Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Genesis Mini 2

We live in an incredible time where fantastic new games are coming out at a frantic pace and on top of that we are getting many remakes and modern ports of classic games. Nintendo smashed the scene a handful of years back with the Nintendo and Super Nintendo Classic and Sega wasn't too far behind with the Genesis mini. Apparently that wasn't good enough because they are back with 50+ games packing the Genesis Mini 2 featuring a handful of Sega CD games such as Night Trap, Sewer Shark and Sonic CD! I never had a Sega when I was younger so this coupled with the original Genesis Mini should tide us all over...

Until they release the Genesis Mini 3 that is.

Let me know if... Read All

HeroQuest: Epic Board Game Adventure That Doesn't Require a PHD

jdodson gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

jdodson gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

My favorite board game of all time is DOOM: The Board Game by Kevin Wilson. In Wilson's DOOM the goal is to escape each level and engage the Demons in so much as you need to to escape to survive. Sometimes you should stand and fight and sometimes you should run quickly to the next room. It's a difficult game and exploration is available, but not quite encouraged as the game will kill you if you linger too long. Like many modern dungeon crawling board games it has a fair amount of rules and it can take quite a while to complete a mission. According to Boardgamegeek each mission of DOOM can last upwards of 180 minutes making it an epic game that requires a time... Read All My favorite board game of all time is DOOM: The Board Game by Kevin Wilson. In Wilson's DOOM the goal is to escape each level and engage the Demons in so much as you need to to escape to survive. Sometimes you should stand and fight and sometimes you should run quickly to the next room. It's a difficult game and exploration is available, but not quite encouraged as the game will kill you if you linger too long. Like many modern dungeon crawling board games it has a fair amount of rules and it can take quite a while to complete a mission. According to Boardgamegeek each mission of DOOM can last upwards of 180 minutes making it an epic game that requires a time commitment to master the rules and complete a mission. DOOM is awesome but sometimes it's good to play an epic board game where the missions take a bit less time and the rules are easier to understand. Recently I picked up a remake of such a game I played back in the 90's called HeroQuest.

Back in the 90's one of my high school friends introduced me to HeroQuest and after opening the box and showing me the game, I was hooked. Recently Hasboro Game Lab worked in partnership with Avalon Hill to re-create the original game and ran a Kickstarter-like that smashed it's initial funding goals and made several stretch goals to bring extra characters and campaign game books to fans. After quite a while in the making, with what I imagine was more than a few delays due to COVID, Hero Quest shipped and in nearly every way I've really enjoyed the recreation. In some instances I prefer the original sculpt(slightly more meat cleavers please!) to the new one but the detail and love shown on the new version is incredible. I've also included a video on this review that showcases many of the differences and most of them are entirely cosmetic. Avalon Hill kept all the original rules and missions intact, which is a lovely surprise.

HeroQuest was a game initially targeted at kids to provide them with an epic dungeon crawling game that was easy enough to understand and play. I find that HeroQuest is a great game for everyone looking to play a sword and magic board game because it makes it accessible and fun in a way that few do. The new version also includes a Companion App that allows you to play the game if you don't have anyone that can act as the Zargon/Dungeon Master character. Does everyone you are playing with want to just play as the heroes, welp, that works with the companion app.

"The HeroQuest Companion App unlocks new, optional game modes for the HeroQuest board game (sold separately). Traditionally, a game of HeroQuest requires one player to take on the role of Zargon, the Dread Sorceror who also acts as the game master in command of the dungeon board. However, the app can take the role of a Digital Zargon, allowing up to four human players to play solely as the heroes. And we do mean “up to,” because with Digital Zargon you can now play HeroQuest as a solo board game, controlling all four heroes yourself!"

When I first got HeroQuest I played the initial mission with the companion app and it worked out really well. Wasn't as fun as playing with friends though, which makes sense.

I've had three parties at my place where we played HeroQuest and I'd say the game has been a hit. Early on we figured out a way to make the game a bit easier and I suggest absolutely not doing what we did. You can speed up the gameplay by not rolling the dice after you kill all the monsters on the board and just move your characters where you want to go but when you do that it makes the game very formulaic and not fun. I had that idea and it turns out, it's a terrible one as ALWAYS rolling the dice to move is more fun. In our last play sessions we also stopped making choices as a group and let the main party split up into two parties, making the mission more dangerous and compelling. It's possible if every player played it safe and got good rolls, each player could solo a room by themselves except the Wizard, which is who I am playing. I'm not sure we'll break out four ways, but it's possible.

HeroQuest is a classic board game that needed a remake. If you are looking for an accessible game to play with friends and this sounds interesting, you should give HeroQuest a try. It seems like Avalon Hill is re-releasing each HeroQuest expansion and after that I hope they can create a new one. With the original 14 mission campaign and the two expansions (Witch Lord, Kellars Keep) and the quest books I got as Kickstarter extras I have more than enough Hero Quest to play. Still, more is always fun and I hope Hero Quest has a long life ahead of it.

https://hasbropulse.com/blogs/avalon-hill/heroquest-companion-app-details-and-release-date?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/12/2022 at 08:46pm

This sounds cool! It sounds like D&D (BTW new movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiMinixSXII&t=1s), which I've played a few times. I also did a LARP in college for Vampire: The Masquerade.

I remember you mentioning DOOM, which was news to me. I had board games, but nothing like these.

Thanks for sharing!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2022 at 04:14am

Hero Quest has been SO MUCH FUN. I'm really enjoying the time we get together to play and always want to be irresponsible and "play one more quest tonight" lol. I've been playing D&D with some friends from work, and we're having a blast, but it took 2 get togethers before we really even started playing that. Hero Quest is easy enough to pick up and run through right away (although I'm still learning exactly how to run the traps lol)

I highly recommend checking out Hero Quest if you ever get the chance!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/19/2022 at 08:06am

Anyone see the new trailer for the new D&D movie? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiMinixSXII I'm interested. I enjoyed the first movie.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/22/2022 at 01:52am

Greg: No. I think I’ll wait until it’s reviewed. I have pretty low expectations for it

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/22/2022 at 02:28am

I liked the trailer. I don't know how many times I've watched the first movie, I'd be happy to watch it again.

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Orders For Terraria Graphic Novels Are Open Now!

One of our favorite games, Terraria, now has a graphic novel series and orders are open now! You can begin ordering them at 50 Amp Productions website. You can order the first one here: https://www.50ampproductions.com/collections/comic-issue-01 You may notice that there are tiers. You can get the graphic novel itself for pretty much $5 or you can spend $50 and get a whole bunch of goodies!

Here's a good tidbit from the news report: "Overall, the plan is to roll out Issues 1-4 (Book One) over the next few months, followed by a full Book One release to book sellers/retailers as well as available online some time in Q1 2023. Book One will contain all of the first four... Read All

Tactics Ogre Gets Reborn on November 11th

I just found this piece of news, which I fell in love with once I saw the YouTube video (embedded). I haven’t played any Tactics Ogre game, but I believe they are popular. According to the article, “Tactics Ogre: Reborn is based on 2011's Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together on the PSP, which itself was a port of the original 1995 release for Super Nintendo.” If you know more about these games, please feel free to let me know what you think of them!

The reason I fell in love with the video was because it looks just like the Final Fantasy Tactics games I’ve loved so very much. I got introduced to Final Fantasy in college (I will forever love FF8 the most). FF Tactics was... Read All

Outbreak: Shades of Horror (Plus the entire series)

I wanted to plug an Indie Developer's upcoming kickstarter, plus his whole series.

Evan Wolbach and Dead Drop Studios have been making the Outbreak series since 2017. These are indie games, pretty much developed just by Evan. If you like retro survival horror games, check out the series. Check out links to the whole series here:

https://www.deaddroppublishing.com/games.html

Evan & Team just released a playable teaser for their upcoming kickstarter, Outbreak: Shades of Horror. This teaser actually has a lot going on and is more than just a demo. There are 8 different endings you can get, and Evan has said you can spend several hours replaying the teaser to find new... Read All

The SNES Manual Archive

Historical video game preservation is important and it's nice to see folks taking action to improve things. Retro game collectors and historians do a good job and occasionally someone comes along with a fun project that helps move everything forward for everyone. Recently, Twitch streamer Peebs sunk some time into collecting each Super Nintendo game manual and putting them on a Super Nintendo game manual website as well as Archive.org. If you are interested in reading what came packed in to each Super Nintendo game they are available in PDF and OCR for viewing online or download. Nintendo has also made all the of game manuals available for the games included in the... Read All

Pre-order Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered by Aug 12 for Bonuses

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is available for pre-order on Steam. Pre-order and get bonuses including, “the Iron Spider Suit, Velocity Suit, Spider-Punk Suit, Spider-Drone Gadget, and 5 additional skill points.”

I don’t know much about this game and one of my purposes for this post is that I hope to get some feedback by people who’ve played it. So, please chime in if you have! I believe it’s popular and am looking forward to it.

I seem to be aware of a Miles Morales DLC or something, which also has me excited. I really like Miles, although all I know about him is from the Spider-Verse animated movie. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the next Spider-Verse movie... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 07/29/2022 at 06:14pm

If you haven’t played this yet, this is the perfect opportunity. It’s one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in ages.

Insomniac is a Sony owned studio, they did the Ratchet and Clank games and the Resistance series, Rocksteady are the folks who did the Batman games. But don’t let that turn you off from it, the gameplay is better in Spidey than in the Arkham games.

The Miles Morales content is its own game, but it’s a shorter game. It perhaps should have been DLC but it’s also a blast. Miles has a different set of powers that make it a unique experience.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/29/2022 at 06:56pm

Thanks Travis!!!!!!!

Hm, maybe I was confused by the video. I'm pretty sure I've seen another Insomniac game. The video did at least mention that it's like those Batman games, combat at least.

Thanks for clearing up about Miles in the game. According to another article, he's coming in the Fall. https://www.nme.com/guides/gaming-guides/spider-man-pc-release-date-miles-morales-trailer-3242475

I'm gonna go pre-order now. Thanks!

Travis Admin wrote on 07/30/2022 at 04:56pm

Yeah I honestly thought it was the same team for a while because the combat was similar, just more refined.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 08/12/2022 at 08:11pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKF7eLGCCMg (classic Spider-Man theme song) This is a cool game! I've put in 2 hours ATM. I noticed some FPS issues much closer to the beginning when the city was loading. It was very brief and pretty much only during one time.

Since EVGA is having a Back-to-School sale and I can get 1/3 off, I've ordered a RTX 2070 XC 12G. It dipped in to affordability for me. I've had a GTX 1660 Ti XC Gaming 6GB for 3 years now. I got it then for just over $300 on Amazon and watched it's price double over the years. It's not on sale now, but is still about as much as I paid for it 3 years ago. The RTX is slightly cheaper on sale. I've seen some numbers, but I'm not sure how much better my performance is going to be. At least I'll finally have access to those neat RTX features. I definitely expect a performance increase and I'm hoping for more stability in Ark, but I don't expect a big world of difference (it isn't a 3080 TI after all).

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Coming November 11

We'll get to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November, making it the next MCU movie. I've seen this trailer three times now and I think it's pretty emotional, keeping the loss of Chadwick Boseman in mind. It appears Wakanda is in mourning, too, but there's also a war brewing with Namor. He's butted heads with Wakanda before, although he's considered more of an "anti-hero."

Let me know what you think about this! Are you going to go see it, too?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/24/2022 at 05:01am

Looks great. Did I see some Na'vi in it?

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/24/2022 at 05:29am

Atlanteans, but Namor has been changed to Aztec. He's "Marvel's first mutant."

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/24/2022 at 02:52pm

Marvel's first mutant? I doubt that. Or do you mean in the comics?

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/24/2022 at 09:54pm

In the comics, Namor the Sub-Mariner is "Marvel's first mutant."

Travis Admin wrote on 07/25/2022 at 01:37pm

This trailer goes pretty hard. I really wonder who’s going to fill the role of Black Panther. I know people were split on whether to recast or not.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/25/2022 at 10:06pm

I'm watching Voss's trailer breakdown on New Rockstars. This trailer doesn't much allow for dry eyes. I think I may need to remember to bring tissues to the premiere.

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I Am Groot on Disney+ Aug 10

Comic-con is going on this weekend, so you can probably expect to see many more announcements like this one.

I Am Groot is another MCU show coming to Disney+ on Aug. 10th. It's just 5 shorts and all will be released at the same time. It looks funny, but that's just how the character of Groot is (IMO and along w/ the other GotG). James Gunn said that's it's kind of in it's own canon, or when it comes to canon, don't worry about it.

What do you think? Is this something you're interested in?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/22/2022 at 10:15pm

I am Groot!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/22/2022 at 11:47pm

New Rockstars has a nice breakdown of the animated MCU announcements that were made: https://youtu.be/a2pCJxTR304 I'm not into Marvel Zombies, but I might watch it anyway, at least at first. I'm not incredibly enthusiastic about Spider-Man Freshman year, but I'll watch it. I love What If and can't wait for season 2! I also grew up w/ that X-Men cartoon and look forward to seeing X-Men '97.

Anyone else want to comment? I imagine I'll have more related posts coming soon.

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/29/2022 at 04:31am

I want to watch X-Men 97 and I think I’ll watch all the old episodes on Disney+ first.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 07/29/2022 at 06:18am

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, too. Magneto looks cool and bright! I watched the series years ago. I don't want to say "re-watched," because even though I did watch it as a kid, I don't believe I saw every episode.

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4D Gaming

CodeParade, the creator of the non-Euclidean geometry game Hyperbolica (I *highly* recommend checking out his videos on that game) is now experimenting with building a game in 4D.

This video is a fun breakdown on what a 4D game could look like and talks about some of the attempts at building 4D games already.

I love thinking about higher dimensions, so this was right up my alley. Hopefully you find it interesting too!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/22/2022 at 07:08pm

Interesting and yet it feels over my head. It certainly puts "playing 4D chess" into perspective, I guess, LOL. I don't think the guy explained what the 4th dimension is. The quote I said previously is a joke, but IRL is the 4th dimension time? I'm just now Googling some stuff and it all still looks over my head. Math was always a weakness of mine and physics wasn't something I ever studied.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 07/23/2022 at 02:02am

I'm definitely not an expert, but I think that even though time is referred to as the 4th dimension, it's not the same thing as a physical 4th dimension (like another up/down, left/right, forward/back space).

If you're interested, I highly recommend a book called Flatland that kinda helps with an analogy of what higher physical dimensions might be perceived by us :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/23/2022 at 02:38am

Sounds interesting! A Google search is showing up some helpful resources. I see videos of Carl Sagan.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 07/23/2022 at 05:39pm

Rad :)

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