Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Haiku Vault Hunters Unite Co-Op Time But treasure is mine

Haiku

Vault Hunters Unite
Co-Op Time
But treasure is mine

Hear ye, Hear ye, Today we announce the Cheerful Ghost

Hear ye, Hear ye,

Today we announce the Cheerful Ghost Borderlands 2 Haiku Contest

To celebrate the upcoming Borderlands 2 launch on September 18th, Cheerful Ghost is having a Borderlands 2 Haiku Contest. You have two chances to win a copy of Borderlands 2 on Steam and the details are as follows:

We are giving away one copy of Borderlands 2 on the Steam Gifts site here: http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/RaQNV/borderlands-2 One lucky winner will be selected at random to win on Steam Gifts site.

We are also going to be giving away a second copy of Borderlands 2 to the Cheerful Ghost user that creates the coolest Borderlands 2 Haiku. The winner will be determined by which... Read All

Rudyard_Stone wrote on 08/29/2012 at 07:24am

This is a Haiku
It's about Borderlands 2
I hope I win it

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/29/2012 at 03:09pm

Thanks for the submission Rudyard.

If you want this one to be considered for the contest, it will need to exist in its own Borderlands 2 post so people can vote on it.

It would be too hard to parse out whom votes for what in a comment thread with different Haikus.

Thanks again!

Sebastian wrote on 08/29/2012 at 08:03pm

Borderlands was sweet
Now I want to play the next
How will I do it?

Well I heard of sites
Mainly Cheerful Ghost dot com
I might win this award

First is a contest
This haiku is my entry
I really hope I win

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2012 at 12:01am

Hi Sebastian.

Thanks for the comment. If you want any of those to be in the contest, they should be a proper Borderlands 2 post so people can comment on them.

Thanks!

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 10:49am

Will you be checking the Haikus authenticity at the end of the contest to see if they follow the 5-7-5 pattern?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2012 at 11:41am

Yes, we will.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 12:48pm

Oh. I'm glad to hear that. I made sure to proof-read mine several times.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2012 at 02:21pm

Actually I'll confer with @panickedthumb about that. Let you know.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/05/2012 at 03:11pm

Thanks!

TonyJapMayo wrote on 09/14/2012 at 10:59pm

Hi, So do we get the winner based on the votes?

If yes, cant people just make fake accounts to +1 etc?

Thank =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:00pm

They could but it doesn't seem like that's the majority of people voting.

The next contest will be different :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:01pm

And yes, winner is based on votes.

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:05pm

I've been trying hard on this. I hope it ends up well.

TonyJapMayo wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:05pm

Oooh, temptation >< haha.. nah, I'll play fair.. I love Japan n Haiku is Japanese ><

Btw, I hope your vote = 20 votes =P haha.. Thanks for the chance jdodson =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/14/2012 at 11:09pm

No problem.

Bryden_Gee wrote on 09/15/2012 at 06:22pm

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I Have A Gun Get In The Car

Axel_Mller wrote on 09/15/2012 at 06:23pm

Do you wanna play,
The rape game? No!
That's the spirit...

Tsunami wrote on 09/15/2012 at 08:01pm

Rise and shine brave men!
The whole world is up and down!
Free your mind!Go Fight!

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Gearbox recently released a stripped down retro version of

Gearbox recently released a stripped down retro version of Borderlands 2 you can play in your browser. You can choose from one of the 4 new Borderlands 2 characters and fight hordes of enemies in an area 2d shooter. From the handful of games I played, I chose Salvador and made it to level 16. There is a fair amount of gun types to choose from but I seemed to prefer the machine guns to the others. Shotguns seemed to be a bit underpowered as the intial blast is strong but they took too long to reload.

Its a fun game to try out in anticipation for Borderlands 2 launch this September 18thand you can play it here: http://www.wubwub.eu/demake.php

If you strip the "/demake.php"... Read All

This just in from the rumor department, Fallout 4 has been

This just in from the rumor department, Fallout 4 has been recently discussed on Reddit and a few other game sites. According to one anonymous Redditor, Bethesda has been poking around MIT for the upcoming Fallout 4. The Redditor in question is an anonymous MIT employee with insider knowledge of Bethesda scouting locations for the game.

I loved Fallout 3 and news of Fallout 4 is very cool. What do you think, does Fallout 4 set in Boston interest you? Are you ready to head back into the Fallout world and kill more Super Mutants and Enclave?

-

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/yexpi/fallout_4_will_take_place_in_boston/
... Read All

Tungsten wrote on 08/26/2012 at 03:21am

Only if they ditched the engine. As much as I loved Skyrim/Fallout3/Oblivion, I'm getting sick of it. They all just seem like expansion packs rather than full games, despite the hundreds and hundreds of hours of content.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 12:49pm

There's no way they'll ditch the Skyrim engine until they've got at least one Fallout with it. They've been using the same engine for years, just heavily modifying it. I don't see that changing any time soon.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:13pm

I think Skyrim's engine is different enough. Fallout 3 definitely felt like a prettier Oblivion engine, but Skyrim's feels singificantly different enough, while still being familiar.

Tungsten wrote on 08/26/2012 at 02:00pm

It just seems like a facelift to me. They removed the "zoom in on faces while talking" and retweaked the menus. It still has the same glitches and limitations. I'm sick of standing in a room where I can't even pretend to look out a window, or where people come in and out by materializing at the door. I'm sick of the physics glitches, of people talking to me through walls, of the same canned animations.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed those games, but if half-life 3 comes out on the Source Engine (even the extremely updated version from Portal) I'm going to be disappointed. Same deal here.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2012 at 05:50pm

Tungtsten: Good point. I haven't given that as much thought as you but ... yeah I mean they do look like similar games.

I started with Fallout 3. I played a bit of oblivion and it was fun, but I stopped dead at a particular Oblivion gate I couldn't figure out. Then I came back to my game and stopped because I became a Vampire accidentally and started getting hurt in Sunlight.

That said, my first all in experience with a Bethesda game was Fallout 3 and I loved the game. I guess love isn't a good enough word really, I LOVED the game. I didn't really think of the game engine as the world, the textures and stuff was very different to me.

As I now play Skyrim, yeah you know the slow motion kill shots do remind me of Fallout 3. The play style kind of reminds me of it too. The voice actors are similar, the style is similar so its more noticeable to me now. Its not bad, but yeah, its familiar.

Will a new game with the engine, similar voice actors and style in the Fallout verse bother me? I imagine not. I mean, I have Fallout: New Vegas waiting for me to start up and I imagine ill love it, but I might put another game in the middle first.

I hear you though, seems like you played more of the Bethesda games than I and yeah, all told if they took a departure with the next game more that could be a great thing.

That said, like panickedthumb I doubt they will drop the engine and such. I do hope they clean it up bugs and strange elements. Then again, its fun to have Mammoths fall from the sky but it does sort of break the immersion.

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Should have posted this a while back because its probably

http://www.avitable.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/maxpayne3_screenshot.jpg

Should have posted this a while back because it's probably been two months since I played it. I ran through this game this Summer and had a great time doing it.

In a lot of ways, this is the anti-GTA of the RockStar world: It's (very) closed world mayhem where you never drive a vehicle or get any down time. No sandbox here, this is straight story action story action rinse repeat.

If fatigue didn't set in, you could easily play the game straight through. There is never a loading screen, no signal to stop playing except for mid-chapter inserts that are usually so captivating that they keep you playing. More than once, I realized I was playing more for the story than for... Read All Should have posted this a while back because it's probably been two months since I played it. I ran through this game this Summer and had a great time doing it.

In a lot of ways, this is the anti-GTA of the RockStar world: It's (very) closed world mayhem where you never drive a vehicle or get any down time. No sandbox here, this is straight story action story action rinse repeat.

If fatigue didn't set in, you could easily play the game straight through. There is never a loading screen, no signal to stop playing except for mid-chapter inserts that are usually so captivating that they keep you playing. More than once, I realized I was playing more for the story than for the action. I love a game where you actually care about the characters, and this one really pays off. Shoot there's this one time where ***SPOILER DELETED*** and you are like WTF! I literally shouted at the screen, and promptly blew some poor guys virtual head off.

If you like combat in other RockStar games, you'll love this. That said, to me it feels a bit loose, and the bullet time takes a while to really get down. Headshots in slow-mo are fun, though, and this game get's pretty brutal. Definitely not one to play with someone else in the room if you mind them seeing you commit horrible acts of bloody carnage.

Graphics are pretty awesome: the game sports some pretty awesome lighting, filters and animation (and I'd love to see some hi-res PC shots some time, the XBOX just can't do those things right), and the Euphoria engine (the thing that makes people move like... you know... people) leads to some interesting stuff. Bad guys grab at their wounds, try to hang on to railings, and generally move more like thinking human beings than rag-dolls. It actually seems like canned animations until some small bug throws off the vibe, but they're few and far between.

It's music keeps with the RockStar tradition of late: awesome and responsive to the action. The song that plays through the last level is awesome (maybe not "Far Away" in RedDead awesome, but pretty good none the less), and I've taken to playing the soundtrack while farming in Diablo.

It's a good game. Maybe not a must buy (never really played the MP, but if that's good I'd go for it) but certainly rent/GameFly/borrow/demo/SteamSale worthy. Try it out.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:13pm

How long is it? I picked it up in the Steam sale but haven't touched it yet.

The one complaint I have (which amounts to very little since I haven't actually played it) is that it doesn't seem like a Max Payne game. that could be all in how they were advertising it though.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 06:02pm

It's fairly long. I think I probably put 15+ hours in the single player, more than most narrative driven stories. After a while, I think it becomes a bit more Max Payne-ish, though they have stepped up the "crazy ass crap" factor.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 07:49pm

Crazy ass crap is always fun. I just don't want them to lose the noir.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 10:08pm

come to think of it, 15 might be pushing it.... maybe 10

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 10:09pm

Oh, the noir is there, it's just mixed with "Man on Fire" type of stuff.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:28am

Sounds awesome, ill snag it on a Steam sale. This one got lost in the Diablo 3 shuffle for me but many ribbed D3 players for being able to play it because it was a proper single player game with offline mode(the servers were not able to handle the d3 players at the time).

Heard great things.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:45am

How are the guns? Is there much variety there?

Travis Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:58am

I really wish Blizzard had emulate Borderlands for the multiplayer. True offline single player, easy drop in multiplayer. If the servers are down, you get no multiplayer or auction house but you can still play.

That said keeping it online is a good form of drm, which was probably one of the major factors, and it keeps the core off the pc to prevent hacking and exploits, which is definitely a good thing.

But yeah, the servers close to launch were laughable.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/26/2012 at 02:17am

They said it was a multiplayer game that wasn't about the DRM. In theory I can accept that. In practice though, like I don't know it has all the trapping of it and even if you wanted to go back to a Diablo 3 1.0 world, there is not chance you could as its all server side.

Sort of waffle on how I think about that. Wherein the game is fine, it does feel so much like DRM I am not sure there is a real difference.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 08/26/2012 at 03:22am

Diablo 2 required a Server connection to update that character. Sure, you could play offline, but you couldn't play with that character in coop games.

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My Continuing Adventures As The Dragonborn

As I continue my adventures as the Dragonborn, the things I can do in Skyrim become more and more epic. Somehow I missed that Bethesda released a free DLC update to Skyrim that adds high res textures to the game. I knew community members had high res packs but finding out about Bethesda's drew me to the immediate download and install.

After starting the game after the DLC was installed I noticed right away, the game looks even more incredible. It shows the game was "mastered" with consoles in mind and the high res. textures really make the game feel more organic. The swords and game environments seem less pixelated and edgy. Plus with lighting turned up, the game has a... Read All As I continue my adventures as the Dragonborn, the things I can do in Skyrim become more and more epic. Somehow I missed that Bethesda released a free DLC update to Skyrim that adds high res textures to the game. I knew community members had high res packs but finding out about Bethesda's drew me to the immediate download and install.

After starting the game after the DLC was installed I noticed right away, the game looks even more incredible. It shows the game was "mastered" with consoles in mind and the high res. textures really make the game feel more organic. The swords and game environments seem less pixelated and edgy. Plus with lighting turned up, the game has a softer glow to it in certain conditions that are really quite beautiful. That said, all this beauty comes with a cost. Things are a bit slower on my rig. Its well within the realm of acceptable but it is still present. I imagine when I get a new video card it will be less pronounced.

I finally saved up the 5k gold for my house in Whiterun. There is nothing in the house save cobwebs and boxes so I am stashing items inside it by simply dropping them on the ground. That seems to work between saves so ill do that until I can find a way to put a chest inside. Does anyone know you can get a chest in your house to stash items in?

I was also presented with the opportunity(not saying how for a possible spoiler) to become a Werewolf. I don't mind the idea, but it seems you lose a few "human" benefits and I am not sure being a Werewolf is worth it. It seem you gain the ability to become a Werewolf but on the flipside in Werewolf form you can't collect items or anything. Plus in human form you lose your sleep bonus. Also it seems if you change into a Werewolf around a human they immediately want to kill your human form too. Has anyone done this and would you say this is a good idea?

High Res. Texture Pack:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/202485/

A fun epic Skyrim 300 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ct1668FUKs&feature=player_embedded

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 01:55am

You can talk to the steward or something, can't remember his title, to upgrade your house. I think there's a chest upstairs by default though.

As for werewolfing yourself, I never cared for the benefits. It's a fun novelty at first but I never used it after a few times.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/23/2012 at 02:38am

Ok. I can't seem to progress with the faction that can turne until I decide I want to. Wondering if in should take the jump for that story line alone.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:47pm

I never found being a werewolf beneficial, other than ocassionally when I needed to run somewhere quickly (and didn't have a horse), or just maul a town. But I also didn't find the negatives to be a handicap.

It was an interesting storyline.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:54pm

You can get through that quest line pretty quickly and then there is a way out.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:55pm

And if you get Dawnguard, there's a way back in!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2012 at 02:50pm

Cool. Sounds like there isn't too much of a negative to being a Werewolf then.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/24/2012 at 06:58pm

Yeah, you don't get your sleep bonus on skillups, and people will tell you that you smell like a wet dog. That's about it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2012 at 11:18pm

Hahaha, totally worth it. Wondering. Can you be a WW any other way?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:02am

Not that I'm aware of.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:30am

There's one sidequest where you can get an item that helps control when you can turn. I won't give any more info in case you want to avoid spoilers but you can search for it on the wikis if you are so inclined.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 02:19pm

Will do, thanks!

So you can't control when you turn the to start?

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 02:47pm

You can control it but you only get one per day. The item changes that.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2012 at 03:18pm

Oh sweet thanks. Good thing you don't switch on a full moon in town automagically.

Travis Admin wrote on 08/25/2012 at 04:11pm

Actually I think that coul be interesting. If they gave you more benefits to being a werewolf but one big drawback, like turning automatically on a full moon.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2012 at 01:26am

Right. That would be.

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In anticipation of the actual game (already pre-ordered!

In anticipation of the actual game (already pre-ordered! Can't wait for the 28th!), I've downloaded the Madden 13 demo.

One feature I was really interested in checking out was the new physics engine, called the Madden Infinity Engine. In the past, when Madden players interacted with each other (tackling, hitting, catching the ball, etc), what was shown was a preset animation. Now there were very many of these animations, so it looked great, but it wasn't always "perfect."

Now, thanks to Madden's Infinity Engine, the players truly interact with each other. Speed, momentum, mass and body parts are all melded into a unique action. The animations are limitless, and usually... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 08/22/2012 at 08:52pm

I'm going to be a child for a second.

"body parts are all melded"

hahahahahahahahahahaha....

OK, now that THAT's out my system... I haven't played a Madden game since Madden '94. I feel like I might be missing out on something huge since so many people play it, but it seems like the people who don't love it, absolutely despise it!

The tech behind this one does sound pretty interesting though. I may have to rethink my stance on sports games.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 12:11am

Happy they are trying to be more real, but yeah when you go that route the rules you write to make it seem real are ... Mastadon's falling from the sky and arms bending in strange positions but not breaking real...

That said, really interested in checking this out. I might pick up the demo on my PS3 and give it a whirl when we hang out next.

So this follows the awesome Madden tradition of you pick plays and can play people in those plays but dont have to? I mean it differs from the typical Basketball game model in that way right?

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 08/23/2012 at 05:03pm

Yeah, you can just be the head coach and watch your players do your bidding :)

Tungsten wrote on 08/23/2012 at 10:21pm

Did you ever try out Backbreaker Football? It used something similar called the Euphoria engine. It was also used in the last few Rockstar games. If you ever got drunk in RedDead you know what I'm talking about.

It worked pretty well for football, especially the running game; you could actually feel slippery, breaking tackles realistically rather than the dead stops you saw in old Madden games.

Pretty sure its on LIVE as a demo or maybe even an arcade game.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 08/27/2012 at 02:51am

I've downloaded Backbreaker, now just to find the time to play (stuck at work tonight).

Tungsten wrote on 08/27/2012 at 09:46am

It has a decent following. You're not going to get the best football experience: far too few plays, no licensed teams/players, defense can feel a bit sluggish, but it is definitely something you should try out if you are a fan of the genre.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 08/28/2012 at 03:40pm

So I finally tried out the demo. I really like how this is *completely* different than a Madden game. It made it somewhat difficult to pick up at first, but I'm glad to see that other companies don't feel the need to "Make Madden, but better!"

I'll probably play the demo a few more times to get the feel of it, but I have a feeling that with getting Madden today, I'll be sticking mostly to that for my (gaming) football fix. Thanks for the suggestion though!

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/29/2012 at 12:39am

Awesome.

Double football all the way!

Travis Admin wrote on 08/31/2012 at 01:23pm

I thought of this discussion when I saw today's Penny Arcade: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/08/31

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/31/2012 at 02:07pm

Awesome and relevant for today!

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Today is a sad day in gaming. Psygnosis (AKA Studio

Today is a sad day in gaming. Psygnosis (AKA Studio Liverpool) has been closed. This developer has been one of my favorites, primarily because of their WipEout racing series and the game Lemmings. I honestly didn't think I could feel this sad about a game company closing its doors.

http://kotaku.com/5936821/sony-closes-one-of-the-oldest-video-game-developers-in-the-world

Travis Admin wrote on 08/22/2012 at 03:37pm

Wow, I had no idea Wipeout and Lemmings were made by the same people. SO many hours trying to get those bastards to go where I wanted them.

hardeyez wrote on 08/22/2012 at 10:18pm

At one time they also had offices in San Francisco and San Mateo (I had friends working at the SF studio until it shut down around '99).

On related sad notes, I was working at Midway (previously Atari) when they closed that studio -- there were guys there who had been working at the same location (under a few different company names) for 28 years...

hardeyez wrote on 08/22/2012 at 10:28pm

I meant to say the Midway studio in the Bay Area (specifically Milpitas), and that location might've only been open for 20+ years when it was closed. I can't remember all the early lore those long timers shared (i.e. Ed Logg and Dave Sheppard).

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/23/2012 at 12:13am

It is sad when something with so much history closes up shop. I wonder how many studios EA might scuttle now that they are up for sale?

Not too sad about EA dying but they have so much IP and games they own, I wonder how the cool stuff will survive?

That said, Sony is making a choice based on costs that I understand but... I mean couldn't Lemmings 2012 be something people care about? I mean, I might get that on my phone?

Tungsten wrote on 08/23/2012 at 10:23pm

My first PC game was Lemmings. ;..(

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Looks like Nintendo Power is going to be closing up shop.

Looks like Nintendo Power is going to be closing up shop. It had a fantastic run in the late 80's and early 90's and whomever had a subscription I was always envious of. I read each issue cover to cover many times.

I remember reading the issue with Secret of Mana detailed and I couldn't put it down for weeks. The way Nintendo stiched together images and game hints was magical to my young video game addicted brain.

A few years ago I got a subscription to Nintendo Power again and some of the spark remained but my habits changed and I didn't read them as eagerly as I once did. Oh and they talked about Nintendogs too much for my tastes. I should have kept my original issues... Read All

What better way to celebrate Retro Tuesday that with a Super

What better way to celebrate Retro Tuesday that with a Super Mario Brothers post it note video? Well, perhaps Shigeru Miyamoto visiting your house and telling you they are making another Zelda game in the style of Link to the Past and releasing the source code for the original Zelda as open source.

One can dream can't he?