Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Some games are just timeless. This is still just as fun to

Some games are just timeless. This is still just as fun to play now as it was when I was 4 years old and my parents got our first NES. :D

My favorite memory about this game though happened just this year. My oldest daughter is 3 and a half and I made the decision to pass my Gameboy SP down to her. One of the games she plays is this one (it was re-released on gameboy). She can now successfully complete the first level all by herself and she always gets so excited every time she reaches the end of the stage or any time she successfully squashes a goomba (she even knows they're called goomba's!) It's awesome watching her play!

Genghis Khan II A Great Retro Strategy Game

I love old Koei games. Three games in particular: Le Emperor, Genghis Khan II and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2. I only owned one of those games and Genghis Khan was the game.

Genghis Khan II is a turn based strategy game where you can start doing one of two things: conqueror Mongolia then use Mongolia to conqueror the world or just start out as Mongolia and try to conqueror the world. Both were fun but starting as Mongolia was almost always easier. Easier because by the time you conqueror all of Mongolia Genghis might be dead or very old making the world conquest harder. If you started at world conquest you could pick a different country to start as, like India or... Read All I love old Koei games. Three games in particular: Le Emperor, Genghis Khan II and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2. I only owned one of those games and Genghis Khan was the game.

Genghis Khan II is a turn based strategy game where you can start doing one of two things: conqueror Mongolia then use Mongolia to conqueror the world or just start out as Mongolia and try to conqueror the world. Both were fun but starting as Mongolia was almost always easier. Easier because by the time you conqueror all of Mongolia Genghis might be dead or very old making the world conquest harder. If you started at world conquest you could pick a different country to start as, like India or England.

Koei games are all turn based strategy games set in a particular period of time and you are left to manage your small empire with aspirations to take over all other territories or countries. You have simple controls for managing your territories, army, generals and diplomacy. Genghis Khan II kicked it up a notch by allowing you to marry and have kids. This is awesome because you can name your kids "Darth Vader" and "Jon" but lame because if your current leader lacked in an area the kids were not much better. Also, if you didn't have a male child and you died you lost the game. Women can be leaders of Mongolia too Koei!

All the earlier Koei games simply allowed you to assign up to 100 troops per general and train them and equip them. Genghis Khan II upped that by allowing different kinds of units you could train and assign. The best units in the game were the Mongols as they had all A's in nearly every category. It was fun building other kind of units, like Elephants or Catapults but you never went wrong by simply building Mongols. I guess the game wasn't "Super Knight Quest II" as the Knights Templar were not great.

I played this game for hours but didn't find many people willing to play a two player game with me. I guess an 8 hour session of a turn based strategy game didn't excite many of my high school friends. Too bad too, it was a fun game.

Ben_Dodson wrote on 04/04/2012 at 04:28pm

I remember hours of countless play time with you and this game. Fun times. My son did not like nor understand the greatness of this game when I played it with him.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/04/2012 at 06:28pm

I remember playing this with you guys. So many fun hours were sunk into this game! :D I liked that it was complex enough to keep you interested, but also pretty simple so it was easy to pick up and start playing with only a minimal learning curve.

Ben_Dodson wrote on 04/04/2012 at 07:45pm

Our uncivial alliances that did not stand but just to piss someone off

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2012 at 01:13am

It was fun, games were long though. I always liked starting as India or England but it was nearly impossible to defeat Genghis Khan because he was such a great general and the Mongols were so overpowered!

NERF NERF!

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Such difficult names...

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/674480..

Such difficult names...

Next Gen Console Rumors Are Depressing. Seriously, they

Next Gen Console Rumors Are Depressing.

Seriously, they are.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/02/codename-orbis-sony-playstation-4-gets-working-title-and-other-rumors/

"The bad news is that the PS4 will not be able to play PS3 games, so users might want to consider selling their games, or trading them in."

and this gem:

"Rumors are circulating that the next generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles will also block people from being able to play used games.

Some news isn't too bad, like the Playstation 4 releasing before the "NextBox 720":

http://m.ign.com/articles/1222124

Nintendo has mentioned what the Wii U will be backwards compatible with Wii games and Wii... Read All

Tungsten wrote on 04/03/2012 at 10:50am

I'm sorry, I can't get on board with the Wii-U. The touch screen controller looks like it was designed in 1998, and the graphics don't look all that "next-gen". Oh, and it's reportedly spendy too. We'll see I guess.

You know how you combat used games? Cheap games. Arcade and PSN games are the future. $5 here and there, and you're set. No one is trading in a $5 game. These games are impulse buys. I've bought probably 15 games on a whim.

I've spent as much or more money on Humble Bundles over the last year than I have AAA titles.

Look at TF2. It's free to play, but it costs $10 to buy a hat for your character. It's not even functional in game. You know what? People pay it, because it's an impulse level purchase. I would love to see more of this stuff, because its fun.

You just have to convince the major pubs not to abuse this. Can you imagine spending $60 on COD6, and then you have to spend another $5 each level? EA would do it.

I'm on record as loving Steam, so I'm not going to complain about a similar setup for XBOX and PS4, as long as it's free. LIVE: dump your subscription fees and I'll let you stop me from playing used games. Or at least bundle the subscription with a free game. I let my LIVE account lapse last month because I've been on Steam for the last year.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/03/2012 at 09:48pm

Wii U: Well see. I have no plans to get one.

I agree one way to combat used is to sell games more cheaply. Digital allows for this. Problem is, if you lock in the purchase to the hardware you bought it on ONLY you have a problem. Steam allows your games to move to your new hardware, this is nice.

And for the record, I was initially hostile to Steam and have warmed up to it a lot lately. I think the service it offers is really really great. I compare console digital offerings to it because I consider Steam to be best of breed alongside GoG.

Tungsten wrote on 04/03/2012 at 10:02pm

You're right about the hardware thing. If I have to buy symphony of the night again for the xbox 720 I'm going to
revolt.

With mobile gaming, I'm becoming less and less invested in consoles. I was hoping that kinect might be the hook to draw me back on, but it's starting to look half baked and under utilized.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/03/2012 at 10:25pm

Mobile has the potential to change the way I play games but it hasn't really arrived for me yet.

It has some great games, but nothing has come close to sitting down to play Borderlands on my console VS nearly anything on my phone. Then again, Sword and Sworcery got close.

Tungsten wrote on 04/04/2012 at 12:00am

I like a good puzzle game, and those are pretty doable. Action games, you're right, I can't quite see those really working on mobile. What do I know though: I thought the iPhone was a fad that would die after a year or two and everyone would go back to hardware keyboards.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/04/2012 at 02:40am

I don't think smartphones are a fad at anymore. What I do think is that right now I can't really play a game as immersive as a PC or console game on mobile. Two games have come really damn close though:

Sword and Sworcery & Plants VS Zombies. I guess with Plants VS Zombies it was better than the PC experience I had, so yeah perhaps that game transcended the mobile experiences ive had thus far.

Tungsten wrote on 04/04/2012 at 10:32am

I played Canabalt for about an hour on my phone yesterday. All you do is jump. No, it's not the immersion you get from a big title, but it still drew me in.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/04/2012 at 06:24pm

No used games? Forget that. I will not buy a new system that won't play used games. The PS1, PS2, and Xbox I all bought because they had an expansive used game selection. Instead of buying 1 50 dollar game for my new system I was able to buy 4-5 used games. And of course from that point on I purchased many new and used games for all those systems. :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2012 at 01:16am

I agree. If a console has a feature where you can buy a PHYSICAL product to place in, because of the closed nature of consoles they shouldn't be bound to the hardware. If consoles want to avoid used games, make older games cheaper. Already you can download full games on the PS3 but the price is a little steep for a game thats been out as long as they have been.

Like Civilization Revolution, that should only be like $10 digital.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/05/2012 at 04:41pm

I think part of the problem is publishers feel they need to combat used game sales and they view someone who buys a used game as a pirate instead of a customer. Really they need to compete with used games and reward customers who buy new, but realize that people who buy used are still valuable customers. This is where DLC can shine, because companies can package fun rewards, like vanity items, in game rewards, or even additional playable characters to reward people who buy the game new. Instead companies are using DLC to lock out used games from playing on-line, or using "day one" DLC to charge people extra for something that should have shipped with the game.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/05/2012 at 04:45pm

And making older games cheaper is a great idea. There are several PS1 games on PSN I would like to buy, but not for what they're charging. :\

Tungsten wrote on 04/05/2012 at 09:28pm

@notch I think said it best: people who pirate or buy used are fans, not criminals. The publishers need to find a way to profit from that fandom, not punish it.

Tungsten wrote on 04/05/2012 at 09:31pm

http://www.gamezone.com/products/street-fighter-x-tekken/news/capcom-defends-on-disc-dlc-for-street-fighter-x-tekken

Great example of lazy dlc.

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The world must be told of the coming darkness! It has

The world must be told of the coming darkness! It has begun.

Wonder how far into the story until you save Cain?

Diablo retrospective videos:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/media/videos/?keywords=&view#/extended-retrospective

Wonder how much of that will show on the collectors DVD/Bluray?

Tungsten wrote on 04/02/2012 at 11:32pm

In the beta, it's the 2nd quest line

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/03/2012 at 12:10am

Good. I want to spend time staying around and listening and should not be subject to waiting half the game to do that. First computer problems!

Chowda wrote on 04/04/2012 at 05:33pm

I was also going to comment on how quickly you find him in the beta. Much earlier than expected.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2012 at 01:14am

Yeah, as I recall it was a bit into the first act you found Cain. It wasn't immediately but it was a few hours in. As I recall he was in old Tristram that was burning?

Tungsten wrote on 04/05/2012 at 10:19am

In a cage surrounded by zombies. And you had to kill Griswold.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/05/2012 at 01:23pm

The best of times. I hope In D3 they bring back the butcher.

Tungsten wrote on 04/05/2012 at 09:58pm

It certainly keeps with it's dark sense of irony. It seems like revert other mission see you kill someone who once was good but got corrupted.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/06/2012 at 01:13am

Right. Would be cool. Hoping they extend the beta but this close to launch? Might not feel its worth it.

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April Fools? Probably. Still want.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/ee04_marshmallow_creeps_basket.jpg

April Fools? Probably. Still want.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/looflirpa/ee04/images/

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking about the recent controversy with the ending of Mass Effect. When the host asked for an example of a great ending to a game, this is the one the interviewee provided.

True enough, it was the best ending to a game that I can recall.

By the way, if you haven't played the game, you're not really going to benefit from the ending in the video above. It's purely an emotional payoff and if you haven't put the time into the game up until that point, you're not going to get it, so don't spoil it for yourself.

Also, if you haven't played the game, do so at your earliest convenience. It is much much more than GTA in the wild... Read All

Google Maps 8-Bit! This is both hilarious and rad. (Blow

Google Maps 8-Bit! This is both hilarious and rad. (Blow on the cartridge!)

One of the best games ever. If you have any interest in

One of the best games ever. If you have any interest in tactical RPG's, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. You can get it on Steam and Wii (and emulation...).

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/31/2012 at 07:40am

Never heard of this game before, but the music is cool. :D When you say tactical RPG do you mean like FF Tactics and Ogre battle?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/31/2012 at 02:20pm

Ya, pretty much. It's a bit simpler, but that lends to a faster style of play. It also cuts to vignettes for all the combat, which adds a sense of fun.

I'll put a gameplay video up.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/31/2012 at 02:49pm

It's a Genesis game, and most of the RPG crowd went Super Nintendo. (Sorry Phantasy Star, you don't count). A lot of people missed it, but it has quite a following.

There have been a bunch of sequels, but other than one on the Saturn that never got a full translation, the rest have lost the tactical part.

The Shining Force Series is a spinoff of the Shining in the Darkness Series, which is a first person dungeon crawler also available on Steam. The others are okay (actually, there was one of the Sega handheld (the name escapes me now) that was really good as well - Shining Force Gaiden.)

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/01/2012 at 01:08am

Looks cool. Haven't played a tactics game before but loved the Super NES/Nintendo KOEI strategy games quite a bit.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/01/2012 at 01:54am

You shall not pass!

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A few days after Rage shipped I saw a video about someone

A few days after Rage shipped I saw a video about someone finding a secret Wolfenstein and Doom room. I found the Wolf room in Rage and a few days ago found the Doom room. The above video outlines how to find it, but I snapped a few pics of my own:

http://i.imgur.com/frCkc.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3GW1N.jpg

Basically I remembered that someone, in some level, hit some keyboards and they made a sound. Hit enough and a Demon made a noise and then you opened some door and there was the Doom room. Recently I made it to the Gearhead level saw a keyboard, hit it and it made a noise. I hit enough and a Demon made a noise. I beat the level and on my way out the level I tried a door... Read All