Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Entire Reaper of Souls Collectors Edition Revealed

Blizzard revealed the details of the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collectors Edition in its entirety. This is the first Blizzard release where they advertised and took pre-orders for the base game and Digital Deluxe before the Collectors Edition was available. I hope this isn't a signal that Blizzard is backing off making Collectors Editions available because I haven't regretted any of the ones I've got.

The Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collectors Edition comes with Malthael Mouse Pad, Art Book, Soundtrack, Making of Bluray+DVD, Base Game and all the digital specialness of the Digital Deluxe version and will ship on Mac and Windows.

Are you interested in getting Diablo... Read All

Hunger Games - 8 Bit Cinema

I can't really think up anything witty to say about this video. It's pretty fun, and short :)

Cheerful Ghost is Two Years Old Today

Today marks the second anniversary of launching cheerfulghost.com. When I think about two years it seems like it's been a lot longer. It's hard to remember a time when Cheerful Ghost wasn't a big part of my life, but I guess I can only attribute that to the fact that I love doing it so much. During our second year we made some pretty important changes to the site. We made interviews a first class item, added the event system and just six months ago started The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable.

That said, the coolest part about the last two years is playing video games and talking about them with you all. Playing Left 4 Dead, Terraria, Diablo III, Starcraft 2 & FTL with... Read All

Burial at Sea: Episode Two Preview Clip

Irrational just released a new preview clip of BioShock Infinite Burial at Sea Episode Two in all it's spoilerific glory. This will be the last bit of Bioshock Infinite DLC as part of the Season Pass. I wonder if Irrational will take a tip from 2K and release more or if this will be the final bit of Bioshock Infinite story?

Only the Songbird knows for sure.

Does Nintendo Need to Change?

I recently watched an interesting video by Crossroads Reviews where a charge was made that Nintendo needs to change. Nintendo has been in the news recently for the Wii U failing to attract market share and many have opined that Nintendo needs to adapt or it will die. While I don't hold that Nintendo is in that much trouble, they don't seem to be making choices that keep with the current gaming zeitgeist. Then again, Nintendo seems to dominate the handheld space.

What do you think, is Nintendo in need of some serious change? Do you think they can make the Wii U a success with gamers?

http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/is-nintendo-doomed/

Travis Admin wrote on 01/28/2014 at 06:02pm

What I want, that I don't think will happen any time soon, is for Nintendo to get out of the home console business. I want to play Super Mario Galaxy Next on Steam, or Mario Kart Next on my PS3.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/28/2014 at 06:23pm

I think they will retreat to solely handhelds before they do that. Still, if they can't continue in the console arena they might do that. I'd love to see all the Nintendo games I love coming to Steam. A Steam sale with the original Zelda on sale?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/29/2014 at 01:38am

It's news some of us Nintendo freaks don't want to acknowledge, but I agree with his ideas. Having compatibility with the DS would possibly help Nintendo. As he mentioned this has been done before, but I was remembering other times such as when the you could hook up your Gameboy Advance to your Gamecube. Maybe the new tablet kind of replaces that, but it would seem to make sense if the WiiU and DS were working together, still.

OUt of this new generation of consoles, the only one I'm nearly ready for is the Wii U, I have more reason to get one of those than a PS4 and I really don't want an XBox. I like the recent trailer I saw that featured an new Zelda game for the Wii U, which would help, I'd think that would be a good reason to get one. Still, Nintendo has more games that I'm interested and aware of than any of those other two consoles. I imagine when the PS4 releases some games I'm interested in (such as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts), I'll want one.

Still, I don't think they're doomed and a price drop does sound like something that would help them, especially now that the new consoles are out. I believe it is still the cheapest of the three and therefore more affordable. Still, more games (for whatever system) would be a big help.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/30/2014 at 02:28am

Looks like Nintendo is going to drop a new Mario Kart game. I'll admit, the one on Wii was awesome.

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/29/mario-kart-8-starts-its-engines-on-wii-u-this-may

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Screenshot of L4D2 running in Source 2 leaked

The Source 2 engine looks to be coming along nicely. This image looks like a legitimate leak, and it is beautiful.

User "crazy buttocks on a train," who is known for the quality of his information leaks, has posted a screenshot of an internal powerpoint presentation containing screenshots of an updated version of the Plantation level. The image embedded above is a comparison, with the new hotness on the top, and the Left 4 Dead 2 we know and love on the bottom.

Thread here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=758999

More info: http://www.valvetime.net/threads/source-2-left-4-dead-2-prototype-screenshots-leaked.244266/

Far Lands or Bust: A Very Ambitious Minecraft Project

The Far Lands is the area of the map formed at the edge of Minecraft prior to 1.8. Basically, the Minecraft planet creation algorithm breaks down going that far out and some very odd things happen to the terrain. If you traveled on foot to the Far Lands from your spawn point it would be about the same distance as about a third of the circumference of the earth at the equator. Many have made it to the Far Lands with hacks and cheats, but one YouTuber, @kurtjmac is doing it on foot one day at a time.

Not only is he making this journey, but he is recording it every step of the way on his YouTube channel and is now up to episode #318(linked above). Recently his "Far Lands... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Crew is now Recruiting GTA Online players!

I've been playing a lot of GTA lately, so I decided it was time to set up an official Cheerful Ghost crew! All players of all skill levels are welcome. So come join our crew and let's run some missions, races, and all other sorts of mayhem all across San Andreas!

Our crew page on the Rock Star Social club site: http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/crew/cheerful_ghosts

Here's how to join:
If you're already signed up for the Rock Star Social club*, you can message me your email address and I can invite you through the site.
You can also send me a friend request through PSN (my PSN handle is Taion333) and I'll invite you to the crew. Just mention Cheerful Ghost somewhere in... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/25/2014 at 06:50pm

That image is a showcase of some mad photoshop skillZ.

So awesome, I love it :D

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 01/25/2014 at 07:19pm

Ha ha ha ha. I wanted to post a picture of my character next to his car with a big Cheerful Ghost emblem, but it turns out that it's actually really expensive to put the emblem on your car in the game. So I decided to do this instead, lol.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/25/2014 at 09:13pm

Oh man, that image. I'm really glad you didn't get a pic of the emblem on your car.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/25/2014 at 09:51pm

OK, here's a dumb question, but does GTA have different servers based on what system you're on? If I have it on Steam, would I be able to join, or is it PSN only?

dynamicInception wrote on 01/25/2014 at 11:32pm

@Adym - There are no dumb questions! GTA Online is only for GTAV at the moment, which is scheduled to come out on PC in March. However, I'm guessing that even after the PC release that the servers will still be different for each system.

dynamicInception wrote on 01/25/2014 at 11:33pm

Invite requested! I have only barely played online so far, but this sounds like an awesome way to get started.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 01/26/2014 at 12:44am

@dynamicInception: And invite accepted! It looks like it takes a little while for the site to acknowledge that I approved your request, but once you show up on the roster I'll promote you to representative. Welcome to the crew!

@Adym: Unfortunately the PSN and Xbox servers are separate. I could be wrong, but I think the crews are kind of cross platform though. I think I can invite Xbox people to the crew, they just won't be able to play with their PSN counter parts. Any GTA Xbox players out there want to help me out by letting me try to recruit them?

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Starcraft 2.1: Free Arcade Mode, Extension Mods and More.

Starcraft 2 will soon launch the 2.1 patch globally and like I mentioned in the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable s2 e1, much of the game is now going free to play. What else is included in this patch? Free arcade, Clans and Groups with scheduled meet ups, Extension Mods(similar to UT mods), League Boundaries, Increased the level cap with new rewards & a remastered score. That's right, they remastered the original Starcraft and Starcraft 2 scores and made them all available while you play the game.

2.1 Information:

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/12346797/starcraft-ii-patch-21-round-up-1-21-2014

How to configure the new Starcraft music:

... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable Season 2 E1: Newest Season Ever!

The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable Season 2 Episode 1 is upon us and as always we bring the video game talk.

Show notes & time-codes so you can skip to what you want to hear.

What we have been playing

1.49m : Grand Theft Auto 5 / Online

4.50m : Assassin's Creed IV / Liberation

5.30m : Elder Scrolls Oblivion

5.50m : GTA Online Cheerful Ghost Online Crew

9.15m : Bioshock Infinite

9.55m : NW Expo Game Event / Gameboy Games / Pokemon

11.50m : Shovel Knight Releases March 31st

13.05m : Starcraft 2 releases more as Free to Play

Valve Showcases New Steam Machines at CES

16:25m : Gabes CES Steam Machine Unveiling

22.25m : Are Steam Machines Going to Flop?

28.46m : Are Walled... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/23/2014 at 05:17pm

First impression: GTAV Online?! Wow! I played it a little, but not very much. I don't think there were enough people around to do most of the online missions. I do like the character I created, I think he kind of looks like me and Squall. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say about that and Oblivion! I played GTA V and Oblivion at about the same time. Well, I played GTA V at night so as to carefully not expose my son to it. Hehe. I should shut up and watch this video. =)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/23/2014 at 05:20pm

Tim! It's good to know you're WhiteboySlim! *fist bump* For what you said about GTA V and playing while kids are sleeping. Also for the Pokemon mention. Gaming Dads unite!! LOL

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/23/2014 at 05:30pm

Hehehe, I didn't have much trouble creating my GTA Online character and am actually pleased with what I have. My PSN name is GregoPeck, feel free to send me an invite.

Travis, the only issue I had with Oblivion is that one spot there in the south where the terrain narrows and it says, "you cannot go that way." I didn't like having to repair my gear, but once I mastered that skill, it wasn't that much of a pain. I think I agree with a friend who said that Oblivion was harder than Skyrim. I remember how often I died in Oblivion, but then again, once I got to a certain point, things were ok.

Oh, Jon! Thanks for mentioning me! I just heard that while you guys were talking about Pokemon.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/23/2014 at 07:34pm

Couple notes on the episode:
1. We forgot to discuss pricing on Steam machines! One complaint about the Steam Machines is that some of them are priced in the thousands. But there are different machines for different budgets (One as low as $499 if memory serves me correct). So I don't think that'll be a huge problem.
2. Alienware is saying that you actually CAN mod their steam machine, it just wont' be easy. Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-23-alienware-wont-prevent-users-from-modding-steam-machine

@GregoPeck I'll probably be on GTA online tonight after the kids to to bed (around 8pm pst). I'll send you a friend request when I get home and invite you to the Cheerful Ghost crew.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/23/2014 at 07:46pm

As long as I can get to the RAM and the harddisk, I don't think this is a huge problem. Like they mention, if I want a fully upgradable system I can buy a bigger one, which makes sense.

I kind of want a system I can upgrade the RAM and disk on if I want, when it comes time to start swapping out components, i'll just get a new one. That said, I hope it comes with some beefy insides because id rather not upgrade every 2 years.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/23/2014 at 08:36pm

Awesome, Tim! My son's bed time is also 8pm, but he hasn't had school all week due to the weather. I did, however, play the game a little bit while he was around, but I've denied his request to play it. He's 9.

I'm back to continuing to watch the video (I had to run out for an appointment and some grocery shopping).

RedChocobo wrote on 01/23/2014 at 10:55pm

You guys mentioned so many mainstream games this time!
You gotta try Kerbal Space Program and Project Zomboid.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/23/2014 at 11:56pm

I am going to get Kerbal SP at some point for sure, i've heard great things about it and I love the idea.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/24/2014 at 12:10am

Hey, RedChocobo! Awesome name, although I prefer the blue ones. Hehehe. I've heard of Project Zomboid, but only because in one of the random comments Minecraft says when starting up I've seen, "Try Project Zomboid." I've also seen it say, "Try Terraria."

Tim, I noticed that you're on the West coast (lucky!), and I'm on the East. In fact, I believe Jon is, too. Travis and I are here on the East Coast. So, I'll have to take your time into consideration (4 hour difference).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2014 at 12:38am

Yep, I live in Portland.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/24/2014 at 01:10am

I'm envious of you two Westerners! But that's cool, Cheerful Ghost, from coast to coast!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/24/2014 at 02:19am

Totally. We have users from all over.

RedChocobo wrote on 01/24/2014 at 04:21pm

There's a pretty hardcore learning curve for Kerbal Space Program if you don't have a pretty good grip on orbital dynamics. But you can mod it up and it makes things a lot easier if you need it to be.

But that first time you land a ship on the moon it is such a rush.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/24/2014 at 06:09pm

@RedChocobo: I've looked into Kerbal space program and it looks really cool, but maybe a little more complicated than I want in a video game. If it's ever part of a bundle or massively discount I might pick it up though. Project Zomboid, however, looks awesome. I will get that one once it's a little further in development, possibly after they add multiplayer. And yeah, we did end up mentioning a lot of main stream games this time. That's because my new years resolution was to sell out. :P j/k

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