Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Version Announced!

Neverwinter Nights is a classic PC RPG that came out in 2002 and still has a very active community. One reason for the large community so long after the games release is because BioWare built up an incredible set of game building tools allowing anyone the ability to build campaigns, persistent worlds and basically anything you could think of. Lots of community content still exists and persistent worlds are still played now.

Recently Beamdog announced that they are going to release Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition with some new features such as:

* Improved Display: Your portrait, combat bar, inventory, and other UI elements adjust in size based on your chosen... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 9 - What's Old Is Now Bought Again

Retro games are everywhere, but is it a good thing people are focusing so much on the past? We talk about that and open up the show as we always do, discussing what we’ve been playing and watching and then move straight into a mini review of the ultra fun Steam Indie short Superflight! How much of your gaming diet is Retro gaming or are you simply focused on the latest and greatest? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/20/2017 at 06:20pm

Any Star Wars talk?

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/20/2017 at 06:27pm

No and that was intentional because after the Last Jedi hits we will be doing quite a lot of Star Wars talk. So we figured on giving people a break

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/20/2017 at 10:46pm

I think we may reference it at some point in the bonus shows coming soon, but not a lot.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/21/2017 at 10:51pm

There was Star Wars talk! Travis was right. :)

In regards to retro games, I would ask, do you consider video games art?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/21/2017 at 11:26pm

I knew there was something somewhere! :D

I'd consider games as a whole as art. Some are just straight up cash-ins, but then so is the art hanging above your bed at the cheap motel.

But take Ninja Gaiden for instance. A decent plot that someone had to write, a score that really pushed the NES's capabilities, those very cinematic cutscenes between levels, the stunning level design... that game makes the artistic value of games very clear.

You could argue, well that's just one game from the era, but look at Space Invaders even. Someone had to design something that could feasibly represent ships and aliens, within the confines of what the hardware could accomplish. In that way you might think of it like a haiku, even though it feels pretentious to say that. It's art with imposed limitations.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/22/2017 at 03:25am

> I'd consider games as a whole as art. Some are just straight up cash-ins, but then so is the art hanging above your bed at the cheap motel.

Michelangelo (yes kids, the Ninja Turtle) painted the Sistine Chapel as a commission work by the Pope and that's considered one of the high points of art itself. So i'd say that because art has a commercial nature doesn't make it less art. That said the Ninja Turtle in question wasn't creating consumer art BUT art that would be viewed by many and indeed i've seen it and it holds up and is still in HD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/22/2017 at 03:26am

Sorry I haven't written a review in a while and decided to go super retro.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 11/22/2017 at 03:43am

I definitely consider video games art.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/22/2017 at 04:04am

With regard to commissioned art, and on a less amazing and grand scale than Michaelangelo, whoever designed the UPS logo is still making art.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/22/2017 at 04:04am

But I loved that retro review :D

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/22/2017 at 06:50am

I think if you consider video games art, you can’t ignore retro games. It would be like ignoring cave drawings because we have better tools to do drawings. You would be ignoring history and limiting your exposure to art. That said, you shouldn’t look just in the past but focus on the present and future too.

Another example is: just because we have color movies with sound doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a black and white silent movie from time to time.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/23/2017 at 01:51am

There are probably a few retro games that could be considered art, but as a whole, and for games in general, I think it's slim pickings. Applying the term "art" to something should, I feel, be handled as carefully as using the words "I love you." The more you use it, the more situations to which you apply the term, the less meaning it has. If anything created with an implemented design is art, then my toothbrush is art (my toothbrush looks fancy, but it's not art). If everything is art, nothing is art.

There are a lot of other nuances within the conversation. Games vs. video games, art vs. entertainment, etc. What are we defining as art, for that matter? Maybe it's easier to define by exclusions? Artists can be involved in making games, but that doesn't make games art. Games can tell a story, but that wouldn't make them art, either, though good art often does tell a story. Design doesn't equal art, even though there is often design in art (The UPS logo is not art (sorry, Travis!). At best, I think you could call it an art asset or design asset, which may be part of a lot of the confusion around this whole debate). Something can be artistic (aesthetically pleasing), or even handled in an artful way (with creative skill), but not be art. Regarding the Sistine Chapel ceiling, I would agree that commissioned art isn't a disqualification, but I think you meant to defend it against commercial art (I don't know what consumer art is, but technically, a commission is exclusively made for a consumer. Michelangelo wasn't otherwise interested in painting the ceiling to begin with, according to that article).

The analogy to cave drawings is interesting, because I wonder if that was the intent of those creations. More likely, they were working with what they had as first forms of communication through symbolism (i.e. storytelling). Symbolism in art is an important study, but spending any significant time on analyzing cave drawings, merely as art studies (outside of, maybe, gesture, of which some are pretty brilliant, all things considered), would be a misplaced emphasis. Kinda maybe more how I feel about retro games as a whole, or as Jeff Buckley put it in the first 50 seconds of this clip (it's provocative, but poignantly relevant): https://youtu.be/2v22uEsmD4s. I'm not saying that playing retro games is a waste of time, just that I think there are more interesting things happening now.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/23/2017 at 01:51am

(cont.) Really, though, while I think it's fun to talk about from time to time (kind of like the "What is Indie?" topic), ultimately it doesn't seem to matter. An appreciation for games, retro or otherwise, doesn't require them to be art. The most significant standard that I'm aware of for any game, typically speaking, is whether or not it's fun. Some retro games are fun, still to this day. I prefer playing video games that I haven't played, over ones that I have (unless it's a competitive thing), and there are some really cool experiences in games right now. When does a game stop being relevant? Usually, when it stops being fun. There are outliers, but most games are designed to be fun, not to be art. And if it is intended to be art, the first question I'd ask is "Is it a game?" (another rabbit hole ).

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/23/2017 at 03:38am

> Applying the term "art" to something should, I feel, be handled as carefully as using the words "I love you."

I say I love you all the time to my wife and kid. Time to drive over that relationship cliff

I agree the what is art discussion is interesting. The video games as art discussion heated up a few years ago and mostly I realized that some people thing everything is art and some people are more exclusive. I get why you think art should be a word used for certain things but after thinking more about it I realize that it doesn't matter to me too much. Things can be meaningful to a person and don't need to be as meaningful to others or seen in the same way. I'm not sure what games i'd point to as art but i'd point to games I think are meaningful or games that do particular well in certain areas.

> Regarding the Sistine Chapel ceiling, I would agree that commissioned art isn't a disqualification, but I think you meant to defend it against commercial art (I don't know what consumer art is, but technically, a commission is exclusively made for a consumer. Michelangelo wasn't otherwise interested in painting the ceiling to begin with, according to that article).

I think I mean't consumer art to be things that are created specifically to be purchased by others. Like a wall hang or this or that video game. But i'm not really strongly held to that concept and other words can do to describe it.

> Really, though, while I think it's fun to talk about from time to time (kind of like the "What is Indie?" topic), ultimately it doesn't seem to matter. An appreciation for games, retro or otherwise, doesn't require them to be art.

Yep.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/24/2017 at 09:47pm

I am on the fence on if video games are art or not, but I think you have to include it in the conversation.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/25/2017 at 01:08am

What would it mean, though, if they were not art?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/25/2017 at 02:36am

Just a form of entertainment. I don't view all entertainment as art, but more of escapism.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/25/2017 at 09:02pm

So if not at art is art then are all artists artists? Because if an artist can’t make art then are they a fraud? I think if most art isn’t art then most artists aren’t artists.

Was wondering that last night for fun.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/26/2017 at 01:23am

I think “art,” in the way that we’re wanting to use it, has to be implied with a more nuanced definition than “something an artist made” .

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/26/2017 at 03:42am

“Something an ***ist made.”

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/26/2017 at 04:19pm

Does the ability to play a game break the "fourth wall", so to speak, of the subject and make it harder to classify as art? I wonder if that is where it starts to break down or come into question? But on the flip side, there have been interactive subjects that are not of the video game realm that have been classified as art (for the Portland peeps, I am thinking of that act structure across from Powell's that you can interact with and move).

To me video game's cousin are movies/tv shows, without the interactive element. Maybe we should step back and question if those are art? If we figure that out, we may pinpoint the area where video games start to cause debate over art/not art.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/26/2017 at 04:55pm

Thought this was interesting:

https://mobile.twitter.com/alienmelon/status/934675878025367552

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/26/2017 at 08:48pm

Interesting tweet Jon.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/29/2017 at 06:32pm

See, I'd argue what that person made (Everything is going to be okay) is not a game. The creator calls it an "interactive zine," which sounds much more appropriate. This part of their thread is (mostly) spot on, but maybe not in the way they intended:

Traditional game design is an established ruleset to accomplish certain things.(I don't know what this vague sentence is supposed to mean, but it doesn't seem to ring true. What is "traditional game design"? What established ruleset are they referring to?) It's not an end-all. I'm aware of these rules, but I like rejecting them. They exist to create a specific thing (Game design is the process of making thing, and those specific things are games, by definition) and that's not for everyone. There are lots of other things to create too. (Sure. You can use tools, or even the process, that game makers use to make interactive experiences that are not games.)

I think what we have is an incongruous conflation of creative works. Some creatives make computer-based interactive experiences and insist on calling them games. Why? Some gamers want the games they play to be considered art. Why?

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/30/2017 at 03:28am

> Some creatives make computer-based interactive experiences and insist on calling them games. Why?

I don't know, you'd have to ask them. It does seem to me that some games stories might have been better served as movies but since people operate in that medium they made a game instead. I think because people can do something doesn't mean that's the best medium to do it in it's just the one they picked.

> Some gamers want the games they play to be considered art. Why?

I think because, generally speaking, most people consider things people create like music, poetry, paintings, etc to be art regardless of it's timeless or special nature. This sort of everyday opinion exists outside of the larger art communities definition. So since most people consider whatever to be art and gamers take their hobby seriously they want some attention down on the topic. Plus it makes sense right because games are visual elements(art) mixed with music(art) mixed with an electronic medium and interactivity.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 11/30/2017 at 04:55am

> I don't know, you'd have to ask them.

But don't you think it's weird that the term "game" is applied (or insisted on being applied) to those types of projects? If there is a book and a magazine sitting on a table, and someone asks you to hand them the magazine, you're not going to hand them the book thinking that's what they meant. Magazines and books are made out of almost the exact same materials, but it's the content and design that largely gives them unique identities. Don't you think it's odd that there are so many projects out there that aren't games, but get called games?

> I think because, generally speaking, most people consider things people create like music, poetry, paintings, etc to be art regardless of it's timeless or special nature.

That's unfortunate. I suppose that would put Sargent's El Jaleo right up next to concept art for Super Meat Boy or the recent commercial for Colgate toothpaste.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/30/2017 at 04:52pm

> That's unfortunate. I suppose that would put Sargent's El Jaleo right up next to concept art for Super Meat Boy or the recent commercial for Colgate toothpaste.

I think art is more personal. While El Jaleo might be more widely accepted as art, concept art from Super Meat Boy or the Colgate commercial might be viewed as just as significant art to an individual or group of individuals. That is what is great about labeling something as art, it opens it up to a broader discussion.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/01/2017 at 03:06am

> Don't you think it's odd that there are so many projects out there that aren't games, but get called games?

Not really. In some ways it's also marketing too. Games are popular and saying something is a game makes it easier to sell. Happy we have lots of reviews, rating systems and the like so people can understand what it actually is they are buying. Genres help too so labeling a game as "interactive fiction" on Steam helps that some.

> That's unfortunate. I suppose that would put Sargent's El Jaleo right up next to concept art for Super Meat Boy or the recent commercial for Colgate toothpaste.

Only if what someone misunderstands really has to bother you that much. It used to bother me people say literally when they mean figuratively but it doesn't anymore.

Plus words can have multiple meanings and context can change within the same culture in different communities. I looked up the definition of art and Google told me there are four different meanings to the word. It also hit me up with another word called "fine art" which I think might be more of what you are meaning.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/01/2017 at 03:08am

And continuing to carry the torch of "fine art" I don't think anyone would say Colgate or Super Meat boy is "fine art" at the same level as Sargent's El Jaleo.

PS I just googled that and WOW is that great, thanks for sharing it.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/01/2017 at 04:19am

> That's unfortunate. I suppose that would put Sargent's El Jaleo right up next to concept art for Super Meat Boy or the recent commercial for Colgate toothpaste.

I've just been spectating on this one for a while, but it really doesn't mean that at all, any more than saying canned hamburgers (an actual thing) are right up there with a perfect filet because we call them both food. I don't think art has to be meaningful or important, or even interesting to be art. It's just meaningless, unimportant, uninteresting art.

I'm with Jon about the "fine art" distinction.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/01/2017 at 04:23am

And continuing the analogy, I don't enjoy that filet any less because canned hamburgers exist. I don't feel like cuisine is being diluted by the presence of terrible food.

I think my 3 year old nephew's drawings are art.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 12/02/2017 at 12:47am

Okay, those are good points. I suppose I've always thought of art as a sub-category, not a prime category ("Food," in the analogy Travis presented, I would coincide with "creativity," rather than "art," and a canned hamburger is most certainly creative!). Maybe I've been thinking about it the wrong way, or at least, obviously, not in the popular way. When I'm considering a work of art, I'm considering how it makes me think, rather than just how it makes me feel. I do value feelings, but I value thought more. I don't know that I've ever considered a polarity of "good art" and "bad art." To my understanding, it's either art, or not art, and I don't mean that to be disparaging. If some painting, or piece of music, or whatever, was "meaningless, unimportant, and uninteresting," then I would be hesitant to call it art, in the same way that if a piece of software didn't have a set of rules, the capacity for making meaningful decisions (within the construct of the software's presented environment), and a final objective, then I would have a hard time calling it a game.

I would never begrudge someone that liked something simply because of the way it made them feel, but I would want to know why they would go so far as to call it art. If we're using emotional impact as the qualifier, then the category quickly loses meaning (literally everything in existence can provoke feelings). An emphasis that shifts from elevating thought to elevating feelings would leave little room for the transformative nature of art. Not that feelings can't, or ought not, be tangent to the experience (it would be an oddity, I think, if they weren't). In analogy to our recent discussion of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, this would be tantamount to a game full of satisfying payoffs, without the substance that made the original games so significant.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 12/02/2017 at 01:10am

Another consideration, and then I'll step aside , is that I'm coming from this as someone trying to become an artist, with digital tools as my medium (Photoshop, Blender, etc.). Artist's work, the perception of what it takes to make artwork for a project, for example, is largely undervalued, both monetarily and in a general sense of respect for the craft. The more I learn, the more I'm introduced to the tremendous knowledge and anguish that goes into mastering the skills to produce an art-piece of lasting quality. Care in line weight, value, reactions of light, composition design, temperature of color... so many factors that can come into play, all of which require years and years to hone, and many more to master. What this process produces would be closer to what I would consider "fine art."

Maybe I need to think about it more, this generalization of art in modern society. I'd like to add this video from Nerdwriter, talking about the difference between Moments and Scenes in movies, as a kind of insight into why I think this is important, not just in our discussion here, but for our creative endeavors as a whole: https://youtu.be/38Cy_Qlh7VM

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/02/2017 at 01:38am

Our issue is that art is so hard to actually define. Language fails us. It’s a concept in the “I know it when I see it” category, but not everyone sees it in the same things. We don’t have a functional definition to start from.

If we could agree upon a standard definition for art, the debate would be very different. But that’s not likely!

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Get Plants VS Zombies GoTY Free On Origin!

Plants VS Zombies is one of the best games to come out of 2009. For me it really kicked the tower defense genre back into gear and solidified PopCap as a solid studio that made incredible games. That is until EA bought them and then things changed... but for a time PopCap made some of the best casual computer games well before the mobile craze hit.

If you wanted to experience Plants VS Zombies for the first time or maybe come back at it again you can get the Game of the Year Edition free on EA Origin. When PvZ originally hit I played the demo and immediately went out to buy it from the store, you know back when people did that but now it's even easier and it's totally... Read All

Batman: Arkham Knight PC Review

http://cdn.edgecast.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/208650/header.jpg?t=1496257975

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

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

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

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

A few years ago, a friend let me borrow Batman: Arkham City for the PS3. I really enjoyed it, so I bought it along with the other games in the series (Arkham Asylum and Arkham Origins). Although there were moments of frustration, I enjoyed them all. That’s why I was looking forward to Arkham Knight. It was one of the few reasons I had for getting a PS4, but it came out on Steam and I picked it up on sale.

These games are essentially “open world.” That world has grown since the first game came out. The typical usual characters are in them, perhaps with some surprises. There is a lot to do, like collecting Riddler trophies. Each installment in the series seems to have... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 11/19/2017 at 03:08am

It's one of the best series I've played. The fact that they got back the voice talent from the animated series (Conroy and Hamil, who you mentioned, especially) adds so much to the experience and kinda takes you back to those cartoons. But this ain't a cartoon. It deals with some pretty heavy stuff.

You're right, they've fixed nearly all the issues that plagued the game at launch. It still has some performance issues but with a godly or demi-godly rig, you will barely notice them.

I didn't like the reliance on the Batmobile for so much of the game, and the Riddler trophies are fun but I thought there were too many of them, and I never did the Riddler's final fight because it requires collecting all of them. But those are really the only complaints I have. It's one of the first games I retried on my new(ish) PC to see how much more performance I could squeeze out. Quite a bit, as it turns out. And I enjoyed playing a few hours again with a new coat of paint.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 11/19/2017 at 04:44pm

I agree about Riddler collectibles. I'm still collecting them, I have less than 40 left I believe. Some are frustrating, but some are fun. It's kind of tedious.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 11/19/2017 at 05:48pm

Oh, did you play w/ a controller or keyboard & mouse? I can't imagine playing it with the latter. As I talked to a friend about it, I mentioned how it reminds me of GTAV, but he said it also sounds like Assassin's Creed. That seems about right, although I've really only played the first one.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/19/2017 at 06:39pm

I love Batman and need to put time into these games. I hear so many good things about them.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/19/2017 at 10:26pm

I'd say there's some obvious inspiration from GTA for the drive-to-the-mission sections, but anything with cars is taking inspiration from them these days. Asscreed is also a big influence, especially with the stealth focus. But then so is Devil May Cry, maybe God of War... it pulls a lot of good stuff from a lot of good things, as does most everything, but really it's very original in the way it approaches things.

I played with a controller, but quickly swapped to a KB/M whenever the Batmobile combat mode was needed, since that plays mostly like an FPS (surprisingly). I agree though, I couldn't imagine KB/M for a third-person action game.

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But Does This Review Run Crysis?

In LGR's latest review he takes a look at the PC benchmark that some consider a game Crysis at it's 10 year anniversary. Crysis doesn't feel 10 years old but apparently Wikipedia seems to think it is so it's a good time to take a look back at how good of a game it was and if it holds up. I never could actually play Crysis as I never had the kind of PC back then that could run it. It seems like a pretty cool game and I didn't know that it was the spiritual successor to the first Far Cry. If you want to play Crysis now LGR notes that you should pick it up on GOG DRM free as the Steam version STILL uses SecureROM and locks you out after 5 installs. That seems really... Read All

Load Up On Some Great Games In The Humble Care Package Bundle!

For the next 4 days the Humble Care Package Bundle is running a special 100% charity bundle where the proceeds go to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, GlobalGiving, Direct Relief and Save the Children. For a fixed $30 amount that goes to those charities you get... need to flex my fingers a bit because there are quite a few games here in Starbound, Darkest Dungeon, Minecraft: Story Mode, Stardew Valley, Move or Die, Duck Game, Her Story, She Remembered Caterpillars, Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition, DreadOut, Pony Island, Mighty No. 9, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, Arma: Gold Edition, Grey Goo, Sorcerer King: Rivals, Shadowrun Returns, Kholat, Primal... Read All

Continuing On With New Super Mario Bros Wii!

After completing New Super Mario Bros. on the DS I've been wanting to try the next installment on the Wii aptly titled New Super Mario Bros. Wii. At this years Portland Retro Gamine Expo I picked New Super Mario Bros. Wii for $13 along with a raft of other old games and just recently put it in my Wii and have been playing it for the last week. Like Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an improvement over it's former DS predecessor. It contains the same basic gameplay and the Wii version stacks on the DS version with better graphics, extra mechanics and the inclusion of 4 player split-screen co-op. One thing I noticed right away is that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is... Read All After completing New Super Mario Bros. on the DS I've been wanting to try the next installment on the Wii aptly titled New Super Mario Bros. Wii. At this years Portland Retro Gamine Expo I picked New Super Mario Bros. Wii for $13 along with a raft of other old games and just recently put it in my Wii and have been playing it for the last week. Like Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an improvement over it's former DS predecessor. It contains the same basic gameplay and the Wii version stacks on the DS version with better graphics, extra mechanics and the inclusion of 4 player split-screen co-op. One thing I noticed right away is that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is more difficult than the DS version, which is a welcome improvement in that's it doesn't feel too punishing.

To add more replayability to the levels occasionally Bowsers minions will capture a Mushroom Kingdom Toad and you can head back to a level you completed to save it. If you do this you can get a shot at a Toad House giving you a crack and collecting items that you can use in the overworld to help you start out better in certain levels. This overworld item mechanic first showed up in Super Mario Brothers 3 and it feels really great to have it come back here. This really makes New Super Mario Bros. Wii feel like a proper sequel to the old NES Mario games and it seems like that's what this series is trying to do. Mario Galaxy and now Mario Odyssey seem like sequels to Mario 64 while the New Super Mario Bros. franchise is keeping the old 2D Mario platforming alive. I hope New Super Mario Bros. continues on to the Switch as it has had a few installments on each system including the Wii U and 3DS that I heard were really good that I plan on picking up at some point.

So far i've completed World 1 and if you've played a World 1 in a Mario game it's pretty similar to that. In fact New Super Mario Bros. Wii sticks to a very similar level format to the DS version in that the first and second worlds are themed similarly. From there the themes verge but if you are expecting a radical departure from past games like Mario 3 or NSMB DS you will be disappointed. There is plenty of level creativity on display here and many times in World 1 I was in awe at what Nintendo was able to accomplish with it's level design. But the bread and butter of a good Mario game is gameplay and enough challenge to be interesting and New Super Mario Bros. Wii has that in spades.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii so far, is a great platformer and if you have a Wii kicking around and want to play a good Mario game you can get this used at any game store or Amazon.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/16/2017 at 04:15am

It makes me sad that you call NSMB Wii an old game. I mean you're right, but that feels like just two or three years ago.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/16/2017 at 05:47am

8 years ago isn't quite retro but it's not new either. I think all the Wii games hold up though and this isn't an exception.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/16/2017 at 05:48am

I imagine you played NSMB Wii?

Travis Admin wrote on 11/16/2017 at 03:44pm

Oh yeah, it’s one of my faves on the Wii. Actually all my favorites on the Wii are Mario games!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/16/2017 at 06:10pm

I liked Twilight Princess but never completed it. It's on my list of games to come back to. Funny enough I stopped at the water temple.

Travis Admin wrote on 11/16/2017 at 06:47pm

Heh, the water temple, your nemesis

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/17/2017 at 03:17am

Heh. I don't really mess around with them anymore I just use a map now. The others are fine but I think I am way to hyped about a Water Temple. Zelda can stop doing those too if they want. I'd be fine.

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GameShell Is A Cool New Moddable Retro Linux Gaming Handheld!

Back this on Kickstarter!

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... Read All

This New Video Game Company Is Making Kids Brain Dead!

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!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/14/2017 at 06:58pm

I be brain dead

Travis Admin wrote on 11/15/2017 at 04:21am

How quaint. They come in two categories: sports, and adventure.

Wow, the nostalgia trip of Nintendo mania. I liked his last few minutes. It takes imagination and thought to get through them and as long as they aren't obsessing with them, fine! That kind of thinking was rare back then.

And "watching Nintendo" was a nice, clear way to illustrate that people still didn't even really understand what it was all about. Or if they did understand, weren't used to the ideas.

Remember people who called it "Intendo?"

This video is an amazing nostalgia trip.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/15/2017 at 04:33pm

> How quaint. They come in two categories: sports, and adventure.

I thought that was funny too.

Another interesting point is even back in 1988 they were accusing Nintendo of limiting supply and they denied it due to chip shortages.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 11/15/2017 at 05:43pm

>Another interesting point is even back in 1988 they were accusing Nintendo of limiting supply and they denied it due to chip shortages.

Some things never change. BTW, I am still waiting on that cabbage patch kid. I can't believe they are still holding back the supply!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 11/15/2017 at 05:53pm

I had one but it was way after the craze was diminished such that one could get one by walking into a store.

I've headed out on Black Friday to get some really nicely priced stuff but never been part of a store rush or jumped in the air to get someone an employee threw to a crowd.

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Digital Foundry Analyzes Doom on The Switch!

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.