Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Sony vs. Microsoft vs. Nintendo vs. VALVE When was the

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/09/Screen-Shot-2012-09-03-at-12.20.26-PM1.png

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/03/valve-confirms-hardware-development

Sony vs. Microsoft vs. Nintendo vs. VALVE

When was the last time we had a 4th box? Jaguar? Rooting for Valve, but history says someone is going to lose here.

One treat of PAX this year was being able to get my hands on

One treat of PAX this year was being able to get my hands on the new Doom 3 BFG Edition. The level they demoed was the bonus "lost mission" that will ship with the game. The system I played on was Doom 3 BFG Edition in 3D on the XBox 360.

I didn't have to wait in line too long and in a few minutes I put on the 3D glasses and extremely comfortable earphones and I was of exploring. Took me a minute or so to orient myself to the 360 controls but in a minute I was having fun. I have never enjoyed playing a game in 3D as much as this and I was really enjoying how immersive the 3D was. Switching weapons was fun, shooting the bad guys far away was fun... everything was... Read All One treat of PAX this year was being able to get my hands on the new Doom 3 BFG Edition. The level they demoed was the bonus "lost mission" that will ship with the game. The system I played on was Doom 3 BFG Edition in 3D on the XBox 360.

I didn't have to wait in line too long and in a few minutes I put on the 3D glasses and extremely comfortable earphones and I was of exploring. Took me a minute or so to orient myself to the 360 controls but in a minute I was having fun. I have never enjoyed playing a game in 3D as much as this and I was really enjoying how immersive the 3D was. Switching weapons was fun, shooting the bad guys far away was fun... everything was really... well... fun in 3D! This is a pretty new thing for me as my vision doesn't lend itself to enjoying 3D much less actually being able to experience it but somehow, it worked really well.

The game never suffered from slow down or lag, it was all very "John Carmack smooth" on the 360. This kind of thing is pretty apparent to me as I was walking around PAX and other more simple DLC games had some serious frame rate issues compared to Doom 3 BFG Edition. I remember walking by one game and @chowda and I both commented how laggy it looked for being a simple downloadable title.

That said, I noticed a few other things I wasn't in love with when I played the demo. The game was easy. I hope it was just someone putting the game into wimp mode or something because it wasn't as much fun as the original in this respect. The original Doom 3 wasn't impossible, but it was challenging and you had to choose your weapon wisely and conserve on ammo somewhat. The game had liberal amounts of ammo and I got the really good guns way faster than I did in the original game. Getting the sweet guns faster makes sense as the "hidden mission" is a fairly short campaign. I am pretty sure the game will ship with difficulty modes that one can crank up, so I am not too concerned, it was just something I noticed.

That said, I hope Doom 3 BFG Edition comes with difficulty levels and that those levels offer more of a challenge I experienced. All in all though, I am very excited to get this game and am seriously considering picking up some 3D glasses to compliment it.

http://i.imgur.com/mVaHo.jpg

Oh right, the flashlight is totally gone in favor of you being able to flip a gun light on each of your weapons. I think this is a mistake, but making a game more accessible for a modern audience is most likely a good move, even if it changes something I loved about the original.

That all said, I am more excited that I was before about picking this title up and will enjoy heading back to Mars base to make right what was made wrong by the horribly uncouth Malcolm Betruger.

One of the interesting new things I checked out at PAX was

One of the interesting new things I checked out at PAX was the Wii U. I watched someone play a game where they explored/sniped with the new Wii U tablet controller. I took a quick picture of him giving it a go:

http://i.imgur.com/uj1d0.jpg

I was interested in talking to someone from Nintendo about the Wii U to ask a few questions. A Nintendo rep asked if I wanted to play a game and I said I wanted to take a picture of the "normal" controller without a screen on it. He said that I couldn't but he could "clarify things" for me. I said ok and asked him...

"So you obviously have two controllers here, the tablet one with a screen and then the other that has no screen. Will... Read All

Timogorgon Member wrote on 09/05/2012 at 10:53pm

Maybe it's just me, but nothing I've seen about the WiiU is really all that exciting. I'm curious about the tablet controller, but if it turns out to be as gimmicky* as the Wii's motion controls have been, I dunno how this new console will do. Did you have a chance to play any of the games with the new controller?

*Just to clarify, it's not that I think the motion controls suck in general, it's that they're largely poorly implemented. Also, some games just don't benefit (and many are actually hindered) by motion controls.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/06/2012 at 01:14am

I didn't get my hands on the controller because, I wasn't really interested in playing with it. I was more interested in watching others use it and talk to the Nintendo reps.

I think the Wii Motion controls are fine for what they do, Bowling is fun. But when I hit the couch for a shooter, I kind of don't want to flail around. That said, Zelda with more arm movements could be awesome, but I reserve judgement until I try it more.

Oh and I did the Twilight Princess thing, the controls were fine by me, the water temple sort of caused me to walk away.

DAMN YOU WATER TEMPLE!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 09/06/2012 at 08:54pm

Some games pulled the motion controls off really, really well. My main complaint is that that didn't happen often enough. What's worse, motion controls were shoehorned into some games that really didn't need it. Wii Sports and (especially) Wii Sports resort are awesome, and some of the few Wii games I still play once in awhile. Twilight princess was fine except I found some of the special sword techniques a little hard to pull off with the motion controls. I haven't tried Skyward sword yet, but I hear it is much better control wise.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/07/2012 at 03:12am

I have Paper Mario on the Wii and the motion controls were a tack-on for sure.

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I have a ton of free PAX Beta keys and Free DLC to give-away

I have a ton of free PAX Beta keys and Free DLC to give-away to all you awesome people. Apparently some of this PAX exclusive stuff is on Ebay selling for real cash money. Like the Doom 3 BFG Edition Pink Avatar I nabbed from the iD booth is selling for $10. Since I love you all so much, they will be free to you all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAX-Prime-2012-Exclusive-DOOM-3-BFG-Pinky-Xbox-Avatar-DLC-Item-/261091710181?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cca4754e5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAX-Prime-2012-Exclusive-Dishonored-Corvo-Mask-Xbox-Avatar-DLC-Item-/261091708569?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cca474e99

I know, I know. Mother Teresa has nothing on my generosity.... Read All

vdogmr25 wrote on 09/02/2012 at 06:54pm

I'd like the Tribes: Ascend Item please. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/02/2012 at 07:54pm

@vdogmr25: sent.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/02/2012 at 09:31pm

Firefall looks like it could be tons of fun. So does Smite. I'll claim A FireFall key, and the Smite key only if nobody else wants it. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/02/2012 at 09:36pm

@panickedthumb smite & firefall sent.

BR Supporter wrote on 09/03/2012 at 07:32am

I'd like the Dishonored Avatar mask and If its not too big a deal, the firefall beta would be cool too. Thanks for the opportunity! :D

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 09/03/2012 at 09:44am

I'd like the D&D neverwinter mmo beta. and if its not to much extra i'd like one of the doom 3 bfg edition pinky avatars.

Steven_Dodson wrote on 09/03/2012 at 02:52pm

I'll take what you give. Sounds cool.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/03/2012 at 05:45pm

@br items sent.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/03/2012 at 05:46pm

@Jacob_Richardson items sent.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/03/2012 at 05:46pm

@Steven_Dodson sent

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/04/2012 at 04:18pm

That dishonored mask is cool. I'm no xbox guy though. Nice of you to be giving away them like this. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2012 at 04:50pm

Yeah, no problem! Hope people enjoy the stuff!

Jacob_Richardson wrote on 09/04/2012 at 07:15pm

Thank you jdodson. Saw the stuff yesterday but was having a party and couldn't post a comment. Very awesome did you actually go to pax?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2012 at 01:16am

I did go to PAX this year. Posted a bit about it:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/520
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/523

First video game conference and I plan on hitting it up again next year!

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PAX day 2 was pretty awesome. I realized that I had

PAX day 2 was pretty awesome. I realized that I had accidentally missed a TON of expo floor so Saturday I spent the day exploring the rest of the expo floor, listening to talks and watching a few League of Legends matches.

I also spent Saturday collecting a ton of Beta keys and DLC vouchers, so checkout a later post for give-aways!

http://i.imgur.com/OVIVa.jpg [crossing the street at PAX]

The first talk of the day was a panel on the future of multiplayer games. It featured Andy Williams [Nexon], Scott Hartsman [Trion Worlds], Matt Higby [Planetside 2], Max Schaefer [Runic Games], Scott Youngblood [Red 5 Studios], Craig Morrison [Age of Conan], Joel Bylos [The Secret... Read All

MWAHAHAHAHA! I WILL DESTROY YOUR PATHETIC PLANETS!!!

http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/659943965/planetary-annihilation-a-next-generation-rts/minichart.png

MWAHAHAHAHA! I WILL DESTROY YOUR PATHETIC PLANETS!!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/659943965/planetary-annihilation-a-next-generation-rts

League of Legends regional tournament at PAX today. Riot is

League of Legends regional tournament at PAX today. Riot is taking up a large part of the 6th floor at PAX and they still don't have enough room. I was able to see Dignitas vs Dynamic and CLG vs Legion. This is way more fun than going to a football or baseball game.

After watching a baseball game I want to take a nap. After watching CLG vs Legion I wanted to get online, call my friends and play ranked matches all night. By the way, if you didn't watch that match you should!!!

http://tournaments.leagueoflegends.com/s2-na-regionals/match/quarterfinals-clg-vs-lgn

Dear PAX, Yep. Thats me up there lounging in a Riot Games

Dear PAX,

Yep. That's me up there lounging in a Riot Games bean bag chair watching a few League of Legends tournaments. PAX, you are big. You have attracted every kind of geek imaginable. You are the first video game convention ive attended and you are intense.

We met up with a few friends of @chowda and that was fun to meet some new people. They had attended PAX a few times previously and gave us a few tips. One such tip was that you would stand in many lines. I am not sure I have had feet as sore as this and ive back-packed around Italy. I just might be getting too old or something..... :D

http://i.imgur.com/b6U7I.jpg (the morning line up)

One of the highlights of the... Read All

PAX today - WOW. I am continually floored at the dedicated

PAX today - WOW. I am continually floored at the dedicated community that are gamers. From the most intricate cosplay costumes, to hardcore e-sports fanatics; gamers turn out in mass for their passion.

I saw lines to play unreleased games that were a multiple hour wait. I went to panel discussions where the entire room was dead silent in anticipation of developers sharing their knowledge. I watched the League of Legends tournament live and the crowd was louder than any professional sporting event I've ever attended.

This is why I love the "nerd/geek" community, this is why I love gaming.

Taking a few minutes to post a bit about PAX as I wait in

Taking a few minutes to post a bit about PAX as I wait in line for a panel on PC gaming. Nothing could have prepared me for the scale of this convention. The amount of video game fans present and eager to tear through the endless halls of video game culture is incredible.

I heard there were 60,000 tickets sold and that doesnt surprise me. Had to take a few breaks away from the crowds due to the scale and intensity of things.

I'll post more tonight, with pictures and more awesomery! Having a good time with the army of nerds.