jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

The Nerd Reviews Earthbound

It's odd to get an Angry Video Game Nerd review of Earthbound but after watching it i'm glad he made this. It's not too far into the review where he does admit that this might be one of the best Super Nintendo games of all time. I also like that he critiques some of Earthbound's lesser features such as not being able to buy multiple items and the amount you are punished for dying. The death punishment can be circumvented with a SNES Classic save state but if you are playing it the way the original creators intended you can spend 30 minutes backtracking to bring your party back.

It's a great review of Earthbound but my only warning is that if you haven't played the game and plan on it at some point his review contains a lot of spoilers.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/26/2018 at 05:39pm

I wish I could get into this game, it sounds like such a fun trip. But, I just can't get past the beginning story. Maybe because it's set it modern time, but the "You're the chosen one" story just really fell flat to me.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/26/2018 at 06:12pm

But, after watching this video, I'm glad I got to see at least some of the trip!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/27/2018 at 02:50am

Adam. Your the chosen one... to PLAY EARTHBOUND!

Oh wait.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/27/2018 at 05:40am

Lol, I'm just going to have to force myself at some point.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/27/2018 at 01:56pm

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WarCraft III Gets A Horde of New Updates!

WarCraft III finally received the 1.29 update and it's got quite a few things in it worth coming back to if you haven't played it in a while. The biggest is that the game now finally supports 16x9 widescreen! WarCraft III was made in the ol' 4x3 era and even though the 16x9 world wasn't too far away the game was never updated to support different aspect ratios. They've handled this in a few ways by adding black pillars in the menu and then allowing the in game interface to properly scale to handle the resolution. It means the actual in game experience is now properly sized and avoids you having to run the entire game in 4x3! Blizzard has also expanded support to matches supporting 24 players as well as a host of new game balancing tweaks for the in game heroes.

I'm fairly certain these updates will come with a later re-release / remaster of WarCraft III and if StarCraft is a guide there will be a free version as well as a HD repurchase of the game. In the case of StarCraft I thought the free version, which is essentially a modern rebuild of the original was awesome enough and I didn't feel the need to pickup the HD edition. That said, in the case of WarCraft III i'll buy whatever version Blizzard releases because any kind of new 3D graphics for this game should be awesome.

All that said, I picked up the new 1.29 update and it installed and ran well so if you have wanted to dust off your copies of WarCraft III now would be a great time to do it with this fresh new version!

https://web.archive.org/web/20180411005159/https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20762137149

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/24/2018 at 04:57am

I bought the Starcraft HD remaster and enjoyed it. I've never played Warcraft III, so I'm hoping it gets a remastered re-release.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/24/2018 at 12:41pm

You can't beat Blizzard's long term support for their games.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/25/2018 at 04:37pm

No you can't and they've released a couple follow on fix updates afterward! To me, WarCraft III is one of the best Blizzard games of all time and it's in that place of having good enough 3D graphics to still be good now and it's strategy elements with heroes is pretty unique.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/26/2018 at 03:16am

Yeah I love what they did with Starcraft Remastered, but seeing the improvements they made there only made me realize that War 3 really only needed modern resolutions. It still looks really good. The cartoonish style and the fact that the models aren't pixelated like they were in Starcraft help that along. I think Starcraft used 2D sprites?

Watching some videos of this 1.29 patch, you'd think it was already remastered in some ways. Definitely not in others: the menus are still 4:3, and the character images in the bottom... toolbar? Control center? Whatever you call that. Those images are obviously aging a bit.

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Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 Coming July 24th!

We've known for a bit that the Mega Man X collections were coming and now we have the release date, July 24th! If you have a Switch and want every classic Mega Man game the Legacy Collection is coming and now both X Collections as well! I still have yet to take up Mega Man X on the Super Nintendo classic but after I wear out Mega Man 2, i'll get over to it. That said, I have NO idea when that will be as I honestly enjoy just replaying Mega Man 2.

That said...

"The entire X series dashes onto Nintendo Switch! Mega Man X Legacy Collection contains side-scrolling classics Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, Mega Man X3, and Mega Man X4. Continue the adventure with Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, which includes Mega Man X5, Mega Man X6, Mega Man X7, and Mega Man X8. Each collection also contains a plethora of rare game art, nostalgic trailers, merchandise galleries, and more. These collections also include the all-new X Challenge mode, which features a series of challenges in which X faces off against two deadly Maverick bosses at once!"

http://megaman.capcom.com/

DigitalFoundry Compares A Decade of Evolution Between Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 5

I picked up Far Cry 2 at the mid point in the PS3's lifespan. It was about $17 used at a game store and since I hadn't really played a Far Cry game yet, it seemed like a good time to give it a shot. I heard the open world gameplay was fun, but the game insisting that you had to deal with malaria was not. I completed the whole game on PS3 and didn't find the malaria aspects too frustrating. If you continue through the game at a good pace you got enough pills to keep things moving forward. I wonder what would have happened if you avoided the main story?

Now that Far Cry 5 is out Digital Foundry has a new video comparing Far Cry 2 to the latest release and it's really interesting to note that not every gameplay element is included. I really enjoy the Far Cry games and completed Far Cry 3 last year and want to wrap up Blood Dragon next. It's fun playing through the series and not keeping current means that it's easy to do on a budget.

I Have A Good Feeling About This - New Solo Trailer Drops!

Lucasfilm released a new Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer yesterday to a warm reception. I’d say compared to the first Super Bowl trailer this one seems more like the kind of movie I expected. Still going to watch this opening day and it looks like all the hard work to fix the movie after the original directors left the project has paid off, with a great trailer.

I know many were hazy on watching this, I wonder if this trailer has changed you mind in any direction?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/09/2018 at 02:39pm

This trailer does make the movie look better than I expected, but I still think I won't see it in theaters out of principle. After this comes out, half of all Star Wars movies will be prequels. I'm tired of prequels. I don't need anymore origin stories for characters I'm already familiar with. So, I think the trailer did make me interested in seeing this movie at some point, but I don't want to spend (much) money on it (I might see it at small theater after it's been out for a while, or rent it from Redbox).

Also, (this isn't a nitpick, just something funny I heard) but Han's voice occasionally sounded like Bill Hader's voice in the SNL Californians sketches lol (https://youtu.be/V4347ZE0NQM for reference).

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/09/2018 at 04:13pm

I liked the trailer. I think at this point I have stopped comparing Alden Ehrenreich to Harrison Ford. I am ready to see this.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/09/2018 at 04:25pm

(I previously posted this, but I deleted it so I could re-word some stuff and add some more)

I don’t even think about the new stuff in the sense of prequel or sequel, really. And I don’t exactly think of this or Rogue One as prequels. Yes, they take place prior to the original trilogy, so they are absolutely prequels in that sense, but they tell the unnecessary parts of the core story. The episodic films are the story of the galaxy and, specifically, the Skywalkers and those around them. But just like all the books and games have done for years, these films just fill in info that is (hopefully) interesting and entertaining but isn’t essential or may not even inform the core series.

I look at it like the Tarkin novel, or Leia, Princess of Alderaan basically. Small one-offs that can take place anywhere and give you some more character building. For me, I'm not watching the anthology films for the story as much as I am the world-building and new lore to add to the complex tapestry that is Star Wars canon.

Now, I gotta say... if you'd asked me which anthology films I would have made, Solo would not have been on my list. It at least seems more interesting than a Boba Fett film. But I'm still very interested to watch this just to add some more depth, however small, to the universe.

But speaking of prequels I would honestly adore a few movies that take place IN the prequel era. Those films are not my favorites of the saga but from what I’ve seen and read, it’s probably my favorite time period and ripe with potential for great stories. A live action siege of Mandalore movie? Oh man. Don’t even get me started.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/09/2018 at 05:47pm

Travis wants a Jar Jar movie. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/09/2018 at 05:58pm

Nice!

Travis Admin wrote on 04/09/2018 at 07:10pm

Hahahaha, no. No JarJar movies please.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/09/2018 at 11:36pm

> Now, I gotta say... if you'd asked me which anthology films I would have made, Solo would not have been on my list.

Adding some more: I think one of the chief reasons people seem more apathetic about this one is that Han already had his character arc. All the character growth has already happened. The Han in this film will grow from a young hotshot rogue into ... an older hotshot rogue?

That's why I'm less into this than I was Rogue One, and why I'm hoping for some great worldbuilding to replace the character building.

Or hell, just Baby Driver in A Galaxy Far Far Away. :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/10/2018 at 04:01pm

> The Han in this film will grow from a young hotshot rogue into ... an older hotshot rogue?

What if he isn't a young hotshot rogue?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/10/2018 at 05:35pm

I hope I didn't come across as super negative, I do hope it's a good movie and people enjoy it. I hope *I* enjoy it when I get around to seeing it lol.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/10/2018 at 05:40pm

Hopefully Will has the closest guess, and Han isn't a young hotshot rogue, and you can see what makes him what he becomes :)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/10/2018 at 06:23pm

I think he is going to start out as an Imperial.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2018 at 02:17am

Couple points I wanted to hit.

"I'm tired of prequels. I don't need anymore origin stories for characters I'm already familiar with."

Right. I get that. I'm at a point where what we've got so far (all the new star wars films) have been pretty good to great. I didn't want Rogue One but it's the first prequel I liked and now really like. In fact, I just rewatched it and it surprised me how fun it was watching it again. It's like nearly pure fan service and I love it for that. The cinematography is solid, it's got some grit to it and I really appreciate where it goes and the choices it makes. Not perfect and some parts are really obviously setup for later things, but it's a fun movie and I like it more than I don't.

Now if the Solo movie is that, then i'll be in. I don't need it to be earth shattering or even original. Fun enough is fine for me. Seems like it might be.

I think one reason why we're getting prequels is because the new trilogy isn't finished yet and they might want to wrap that up before new stuff comes out. My guess is that when they signed the Game of Thrones dudes and Rian Johnson for 6 more films all that will be POST Episode 9. In fact, my guess is most of Star Wars after that will be and we might get some other prequel films but the majority will be moving forward. Lucasfilm wants a new movie per year and it's easy to keep the whole STARCU (or whatever) in alignment with prequels and just one new story arc moving forward.

Just an idea, I'm sure i'm wrong.

I've heard what the new story IS in terms of his arc (not specifics just how his character will change) and it sounds interesting. Apparently Lucas and Laurence Kasdan were working on a Han Solo film prior to Lucasfilm being bought and one term of Kasdan helping with Episode VII is he could come back around to make Solo. Fun story and i'm glad it's coming out because it's been a fun movie to talk about and I hope it turns out well and if not, well, lots to talk about when Star Wars movies aren't great too.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/11/2018 at 03:22am

Well I dunno about prequels in general, but this film was made because of Kasdan. Solo wasn't a LucasFilm "lets shovel this out" kind of thing. One condition Kasdan had for writing The Force Awakens with JJ was that he'd get to pen a script for a Han Solo origin story.

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Square Is Brining Chrono Trigger On Steam Back To It's Original SNES Graphical Roots

When Chrono Trigger hit Steam it was widely panned by fans for two problems. Firstly the menus were mostly ported from the mobile version and PC players didn't seem to like that and the original pixel graphics were smoothed down and don't look great on high resolution displays. Square posted today that they've heard this feedback and will release an update to add a mode for fans to play Chrono Trigger with the original pixel art graphical style of the original SNES version.

"We’re aiming to release the first of these patches in the first half of April, and the biggest change is that it will include an option to switch between the current high-resolution graphics, and the original graphical style of CHRONO TRIGGER."

http://steamcommunity.com/games/613830/announcements/detail/1652133167148114465

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 03:47am

Awesome!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/04/2018 at 03:50am

I'm glad Square is doing this. Steam games, because of sales and bundles, can have a long lifespan and if a game is supported and is what fans want it's reputation will mean more sales over it's life than just a flash in the pan fizzle which this game seemed to get because of it's poor reviews. Well, I can't speak to it's sales but the reviews were not very good for the fact that this game is a classic and considered by some to be the best game of all time.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 05:30pm

I'm glad they're doing it, even though I haven't bought it yet. I added it to my wishlist before this announcement, thinking I'd see it for myself. It's nice to know that a company is actually doing something with fan feedback.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2018 at 02:32am

Looks like the new patch addresses many concerns and the latest Steam reviews seem to suggest people like them. Nice to see Chrono Tigger on PC getting some love.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/04/10/chrono-triggers-first-patch-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction/

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/11/2018 at 07:09am

Cool! Thanks for the link!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/03/2018 at 08:17pm

Chrono Trigger just received it's final major update. As you know, it was released and received some negative feedback, so the developers decided to give it a few updates. Now that all those major updates have been released, I think I'll continue playing. I'm only disappointed that they didn't add the ability to change the color of the text box, I don't like the gray, I want blue!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/03/2018 at 09:17pm

I think that was a fairly popular staple of Square RPG's to change the window style and color. Too bad it isn't included in the PC version.

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Fortnite Battle Royale Is The Biggest Game Right Now And You Need To Play It

Six years ago Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games announced a new game called Fortnite that was aimed exclusively at the PC market. It was a co-op team shooter game set in a cartoony apocalypse where you can build structures to protect yourself and your teammates from the oncoming Zombie hordes. The game has been in development for over six years and is still in early access and has blown up with the launch of the in game Battle Royale mode. One huge inspiration for Fortnite Battle Royale was the early 2017 Player Unknown Battlegrounds also known as PUBG. When PUBG hit the scene it solid very well catapulting it to the top of the Steam and Twitch charts and Epic Games saw how well the Battle Royale formula did and they set out to rebuild it in Fortnite. One reason why Fortnite has gone on to overtake PUBG in terms of players is partly due to it's cartoony style, Epics amazing gameplay and Fortnite being entirely free to play. Fortnite's free to play model isn't pay to win as all in game currency goes to purchase in game cosmetics such as player skins, weapon skins, backpack skins and pickaxe skins. You can buy game currency outright to buy items in the store and/or you can buy the season pass which allows you to unlock certain skins by playing the game and leveling up your character. Some skins are available to unlock each season for free but if you want the really cool stuff that costs money.

What Is Battle Royale Mode?

The FPS Battle Royale mode is actually a pretty fun experience but not if you don't like dying... a lot. In Fortnite Battle Royale 100 players queue up and are literally dropped in on the game island via a flying Battle Bus. At the top of the match the Battle Bus flies overhead in a direction and you figure out where you will parachute from to land on the ground and start your search for weapons and items. In the Solo game mode the winner of the game is the last person alive and the goal is to either camp out and wait for someone to come by and kill them or take other players head on. As you exist in the map a cloud circles an area making the area you can exist in smaller confining the players to less and less space to push you closer to confronting each other. There is also a team mode where you and three other people can group up and see how far you can get together.

My Mini Review

So far I've only played a handful of matches and am still learning the games basic strategy. Since Fortnite is an Epic Games creation the gun play feels top notch and the third person over the shoulder camera really makes the whole experience feel fresh. The cartoony style graphics also make the game feel a bit more whimsical so when you die, it's not quite as soul crushing. That said, I've only manged to kill a handful of people so far as everyone... for the most part is way better than I am.

Since I have Twitch Prime(because I have an Amazon Prime membership) I got some cool Fortnite game skins that I can play with. It's nice looking a bit different than the main player skins but again, it's just cosmetic it doesn't make me better at the game. Fortnite is so huge it's basically now available on every platform including PC, Mac, PS4, XBox One and now iOS including iPhones and iPads. I have an iPhone 6S and the games graphics aren't as good as my PC but it's the same game and works really well considering it's a touch screen game. Fortnite is so popular right now Epic is telling kids to stop playing Fortnite during class, which I could see myself doing a lot of if I was in school right now.

If you want to play Fortnite on PC or Mac you will have to download the Epic Games client as it's not available on Steam. It makes sense as Fortnite is free to play and is funded by in game purchases and Epic saves money if it doesn't share 30% of those transactions with anyone. That said, the Epic Games client isn't hard to get or annoying in any way I noticed.

If you are looking for a cool game to try and have wanted to give the whole Battle Royale mode a shot I recommend installing Fortnite. It's hard sure, but it's fun and jumping back into a match is pretty quick as it's currently being played by basically everyone in gaming right now.

https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/buy-now/battle-royale

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2018 at 03:15am

A first person shooter on iOS? How does that work exactly?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/01/2018 at 03:38am

Virtual thumbstick on the left for moving, thumbstick on the right for aiming. There is a button to jump and you tap the screen to collect items. Works better than it sounds but it's not my preferred way of playing it. Epic has mentioned it will add support for iOS MFI controllers at some point which should basically make it akin to playing it on a console.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2018 at 04:45am

As long as they let you join games with only people on mobile that do NOT have controllers that sounds like it could work well.

I popped in for a couple matches and suuuuuuucked. I'm pretty ok with knowing I'll never win one but it's fun.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/01/2018 at 05:30am

Yeah, it is fun. I killed someone in a match, that was great. Then I was in another match where I was in the last 10.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2018 at 05:47am

That sounds basically identical to my night. :D

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/02/2018 at 05:03pm

I tried it last night. Got killed right away.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/02/2018 at 11:17pm

In a game where people run around killing each other, i'd expect that.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 12:02am

I just came in 31st. I am soooo awesome. :)

Travis Admin wrote on 04/04/2018 at 12:39am

You're practically godlike!

...compared to me ;)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 01:55am

Ha! My number was inflated by the fact that I landed in an area that nobody was in. I ended up getting one kill before getting killed.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 02:13am

19 and the storm killed me. I floated to the very outside of the map and tried to make my way in. It was a good way to learn a little bit about the game.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/04/2018 at 03:20am

That's kinda the problem I have. I wish there was a bot mode where you could set AI difficulty, just to get a handle on the mechanics without worrying about survival.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/04/2018 at 03:48am

Right. But I find that part of the fun. It's a game you can't get too attached to because it doesn't last very long. I find that kind of experience really... in a way... freeing because it's not about being very good. I really enjoy it for the loner aspect and trying to figure out the best way to land in an area no one is around, find some weapons and derp my way to a kill or survival.

Sometimes I get into a gun fight right away with someone but I try and hit the edges of the map and survive until pushed in but by the time it's just me and 20 other people they are SO much better than me. But it's still fun to play.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/04/2018 at 04:23am

Jon, it sounds like we have the same strategy. :)

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More StarCraft 20th Anniversary Celebration Freebies & Livestream!

http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/w6/W68CINWEIMYA1522156038117.jpg

Blizzard is continuing the StarCraft 20th Anniversary celebration by giving away Fenix as a free StarCraft II co-op commander.

"Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we are giving away the Co-op Commander Fenix for free! From March 29 to April 3, you’ll find the Protoss champion sitting in the gift tab ready to be claimed."

I didn't have Fenix as a commander yet, so it's cool to be able to get him to try out.

https://starcraft2.com/en-us/news/21667305

Blizzard is also having an all day live stream event tomorrow and if you are interested in watching that check out the Cheerful Ghost event link below for more information.

https://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/events/151/watch-the-starcraft-ii-anniversary-live-stream

The Humble Store Keeps The Free Steam Games Flowing With Spec Ops The Line

The Humble Store is keeping the free games coming strong with it's new freebie Spec Ops: The Line available for the next 24 hours. This version of Spec Ops reviewed quite well for it's approach to narrative but like many games out of 2012 I haven't yet made time for it but now that it's in my collection ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE!

Spec Ops: The Line is free on Humble for Steam and runs on PC, Mac and Linux.

"Spec Ops: The Line is a new original title from 2K Games that features provocative and gripping Third-Person modern military Shooter gameplay designed to challenge players' morality by putting them in the middle of unspeakable situations where unimaginable choices affecting human life must be made. Features include, a gripping, storyline reminiscent of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness but set in a ruined Dubai, tactical squad-based Delta Force gameplay throughout a horizontally and vertically oriented world, devastating sandstorms which can be used in combat, a variety of multiplayer modes and maps, and deep support featuring two factions."

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/spec-ops-the-line

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition Comes To Steam!

Getting a fresh new port of Neverwinter Nights is a pretty great thing to finally see launch as I wore out my original CD's playing the game and it's expansions. The Enhanced Edition on Steam comes with the base game, Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark & three premium modules they released later on titled Kingmaker, Shadow Guard & Witches Wake. Undrentide & Underdark were proper physical box copy releases and later Kingmaker, Shadow Guard and Witches Wake were packed up as part of a big box release too. Some premium modules were only released online using some odd form of DRM which meant I didn't actually play them such as Infinite Dungeons, Wyvern Crown Cormyr and Pirates of the Sword Coast which were only now recently re-released as Enhanced Edition DLC on Steam. It's cool to see these "lost" modules come back as they weren't available on GOG previously either.

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition is reviewing well on Steam but isn't something I'm going to pickup quickly as completing the game requires a vast time commitment. That said, if you are looking for an epic single player experience the Enhanced Edition including so much content is something you should look into picking up.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/704450/Neverwinter_Nights_Enhanced_Edition/

jdodson1

2761 Posts

The Nerd Reviews Earthbound

WarCraft III Gets A Horde of New Updates!

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 Coming July 24th!

DigitalFoundry Compares A Decade of Evolution Between Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 5

I Have A Good Feeling About This - New Solo Trailer Drops!

Square Is Brining Chrono Trigger On Steam Back To It's Original SNES Graphical Roots

Fortnite Battle Royale Is The Biggest Game Right Now And You Need To Play It

More StarCraft 20th Anniversary Celebration Freebies & Livestream!

The Humble Store Keeps The Free Steam Games Flowing With Spec Ops The Line

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition Comes To Steam!