The Retro Pie community is huge and a big part of that is the fact that you can use the hardware for nearly anything you can think up. Lots of new open and moddable systems have been popping up and many Retro Pie builds feature making your own handheld but nothing makes it easy. Intro the new GameShell Kickstarter that aims to ship a modular portable hackable Linux handheld. It's seriously focused on gaming but it's not limited to that and since it runs Linux you can hack it to do whatever you want.

Many Kickstarter projects don't do well and hardware projects doubly so. I hope this takes off but there is an inherent amount of risk here but I wish GameShell well because if it can ship this system I think it would be pretty special.

"GameShell is the world's first modular, portable game console with a GNU/LINUX embedded operating system. It allows you to play thousands of classic games from Atari, GB, GBA, NES, SNES and many of history’s greatest consoles.

GameShell uses the powerful LINUX operating system and every game published on it will be free, open-source and modifiable. We have included two classic games - Cave Story and DOOM1 in GameShell and there will be more free games included in future."

I just watched this news report by John Stossel that was a real eye opener. Apparently this 100 year old Japanese company is using American made computer chips to create a new toy that kids are obsessing over. It's distracting them from homework and creating such a product demand that some adults travel thousands of miles to get the latest toy games! I hope you take this video to heart so you can make sure your kids don't fall prey to this new evil!

I've been wondering how the new Doom Switch port stacks up to the PC & PS4 versions and Digital Foundry has a great break down video. Doom on the Switch runs a bit under 720p and runs at an uneven 30 fps. All that said, the port looks good and if you want to run Doom on the go I can't imagine a better way to play it.

Continuing the Bubsy thread from before with this Cygnus Destroyer video reviewing the all new Bubsy game. Looks like it's not too long at clocking in at a handful of hours but looks to be the best Bubsy yet according to Cygnus. That said, the Steam reviews are butchering the game for the $30 price tag and very short playthrough. I can understand why development on the game may have been under budgeted and the end result seemed to suffer. Once this hits Steam sales I wonder how that will do to it's rating?

Cygnus opens this video saying that Bubsy is one of the most hated mascots in all of video games. I'm not sure about all that but Bubsy 3D is considered one of the worst games of all time and rightly so. When Bubsy came out on the Super Nintendo I rented it and found it to be a really visually fun game but nothing really hooked me so I didn't buy it. It was obvious to me that Accolade was trying to make it's own Mario or Sonic but way more 90's X-TREME and TOTALLY IN YOUR FACE so it felt a bit forced but my biggest critique is that it's fairly derivative. I look back on Bubsy now as a fun historical point in gaming and something that they are trying to bring back now with the recent Bubsy Steam release in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back.

If you want to know more about Bubsy or want to find out more about the dreaded Bubsy 3D check out the Cygnus video linked above. Cygnus is reviewing the latest Bubsy game and i'll post that after I check it out as a follow up.

This year my friend Dan gifted me a BlizzCon virtual ticket and I spent this weekend basking in 24/7 Blizzard live stream goodness! I watched a bunch of the BlizzCon panels and tournaments and if you are into Blizzard and want to experience it live I recommend looking into the virtual ticket. Not only do you get a live stream of the events but also a bunch of digital bonuses and some are really compelling(like the Hearthstone golden Legendary).

New Hearthstone Expansion Kobolds and Catacombs

I think one of the biggest news nuggets our of BlizzCon is the new Kobolds and Catacombs Hearthstone expansion. Not only is K&C an all new expansion but it also comes with tiered Single Player content like in the last expansion Knights of the Frozen Throne. Blizzard let us know that they only plan on releasing 3 new expansions per year and with each new set they are releasing free single player adventure boss fights. Not only does Kobolds and Catacombs expansion see a whole bunch of new cards and some new single player content but starting November 6th until K&C launches Blizzard is giving away the new Marin the Fox legendary for logging in. Fear not though because if you miss getting him for free as a login bonus you can get him for free by simply opening one K&C pack at launch.

Kobolds and Catacombs will be Blizzards third expansion this year making it a really full year to collect Hearthstone cards and if you've been away for sometime stepping back in might seem daunting. K&C is adding a new mode that might be for you in the all new Dungeon Run giving Hearthstone an all new game mode that is entirely free to play. From my understanding the new Dungeon Run mode won't require gold to play or money, it will just be an all new PvE single player mode you can play whenever you want.

"Each time you start a new dungeon run, your deck and character will grow in power as you fight your way through the catacombs. Your goal is to defeat eight progressively more challenging encounters picked from a pool of over four dozen."

I reinstalled Hearthstone on my phone because after some time off as this new Dungeon Run mode seems very interesting to me. Not sure if i'm going to jump back into Hearthstone full time but I do like a new way to play the game and since it's free, might not be bad to give it a shot.

https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/expansions-adventures/kobolds-and-catacombs/

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Is Now Free To Play

StarCraft II has had a free to play version for quite some time but whats different now is that this November 14th StarCraft II's first single player campaign Wings of Liberty, Versus Mode and Co-op Commanders up to level 5 are going to be available for free. This is part of Blizzards larger push to get StarCraft II more players and make the game more accessible. If you enjoy RTS games and haven't yet played Wings of Liberty you are in for a treat. The SCII single player campaigns have been some of the most fun i've had in quite some time and if you are a fan of the old StarCraft and Brood War the single player campaigns do the old game much justice.

https://www.starcraft2.com/en-us/#free-to-play

Prince of Darkness Wins - No New Diablo III News

Diablo III had a pretty good year in it got some big content patches, balancing changes and the all new Necromancer hero. Each year at BlizzCon there is a "whats next" panel for each game and Diablo III didn't have one. It's sad that Diablo III was one of the biggest PC game releases ever and now the game seems ... like it's something Blizzard isn't really focusing on anymore. I figured we'd have another expansion by now but that just doesn't seem in the cards for the game.

I'm not sure what Blizzard has in mind for Diablo III moving forward but whatever it is they didn't say anything about it at this years BlizzCon.

BlizzCon opening ceremony drops @ 11am PST and will cover all the upcoming Blizzard stuff for the upcoming year. If you have some time to watch it and love all things Blizzard you should click play. Posting this a couple minutes before the festivities hit and I imagine there will be plenty of things to discuss afterward!

Metal Jesus has a new video with John Hancock where they cover the Super Nintendo, it's hardware and the games for the system they consider must buys. Nearly all of the games the include in their must buys are included in the SNES Classic but a few weren't such as Actraiser, Chrono Trigger, Biker Mice From Mars, NBA Jam & Mario All Stars. I agree with them on nearly every point but i'd personally put in Sim City, Mario Paint, Romance of the Three Kingdoms II & King Arthurs World.

And in thinking more about it i'd also put in Genghis Khan Clan of the Grey Wolf but like I think i'm the only one of the only people in the US that played that one.

16bitbrit reviews the all new Super Nintendo Classic Playing With Super Power book and it looks to be better than I was anticipating. Not only does 16bitbrit give it two big thumbs up but the Amazon reviews for the book seem to be really solid as well sitting at a 4/5 stars. Looks to be a massive upgrade from the NES Classic Playing with Power but only focusing on the Nintendo games on the SNES Classic.

Let me know if you plan on picking this up and while you are waiting for your shipment check out my review of the NES Classic Playing With Power below.

https://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3246/it-s-dangerous-to-go-alone-take-this-playing-with-power-book-review

According to legend, Polybius is arcade game that is so addictive that it can control your thoughts. Polybius was rumored to have been created by a rogue branch of the US Government and in 1981 was tested in an actual arcade. The Angry Video Game Nerd found a Polybius arcade cabinet and in his latest video reviews the game.

Watch it.... if you can.