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Monster Hunter: World's Expansion Iceborne is Coming to PC Jan. 9

Monster Hunter: World Iceborne is Coming to PC Jan. 9th

Monster Hunter: World has become Capcom’s highest selling game. After it’s success on consoles, it came to PC a bit later (last year). It’s first paid expansion pack DLC, Iceborne was released for consoles some time ago, but it is coming to PC on Jan 9th. Not only is the game coming to PC, but it includes new upgrades such as DirectX12 and “better” keyboard and mouse controls.

I got MHW this Spring and started playing it this Summer. I can only imagine how people play the game with a keyboard and mouse. I decided early on to use an Xbox controller for the game as I read that it was recommended. I’ve always found... Read All Monster Hunter: World Iceborne is Coming to PC Jan. 9th

Monster Hunter: World has become Capcom’s highest selling game. After it’s success on consoles, it came to PC a bit later (last year). It’s first paid expansion pack DLC, Iceborne was released for consoles some time ago, but it is coming to PC on Jan 9th. Not only is the game coming to PC, but it includes new upgrades such as DirectX12 and “better” keyboard and mouse controls.

I got MHW this Spring and started playing it this Summer. I can only imagine how people play the game with a keyboard and mouse. I decided early on to use an Xbox controller for the game as I read that it was recommended. I’ve always found Xbox (360 and One) controllers to be very good and easy to use for PC gaming.

You can now pre-order the expansion for $50 on Steam, but you can also get a special bundle that’s $40. It’s actually confusing, because it seems the $40 bundle comes with a few extra things along with the pre-order bonus, but is less expensive, while the $50 version only comes with the pre-order bonus. There will be another bundle that will include the base game and the expansion. I think that bundle is coming with the release of the expansion. Now is a good time to buy the base game as it’s on sale. It’s also a great time to play the game as there is a holiday event going on that contains quests and items that are available for a limited time. These quests usually come back to the game every now and then, but it seems all such quests come back on holiday events like this one. I imagine there will be another similar event in December, though I could be wrong.

The expansion obviously requires the base game, but in order to access it, you have to have at least finished the story mode of the base game. There is plenty of time between now and then to do so. There is also plenty of time to get a lot of things done, like collecting items and materials you will need. Check out the links provide below for details. I’m also including a playlist that includes weapon tutorials, so you can pick the right one for you.

I’ve already reviewed the base game here on Cheerful Ghost, feel free to check it out. In short, it’s a great game, I like it a lot. I’m not too keen on the multiplayer aspect, though. I don’t really want to play with strangers and I have no friends on Steam that own the game. There are certain quests that were designed for multiplayer in mind, trying to do these by yourself is extremely frustrating. However, I think the game is great, you should definitely check it out. If I had bought this game last year, it would have definitely been my pick for Game of the Year.

My MHW review: https://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/4197/who-know-monster-hunting-would-be-so-fun

Video links:
A short video pointing out PC upgrades coming to the game with Iceborne (*edit* some of these are already in the game): https://youtu.be/9PyHePaNodY

12 things you should do in-game before Iceborne is released: https://youtu.be/gby5dgDSF3c

A good set of weapon tutorials to help you pick the right weapon for you: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHc2Wj95htvMxZR7dvgYwevupNBy9imiu

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 69: The Pumpkin Spiceasode! Reviewing ALL the Pumpkin Spice!

It's that time of year, folks. The scent of pumpkin spice is in the air. So we thought, what better time to try out all the pumpkin spice flavored things we could get our hands on and review them live? What could go wrong? Come experience the flavor of the season with us in this special episode!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/23/2019 at 10:27pm

I want to do a bit of a followup here. I gave some of these another shot and wanted to share my updated tasting notes. I had gotten overloaded on sweet and some of my reactions were due to that.

The Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Crullers are still divine. Easily the best of the bunch, and something I could eat until I got sick, which to be fair probably wouldn't be that many.

Both the Little Debbie cakes were better than I thought in the episode. I was rinsing between every taste but there must have still been some residuals there, because these are both pretty dang good. The Pumpkin Roll is still too sweet, but I didn't get that weird kick in the back of my mouth.

The pumpkin spice twinkies are FAR better than I thought during the episode. This one must have suffered the most from crossover flavors. Pretty decent overall, still not as good as a regular twinkie

The oatmeal is still bland but not as much as I initially thought. If you're ok with adding some cinnamon or something, go for it.

The M&Ms and Kit-Kats are still abominations and should be cleansed from the planet.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/24/2019 at 06:45pm

Guys, you must cleanse your palate between food tastings. Leave the food reviews to Guy Fieri.

BTW, I love Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte and their Pumpkin Scone.

Later Haters!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2019 at 07:37pm

Haha

I attempted to cleanse between tastings but it clearly didn’t work.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/24/2019 at 08:03pm

Thanks for trying, Travis. Maybe there is no cleansing of pumpkin spice? :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/24/2019 at 08:06pm

Maybe not! Haha

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Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Final Trailer

The “final” trailer for Episode IX is out now. I say “final” in quotes because we will surely see more footage in TV spots and international variants.

But here we go, the last major US trailer, and we are about two months out from the film’s release.

Tickets are available now, and I’ve already got seats for the Friday of release.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but I’ll get the discussion started with three things:

1. The scene of the new crew in the Falcon is something I’ve been wanting since TFA.

2. That arrangement of the main theme was sublime.

3. Threepio, you ok?

So go forth, watch it, and tell us what you think!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2019 at 02:30am

Real quick fourth thing: I think I spotted the Ghost, right next to the Falcon in the scene with all the ships.

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/22/2019 at 02:33am

AND if you didn't watch the Rebels show (like me) then here's what The Ghost is. https://www.starwars.com/databank/the-ghost

I'm getting Disney+ so when that happens I'll prob watch it to know first hand

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2019 at 02:34am

Yeah thanks I should have pointed that out 😂

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/22/2019 at 04:04am

Holy crap, yes!

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/22/2019 at 04:47am

Thoughts: I don't think this was better than the teaser they released during D23. I'm curious about the Emperor stuff and how Kylo and Rey interact as they look like they are more working together than not. That said, in general, i'm not sure what i'm rooting for. I'm not sure what's going on at all and I don't know how this is even set up. Like things are happening and the Emperor, but I don't quite understand any of it and maybe that's a good thing because spoilers. I mean, clearly The Resistance is gathering and there's gonna be a big shootout at the end but I'm not sure what the point is? Maybe I just had some bad food and the grump is setting in, but didn't we have that in Jedi, like the Death Star fight scene and big space battle? Literally this fight is on the same Death Star in water with the Emperor in a chair and Lando is flying around outside 🤣WHAT'S AT THE END FORCE GHOSTS SMILING AT OUR HEROES? 🤣

Ok, i'll tune the cynicism down a tad to say that i'm gonna pre-order this and i'm gonna watch it and my expectation is it's gonna be great and I bet it will be. That said, this trailer isn't getting me there and in the end that's fine because lowering my expectations a bit seems like a good strategy to have a good time watching it.

PS I love you Star Wars, this trailer is neat, it just didn't work for as well as the last D23 teaser, in my opinion that's one of the best cut trailers of all time and they didn't quite get to that with this one.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/22/2019 at 04:58am

I think this trailer got me even more interested in the Emperor's part in this movie. It seems he comes face to face with Rey, although we don't see him directly, so maybe he has some other form. We see Kylo and Rey fight each other, but we also see them fighting together. Maybe they're tied together some how beyond just Light vs. Dark sides of the Force.

I want to see this for sure, but I don't think I'm going to do anything extra ordinary to watch it. I'll probably go in December, probably with my son at out local movie place. The local place isn't as bad as it used to be, they got new seats!

I've watched plenty of theories about this whole thing like how the Emperor returns, how that's possible, who are Rey's parents, who is Rey, etc.

I just feel like this movie is going to be pretty bad ass (that's a good thing). Like holy crap, where did that Star Destroyer come from? Has it been sitting in the sea this whole time? Whoa, dude!

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/22/2019 at 05:21am

> Like holy crap, where did that Star Destroyer come from? Has it been sitting in the sea this whole time? Whoa, dude!

I FOR ONE WELCOME OUR NEW SUBMARINE STAR DESTROYER OVERLORDS 🤣

That said, it was a totally bad ass shot!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/22/2019 at 05:21am

Not enough lens flares. You have failed me Jar Jar Abrams.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2019 at 02:23pm

I dunno man, the D23 teaser was more a celebration of the saga than a teaser for episode IX. It was neat but forgettable. In fact the dark Rey tease is basically all I can remember. And maybe Rey and Kylo fighting outside the DS? I can’t remember if that was in that one or the one before. Or both. But I wanted more from that. I know it was just a teaser but still. This one has built my hype more than any of the other ones honestly.

I mean yeah there’s going to be a big space fleet battle but it wouldn’t feel like Star Wars without a space battle and this is the last one so it’s gotta be huge.

I will say, though, that I’m still not sure about bringing back DS2 and Palpatine. People say that The Force Awakens kinda undoes the work of the original trilogy and this tears it down even more. BUT I’m withholding judgment on it until I see it, the explanation could be incredible.

And JJ has said this will close out the story of all nine movies but we’ve only gotten hints of the OT plot leaking in, I wonder what the prequel influences and plot threads will be.

But yeah I LOVE that at this point we still can’t really piece together any plot. We have no clue what’s going to happen and that’s pretty fantastic. And kinda rare for modern movies

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/22/2019 at 03:26pm

Oh darn, I mentioned the wrong trailer. I meant the original TEASER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzYW5DZoWs

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2019 at 03:53pm

Ok yeah that one was absolutely incredible.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 10/22/2019 at 05:19pm

This has been my favorite trailer. None of the others has gotten me as excited for the movie as this one had. I can't wait to see how this movie unfolds!

I have theories about what's going to happen, but I don't want to spoil anything, in case I'm right. But I think this movie will fit in nicely with all 8 previous movies (yes, even the prequels!)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/22/2019 at 06:40pm

I hope it does. I’m honestly hoping the “Skywalker” in the title is Anakin ... somehow. In some magical way that doesn’t feel hamfisted.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/23/2019 at 10:20pm

Trailer breakdown https://youtu.be/odyP6GqyzEs

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Revenge of the Bird King is Practically Free for Switch Players

This game is weird.

You're a humanoid bird. Guns grow from plants. Out of ammo? Just plant a gun. That's pretty much your intro.

Right now, Revenge of the Bird King is NINE CENTS on the Switch. You probably have enough Nintendo coins on your account to buy it with those right now.

Beyond being weird, this is a fun game. The platforming is tricky but satisfying, though it does have its cheap moments. For nine cents you can't lose.

The Outer Worlds Launch Trailer

The Outer Worlds will be with us in just a few days, and we've gotten a final launch trailer to tempt us.

As if I needed tempting. A new Obsidian RPG? Yes, please. In space? Even better.

I don't think this trailer really sells what the game is about, but it may set the mood pretty well. There are some gameplay videos out there that give you more of a feel of the flow of the game, like this one from Kotaku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9xOtElr6mw

But even if I hadn't known what kind of game this is already, the trailer would have grabbed me. While it's clear they're trying to borrow some of Gearbox's trailer tricks for this, the game seems to have a voice of its own.

... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/19/2019 at 08:34pm

That really is a good trailer! If I'm correct, it's going to be an EGS exclusive for a while. Steam says it'll be available next year.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/19/2019 at 11:20pm

EGS and Microsoft’s Windows Store

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/20/2019 at 12:31am

So, I just read a bit of an article that says this game is coming to Steam one year after it releases on other platforms (EGS & Windows Store). This is starting to get annoying. A new game comes out and I have to wait a whole year after it actually releases before I can play it on Steam or buy it from another platform. Damn.

I also want to repeat that this is a really good trailer! I was really impressed by it. I can't say that about the Red Dead Redemption 2 PC trailer that just released. I guess part of it was that this trailer is so good and humorous. This game does remind me of Borderlands. I also kind of felt like "oh another shooter," but then I decided I had to keep in mind that this is probably Fallout: New Vegas (some what) in space.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/22/2019 at 07:49pm

Here's a review https://youtu.be/4B6t9U1pRok

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/25/2019 at 08:32pm

A Gameranx Before You Buy (Good) Review https://youtu.be/4f4d6E22aRI

I like how colorful the game looks. It seems as though it doesn't take 100 hours to finish the game, which I find kind of disappointing (I want good RPGs to be long). But, this seems to be a good game. I'm also really impressed that it's a single player game! I recently thought about that (single player games) as revolutionary (LOL), because too many games now are multiplayer or pretty much require multiple people to complete. I mostly play alone and don't want to play games with strangers. But, that's a gaming rant for another time, some where else, or just for myself. This will probably be the last review I share. I wasn't "sold" on the game at first, but since the release and seeing these reviews, I think it's something I want to check out.

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The Analogue Pocket Wants My $200, Will Probably Get It

Analogue, creators of various retro goodness, have announced their next offering: the Analogue Pocket.

Out of the box, the Analogue Pocket can play all the original run of Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, and has an audio sequencer as well.

With some adapters, you can also play other handheld titles from the Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket, and Atari Lynx.

Taking a note from the PSP and the Nintendo Switch, you'll also be able to buy a separate dock that connects to your TV and USB/Bluetooth controllers for playing your portable games in a non-portable fashion, if that's your thing.

This isn't a portable emulator-- Analogue have engineered their own chips to play these games.... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 10/17/2019 at 03:41am

Travis, you need it. Analogue makes some nice devices. I have their Super NT and it is a quality product. I hear the Mega SG is also nice.

Some other features that this has:
- It will play all Game Boy Advance games
- 3.5", 615 PPI, 1600x1440 LCD. Analogue says that it is 10x the resolution of the original Game Boy.
- It has a second FPGA that developers can develop for. I wonder if this means other systems will be ported to it?

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/17/2019 at 03:16pm

Piggy backing on the the success of its previous consoles, this looks like and incredible follow up. I already have two backlit flip GBA handhelds but... this looks so cool. Can’t wait to try it out!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/17/2019 at 03:50pm

I entirely missed that this could also play GBA games. Well, that’s pretty much it for me, no way I’m talking myself out of it now.

jdodson Admin wrote on 10/17/2019 at 04:00pm

Totally. GBA ROM carts are gonna explode in sales too as people want to play homebrew on this.

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The Oregon Trail Handheld Is A Great Way To Relive The Classic Game

A few weeks ago The Oregon Trail Handheld was marked down to under $10 and I picked it up. If you don't remember, last year Target had the Oregon Trail handheld exclusively in stores alongside an Oregon Trail card game. I picked up the card game and wasn't impressed but when I recently got the handheld I took it to a beach trip with some friends and asked them if they wanted to play it. We had a very lucky run and made it all the way to Oregon only having one person in our party die on the rapids on the Willamette River. The Oregon Trail Handheld is a great port of the game that looks like it might not work with the odd controls on front but I was very surprised how... Read All A few weeks ago The Oregon Trail Handheld was marked down to under $10 and I picked it up. If you don't remember, last year Target had the Oregon Trail handheld exclusively in stores alongside an Oregon Trail card game. I picked up the card game and wasn't impressed but when I recently got the handheld I took it to a beach trip with some friends and asked them if they wanted to play it. We had a very lucky run and made it all the way to Oregon only having one person in our party die on the rapids on the Willamette River. The Oregon Trail Handheld is a great port of the game that looks like it might not work with the odd controls on front but I was very surprised how seamless everything worked. The games screen is light enough to see quite well and the speaker is good enough to do the original bleeps and bloop effects justice.

At the end of the day these kinds of handhelds are a great way to come back and play a game you miss but if you didn't grow up in the glow of Oregon Trail on the Apple II this might not be interesting to you. The game itself is quite good and i'd my only critique is that some runs are so punishing as to be quite dark in tone. In one run everything might be going in your favor and the game seems easy and the next run you can have everyone in your party wiped out before you hit the halfway point.

As I said before I took this game to a beach house and played it with friends and if you are so included, I recommend playing it that way. Not that you must play this game from a beach house but playing this with friends feels like a shared experience game akin to Dungeons and Dragons. Basically you have one person take the roll of the Wagon Leader who controls the game and reads out what's happening on screen and everyone takes part in what choices you make to head west.

It seems that the incredibly cheap price I picked up the game for was a discount to clear out stock but if you can find it, i'd recommend getting it. As LGR says in his video above, this handheld will become collectable at some point and if it's well worth a couple bucks to play every so often to die of dysentery, a broken leg or actually make it to Oregon alive.

The Witcher 3 on Switch Looks Like The Best Way To Play it On The Go

When it was announced The Witcher 3 was coming to the Switch many people were excited about being able to play it on the go but had doubts about how it would perform. The Witcher 3 finally launched on Switch and Digital Foundry reviewed the port and it looks to be a pretty good port of the game that is cut down visually to accommodate the hardware and fit on a 32G install. I haven't played Witcher 3 yet and this seems like a great way to check it out.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/16/2019 at 04:59am

Man, it looks like digital vibrance is set high in this video.

I played The Witcher 3 on my Alienware PC and I really enjoyed it! I think I was using the GTX 690 at the time. I'm not really sure there was anything I didn't like about this game. I really liked the story, the characters, the mini-game customizable card game called Gwent, etc. Geralt is certainly a favorite "hero" in my eyes now. I recently got to play as him in Monster Hunter: World as there was a collaboration done between the two games. It tempted me to play Witcher 3 again.

As for this video. It looks really good on PS4, but not so great on the Switch. I'm not even sure if I'd notice the difference if they weren't compared together on the same screen.

I seem to recall recently discovering that there is a new texture pack (possibly via the Steam Workshop) that you can download to make the game look even better.

As I said, I really loved Witcher 3. I haven't played it a second time, probably because it's so long, especially if you do every quest, there are very many of them. I often wouldn't leave an area until I finished all the quests in the area that were around the level I was at. I hesitated moving on, although it wasn't really necessary. Maybe I'll play the game again, I do believe it is a great game. I wasn't so fond of the first two games in the series, especially the first and I have my reasons. I don't think you really need to play the first two before this one, I don't think they really gave much of a back story, so they're kind of, maybe slightly irrelevant to this one.

Here's a shameless plug, I actually wrote about all three games on here, check it out if you want to learn more about it. I haven't looked at what I wrote in a long time. I'm not sure if I combined them together or not.

Thanks for sharing!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/16/2019 at 05:08am

Also, regarding your title, isn't W3 on the Switch the only way to play it on the go?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/16/2019 at 11:12pm

> Also, regarding your title, isn't W3 on the Switch the only way to play it on the go?

You can play it on a laptop and that's a great way to play it but the Switch is a bit lighter and quite a bit cheaper.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/17/2019 at 01:01am

My apologies, I hadn't thought of that. I don't know why I didn't think about a laptop.

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Start October Off Right With Night of the Living Dead!

Night of the Living Dead legendary film maker George Romero's first film that create the entire Zombie horror genre. Night of the Living Dead is a black and white film from 1968 that hold's up today as a "bottle" horror film in that it all takes place in a farmhouse. Night of the Living Dead would inspire Romero to create the Night of the Living Dead series including the incredible Day of the Dead.

The original copyright holder didn't renew Night of the Living Dead so it fell into public domain allowing it to be put on YouTube for free and included on Cheerful Ghost for your viewing pleasure. Night of the Living dead has some pretty campy effects but i'd argue the film... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/12/2019 at 06:17am

Honestly, I liked this original movie when I saw it in the late 90's. I don't think I've liked another zombie movie as much since then. Maybe it's because it's in black and white that makes it less gorey, I don't know, but I think it was good.

On the topic of zombies, well first of all, how many zombie movies do we need? Geez there are so many of them! Now for video games, same question, must zombies be in every video game? Geez, we need some more creativity! LOL Ok, that's a broad generalization, but there just are so many zombies in our favorite media.

Travis Admin wrote on 10/12/2019 at 04:09pm

Yeah it definitely seems like Left 4 Dead created a new gaming zombie craze. Or maybe it was starting before then? Not sure. Resident Evil was already established and popular but it didn't seem to be as widespread until L4D.

But yeah, Call of Duty games have a zombies mode, it seems like most survival games are zombie related, Red Dead Redemption had the Undead Nightmare DLC... it's everywhere!

But, when done well it's really cool. If the AI in the enemies is programmed well, it's a big change from the kind of gameplay you see in other games, especially when you just get SWARMED by zombies without any inhibitions, who don't try to protect themselves, who just want your flesh at all cost.

Damn now I want to play Left 4 Dead.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 10/12/2019 at 04:34pm

I’d say Shaun of the Dead brought Zombies back to pop culture in what might be considered the second wave of Zombie stuff. I’d say that film inspired a lot of modern takes and it just keeps going. A lot of it is fun but on the gaming front it’s a bit played out yet we have fantastic takes like Death Road to Canada to keep things fresh.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/12/2019 at 07:58pm

:) I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices this. I don't really think about it much with some stuff, like Terraria and Minecraft.

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Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 68: Sayonara Dragon Link

We love to check in every month or so about what we've been playing and watching. It had been a while, though, so we devoted almost the entire episode to it! And we check in on Jon's playthrough of Link's Awakening on the Switch to see how he liked the end.