Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Battle.net Launcher Drops for Mac & Windows

Blizzard just opened up its new Battle.net client into open beta for anyone to test. I tried it out on my Mac and found the download and install to be a very simple process. The Battle.net client has a slick layout and is fantastic to use. I hope over time they keep the simplicity of it all.

"The new single sign-on functionality allows players to log in once to access World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, and the upcoming PC and Mac versions of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and stay logged in for up to 30 days.

Players can also install games directly through the app and, if you choose to leave the app running on your desktop, keep them up-to-date automatically... Read All

The Humble Origin Bundle

Now this one is interesting and somewhat unexpected.

Pay under $5 (as of this writing) and get:

* Dead Space 1 and 3 (2 will probably be unlocked later)
* Burnout Paradise
* Crysis 2
* Mirror's Edge
* Medal of Honor
* Battlefield 3
* Sims 3

All of these games unlock on Origin, but the games that are available on Steam will also be redeemable there.

Another important piece of info to point out: EA gets none of the money. So if you want to play these games but don't like supporting EA, here's your chance.

What do you think about this one?

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/14/2013 at 07:53pm

Darn! You beat me to the punch on this one. I was just coming to post about it. :P

I dunno about this one. On the one hand those are some very high profile games being sold on the cheap and EA gets none of the profit. On the other hand, some of the games require you to install Origin, which for me is a deal breaker. :\

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/14/2013 at 08:55pm

I have Origin, it's not that bad. I gather it started off pretty rough, but it works as you'd expect now.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/14/2013 at 09:49pm

That's good to know the kinks have been ironed out. Still, I already have Steam, GoG, and PSN accounts for my digital download needs, so I think I'll still pass. That's awesome that EA is giving all of their share to charity though. EA also recently abandoned the on-line pass thing they were doing with console games. Maybe EA is trying to turn the company around to be a little more consumer friendly?

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/15/2013 at 12:04am

Not interested in installing Origin right now, perhaps that may change over time? News that the Sims 3 works on Mac is compelling... I don't know, I might do it.

That said, the amount of games this supports on Steam may well be worth the price of admission alone and EA's cut is entirely going to charity.

I am going to say that I think this is a good thing EA is doing. Putting games in a Humble Bundle and giving your cut to charity is a good thing. Now some could argue a saucy motivation, but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt, giving all your revenue for something to charity is nice.

They get a ton of new Origin customers and build back some goodwill, but what's wrong with that? No one need buy it or do anything so I can't see the downside here.

BR Supporter wrote on 08/15/2013 at 01:23am

I will most likely get this just because of the dead space games. The only one I have played is the second and it was really fun.

Tungsten wrote on 08/15/2013 at 04:01am

I've been looking to go back through Mirror's Edge. Steam's downloading it right now :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/15/2013 at 05:23am

They just hit the 2.3 million mark in the first day. Zoiks!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 08/15/2013 at 03:06pm

This is really interesting. You could look at it and give EA the benefit of the doubt as a rare move in benevolence on their part. You could also see that most of these titles are older, and have several DLC packages, which could bring in quite a bit of revenue. At last look, the number of bundles sold was just over 79,000. If only half of those people bought only 1 expansion at $15, then EA will have made almost $600,000. Granted, that's not much money for such a large company, but it's a decent pull for throwing out a few bread crumbs. Merely an observation, and not to take away from the charity that's going on, which is currently over $3.7 million! At least some good is happening here, even if the Empire is at the helm ;).

hardeyez wrote on 08/22/2013 at 08:55pm

They just added 2 games to it: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising and the original Populous.

Also, there are now steam keys for most of the games also.

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Fez Is A Magical World Of Exploration

After news that Phil Fish decided to halt Fez 2 development, in a fit of angsty sorrow, I decided to play Fez for the first time. From the intro screen to the first swaths of gameplay and score, Fez is magic. So magical that if video games can be art, Fez pushes that discussion forward. How much higher praise can a game get than it gave me genuine feelings of joy and exploration?

I am not sure what I can say more about a game that was featured in Indie Game: The Movie as well as reviewed and Let's Played as much as Fez. The rotating camera gameplay coupled with gorgeous retro graphics are a delight. Each new area offers new rich visuals and the unique gameplay Phil... Read All

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/14/2013 at 03:16pm

I picked this up recently after having seen Indie Game: The Movie. It's one of the few games I keep Windows installed (although the settings hint at a Humble version soon). I have only just begun playing but in the first ten minutes alone, the game brought several spontaneous smiles to this cranky gamer's face.

Fez is another of those games where screenshots fail to accurately capture the magic occurring onscreen. They fail to capture the depth that is revealed when transitioning between 2D planes. Nor do they show off the amazing level design when platforms that seemed so far away take on new form when shifted 90 degrees.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/15/2013 at 12:00am

Yeah, great point. Occasionally i'll just spin the world to get the depth of things and how it all works together. The lighting of Fez is also really good and I think its usage of shadows in later levels is something I haven't really experience much of, even in triple A shooters.

gmlawton wrote on 08/25/2013 at 01:35am

The fake glitches at the beginning and end blew my mind. Fez really is something special. The meta-puzzles are way over my head, but to me that just adds to the feeling that something really big is going on in the world.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2013 at 06:47am

Agreed. I came to the part with the obelisk that repeats back your controls and wrote those down. Took me forever to realize you have to do the codes from look at them from the right.

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Wolfenstein: The New Order QuakeCon Interview

Jens Matthies of Machinegames gave a pretty interesting interview at QuakeCon about the upcoming Wolfenstein: The New Order. The video showcases some of the stuff we can expect from the game. Some of the video footage shows off BJ scaling a wall to the top of a building one hand on a rope while the other is spent killin' Nazis. As BJ scales the building a plane epically crashes into it and since nothing seems to stop him, he just keeps climbing.

The video also shows off a cool new stealth takedown mechanic new to Wolfenstein. Wolfenstein: The New Order will allow both a run and gun and stealth style of gameplay.

The difficulty modes in The New Order will mirror those in... Read All

Video Game History: Space Invaders

"In 1977 the video game market was flooded with clones of the game 'Pong.' 'Pong' released in 1972 had been such a huge hit that many other game companies had tried to produce there own versions of the game."

To celebrate today's retro Tuesday I decided to share a video about the history of Space Invaders. Space Invaders is a classic game I mostly played on the Atari 2600. It was re-imagined by the people that made it in 2006 as Space Raiders which was a pretty fun take on the formula.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Raiders_(video_game)

NPR Tiny Desk Concert Featuring Jim Guthrie

"Guthrie and his band drove 18 hours round-trip from Ontario just to perform three songs behind the desk of NPR Music's Bob Boilen. Watch them perform some of the wistful and infectious highlights from Guthrie's new album, Takes Time."

Its a great 3 song set featuring "A Difference a Day Makes," "Before and After" & "Like a Lake."

Jim Guthrie is the composer behind the music of Sword & Sworcery, Indie Game: The Movie and the upcoming game Below. He also recently released his entire catalog on the Humble Weekly sale and his new album "Takes Time" was part of that.

http://www.npr.org/event/music/210523884/jim-guthrie-tiny-desk-concert

CG Roundtable Ep 2. The Internet Hate Factory

With the recent news of Phil Fish closing down development of Fez 2 and quitting gaming we focus our Roundtable on "The Internet Hate Factory." Is it ok for people to actively act against others online or should cooler heads prevail? Do people need to develop a thicker skin or should be all be more nice?

We discuss that and the games we are playing as well as a few fun bits, like Travis building an Internet Hate Site focused directly at me, jdodson.

show notes:

Phil Fish closes down Fez 2 Development:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1498

Phil Fish and Jonathan Blow talk about Japanese Video Games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD9P2uyx6fQ

Jon Carmack Responds to a... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2013 at 03:57am

Coming soon: jondodsonisapoopyhead.tumblr.com

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/12/2013 at 04:06am

Damn you Travis!!!!

*Shakes Fist*

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 07:43am

Wow, Travis, you mentioned Duke Nukem Forever! I agree with you, it's not all that great. I did play through it, but it didn't appeal to me as greatly as Duke Nukem 3D did. I've thought about trading in Forever, but I know I won't get much back on it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 07:55am

LOLing @ Travis!!!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 07:58am

Thanks, guys for quoting Will Wheaton. If only the rest of the Internet could follow that one simple piece of advice.

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New Starbound Biome Demo Video

Very pretty biome showcase video. Can't wait for this to drop.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/12/2013 at 12:35am

I love the constant updates from Chucklefish, but it's so torturous.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/12/2013 at 04:07am

Right, I agree. That said, looks like the game is coming along nicely!

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 08/13/2013 at 02:57am

I figured you posted about this so I dropped by to comment. Even though it was meant as a showcase it was almost a full trailer. It doesn't really show much of the gameplay, but somehow it really captured me with the atmosphere. Which I think is in great part to the amazing soundtrack song Atlas. Yesterdays update was probably the best one ever posted. Seeing and hearing how a game comes together over time is a special treat to those who enjoy what goes into making them.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/13/2013 at 05:10pm

I agree, I really enjoy watching the game progress too. I really hope the end product feels and plays as well as it looks! I think the music does work well with the visuals to build a world I want to exist in.

Can't say this enough but hoping for a beta as soon as the game is ready :D

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Duke Nukem Forever: Is it really that bad?

I've been doing a bit of an experiment over the past week, playing games that have been pretty severely panned to see if I can find the positives. So is Duke Nukem Forever as bad as everyone says it is?

It's not great. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad game, though. It's a good game that got bogged down over 12 years of development, ideas that nobody seemed to want to cut, a switch in development teams, and a change in the climate of games.

Really, it's the most disappointing kind of game. All the elements are there, the mechanics are good, the level design is at least acceptable, nothing is broken, but it's just kinda boring.

The game starts you off fighting the... Read All I've been doing a bit of an experiment over the past week, playing games that have been pretty severely panned to see if I can find the positives. So is Duke Nukem Forever as bad as everyone says it is?

It's not great. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad game, though. It's a good game that got bogged down over 12 years of development, ideas that nobody seemed to want to cut, a switch in development teams, and a change in the climate of games.

Really, it's the most disappointing kind of game. All the elements are there, the mechanics are good, the level design is at least acceptable, nothing is broken, but it's just kinda boring.

The game starts you off fighting the final boss from DN3D, and while I can remember the adrenaline flowing when I fought that boss years ago, I really felt nothing in Forever-- you just run around in a circle waiting for ammo drops, then shoot the boss while continuing to strafe in a circle. But, it was meant as an intro level, so I can cut it some slack.

What happens afterwards is less slack-cuttable. What little the intro did to build up momentum is totally lost in the boring 30 minutes to follow: It's 12 years later. Duke is a hero, and has a massive tower-mansion where he has shrines to himself all over the place, and two twins to service him (and yes, I mean "service" in that way). As expected, the aliens show up again. So what does Duke do? Heads to a talk show appearance. Signs an autograph. Punches an asshole stage manager. Has a conference call with the president and a general where he's instructed not to fight. Only then does the fighting actually start.

The shooting mechanics are good enough, even the driving mechanics are serviceable, but the pacing never seems to get back on track and never begs you to keep playing. The graphics are decent enough, but were definitely showing their age by the time the game was released. The voice acting is good, or I guess as good as it can be when you're dealing with this script. There's some humor to be found, but most of it is just juvenile.

Maybe it's because I was in high school, and I'm blinded by the nostalgia, but even playing DN3D now, the humor and crass jokes seemed to be handled better. In Forever, it seems that 3D Realms was trying to make a more offensive parody of the Duke that was. "Let's take Duke Nukem 3D and make everything more over-the-top!" Maybe I've just grown up, and can see things more realistically now, but this game is seriously trying too hard.

Serious Sam has taken over in Duke's years off to be the over-the-top action hero who protects the Earth from aliens while dropping one-liners. Sam has grown with the times and fares better than Duke. Sam takes cues from Duke, for sure, but has shown that one-liners don't have to be dick and fart jokes, women don't have to be objects, and action heroes don't have to be jackasses. Serious Sam has improved on the formula that Duke Nukem started. Duke Nukem Forever just can't seem to move on.

And that's basically the problem. Duke Nukem Forever is Al Bundy. A shoe salesman who can't move past his glory days as a high school football star. You'll get some enjoyment in listening to Duke Nukem Forever tell stories of the glory days, but it's a better use of your money to find a game living in the moment.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/11/2013 at 09:04pm

I actually wondered about this one myself. I think there is a line between a wink and a nudge camp and just being terrible. Seems like this game is on the mostly terrible line.

If this game were like $5 or $.99 would you recommend it?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/11/2013 at 09:28pm

I think I'll keep playing it, maybe. Eventually. It may be worth $5, I think that's how much I paid. $.99 absolutely.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/14/2013 at 03:58pm

Let me know if you complete it to the end. I would like to build a shrine to those strong enough to play bad games to the end. Well, for those that KNOWINGLY play bad games to the end.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/15/2013 at 12:01am

I'd build a shrine to Travis. Travis, send me a picture of your head I think thats the first step to that.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/16/2013 at 08:15pm

Snag it from the Hangout On Air. :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/16/2013 at 09:25pm

HAHAHA yeah, good idea.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/25/2014 at 08:57am

I played through the game, it's been maybe a couple of years so maybe that's why I can't quite remember why I didn't like the game as much as I thought I would. I do remember that for a while, I didn't play the game unless I was drunk. Hahahaha. Maybe the game just seemed too over the top, too offensive or in bad taste to me. DN3D was awesome and I really loved it. I can't say the same about Forever. I was a bit disappointed with it and have only played through it once and I'm not sure I'll do so again.

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The Firehose: Wolfenstein, BioShock, Fez 2 & More

Wolfenstein The New Order has been delayed till 2014. A few reasons they cite are porting it to the PS4 and XBox One and making sure everything is well polished.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/01/wolfenstein-the-new-order-delayed-until-2014/

BioShock Infinite sales pass 4 million. The name was seemingly revenue prophetic.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/30/bioshock-infinite-sales-pass-4-million/

Cliff Bleszinski, game designer extrodonaire recently posted on his blog to Phil Fish about cancelling Fez 2. Good to see rational arguments surface in this debate.

http://dudehugespeaks.tumblr.com/post/56805389679/dynamite-fishing-an-open-letter-to-phil-fish

PixelJunk Monsters... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 08/11/2013 at 02:36am

I love that post from Cliffy B. He really hits the nail on the head.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/11/2013 at 09:05pm

Yep, he does. I even agree with him about the media part, really no one owes anyone anything. I mean, yeah id love all access to everyone but that's just not how it should work.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/14/2013 at 03:39pm

Cliff's letter to Phil was a most amazing thing to read. Cliff Bleszinski is a true legend, a journeyman and extremely outspoken.

When I first read that Cliffy B had left the industry, I experienced a moment of bittersweet elation. Talented, creative geniuses like that don't do well when in corporate environments where profit is king, perception is reality and the game is just marketable product. It was much like hearing the news that Oddworld Inhabitants was closing shop and there would be no end to the Quintology right after the release of Stranger's Wrath.

Cliff's right that the designers and developers of games don't owe us anything but a quality game built with a love for the game and the gamers that will play it.

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