Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Steam Hardware preorders are up

If you want some Steam hardware as soon as it's ready, whether that's a Steam Machine, controller, Steam Link, or a combination, Valve's put up their preorder page. The Link and the controller come straight from Steam, or you can get Alienware machines from Gamestop, or Syber machines straight from them.

The controller and Link are $49.99 each, or you can get them bundled. There's no cost savings there, but it's a bit of a convenience.

The Alienware Steam Machines start at $449, and Cyber's start at $499. They all look great, but the Link might be all I need. I'm still waiting to see what kind of media capabilities they'll have. If it can stream my Steam games and act... Read All

GOG's 2015 Summer Sale is on!

http://images-1.gog.com/2bf874c7b5fb0440b8b2df8cbc99c94c31946be2c6e71f3d69b94084fdcd078f.jpg

Massive discounts await you at http://www.gog.com/ my fellow thrift-seekers!

As usual, daily discounts and bundles abound.

This year, if you spend enough money to reach different tiers, you can get some free games as well!

SimCity 2000 - free for everyone who spends at least $1.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - free for everyone who spends at least $20.
Xenonauts - free for everyone who spends at least $50.

GOG's announcement post: http://www.gog.com/news/the_2015_drmfree_summer_sale_starts_today

Innocent Until Proven Guilty - Super Mario Brothers 2

Cygnus Destroy has a new Innocent Until Proven Guilty Video I wanted to share. I enjoy his take on the classics and have really enjoyed his series since I started subscribing last year. In his latest video he looks at Super Mario Brothers 2. Super Mario Brothers 2 is my favorite Mario game and only in the last few years did I discover the blow back this game has received. Some consider this not a proper Mario sequel because it existed first as Doki Doki Panic. Pretty sure when I was a kid it wouldn't have made the game worse and knowing that now gives the game a richer history but doesn't detract from it's charm or beauty.

I know most of us consider Super Mario... Read All

Bethesda releases Fallout 4 trailer!

It actually, officially exists. No more rumor mill. Fallout 4 has a trailer! And oooooh does it look incredible. Not much gameplay is shown but the environments are beautiful. It looks like a tweaked Skyrim engine, which makes sense since Fallout 3 and New Vegas were built on a tweaked Oblivion engine.

You can eventually get more info at http://fallout4.com/ or http://fallout.bethsoft.com/ but the servers seem to be quite hammered at the moment.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/03/2015 at 07:54pm

Just watched this and came to see if you guys were knee deep in collective drool. I'm glad they appear to be going the more-of-the-same, but-better route. Can't wait for this one!

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/04/2015 at 04:25am

I don't mean to stomp on anyones fun train but after watching this I was interested, but wasn't excited. All the trailer showed, in my view, was what we've seen before. I mean the world is much brighter and full of color but you have a vault dweller and Dog same as in the previous game. They used the same "war never changes" quote and same old timey music. I know this is all Fallout-esque and such but, again, based on what I saw I wasn't excited.

That said, depending on what comes out about the game at the E3 press conference it might look different, but right now it just looks like a game i've already played.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/04/2015 at 01:57pm

What I was particularly excited about was the flashbacks to the moments before nuclear fallout, causing me to think that this is going to be a prequel of sorts, much in the same way Bioshock Infinite was to it's series. I wouldn't be surprised if we actually get to play in a pre-apocalypse environment at some point in Fallout 4. Also, the colors. Colors in a Fallout game always excite me :D.

I think part of it too, is just the excitement of being in another environment that Bethesda has created, and that we'll be able to do that relatively soon. I've seen people on other forums talk about how the trailer doesn't look that impressive, that the graphics look dated. Which is fine, if that's your takeaway. Part of my excitement comes just as much from what I'm personally bringing to the trailer viewing: the excitement of another Fallout game, the "built with tweaked Skyrim engine" and the feelings that statement conjures from years drooling over Skyrim, the idea of playing all of this on my couch through my PS4... It's like a mini Christmas :).

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/04/2015 at 03:34pm

I've never played a Fallout game. They've always looked interesting, but I've just never picked one up and played it. This game looks amazing, and thankfully doesn't have any "seen it" quality to me, so I hope to play it at some point :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/04/2015 at 05:43pm

Well, people in vault suits, dogs, and Ron Perlman saying "War never changes" have been in every Fallout game since Fallout 1 back in 97. It's like every Mario trailer has goombas, mushrooms, and the princess. BUT I see your point. This trailer really only showed off the environment and the new engine, both of which look spectacular. And really I can't imagine them giving too much plot away in the trailers, so the only thing left is real gameplay, which I hope we see a lot of at E3. Still, the environment is all I needed to see. If it was literally only a silent flyover of the new environment I'd be just as excited as I am now. The presentation with the pre-war scenes and music from the Ink Spots was just icing on the cake. Really, New Vegas was just Fallout 3 in a different setting. Identical engine, a few tweaks, but as far as "looking like a game I've already played," it certainly did, and I may have enjoyed it even more than 3. I certainly don't want them to deviate too far from what Fallout is, and this basically said "It's Fallout with nicer graphics in a new place," and that's all I needed to hear :)

From what I've heard rumored that seems to be panning out, this will be taking place very shortly after Fallout 3. I do hope the flashback scenes weren't just for the trailer, and we get to see the pre-war era in game.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/04/2015 at 11:48pm

I understand your perspective, Jon, you've made great points, but I think I feel excited, like Travis.

I found some other related news articles...

Screenshots: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/check-out-fallout-4-1080p-screenshots-from-the-deb/1100-6427822/

Fallout 3 and New Vegas begin to sell more after Fallout 4 trailer debut: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-announcement-helps-fallout-3-sales-rise-/1100-6427805/

2015 expected release date: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-release-date-expected-to-land-in-2015/1100-6427803/

Pre-order Fallout 4 for $46: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-fallout-4-pc-for-46-via-preorder/1100-6427795/

Announcement: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-officially-confirmed-for-pc-xbox-one-ps4/1100-6427776/

jaelte wrote on 06/05/2015 at 12:21am

So I may or may not have pre-ordered it already. I just couldn't help myself. It may look like a couple games I've already played, but I've really enjoyed those games so far, so I'm happy for the new graphics, setting, and vocal protagonist.

Plus I really want to snipe Super Mutants from on top of the Green Monster.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/05/2015 at 03:31am

Interestingly, someone claiming to be a former Bethesda employee "spoiled" some info about Fallout 4 last year, and was downvoted heavily, but this trailer is proving some things. It's still unclear if it was just a lucky guess, but if it was accurate, it seems that there's going to be a single protagonist (with minimal character customization) that actually has voiced dialogue. The game will be more story-driven that previous Fallouts, again, if the information is accurate. And interestingly, Fallout 4 will be released next year, a year after the main release, on PS3 and 360, with the ability to import save files to potentially affect the game in Fallout 4. That isn't unprecedented but it's the one claim that makes me wonder if this was all just lucky guesses. You decide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/28v2dn/i_played_fallout_4/

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/05/2015 at 03:32am

And a retort, with the trailer in mind: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/38jawo/as_the_now_infamous_utulzei_or_uholycrapthatsfake/

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/06/2015 at 06:12am

Holy shit, this is some intense analysis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ModI6ruq73Q

They pretty much have the main parts of the map figured out, and based on Bethesda's attention to the detail of the DC area in Fallout 3, they're probably right.

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Heroes of The Storm Drops Today - Johanna Character Revealed

Blizzards Heroes of the Storm finally launched today. During the launch party live stream they talked about the new Crusader hero that will soon be added to the game. Johanna looks like a pretty beefy powerhouse that melee characters should enjoy playing.

Blizzard also is giving away a free in game Mechanospider mount for free if you play a Facebook game. I did it and it's not too bad but is currently experiencing some issues with a zillion people trying to play it.

https://teambuilder.heroesofthestorm.com/

If you are interested in checking out the Heroes of the Storm launch event archived feed.

... Read All

Nintendo Rumor Mill - Next Hardware Will Run Android OS

We usually don't speculate endlessly about rumors, but occasionally some surface that seem interesting. From the NeoGAF post:

"The interesting part is that the article starts by discussing Nintendo's next platform - the one Iwata codenamed NX. They have an insider source who claims that the OS for the platform will be Android based, and that it is a paradigm shift for Nintendo business-wise. The source goes on to say that when third parties abandoned Nintendo's WiiU one by one, it caused turning point in the company. So while they have had a philosophy of developing their own software and hardware concepts internally for all these years, they are now prepared to... Read All

It's A Tim Schafer Adventure Game!

Jack and Rich review the latest Tim Schafer Adventure Game Broken Age and conclude that it is indeed a Tim Schafer Adventure Game. Rich seemed to have enjoyed while he points out that Jack may not be a fan of the Adventure Game genre. Jack also brings up something I thought was really interesting in that people may have jumped aboard the Double Find Adventure Kickstarter hype train and may not have had a good understanding of what an Adventure Game really is.

WildStar MMO Going Free To Play in Fall

It seems the way of the average MMO. Launch to acclaim and player applause and over time the audience changes. The MMO market is really competitive and each game that comes out is inevitably compared to the still reigning champion, World of Warcraft. As the MMO continues through it's lifecycle most adopt a free to play model and WildStar is the latest MMO that will launch free to play in the fall.

A few details from the WildStar F2P FAQ:

"“Free-to-Play” means that anyone can download the game and play without spending any money to buy WildStar or committing to a required subscription fee.

Is the game really free?

Players can acquire the game, create an account, login and... Read All

Why Can't We Get The Mario Theme Out Of Our Heads?

In this latest Game/Show video Jamin asks why Mario's theme is so gosh darn catchy. He discussed the limitations of the early NES and modern music and what properties are more ear pleasing that others.

Mario's theme is catchy but nothing brings me back to a nostalgic adventure trip like hearing the music from NES Zelda.

"The Mario theme song is HARDWIRED into our brains. It's SO CATCHY! You absentmindedly hum the first six notes in your head when you’re doing laundry, or even find yourself hearing echoes of it in the modern music of today. What was it about your experience with games like Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Tetris that made their music so memorable? The... Read All

Get your WARBAND on!

This game is fun. I've played 144 hours of it! You start the game by answering questions about your background which influences how and where you start the game. You can do little quests for people so you get a little starting cash and start adding in the lowest rank soldiers from small towns (for free). Then you do some fighting and level up and level your hired band up to higher classes. You have skills to level up and equipment to upgrade. There's also hero type units that you can obtain and they gain levels just like you do and you get to control their equipment and skills.

Then there's politics kinda...there's different nations at war and you can help the rulers... Read All