playing with people online in unranked matches. When I got to this point I didn't even have a deck built yet. I didn't win much but I started to understand how real people played VS a computer. At this point you should be favoring a few classes over the others, stick to a couple and focus on learning them well.

  4. When you get tired of losing and understand your focused classes better, build a deck. Hearthstone has a great deck builder so just use that and then play with the deck you build. Based on how the matches go drop cards that don't work and replace them with cards you like. As you play against people you will see them do some cool stuff with cards you might have. Would that strategy work for you? If you see something someone does you like, steal it and make it your own.

  5. Every week play Tavern Brawl to at least win a match and get the free pack. Tavern Brawl is fun but the free pack each week is incredible, get it.

  6. Once you get some decks you like start saving in game gold up to unlock the first Hearthstone adventure, Naxxramas. Hearthstone adventures are great in that if you beat the adventure bosses you are assured certain cards. Naxxramas has some epically amazing cards you NEED to have for your decks. Sludge Belcher, Haunted Creeper, Maexxena & Kel'Thuzad are all incredible and will make your decks stronger. Each Naxxrama wing costs 700 gold to unlock so it will take you some doing to accomplish but the cards are well worth it.

  7. Understand how to reroll your daily quests to get the most gold possible. I outlined the steps I learned in a post here http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2508/heartstone-roundup-the-grim-patron-is-good-gold-stats

  8. Once you feel ready, each month you should play ranked matches and get to level 20. It's not too hard and if you do it you unlock a monthly unique card back for doing it. Personally I use the standard card back but it's nice to have options and it's something else to do in game.

  9. Understand all the in game basic quests because doing them rewards you with a ton of gold. http://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/1ua5c9/hearthstone_for_beginners_guide_and_resource/

  10. If you are losing with a particular deck consider what cards you don't use and think about replacing them. Does your deck not have a good starting temp? Maybe you need more cards that cost less. Are you getting slammed by big creatures you can't match? Maybe you need more cards to help you later in the game.

  11. Be comfortable with experimentation. If you have an idea, build a deck and try it out. Playing against a computer is a good way to see if a deck has a minimum viability and playing against people is even better. Don't be afraid to try something new but it's also OK to have a mainstay deck you can't help but come back to.



If I forgot something let me know in the comments and i'll update this guide over time accordingly.

Far Cry 3 - An Open World Dark Shootageddon
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Kbn8Q3PABI/maxresdefault.jpg
Last year in June I picked up the Far Cry franchise pack for about $15. I had picked up Far Cry 2 on PS3 from a discount bin a few years earlier and really enjoyed that and decided that picking up the original Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 + all DLC & Far Cry Blood Dragon for $15 was a good idea. I recently completed Far Cry 3(yeah yeah, I took my time) and wanted to talk a bit about my experience with the game.

Largely I enjoyed the game and if you are looking for a fun open world shooter with tons of stuff to do, you need to pickup Far Cry 3. One nice thing about getting it now on PC is the rock bottom price and the fact that it comes with all the DLC out of the gate. That said, I had a rough start with Far Cry 3 and you can read about that below.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2130/great-rpg-shooter-cliched-narrative

I stand behind my first experience with the game and note that I think my reaction was somewhat intended by the designers. I didn't realize it at the time but Far Cry 3 is an interesting game that mixes in satire and a meta story that puts a light on gamers and gaming culture that really didn't work on me to start. I thought the game was simply rolling with tired "white man saves the natives" tropes because it would sell to it's primarily white gamer dude audience. Whereas I am sure the game did well with white guys because the main character was a white guy if you pay attention to what is happening Far Cry 3 writes a compelling story about a protagonist that actually changes over the course of the game. Often we play shooters that have us do things that have absolutely no lasting world or character impact. Far Cry 3 differs in that your actions change how the characters you are trying to save feel about you. You actions also change the world you inhabit in very interesting ways.

The core gameplay is fun when you are not thinking too much about what you are being led to do. I sort of look at Far Cry 3 as Skyrim with guns but that's not a perfect analogy. You need to explore new areas to reach your objectives and to do that you need to unlock cell towers and bases. This can get tedious but since the game took me a year to complete, I didn't feel that as much as someone that may have played it straight through. The gun unlock and upgrade system is fun and I enjoyed sinking skill points into my character and see him progress.

Overall I had fun playing Far Cry 3 but when the ending credits rolled I didn't feel like I had accomplished much. By the end of the game your friends and family seem to be fearful of you and what I accomplished I didn't really enjoy doing. I kind of wish there was the "leave the Island and call the authorities" button but if you did that, many of your friends and family would have died. That said, Far Cry 3 has you reflect on your actions so does it make sense morally to kill thousands of people to save 5 or 6? If this were real life then i'd say hell no but then again, it's just a video game so it doesn't matter. Far Cry 3 is a solid shooter Island romp that might leave you a bit uneasy with what you are led to do but it has more life than the protagonists soul by the end of the game.