Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S4 E5: The Longest Break In Recorded History Goes To...

The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable is back after a short 4 month break! The reason for the show taking a hiatus was that I was busy being a new Dad! Scrypt, Travis and I blast our way through what we've been playing and what we've been watching such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Orange is the New Black, Hearthstone & a ton more. During our main show topics we talk about some great upcoming new Nintendo stuff such as the NES Classic, NX and Zelda Breath of the Wild. Coming off a rocky couple years Nintendo looks like they are going to have some really compelling stuff that we are all interested in playing. We cap off the Roundtable discussing the brand new Hello Games mega... Read All

Disguised Toast Explains How Moat Lurker Works

This week Blizzard released The Opera wing for the latest Hearthstone expansion One Night In Karazhan. One interesting card I've been waiting to play was also released this week called Moat Lurker. Moat Lurker is a very unique card in that its Battlecry is that it destroys a minion and it's deathrattle is that it re-summons it. On first blush this might seem like a very silly mechanic because why would you want to destroy a minion if it would just come back later? As it turns out this enables some very interesting game-play as you can use this to remove an enemy minion and then silence Moat Lurker OR you can destroy your own minion such as Sylvanas Windrunner to... Read All

jaelte wrote on 08/22/2016 at 04:18am

What they didn't show is if Moat Lurker's Deathrattle would re-summon a minion after an Unearthed Raptor that copied the Deathrattle dies and does so. Would there be multiple copies of the originally-destroyed minion?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2016 at 03:17pm

Huh. I think there would be as it seems Unearthed Raptor is the only card that seems to copy it fully.

JaBo wrote on 08/26/2016 at 05:53am

Ya, when I saw this card, I immediately thought of using it so preserve one of my near death guys. Like banking a Ysera, then board wiping and getting it back fresh.

Or if your opp is playing warrior and you know they want to brawl you soon. Just gotta be careful it doesn't get silenced.

Rogue seems legit tho. Destroy, shadowstep, destroy, shadowstep

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/27/2016 at 11:12pm

Totally. I haven't seen Moatlurker in play much which is surprising. I am going to put it in a deck soon though, I just love the mechanics so much I want to try it out.

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Check Out The New Graphical Updates In the BioShock Remastered Collection

If you somehow missed BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite they are all coming out soon in one remastered collection featuring some really impressive looking graphical updates you can see featured in the video embedded above. The trailer focuses more on the graphical updates to the original BioShock as I imagine there are few changes they made, if any, to BioShock Infinite.

As 2K mentioned before if you own any of the aforementioned games you will be able to upgrade on Steam for free on September 13th.

http://steamcommunity.com/games/8850/announcements/detail/606114300066920422

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/18/2016 at 04:31am

Oh man, watching the video brings up good memories of the first game. I never tried the sequels.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/18/2016 at 04:34am

> I never tried the sequels.

I seriously recommend BioShock Infinite. Maybe it suffers some to the end compared the absolutely amazing pacing of the start to middle but I found the whole experience to be well worth it. The two DLC expansions were great too and they really seemed to just be a continuation of the story of Infinite anyway.

Maxxiumus_Prime wrote on 08/18/2016 at 12:33pm

Bioshock 2 wasn't received well. The story is okay, but the gunplay was better than the first. Infinite found a great medium (I should hope so after the Dev hell it was in for so long). Personally, Infinite was my favorite. I love Booker and his story. I love the way they implemented everything and successfully incorporated the huge plot twist/reveal. I like how they ended it, and I loved how the DLC's tied the entire series together, back to the first game.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/18/2016 at 03:35pm

I might wait for the price to drop on the bundle. I know you are getting a lot for $59.99, but it still seems like a lot. Plus I have a ton of other games to play.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/18/2016 at 04:12pm

If you have them on PC you will get the upgrades for free, so that might help.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 03:17am

> I might wait for the price to drop on the bundle. I know you are getting a lot for $59.99, but it still seems like a lot. Plus I have a ton of other games to play.

Like Travis said, you get some amount of this free if you already own the games previously. PLUS the price for this will go down considerably over time, like with all games. I'm waiting on lots of games to drop price before I buy them. Pretty sure that's how i'll buy most of my games from here on out. Bundles or huge savings unless it's a game I need to have on launch which seems to be becoming less and less.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:53pm

> Bundles or huge savings unless it's a game I need to have on launch which seems to be becoming less and less.

I am in the same boat. To me gaming has reached a point where a lot of games made today will still feel fresh tomorrow.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 05:02pm

> ... a lot of games made today will still feel fresh tomorrow.

And more stable, etc. I bet by the time I get around to playing No Man's Sky mostly all the issues will be worked out

Travis Admin wrote on 08/20/2016 at 02:18pm

I finally actually checked out the comparison video. It's nothing groundbreaking but it's quite nice. Everything just looks a bit sharper and has better lighting. I imagine they're using the console footage on Bioshock for comparison. It looked lower res in the comparison video, but you could run it in 1080p on PC.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing the shiny coat of paint!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 08/22/2016 at 04:17pm

This definitely makes me want to revisit the Bioshock universe! It'll be a good excuse to actually play through Bioshock 2.

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Hearthstone Deck Tracker (and Replays)

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/12960157_1735875326671015_1706600812_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTIzNzkwNTA4MDgwMDc1NjA4OA%3D%3D.2.l

So, not sure if you use the Tracker or not, but it's great for a UI and tracking your deck list. Tracking wins/losses with decks, and many little features (yogg or Cthun counters).

But now, look at this: https://hsreplay.net/replay/sBmYNgueZftsZHvazfTmjR

It can keep your matches AND it's not the normal game you'd view, it's a digital recreation. BUT IT LETS YOU SEE YOUR OPP!!!!

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/18/2016 at 03:59am

Also, just noticed, you can rewatch games that you spectated.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/18/2016 at 04:18am

Wow, this is really cool and the rewatching matches is incredible. I found that match a bit hard to follow at times but I figured it out as it went along.

When people bring out Lord Jaraxxus that's usually pretty hard to come back from but you tempo'd well.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/18/2016 at 04:45am

Yeah, I need to look at my capabilities a little more, I could have saved that polymorph boar for my guy for an extra 4 damage... but then, I wanted that 6 butt to turn into 2 so it would absorb less from the flamewalker, so I think maybe I was still right. That equated to 4 dmg.

Also, if you go here: https://hsreplay.net/

You can then search for people. So like, Search Nardraug#1711

Shows all the matches that are recorded and how long they took and what turn they went to... pretty sweet stuff!

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 02:26am

Today was a good day for packs!

http://imgur.com/a/0BdLe

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 02:27am

I had a regular Rag and Alex prior to opening 50 packs...

So yeah, I opened 6 leggies out of 54 packs, Rag, golden Rag, Alex, golden Alex, Lord Jarax, and Prophet Velen... just wow

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/19/2016 at 03:14am

DAMN, that's quite the haul. Are you going to keep the goldens or dust them for whatever two Legendaries you want?

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/19/2016 at 03:15am

I was pretty happy when I finally opened my second shield slam and pyromancer in my latest brawl open I recently crafted my first Rag, which is awesome I Rag so much. But i've been on a Legendary drought recently.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:03am

I dusted the normals, those are 2 I'm REALLY happy to have in gold. I need Sylvannas gold next. I had about 6k dust after and could have got her... but crafting golds is ugggg. I've done Ysera and Confessor... so spendy.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:14am

I've got just about enough to do either golden N'Zoth or 2 golden Cabilist's Tomes. Hard decision... or use to make a golden leggie that you can't open (like the new one that summons a 1/1 of a guy from your deck)

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:18am

Barnes? I really like that card but since I just got it today haven't played much with it.

It seems really cool in a Deathrattle deck. Pretty sure NZoth Pally will run it standard now.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:34am

Ya, exactly, any deathrattle deck loves Barnes (and yeah him). Recasting with Rogue tricks is fun, too. (either shadowcaster or pulling him back).

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:35am

Trying the new Arcane Giant in my tempo mage deck and it's working pretty well so far

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:36am

PS, I just survived 3 Yogg's being used against me. I dropped to 1 health and he had a couple mage secrets up, but one wasn't ice block.... insane game

https://hsreplay.net/replay/J7x4Tp7DQYmFeqkF4XEfiJ

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:37am

Oh, and I HAD ice block, but he Flared off the Yogg LOL, so wow

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:40am

I've been really enjoying a new Paladin deck that features the new Ivory Night and finally uses Anyfin(to date i've never found it working in a deck).

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/19/2016 at 04:42am

Oh, I used Anyfin pretty successfully a while back, was brutal One hit kill type thing. (just using the haste and buff murlocs) But now that "standard" is a thing, it banned out some of the needed ones.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/19/2016 at 05:09pm

Yeah, it has but one or two Anyfin's are really powerful. I had a crazy match with simply playing 2 blugills and 2 warleaders. Still refining the deck though but it's either won or only lost by a handful of HP on the opponents side.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/20/2016 at 06:32pm

https://hsreplay.net/replay/D37JSrrHvxsauzPzhTJrzA

Yogg-Saron!!! holy cow that RNG

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/21/2016 at 05:33pm

Yeah Yogg is a heavy RNG card. One of the reasons I want to and don't want to craft it. Focusing more on the other legendary staples before I get Yogg. Not sure what to do next. Tyrion or maybe Cairne? I am leaning heavily to Tyrion as I like Paladin and Tyrion is OP as hell.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/21/2016 at 07:12pm

Tyrion is so good and not leaving standard as far as I know (assuming that core basis set always stays).

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/21/2016 at 07:38pm

That's what they've said. Which is why I am now crafting all the neutral legendaries. I have nearly all the WoTG one's I really wanted and I am now crafting neutral ones because i'll be able to use them longer.

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/21/2016 at 08:27pm

Ya I finally crafted Cairne myself. Frustrating tho, because I made a new account so I could get the shaman hero and I happened to get a Cairne on that account =\

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/21/2016 at 08:44pm

I just went through and decrafted a ton of Wild cards. I kept ones I'd use if I ever played Wild, but I decrafted a bunch of legends, epics and gold epics, gold rares. There's a golden iron juggernaut I'm debating on, but I liked that card... 1600 dust tho gives me 2 gold rares or a gold epic, so tempting... My mage deck is almost all gold, just need 6 more golden epics =o

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/21/2016 at 08:56pm

I am keeping all the wild cards. I think it's going to be a more compelling format as the game advances and might be really interesting someday. At least I think so. That said, pretty sure Maxxena won't ever be something I put in a deck but since it was one of the first legendaries I had and used a lot because of that, I have a hard time letting it go

JaBo Post Author wrote on 08/27/2016 at 01:34am

So battle.net added streaming... guess I'll try that. my laptop has it built in, but for some reason it stopped connecting with nvidia.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/27/2016 at 11:13pm

Yeah I just saw that. It's Windows only right now AND it seems to stream direct to Facebook but it's interesting and something I want to try at least.

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SGDQ Donkey Kong Country Speedrun by Eazinn in a Blistering 36:10

Still finishing up watching a handful of SGDQ 2016 run and I wanted to share this extremely interesting Donkey Kong Country run. Eazinn shows off some really crazy ability as he continuously uses extended barrel rolls to make jumps I didn't know were possible. I also didn't know from playing it originally but there are quite a few level warps in Donkey Kong Country that allow you to skip entire level sections.

Ubisoft Will Keep The Free 30th Anniversary Celebration Games Coming With Rayman Origins Dropping Tomorrow

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpgMAyXWcAAzo0r.jpg

From Ubisoft Club on Twitter:

"Continue the #Ubi30 celebrations with Rayman Origins, available for free from August 17th on digital PC!"

https://twitter.com/UbisoftClub/status/763374386623737856

Ubisoft has already released Prince of Persia Sands of Time & the original Spinter Cell in celebration of their 30th anniversary. Seems fitting that one of the 7 games they release would be one of their more iconic franchises Rayman. Make sure to head over to the link below to secure your PC copy on UPlay on August 17th!

They have 4 more games to go and my money is on a FarCry game as well as an Assassins Creed game. What games do you think they will hand out later this year?

... Read All

Blizzard Continues The Incredible RTS Action In Nova Covert Ops Pack 2

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.

It's pretty obvious I am big fan of Blizzard games. I grew up playing Warcraft and StarCraft and I am currently nearly obsessed with Hearthstone. So when Blizzard adds new campaigns to StarCraft, one of my most favorite games, it's an instabuy. Before Legacy of the Void launched Blizzard let us know we were getting some new missions in the form of DLC. I was of mixed emotion as Legacy of the Void hadn't dropped yet and they were already talking DLC, something i'd wait to discuss after the formal expansion had dropped. That said I've really enjoyed Nova Covert Ops and recently completed playing the second set of missions.

How Is Nova Covert Ops Pack 2?

After completing... Read All It's pretty obvious I am big fan of Blizzard games. I grew up playing Warcraft and StarCraft and I am currently nearly obsessed with Hearthstone. So when Blizzard adds new campaigns to StarCraft, one of my most favorite games, it's an instabuy. Before Legacy of the Void launched Blizzard let us know we were getting some new missions in the form of DLC. I was of mixed emotion as Legacy of the Void hadn't dropped yet and they were already talking DLC, something i'd wait to discuss after the formal expansion had dropped. That said I've really enjoyed Nova Covert Ops and recently completed playing the second set of missions.

How Is Nova Covert Ops Pack 2?

After completing the second 3 missions I can say that Blizzard is quickly building up the fun and story of Covert Ops to something really great. I don't want to give anything away but the ending of the latest 3 missions leaves you on a cliffhanger I can't wait to see resolved. I was wondering if they would keep the same high quality story telling that we've come to expect from StarCraft and minus a couple of odd moments, I found it to be pretty engaging. I enjoyed the cinematography and the in game engine cut scenes between each mission look incredible on my new nvidia graphics card.

Needless to say if you love StarCraft getting Nova Covert Ops is a must.

What is the Long Term Future of StarCraft II?

I might break this topic out into a larger post because I have the same question for other Blizzard games like Diablo III but.. where is the long term roadmap for StarCraft II? Originally they wanted to tell an epic story that spanned the Terran, Zerg and Protoss and it was wrapped up neatly in Legacy of the Void. They left some stuff on the table for future games and we are working some of that out now with Nova CovertOps but I'm not all sure when the StarCraft II train will come to an end? Don't get me wrong, I want more content and if they decided to do a bunch more DLC missions or another full expansion I'd totally get it. I'm just not sure what to expect or if StarCraft III is around the corner?

I also have the same question for Diablo III and I've heard rumors they scrapped a full expansion and released it piecemeal as patch updates as we've seen with certain zones such as Greyhallow Island and the Ruins of Sescheron. Again I might break this topic out into it's own post but it's just something I've been thinking about.

I Just Realized Nova's Suit Design Is Ridiculous

I really like Nova's character and personality, I just find her suit design to be kind of laughable. Here is an image to look at for reference.

http://s.pro-gmedia.com/videogamer/media/images/pub/large/nova_covert_ops.jpg

When I see her all I can think is "hubcab boobs." Now I'm not offended by this or that and her suit isn't rage inducing I just find it ridiculous. Like that's a suit that grants Nova invisibility right? So what d actually do? It's like someone asked the question "what if we put the bra on the outside, would that make invisibility work better?" If it's some kind of armor then it's really out of place at it leaves her mid section entirely unprotected. Again, i'm not saying we should censor anything or that I want to destroy games or whatever, I just think the outside space bra is odd.

Nuka World trailer released, drops August 30!

Bethesda shared the full trailer for Nuka World today! The pieces are definitely there for a fun romp in a destroyed theme park, and it looks like there are new mechanics that allow you to turn settlements over to the raiders, giving people an evil option for settlement building.

If it's anything like Far Harbor in terms of size, scope, and fun, I'll be in love!

Pay attention to the lyrics in the theme song, especially toward the end. It's at least mildly amusing :)

Batman: Arkham VR Trailer

At this year's Comic Con International: San Diego, we gave over 500 fans the chance to #WearTheCowl - they are among the first people in the world to play Batman:Arkham VR.

If you haven’t witnessed first-hand what it’s like to become Batman, then the newest trailer for Batman: Arkham VR will give you a glimpse of what players are calling the closest you’ll ever get to stepping into the role of the World's Greatest Detective.

Batman: Arkham VR is the winner of the first ever E3 Game Critics Award for Best VR Game. Developed by Rocksteady Studios, creators of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham trilogy, Batman: Arkham VR is based on DC’s core Batman license and will... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/16/2016 at 03:57pm

Yeah, No Man's Sky would be a good candidate. I love my Vive purchase. VR is really cool. Two things that I would love to see in the future is wireless headsets and better screens.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/16/2016 at 06:53pm

Some people have dug into the No Man's Sky game files and have found indications that they've tinkered with VR. It may have been an abandoned idea and may never come to pass, but it may indicate future VR support.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/16/2016 at 07:13pm

probably PS4 VR. :(

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/16/2016 at 09:28pm

Cable less VR is definitely the next step but it requires some ultra fast WIFI or something.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/16/2016 at 10:35pm

Jdodson - It requires magic!

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/16/2016 at 11:07pm

So far, it does require magic as the cable is required. Is it a USB cable that you need attached to it?

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/16/2016 at 11:10pm

Speaking of magic: http://gizmodo.com/intel-made-a-vr-headset-and-its-totally-cord-free-1785350099

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/17/2016 at 04:25pm

I see a cord in that image. They lie. :) The vive uses a 3 in 1 cable. The cable has HDMI, USB and Power.

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My Review of The First Wing of "One Night in Karazhan" The Latest Hearthstone Adventure

The Purify Effect

Blizzard released the latest adventure for Hearthstone this week on the heels of a pretty large community mishap. There are nine playable classes in Hearthstone and the Priest class has been suffering for quite some time in terms of it being competitive. There are no high ranking Priest decks being played and the general community feeling is the class is very underpowered compared to the others. As blizzard was releasing the information on the new adventure cards the community reacted very strongly to a new Priest card many felt was the worst card in Hearthstone, Purify. I'll link to the card below with a video Kripparian made that discusses the card.... Read All