Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

A Dying Wish

Imagine that we lived in a world so technologically advanced that you could be granted your dying wish. Even if it something impossible, you could at least have the memories of your dying wish to take with you to the next life (or whatever comes after death). What would you wish for? Fame? Riches? Glory? What about a trip to the Moon?

To The Moon is a game that does just that from Freebird Games. It's art style is primarily 8-bit with some splash art, which was originally something that turned me off about the game. But boy am I glad I could get past it.

You play as one of 2 Doctors, Niel or Eva. You work for a corporation that can influence people's memories, making... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/25/2013 at 12:16am

I started into this game a while back, but got distracted by something or another (probably hunger, or some pesky social activity...), so I never finished it. Thanks for the reminder! It really does look fascinating.

Sparklepop Post Author wrote on 03/25/2013 at 12:21am

I think more people should play it! =)

CapnCurry Supporter wrote on 03/29/2013 at 04:52pm

I played through this last night - on this recommendation, as a matter of fact. I have to agree - this is worth the price of the download and 4-5 hours of your time.

The story is told with a great degree of artistry and subtlety, and I think it's actually enhanced by being told in game format (as opposed to book or movie format or somesuch). I've been thinking about it pretty much nonstop since I finished it.

If you play - and I highly recommend that you do - try to set yourself up in a distraction-free environment and play through it like it's 2 movies you want to watch back-to-back. 5 hours is a long time in front of a PC, to be sure, but I feel like if I broke it out over a few days I'd have missed some of the subtle beauties of the story.

Sparklepop Post Author wrote on 03/30/2013 at 06:23am

Yes! This is the type of game you want to play in a single play through, if you have the time. And I'm glad you liked it as much as I did, CapnCurry!

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Would You Kindly?

Who doesn't remember their first time delving into the world that are the Bioshock games?

When the first Bioshock came out, I wasn't much of a gamer. I played World of Warcraft on a casual basis and that was about it. I was going through a rough time in my life, at this point (I'll save you the sob story because really, who wants to read that?!). And video games were my way escaping.

I'd always had a love for things that were a little on the darker side. Movies and books, mostly. And then imagine my suprise when my roommate comes busting into my room at one in the morning, holding up a copy of Bioshock. "You gotta play this." was all he said before throwing it at me... Read All Who doesn't remember their first time delving into the world that are the Bioshock games?

When the first Bioshock came out, I wasn't much of a gamer. I played World of Warcraft on a casual basis and that was about it. I was going through a rough time in my life, at this point (I'll save you the sob story because really, who wants to read that?!). And video games were my way escaping.

I'd always had a love for things that were a little on the darker side. Movies and books, mostly. And then imagine my suprise when my roommate comes busting into my room at one in the morning, holding up a copy of Bioshock. "You gotta play this." was all he said before throwing it at me and leaving. My roommate had excellent tastes in video games and he knew me well enough to know what I'd enjoy. So, I figured I'd give it a shot (after the fact, I found out he'd only given me the game because he didn't think I'd make it past the first Big Daddy because apparently girls are bad at games...right).

It took me all of about 5 minutes to decide that I loved the game. After watching the opening cinematic of the plane and water on fire, looking like something out of a dream, I was all, "Dude!..!!!" and I made it through almost the entire game before I could even think of sleeping. And the next day, I finished it up. I was completely in awe of the story of Jack and what took place in Rapture. And I couldn't get over how creepy the Little Sisters were (even though I've refused to harvest in any play though which by now, has been several).

This was the first time I was in awe of a video game. I'd never seen that side of a video game, that can be fully emersive and have you wondering what will happen next and never knowing what is waiting around the corner. And from then on, I was hooked. I was a gamer. (And funnily enough, "Would you kindly" has become somewhat of my saying and it will make other Bioshock fans stop in their tracks, every time! It's like a gamer mating call or something).

Bioshock became the first series that I was eagerly await a sequel for. I'd never done that with a video game but from the time I heard of Bioshock 2, I was already over-the-moon excited for it. In my tiny little town, there wasn't much to do and the community of "gamers" was small but the local video game story had a midnight release (another first for me and how amazing that was is an entirely different story!). I couldn't wait to get home to try it out and with a case of Redbulls, I couldn't stop playing. It was all I'd hoped it would be.

And now, some 3 years later, another installment is here! A lot of things have changed since then, including me losing my job that I had for 5 years. Long story short, no midnight release party for me. No chance to wait in line with others that have been waiting on this game for years. And as much as it saddens me that I won't get that experience, it makes me even more sad that I don't know when I'll get the chance to get my hands on what will be such a phenomenal game.

And even if I don't get this game, everyone better enjoy the hell of out it. Don't be afraid to lose yourself in the magic that is Bioshock.

Would you kindly?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 11:35pm

Thanks for entering, you are in the contest but we are going to take the post off the main page!

Thanks again.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/26/2013 at 01:22am

If you ate Chinese food tonight, your fortune cookie would totally say "Good news is coming your way."

http://cheerfulghost.com/Travis/posts/1139

Sparklepop Post Author wrote on 03/26/2013 at 01:33am

...What?!

Nick_Donahoo wrote on 03/26/2013 at 08:02pm

A hearty congrats to you, and a world of gratitude that they had two winners. I fear you may have beaten me in a straight write-off.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/26/2013 at 08:34pm

You were quite close. I won't name names, but one of us was about 2% more in favor of Nick, and one was about 2% in favor of Sparkle. Thus why we decided to flip a coin, but then decided not to let either of you miss out.

Nick_Donahoo wrote on 03/26/2013 at 08:45pm

And for that, I shall be writing in a lot more often, to repay this awesome site for their abundant generosity.

Sparklepop Post Author wrote on 03/26/2013 at 08:54pm

Oh, Nick, as soon as I read yours I didn't think I'd have won! Yours was wonderfully written and congrats on winning yourself!

I stayed up until 6am, waiting on it to finish downloading so I could have a taste. And now I'm back at it. I can't explain the giddiness to have that awe-struck feeling back again.

Nick_Donahoo wrote on 03/26/2013 at 08:56pm

Well, then, shall we agree that there was badassedness abound?

Sparklepop Post Author wrote on 03/26/2013 at 10:00pm

Yes! That, I can most definitely agree on!

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Terraria to Drop on Consoles in March

Terraria will drop on consoles in North America on March 26 and March 27 on the PS3 and XBox 360 respectively. Hoping for a demo to try out how the controls work on the console for this one. Ultra interested to see if this content comes to the PC in some way. And yes, I would buy an expansion for Terraria.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/22/terraria-digs-in-on-psn-march-26-xbox-live-march-27/

News from the Gearbox panel at PAX East!

I watched most of the Gearbox panel and read up on the stuff I missed. Some exciting stuff coming!

First, next week there's a new playthrough being added for everyone. In addition, a content pack including a level cap increase to 61 and a new class of weapons, Pearlescent. This will be free to season pass subscribers, and $5 otherwise. That said, if you don't buy the new pack, good luck surviving a third playthrough.

Kreig is the new vault hunter, releasing in May! He's a bandit psycho who gets rewarded for doing crazy stuff in battle. He'll cost $5, the same as Gaige, and will be entirely separate from the season pass. As rumored, he is melee focused, and has a pretty... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 05:51pm

Not part of the Season Pass? Huh. I don't know if I would have done that but there we are.

The guy looks amazing and I can't wait to get all the DLC in one shot. Kind of held off on the season pass, now it seems like ill wait a bit longer for all of it wrapped up together.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:03pm

The new character isn't, but the new campaign DLC is. I'm editing my post to reflect that.

And that's the same way Gaige worked, but if you pre-ordered the game you got her for free. They were pretty up-front with the season pass that it would be for four campaign addons, so I hold no ill will against them for that.

Also editing the post to add in some news about the loot chest, which looks beautiful.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:07pm

And added a video for the teaser.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:11pm

Fair point on the DLC, but.. I don't know on one hand YAY more Borderlands 2. On the other hand Yay the game costs about a hundred bucks to get everything.

Again, cool to hear about more stuff for sure.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:21pm

Yeah, I've been kinda hating DLC in general lately. I've pretty much decided to wait until almost everything is released to get back into BL2 (at least my main character), because my Assassin's Creed 3 mode, for example, has passed and even though the new Tyranny of King George DLC interests me, I can't get motivated to play it.

I can't hate it too much, since this *is* all stuff developed post-release, and I don't really feel like my $60 was wasted on just the game itself. I just almost wish that we would get everything and then it's done with the exception of major expansion packs, like the Shivering Isles for Oblivion. The periodically released smaller DLCs just don't hold my interest as much.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:24pm

I used to wait to buy this stuff until the GoTY was $60. I might consider doing that again for certain stuff again. For some stuff, I totally am, like Max Payne and Farcry 3.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 06:43pm

Oh and Dishonored. That game looks wicked.

Skyzefawlun wrote on 03/24/2013 at 10:56pm

Dishonored is well worth the wait ;)

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 10:59pm

Awesome, can't wait!

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Hearthstone: A New Blizzard Collectable Card Game

Blizzard just announced its next new game at PAX East called "Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft." Hearthstone looks pretty interesting and according to the FAQ:

"Hearthstone is a free-to-play digital strategy card game that anyone can enjoy. Players choose to play as one of nine epic Warcraft heroes, and then take turns playing cards from their customizable decks to cast potent spells, use heroic weapons or abilities, or summon powerful characters to crush their opponent."

Since I really enjoy Magic: The Gathering I am interested in Hearthstone. Essentially its a free to play CCG that you can play online in a few minutes. Sound like it could be fun.

I know a few people... Read All

Friday at GameStorm:Kickstarter & Community Panels

My first day at GameStorm was great. Its nice to come to an event by Geeks for Geeks. If you love playing RPG's, Board Games, Miniatures or Collectible Card Games GameStorm is your jam. I do and it was fun to sit down and play some games I wasn't previously exposed to. After my first panel(more on that later) I hit up the floor and settled on playing Steve Jackson's Revolution! Revolution! is a game where you try to coerce the town such that your influence spreads such that you gain the towns support for your revolution. I was mesmerized by the bidding and strategy process so much that I forgot to expand my influence in the city. I was spending time reading the table,... Read All

Duck Tales is being remade!

If you played this game on NES, you know how big a deal this is. I'm seriously looking forward to this game more than most 2013 releases.

Duck Tales was released by Capcom, and designed by some members of the same team that did Mega Man, including Keiji Inafune. It's easily one of the best NES games, back when you could actually get good licensed games.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 03/22/2013 at 11:13pm

I'm a little luke warm on the art style. The scene with the Beagle Boys running to the right looks like a flash cartoon to me, which is a pretty lousy aesthetic. Especially when Way Forward does amazing pixel art.

Still, the original is one of my favorite NES games, so I'll definitely give it a shot.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 03/22/2013 at 11:26pm

Style: http://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/gallery/adventure-time_1/adventure_time-3.jpg

http://www.brashgames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aliens-Infestation-DS-Screenshot-1.jpg

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/23/2013 at 05:02pm

Looks good to me. The art style looks fine to me, though I do prefer the Pixel Art aesthetic. My only question is hit detection, from the video I was wondering how easy it would be to make a jump or do things. Beyond that, looks cool.

Clifton wrote on 03/23/2013 at 05:22pm

This game had such an impact on me, beginning with the purchase. I remember specifically my dad buying it for $49,99 at Fred Meyer, and seeming a little shocked at the price. I felt slightly bad at the time, but I really wanted that game, and it wasn't like I was gonna ask him not to buy it. I knew he'd be fine.

I probably spent more hours playing that game than anything else for NES, except RPGs and Mario titles. It soon got to the point where I beat it every time I popped it in the machine, but the fact that the challenge was gone didn't bother me at all. It was always fun to play. Didn't care about my high score or anything, just liked bouncing around on my strange springy walking stick thing.

As an interface designer, I can also remember how picky the controls scheme was. You had to hold down and press B to do the downward air attack, but B on its own didn't do a damn thing, so why make me hold down as well? And the second or so it took pressing up against an object before you could thwack it with your stick seemed so arbitrary. It didn't add to the challenge, just added extra time to an otherwise straightforward action.

I was eight years old when I was thinking about this stuff. No wonder I do what I do now.

krcDeuce Supporter wrote on 03/23/2013 at 05:36pm

I never owned it, but I remember renting it multiple times from the local video store.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 03/24/2013 at 05:34pm

Pixels are great for hit detection, which is a big part of this this game. It's just weird that they got a studio renown for pixel art and had them do flash art. I'm still into it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/24/2013 at 05:49pm

I remember many of Capcom Disney licensed games from "Disney Afternoon" being pretty good. Duck Tales, Chip & Dales, Tale Spin. Darkwing Duck didn't seem as awesome though.

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FTL: A Fun Roguelike in Space + Co-Op

So after asking everyone which game I should play next I installed Fallout: New Vegas and started the single player mission. Compared to Fallout: 3 the intro wasn't terribly interesting. I imagine the game picks up a ton later on, but I didn't click for me right away. I will come back to it at some point though.

A few days ago FTL went on sale through the Steam Spring Indie sale and is currently $5 stand alone or $7 with the score. I picked up FTL + the score(of course) and decided to try it out. After an un-countable amount of games I can say that FTL is a must buy if you love space sims. Its a interesting take on the Roguelike game genere that dares to be fun! I... Read All So after asking everyone which game I should play next I installed Fallout: New Vegas and started the single player mission. Compared to Fallout: 3 the intro wasn't terribly interesting. I imagine the game picks up a ton later on, but I didn't click for me right away. I will come back to it at some point though.

A few days ago FTL went on sale through the Steam Spring Indie sale and is currently $5 stand alone or $7 with the score. I picked up FTL + the score(of course) and decided to try it out. After an un-countable amount of games I can say that FTL is a must buy if you love space sims. Its a interesting take on the Roguelike game genere that dares to be fun! I guess I should qualify that a bit because I don't find many roguelikes fun. There are roguelikes I want to enjoy, but just can't get into. Its not that I don't like challenges or have a problem losing its just that certain games don't mix the "really hard" and "losing your ass off" to make it fun. But FTL does. In FTL in every game I lost my ass off and it was very fun. An epic adventure even. But realize here I play games for fun, not work, so if a game seems like work I just don't play it.

One evening of late I described FTL to a friend and recommended he give it a go. We were talking over Google Hangout and I decided to screen share the game with him. We spent nearly an hour making choices on how to play the game together and not only was it fun as hell I got further than I did on my own. I want to play FTL co-op again this way and hopefully we can do that. So yeah, if you have the ability to sit down and play with a friend, try FTL co-op. I guess you could call it "FTL Pairing" because thats a method I employ when I partner with someone on a project and we are at the same computer doing it together. Anyways, regardless of what you call it, it was fun as hell.

FTL is awesome and you really aught to try it, because, you know, space and all. You can even get unique and play it with your friends over Google Hangout too.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/

BR Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 09:36pm

Trying FTL co-op by screen sharing sounds awesome. I'll have to try that with someone sometime.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/23/2013 at 12:35am

Yeah, it is. I want to do it again and do a Lets Play of it.

BR Supporter wrote on 03/23/2013 at 01:01am

Dude....I totally want to join you on that one.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/23/2013 at 01:05am

Ok so lets do that. Ill send you an email to setup the time.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 03/23/2013 at 01:42am

Outstanding idea! When I first read the headline, I thought I just missed reading that it had co-op. Glad I read the full story to get the full scoop.

You must have a pretty serious rig to be able to screenshare via Hangout without dropping. I was considering doing something similar for Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I have some folks who would really like to see that one.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/23/2013 at 05:12am

I think one thing that helps is FTL looks like a 2D sprite game. Plus it doesn't have a ton of movement. Then again I think I did... Minecraft over hangout too. :D

CapnCurry Supporter wrote on 03/23/2013 at 06:38am

I can vouch for the awesomeness of FTL screensharing - Jon took me through a guided tour of the game, and I was surprised at how easy it was to follow along with what we were doing. I played through the tutorial on my own later, and I think I'd have had a disappointing first run if the tutorial were all I'd had to work with.

I've played through it a few times since then, and gotten *remarkably* close to (what I think is) the finish line. I'm hoping for a chance to play FTL in pair-mode again with a more experienced eye and see how that changes things.

If Google hangout can stay smooth, I'm wondering if this opens a new door on the "single-player strategy game as co-op" play I enjoyed as a teenager. Myst made a remarkably good two-player experience; I wonder what else is out there that's worth experimenting with.

Brandon_Waters wrote on 03/25/2013 at 10:03pm

I haven't screen shared, but that sounds awesome. FTL is another game for me that took a bit to get into but I've clocked some solid hours on it now. It's like Oregon Trail in space to me (with a bit more skill involved). Great game.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/26/2013 at 12:21am

Huh, good point on the Oregon Trail in space, I hadn't considered that before. Its the goto game in my rotation right now, so very cool.

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Beta Multiplayer: First Thoughts

After playing my first Age of Empires 2: HD multiplayer game I am happy to say that it went very well. All the awesome fun of the original game is here and in full force. Travis and I played a 2 vs 2 match with bots to try out the Age 2: HD multiplayer landscape.

Since its been a few years since I played last, it took me a bit to get back up to speed. As we were playing I was letting Travis know all the special UI hints I knew to make the game play much smoother. For instance, you can shift click to queue up house construction instead of just doing one at a time. And that you need to remember to queue your farm reseeding. Age 2 has a ton of advanced UI and knowing it... Read All

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty Guest Pass Giveaway

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm came with 4 guess passes. I will be giving them away to the first people that claim them in the comments.

* no Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty Guest Pass Left!
* 2 Word of Warcraft Guest Passes

Ill update the post when someone claims one of the passes.

CapnCurry Supporter wrote on 03/21/2013 at 11:50pm

Wings of Liberty, please!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2013 at 11:51pm

Sent.

aziz_cingz wrote on 03/22/2013 at 02:40am

Aye!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2013 at 02:58am

Which one do you want Aziz? Wings or WoW pass?

aziz_cingz wrote on 03/22/2013 at 06:47am

Wings please, sir (:

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2013 at 01:39pm

Sent

BR Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 04:10pm

Aw damn! I missed the starcraft ones :(

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2013 at 04:47pm

Plenty of WoW codes :D

BR Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 06:48pm

No thanks, I am done WoW. I used to play it quite a bit.

BR Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 06:49pm

done with WoW*

Travis Admin wrote on 03/22/2013 at 09:41pm

Hang on a sec, how does the WoL guest pass differ from the SC2 starter edition? I thought Starter Edition replaced the need for guest passes.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/23/2013 at 12:37am

It may Travis. I just had those in the Collectors Edition. So yeah, BR you might wan to try the SC2 Starter Edition and let us know how that works out.

Oh and I hear you on leaving WoW, sometimes stepping away is good.

BR Supporter wrote on 03/23/2013 at 01:03am

Is the starter addition just a trial or something?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/23/2013 at 01:05am

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/3250656

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