Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Digital Foundry Reviews The GeForce RTX 3090: Spoiler Alert It's Incredible!

NVIDIA's new 30XX RTX series is here (if you can find one to purchase) and they seem to be a very impressive leap in the next step of PC gaming. With any new graphic card improvement it's important to be skeptical of how much more powerful it is over the previous generation and it looks like NVIDIA has stepped up to deliver something quite impressive. Should most people upgrade to the 30XX series? Maybe but it's hard enough finding one and affording it is another story too.

Regardless of availability and price these graphics cards are here and soon enough will drop in price and eventually the tech will be incorporated into lesser powered systems as power requirements... Read All

The Mandalorian Season 2 Comes This Halloween Eve!

I know I'm late to the game in writing about the new Mandalorian Season 2 trailer but let's do it anyway! The Mandalorian was the show that kicked off the launch of the Disney+ streaming service and became a quick Star Wars fan hit. The show was so popular that "Baby Yoda" or The Child spawned numerous memes that are still quite popular. If I had any critique of the first season it was that it felt a bit rushed and some episodes felt a bit "monster of the week" where I would have preferred them to be all threaded to the main narrative. That said, I really enjoyed The Mandalorian and after watching the latest trailer I'm excited for the new season to drop on October... Read All

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/28/2020 at 01:07am

Hey Greg, I tried to keep the post potentially spoiler free and I added a spoiler tag to note there may be potential spoilers in the comments. That said, let's keep the comments potentially spoiler free moving forward if we can.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/28/2020 at 11:29am

(Edited comment, removed previous one made before Jon's)
I saw the trailer shortly after it was released, I think. It's exciting! Thanks for posting the date, I didn't know (or remember) when it was supposed to start. I watched some videos on this were from the YouTube channels called New Rockstars (https://youtu.be/t_bKLFIGJBY) and IGN (https://youtu.be/4iR5_SxE3EY). Their speculations may contain spoilers, so don't watch them if you don't want speculative spoilers.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/28/2020 at 01:01pm

❤️

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/28/2020 at 01:04pm

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/28/2020 at 04:55pm

I read that Season 4 will start to answer questions. So expect more setup for seasons 2 & 3.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/28/2020 at 09:58pm

I read a leaked script for season 2. Besides incorporating a young Snoke character where you see his pre-school years it’s mostly just people asking questions the whole time.

“WHY IS THE RAZOR CREST BLUE?”

“Where did Mandos cape come from?”

“What’s Bossks back story?”

Oddly no one makes any kind of definitive statements about anything. That said it does open up ground for 20 new Disney+ shows so that’s something. I think one was titled “Investigation: Star Wars.”

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/29/2020 at 05:02am

It's blue, because that's the best color, of course! Though, I admit that black or purple would look pretty cool. What if it was fair and shifted between all the primary colors? That would be awesome! But, to keep it simple and to stay on budget, they selected the best and that, of course, is blue! LOL Hm, actually I think it's gray/silver, at least that's what the Lego model's color is. Though I did see a sexy blue pic of it on Deviant Art of it going through Hyperspace. It's still not as sexy as an X-Wing, but it is what it is.

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Hasbro Gloriously Resurrects Hero Quest!

Hero Quest is an epic adventure board game many geeks played in the late 80's that was published by Milton Bradley. As such it was widely available until it wasn't and then was only available to play if your friend still had it or you could find it used. I've been on the lookout for Hero Quest each time I enter a thrift store but have never yet found a copy. You can find the old Hero Quest used on Ebay or Amazon in upwards of $400 and always felt that was a bit too much. It seems all of that searching has come to an end because Hasboro Pulse has just released a crowdfunding campaign for Hero Quest that looks to bring back the original game and each expansion with a... Read All

iD Adds Rekkr To The Official Doom & Doom II Ports!

When iD Software added download addon/mod support in the Doom & Doom II official ports they included some historically incredible mods available for free. They said over time they'd add more community mods and since the community has made some absolutely incredible stuff it seems like a nearly limitless prospect. Today iD added it's first total conversion Mega Wad called Rekkr that legit turns Doom into an incredible Hexen inspired Sword & Wizardry FPS straight outta the 90's.

"A total conversion of DOOM (1993), REKKR takes on a Norse-inspired setting casting you as a mighty warrior who, after narrowly surviving a shipwrecked expedition, encounters a terrible... Read All

Microsoft Has Purchased Zenimax Media, and Now Owns Bethesda, id, MachineGames, and More

In what may be the biggest gaming deal ever, Microsoft has purchased Zenimax for $7.5 Billion. That's almost twice what Disney paid for Star Wars, just to put that in perspective.

This means they now own Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

This gives Microsoft a huge swath of exclusives going forward. While they've said they're excited to bring these games to Xbox and PC, they haven't specifically said that new games from these studios won't come to PS5, but it's very doubtful they'd pay $7.5 billion and keep making games for their competitors. While... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 03:56pm

https://i.imgur.com/3IaBXRa.gif

Thoughts:

* Everyone with Game Pass should be elated by this news. So much more value here.

* Microsoft still could release games in a standard way on Playstation and if they kept Beth games to Game Pass streaming/sub exclusively that might be worth this deal entirely. This seems like a Game Pass play to me but I could be wrong.

* If Bethesda _NEEDED_ to be purchased, and I'm not sure it did, I'd prefer Microsoft due to it's focus on PC games and Steam lately. At some point new Beth games might be exclusives but at least they will come out on PC? I'm not sure how exclusive they will be given what Microsoft has done with Mojang as an example.

* Microsoft bought Beth for 7.5 billion in cash. Just you know, had it in the couch cushions. Dear Euclid that's some couch!

Questions:

* Does this mean John Carmack might be allowed to engage with iD Software again? I certainly hope so, he needs to be around in some form to talk about the classics.

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832

* Will Microsoft focus on existing games IP or have Beth push for some new stuff? I love Beth but one note is they haven't dropped a ton of new IP lately and I think that might be good while they keep the hit train rolling.

* What's going to happen to the Beth.net launcher in the mid/long term? Will all our purchases transfer to the Microsoft store or something? I think Mojang still has it's launcher but didn't we all get Minecraft on the Microsoft store?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 03:58pm

Prediction: Microsoft will purchase Epic Games in one year or less.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:00pm

"Does this mean John Carmack might be allowed to engage with iD Software again?"

Isn't Carmack owned by Facebook?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:00pm

(In)sane wish: Microsoft focuses iD Software and releases a Doom II.5 that is a follow up to Doom II in the old engine with some new modifications releasing an entirely new 3 chapter game Mega WAD.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:02pm

> Isn't Carmack owned by Facebook?

Employed, yes. With that, he had a beef(suit) with Beth/Zenmax over VR. It's caused a rift and hasn't allowed him to be involved with classic iD games such as the recent Quake soundtrack re-release.

https://kotaku.com/quake-soundtrack-features-shenanigans-between-bethesda-1845084718

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:14pm

Another question for folks WITH Game Pass. Will you buy Beth games moving forward now that they are coming date and day to Game Pass?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:24pm

"Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis.""

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308062702905044993

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:36pm

https://twitter.com/Obsidian/status/1308044609604341763

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 06:08pm

I have Game Pass and I love Game Pass, and I am not elated. It's going to lead to less choice for the player which I'm never happy about.

I'm not sure I'll always keep a game pass subscription going. I may just renew it once in a while to play some games then let it lapse. So I imagine I'll buy new games I'm really into, especially since Bethesda games are not short.

And as I'm sure Will will agree-- physical is always better.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:16pm

I'll get Game Pass when my physical backlog is 0

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:38pm

WRT Carmack: "I think Microsoft has been a good parent company for gaming IPs, and they don’t have a grudge against me, so maybe I will be able to re engage with some of my old titles."

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:38pm

> I'll get Game Pass when my physical backlog is 0

Hahahaha, so as soon as I get Game Pass then. 🤣

> I have Game Pass and I love Game Pass, and I am not elated. It's going to lead to less choice for the player which I'm never happy about.

That's a great point Travis, I suppose I was thinking about a particular user. So there is that $25 a month Series S that comes with Game Pass for two years and this news seems like great news for them.

My hope is that physical games go strong well into the era of services like Game Pass and game streaming. I mean, I own Doom 64 digitally on Switch and I'm still gonna get it from Limited Run this Thursday! ❤

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:40pm

Some have also said this is bad news for Sony and I suppose in the long term it could however I think this is abysmal news for Stadia. Why would Microsoft license anything to Stadia at all moving forward? The more companies like Sony and Microsoft buy up studios is horrible news for upstart game streamers. Odd to say Stadia is an upstart, but it is as it is relatively new and doesn't own any game IP I'm aware of.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 09:00pm

I haven't heard a ton of great stuff out of Stadia. And with Game Pass (especially the 25 a month series S financing with Game Pass) there's not a ton of reason to pay for the 4k Stadia. Game Pass is closer to a Netflix for Gaming than Stadia, and with Stadia you never own anything really and are dependent on a constant internet connection.

So in short yeah I agree.

Thinking more about how it affects me personally, none. Except perhaps that Zenimax under Microsoft will be run a bit more... eh... nicely? I love Bethesda's games but the corporate side of things has gotten some reasonable criticism. MS could be better or worse here and I wouldn't be surprised with either.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 11:20pm

In an unrelated yet related thought. I’ve been hearing rumbles of a 4K Switch, which is welcomed news. That said I hope Nintendo always has a physical card option in each of its consoles. Physical Switch ownership on that platform is incredible and could be one way to differentiate as Sony & Microsoft move to a digital only world.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/23/2020 at 09:24am

I read that MS CEO said they plan on leaving Zen/Beth alone. There are a couple articles on www.gamefaqs.com if you want to look (it's where I get my daily gaming news and vote in the poll).

As for the 4K Switch, I seem to recall reading or hearing about the possibility of a new Switch model coming out some time, though I'm not sure of the source. Honestly, the Switch is the only console I care about. Though keep in mind I'm not considering PC to be a "console," because it's not functionally exclusive to gaming and video streaming, etc.

So, I'm pretty much strictly a PC/Steam player and I don't really have much of a reaction to this news (MS & Zen), because I don't believe it's going to affect me, at least not very much or in a negative way. Here's hoping that MS provides Zen/Beth w/ a decent Quality Assurance team! I know MS is a software giant, but I've always viewed MS favorably. I loved every new version of Windows as I saw it improve over the years and I'm pretty happy w/ Win10.

Oh, I don't think MS did much to Mojang/Minecraft. You can get the Win10 version of Minecraft, which is the same as the current console versions, but you can also get the Java edition. There are significant differences such as performance and the fact that Java is the one for mods. Yes, there is still a Mojang launcher, though mine only has Minecraft (Java) and Minecraft Dungeons (which I think I pre-ordered via the MS Store).

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It's Hard To Say Goodbye - Nintendo Discontinues The 3DS

In an unsurprising move Nintendo seems to be silently discontinuing the 3DS. This makes a lot of sense as the 3DS isn't selling as much as it once was and Nintendo can now focus entirely on Switch and other new hardware production such as the new Game and Watch. Nintendo has historically been at the top of mobile gaming starting with the original Gameboy and continued that dominance with the DS, 3DS and Switch. I picked up the 3DS late in it's life-cycle and was able to get a lot of incredible DS games and 3DS games as Nintendo started focusing more on the Switch. In fact, if you wanted to start collecting for the DS and 3DS now is a great time as many stores will... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/20/2020 at 02:18am

I saw this days ago and am still confused as to whether this only pertains to the 3DS models or if it also includes the 2DS models. I can understand getting rid of the former, I didn't get much from the 3D aspects of featured games. It kind of doesn't make sense that they'd get rid of the latter though, at least that's what I think. However, they could have decided to replace the DS w/ the Switch. I think I've owned every version of the 3DS, including the 2DS XL. It's kind of sad to see it go away and yet again a bit more so if they're discontinuing the DS entirely (I've owned many versions of the DS). The DS is an evolution of the original Gameboy, which I had when I was much younger.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/20/2020 at 11:44am

I think it’s the whole lineup but I’m not certain of that. The thought and still think the 3D effect is really neat. Played a lot of games that way and really liked it. If a future Switch gets a webcam I hope they add it back, that would be really neat.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/20/2020 at 06:42pm

The 3D was the best. It worked best on the New 3DS.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/20/2020 at 06:55pm

The New 3DS was all I’ve ever had so maybe I was somewhat spoiled in that way?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 01:18am

I'm thinking that if they were discontinuing the DS family, they would have said DS instead of 3DS. I don't know though, I'm still confused.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 02:27pm

DS is the old generation, which also included the DS Lite and the DSi. The 3DS generation includes the 2DS, and the New 3DS and new 2DS.

Nintendo and their names, amirite?

Travis Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 02:30pm

Also Greg the article in Jon's post specifies the 2DS.

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/9/17/21441096/nintendo-3ds-production-discontinued-total-sales

The listings for all 3DS/2DS models show as out of production.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 03:37pm

Right, thanks for clearing that up. Maybe I just don't want to believe it LOL.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:03pm

Yeah, it's sad. Wit h that they haven't made any new 3DS games and it hasn't got a lot of 3rd party games either. Seems like a good time to say goodbye.

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Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 82: High Score Review (first half)

In this episode we're dusting off our favorite old consoles as we take a trip back to the early days of gaming, in our review of Netflix's new documentary series, High Score. For this review, we covered the first 4 episodes.

Go Deep In Historic Doom Mapping With The Dean of Doom

A week ago I discovered YouTuber MtPain27 who has recently published a new YouTube series of videos that looks back at classic Doom megawads and reviews them on some fun criteria. Most YouTubers focus on Doom or Doom II and the main wads and there hasn't been someone that has gone deep on the community megawads.

MtPain started things out reviewing The Plutonia Experiment and recently TNT Evilution which are the two megawads featured in the Final Doom release by iD Software created by community wad teams. On a fun side note if you want to play these they are available as free downloads in the recent Doom Unity remasters.

So far MtPain has reviewed the original 1993 3... Read All

Gearbox Digital Showcase at PAX Online 2020

Right now in Oregon the state wildfires are destroying so much forest the air is hazardous and when you look outside it reminds me of the worse scenes from an apocalypse film where we've lost control of our environment. Needless to say it's pretty bleak here so I wanted to share something a bit more upbeat in a recent Gearbox Digital Showcase from PAX Online. As time marches ever onward Gearbox is positioning itself as more of a top tier video game company and is expanding heavily into game publishing and during this Showcase it's on full display.

Some highlights of the Digital Showcase were a table read by the voice talent from the recent Borderlands 3 DLC Psycho... Read All

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Coming in November

Nintendo has just recently announced Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and it's coming in November. This is one more reason why I wish I owned a Switch. Nintendo has acknowledged that they're working on a sequel to Breath of the Wild, but this new game is actually a prequel as it is set 100 years before Breath of the Wild. The original Hyrule Warriors game on the Wii U was probably my most favorite game on the system. I really enjoyed it. Hyrule Warriors is a mix between The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors games. If you haven't played the latter, basically it's an action war game where you control one character battling a whole army. The individuals in that army... Read All