jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

EA Is Giving Away Dead Space Free On Origin

If you are looking for a new game to play, EA is giving away Dead Space which is the first entry in the franchise that dropped back in 2008. Dead Space received great reviews and is already considered a horror classic by some people in gaming.

"You are Isaac Clarke, an engineer on the spacecraft USG Ishimura. You're not a warrior. You're not a soldier. You are, however, the last line of defense between the remaining living crew and deadly reanimated corpses. The undead have become Necromorphs; horrific zombie-alien hybrids that won't succumb to traditional means. Fortunately, your offense is equally unique, as the high-powered mining tools at your disposal provide the means to fight against the threat."

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/free-games/on-the-house

Speedrunner SethBling Explains His Sub 1 Minute Super Mario World Speedrun

Speedrunner SethBling recently figured out the first sub 1 minute credits warp for Super Mario World and made a pretty detailed video explaining how it works. Seth uses 4 controllers and by doing that it puts certain values in RAM pushing the game into the right state to get the credits.

Seth provided a detailed Google Doc below that details how you can route this run yourself and all things you need to achieve it such as the Japanese version of SMW.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cgr0jFw4AU8hF00JcQlOTRb8I1qPd-tF73LtTF4lzZE/edit
https://pastebin.com/V3EtvyGT

The Super Nt Is A Modern FPGA Super Nintendo That Faithfully Adapts The Super Nintendo Without Emulation

Analogue are the creators of the new Super Nt a moderinization of the Super Nintendo that looks to recreate it entirely in hardware. Thing is, most retro remake systems that allow you to play original NES, SNES or Genesis games often use emulation to achieve this which essentially does a ROM dump of the game to play it. The Analogue hardware developers have worked to create a FPGA Super Nintendo that reduces the emulation educed game lag to zero and allows the games to run at a crisp 1080p with authentic audio. At about $200 the system costs as much as the launch Super Nintendo back in the 90's and even includes a built in game Super Turrican. If you are wondering how it plays check out the Metal Jesus review above and if you want to know more how this machine came to be there is an incredible interview with the creator of Analogue on Polygon I've linked below.

Nothing beats the price and convenience of the Super Nintendo classic but as someone with a lot of SNES carts and counting these kinds of systems are pretty incredible.

https://www.analogue.co
https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/5/16965328/analogue-super-nintendo-super-nt-making-of

Awesome Games Done Quick Roundup 3: Ocarina of Time & Those Turtle Games!

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by ZFG in 4:33:19 Embedded above, this run is a 100% of Ocarina of Time which means it's longer than a run where someone tries to race to the end of the game as quickly as possible using whatever glitches they can as part of an ANY%. Ocarina of time gets a ton of accolades for being one of the best games around and this run is proof why as it's a great thing to watch too.

Super Mario Sunshine by AverageTrey in 3:06:29 Did you play Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube? I didn't as I entirely missed the GameCube era of Nintendo games but if you're looking to see what Super Mario Sunshine is about this run is a good primer. Did you know that in Sunshine Mario uses a spray washer to platform around? It's an interesting mechanic and doesn't seem to have continued on in future games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu7jY3OkvVY

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by whitman_price_ in 21:49 Ninja Turtles on NES is really hard and Whitman Price running it in 21 minutes makes it look easy. I had NES Turtles and even though it was REALLY hard I didn't think too negatively of it even though I never was able to actually beat it even though I tried really hard. I got as far as the Technodrome which is pretty far but Whitman keeps the game going to return Splinter to his human form? Apparently NES Turtles thinks Splinter needed to be a human again? I guess it's a sad ending by design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wMJtIgFO6I

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist by Turbo Gilman in 24:22 Hyperstone Heist is one of the best Turtle brawlers on consoles that only made it's way to Genesis. I played this a lot in the arcade but not sure I have seen the Genesis version but it looks like a great port and Turbo Gilman makes short work of it in 24 minutes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Ca-HOfg9k

Watch This 1990 VHS Tape Dub Of The Nintendo Power World Championships

YouTube channel Archades Games recently recorded and uploaded a VHS tape from the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. The actual video starts at 1:05 and is only about 5 minutes. It's a world Championship highlight reel sent to the Championship finalists so only a limited run of these existed. By the end of the Championships Thor Aackerlund was crowned the winner and has gone on to be a retro gaming legend and was featured in the Tetris documentary Ecstasy of Order.

"Got a special one for you all today! I am happy to bring you the footage from one of the few surviving NWC 1990 VHS tapes! This tape was only given to finalists who competed in Universal Studios Hollywood. This tape was loaned to me by Gabriel of the Utah Retro Gamers group for the purpose of preservation and sharing of history! Thank you again Gabriel!"

Into The Breach Is Coming To PC Feb 27th!

Into the Breach is the upcoming turn based strategy mech vs monsters game from Subset Games the creators of the Indie mega hit Faster Than Light. They dropped the new recently that the games is coming to Windows on Steam, GOG and Windows store on February 27th! I imagine the game will get a Mac and Linux port at some point but it looks like the first release of the game will be Windows only. If you want to know more about the game you absolutely must watch the video above of the developer Justin Ma giving a talk about the game and how they approached it's design. It's a really great behind the scenes talk on how they created the game and their focus on using simple design mechanics seem to have made a very approachable game that is easy enough to understand but can create some very challenging scenarios.

Does Into The Breach look like something you are getting at launch?

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChrisAvellone/status/961039565774512128

The Handheld PC Craze Continues With The GPD Win 2

You don't need to wait for a Steam based handheld because it's already here and it's in it's second form in the GPD Win 2. GPD makes lots of portable systems and I actually own one of them in the portable Android handheld GPD XD. The GPD Win 2 looks to improve the specs and hardware of it's initial launch to cram a ton of PC horsepower into the palm of your hands such as..

Intel Core m3-7Y30

lntel HD Graphics 615

6 inches H-IPS Technology

8GB Memory

M.2 SSD 128GB, Replaceable, No Capacity Ceiling

162×99×25mm

ABS + Aluminum alloy

2×4900mAh, In Series

About 6~8 hours of battery life, it should depend on the actual working conditions

To put this handheld in perspective the embedded video above is showing new Doom on GPD Win 2 running at 40FPS and Doom on the switch runs at 30FPS. The official GPD Win 2 Indiegogo page has linked to lots of other videos showing off other games such as Wolfenstein II, Witcher III and more running at entirely acceptable PC frame rates making this PC handheld a really great option if you want to play games on the go. If you are thinking about making the jump into portable PC territory the GPD Win 2 is currently priced at $649 and they plan on raising that when the system finally launches.

I really like that the handheld PC space is improving over time and if the 2,896 backers on Indiegogo that have funded this at 1.8 million are an indicator there is a market for these kinds of systems. As the Nintendo Switch gets more popular these kinds of alternatives are going to keep coming and I am curious when we might see from others?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-console-for-aaa-games-laptop#/

Here Is The Official Solo: A Star Wars Story Trailer!

Yesterday during the Super Bowl we got a teaser for the new Han Solo movie trailer and today we got the full meal deal.

The movie looks to be very well pretty and I really dug the new droids and some of the shots looked very stunning. I'll put more of my thoughts below in the comments and i'm also curious what you think of Solo from the trailer. Solo is coming out May 25th and if history is a guide i'll be watching it that opening night.

You can also watch the TOTALLY DIFFERENT trailer TEASER that played during the Super Bowl linked below. It shows a few different scenes and it is more of an actual teaser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Szts88zY4o

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/06/2018 at 05:05am

More trailer thoughts.

When I first saw the teaser during the Super Bowl I was really disappointed. I was really excited to see it but I think the game or something soured me to it or something and it just didn't work for me. I tried watching it a couple more times online and I liked it less and less. The music wasn't what I wanted.. GUITAR RIFFS IN A STAR WARS MOVIE SOUNDTRACK WHAT IS HAPPENING?

The trailer dropped this morning and I honestly didn't change much of my perspective either. It just looked like a hot mess and I didn't have much "hope" for the film at all. Tonight I watched the trailer with my wife and she said it worked for her and it looked like a Han Solo movie and better than she was thinking. I talked about where I was coming from and she said that my expectations about the movie were a bit off. Firstly, it's not a Star Wars trilogy film and secondly this guy isn't Harrison Ford.
After that conversation settled with me I watched the trailer again and it started to work it's magic. Honestly this movie wasn't what I was expecting, but it does seem like the way Han would start and now that i've made peace with that it's not what I expected I think i'm opening myself to what it will actually be. Which, i'm not trying to get super ultra serious here, but maybe that's sometimes that's the point of creative stuff? Maybe things don't have to be what we want to be good and maybe it's ok to get stuff you don't want and try to make space for it to work even so?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 06:00am

I wasn't really expecting much, but I think I like what I saw in the trailer. Seeing Woody Harrleson was cool. It looked like Hans old friend from Ep. 7 returns, along with Chewy, of course. I might go see it, if not I'll watch it eventually.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 01:27pm

“Han’s old friend from Ep. 7”
Who? Or are you talking about Lando from episodes 5 and 6?

And Jon I think your last paragraph is on to something. I’ve been checking fan reaction to the trailer and it’s been surprisingly good but I keep seeing “I hope Boba Fett is in this” and “I hope this person cameos” and then I saw another post saying, basically, stop expecting things. Because you’re building up your expectations and you’re going to be disappointed.

Just because there was a guitar riff in the trailer, though, doesn’t mean it’ll be in the final cut. That’s possibly just placeholder music that sets the mood they want. I think I’m ok with it even if it is though. It’s something new but each new Star Wars movie brings something new that we haven’t seen yet. The Canto Bight theme is one of my favorites on the TLJ soundtrack and it’s very different from any other Star Wars music thus far.

But yeah I liked the trailer. Donald Glover as Lando, even though we didn’t get to hear him speak, is an exciting choice. I’m looking forward to meeting his droid.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 04:35pm

The two things about this movie that worry me: Ron Howard and Alden Ehrenreich. The trailer didn't convince me that Ehrenreich has any of the charisma that Harrison Ford brought to the original Star Wars. I think that is a must have. As far as Ron Howard goes, he is a pretty safe director. He makes solid films but nothing that really blows you away. That being said, I liked the visuals in the trailer. I don't know how much of that is from the Lord/Miller shoot and how much of it is from the Howard shoot.

I will most likely see this in the theaters, unless the reviews are horrible.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/06/2018 at 05:40pm

I don't think there's any way the movie can win. It's either going to be too much like Guardians of the Galaxy or not enough like Guardians of the Galaxy.

If Ron Howard would have narrated the trailer, I'd be seeing this opening day, easily.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 06:53pm

@Travis that animated woman he met with in Ep 7. Mah or something? She was short and had big eyes and glasses. It's where Rey found the light saber.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 07:23pm

Maz? Where was she in the trailer?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 07:40pm

@Travis At about 30+ seconds, when Woody Harrelson's telling him about putting together a crew. You see a couple people and then a CG creature at what looks like a pilot seat. It may not be her, but since the shape is similar, I thought it was her.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/06/2018 at 07:48pm

Around 0:36, there's a character that kinda looks like Maz, but it looks like it has 4 arms.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 07:55pm

Ahhhh I didn’t even spot that person but it looks more apeish than Maz

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 08:36pm

Thanks Adam and Travis! LOL I didn't notice the four arms.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/07/2018 at 04:42am

Maz Kanata CONFIRMED FOR SOLO A STAR WARS STORY!

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Mario Kart Tour Is Coming To Smartphones In 2019!

Nintendo dropped a Tweet today mentioning that they are going to be releasing a new Mario Kart game on mobile.

"The checkered flag has been raised and the finish line is near. A new mobile application is now in development: Mario Kart Tour! #MarioKartTour Releasing in the fiscal year ending in March 2019."

I'm pretty interested in a Mario Kart game on phones but I hope it's not a badly paired down version of what makes Mario Kart games great. Super Mario Run was a really great version of New Super Mario Brothers on smartphones but I felt like Animal Crossing was a bit of a miss. I think a Mario Kart game could work with touch controls but I hope it doesn't get bogged down in modern free to play trappings that make those games more annoying than entertaining. What do you all think, does a phone based Mario Kart sound fun or should this franchise stick to proper Nintendo systems with a better control systems and a traditional price tag?

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/958876622517452801

The Commodore 64 Mini Launches on March 29th

Retro game console re-releases have been a really popular market in the last few years and everyone is getting in on the action. The latest entrant, the Commodore 64 Mini will now release on March 29th featuring 64 licensed games, a USB connectable joystick and the ability to use it as a C64 family computer including the ability to write Commodore BASIC programs. They've also said the C64 Mini will be up-gradable via USB firmware updates and I imagine will be somewhat hackable as well.

The keyboard on the unit itself isn't functional but it does come with two USB ports so you can plug in your own keyboard. Depending on the price and how much of a functional C64 system this is, I might pick it up. The first computer my parents had was a C64 and I started writing software for the first time reading BASIC programs out of computer magazines and changing them so I could create my own games.

https://thec64.com/
https://www.facebook.com/THEC64computer/posts/1772462536392313

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