Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Review
Recommended
Open-world, taming animals
I found out about Far Cry Primal from one of my favorite YouTubers, Sl1pg8r. He had early access to the game and was able to show it off before it was released. I had never played a Far Cry game, so I knew nothing about the series. I only knew what I saw in those videos Sl1pg8r posted. It looked interesting enough, so I added it to my wish list (on various sites). I ended up buying it recently at a good discount. I recently finished it, so itâs time to write about it!
The game is called Far Cry Primal for a reason, it takes place in 10,000 B.C.E., so youâre not going to have access to modern technology. You do still have a... Read AllReview
Recommended
Open-world, taming animals
I found out about Far Cry Primal from one of my favorite YouTubers, Sl1pg8r. He had early access to the game and was able to show it off before it was released. I had never played a Far Cry game, so I knew nothing about the series. I only knew what I saw in those videos Sl1pg8r posted. It looked interesting enough, so I added it to my wish list (on various sites). I ended up buying it recently at a good discount. I recently finished it, so itâs time to write about it!
The game is called Far Cry Primal for a reason, it takes place in 10,000 B.C.E., so youâre not going to have access to modern technology. You do still have a variety of primal weaponry, such as bows (and arrows), spears, clubs, and âbombs.â Although this may sound like a short list, it gets a little longer considering that there are variations of each weapon. For instance, later you can unlock the long bow and also the ability to use two arrows at once, which is definitely very effective against enemies. Also, thereâs a one-handed club and a two-handed club. There are also stone shards you can throw at enemies, like throwing knives. You can also toss a rock into a group of enemies to distract them, aiding you in maintaining stealth. Not all missions have a stealth bonus and I donât seem to recall any actually requiring stealth. However, in some missions if youâre not stealthy then the people you are trying to rescue will get killed.
This is an open-world game, but you wonât be able to explore every area right away. In order to get to some areas, youâre going to need to unlock the grappling hook, which is done while finding a tribesman. There are some humorous cut-scenes, especially with the one who unlocks this skill. Basically the point of the game is to reunite your tribe and defeat the other two tribes. One tribe is a group of cannibals and the other are pyromaniacs.
Youâll have a small tribal gathering, which you can expand by finding new people. They will give you their own missions, which will unlock skills. Thereâs a small handful of them, but they each have their own role within the tribe. My favorite is the shaman who helps you become the beast master.
One of the features of the game I found most intriguing was that you could tame âbeastsâ and use an owl as a scout. There are a variety of animals you can tame and each one has their own unique abilities and stats (such as speed, strength, and stealth). Even with a variety of animals, most have their own varieties as well, especially ârareâ versions. For instance, thereâs a brown bear and a cave bear. Other than bears you can also tame dholes, sabertooths, and wolves. As you advance in the story, youâll unlock different animals that can be tamed. Eventually, youâll even be able to tame some that are âhardâ (or âvery hardâ) hunting missions. These animals are the best of the bunch.
Taming animals is very helpful, because throughout the entire game you are alone. You can, however, have one tamed beast with you at a time, which removes that whole fighting alone thing. Your beast can scare away other animals and even attack enemies or other animals, which is why theyâre so important. You can also ride some of them, once youâve unlocked that skill. This can help you move through the map much more quickly and safely.
Youâll also have access to an owl that you can use to scout ahead. However, as you progress and unlock new skills, the owl can do much more for you. It can eventually attack and kill enemies (with one hit). It can also drop âbombs,â which there are a few in the game such as the ball of bees, my favorite, or the fire bomb. The owl is actually extremely useful if youâre trying for stealth. Some missions give bonus experience points for stealth and thus the owl is the way to go. It does have a cool down, so you canât spam it too fast, but if youâre patient, you can still take out a small group of enemies. You can also use the owl to send your tamed beast in to kill your enemies, this still seems to give you the stealth bonus, as long as youâre not seen.
Not all animals in the game can be tamed, like birds or badgers, but you can still use mammoths, even though you canât tame them. Once you reach a certain point of the game, youâll be able to ride wild mammoths, but I think itâs only the young ones. There are still a variety of wild animals that are dangerous and canât be tamed such as crocodiles, woolly rhinos, elk, and hawks. The hawks will attack you and itâs hard to attack them, but I did once see a hawk pick up a deer and fly away with it, it was amazing!
There are a variety of optional collectibles you can find. There are four types, I think, and I collected all of three of them. However, even by collecting all of them, you still wonât spend a huge amount of time in the game. My total game play was probably about 40 hours, maybe less.
One thing I really liked about the game was how solid it was as a program. The game never crashed nor did its performance ever drag. It is definitely a solid piece of work. It seems there were only two or three patches done to it. I once did run into an issue where I got stuck in the world, or in between things, but I was able to resolve it by fast traveling to another location. Otherwise, I didnât run into any bugs and I think that says a lot about the Ubisoft.
Metal Jesus got his hands on the new RetreoN 77 Atari Remake system and put it through the paces. The whole retro console remake market is pretty hot and this system seems to have a nice light footprint starting out at about $70. That said, it's not perfect and it seems RetreoN is having issues with the controllers in the first run. That said if you are looking for a good way to play your Atari games in HD this is a solid option.
"PROS: Runs real 2600 cartridges (approx 99% compatibility) 720P HD output Supports original Atari joysticks and paddles Toggle 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio Super long controller cable Looks nice
CONS: Joystick may break during heavy use Doesn't support... Read All
Metal Jesus got his hands on the new RetreoN 77 Atari Remake system and put it through the paces. The whole retro console remake market is pretty hot and this system seems to have a nice light footprint starting out at about $70. That said, it's not perfect and it seems RetreoN is having issues with the controllers in the first run. That said if you are looking for a good way to play your Atari games in HD this is a solid option.
"PROS: Runs real 2600 cartridges (approx 99% compatibility) 720P HD output Supports original Atari joysticks and paddles Toggle 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio Super long controller cable Looks nice
CONS: Joystick may break during heavy use Doesn't support more than 18 ROMS Slight video/audio lag because of software emulation"
This years Summer Games Done Quick was one of the best i've seen to date I think a couple reasons for this is that there are a lot of great new speedrunners running awesome games and the Games Done Quick team is better than ever. This years charity was Doctors without Borders and it's a cool thing to consider that Games Done Quick is the biggest single funding event it has and this year was a blowout with 2.1 million raised! If you want to relive the entire week you can stream it all on the Games Done Quick YouTube page or just check out the runs i'll highlight here. I wanted to talk about a few now and will create a few more posts in the upcoming weeks.
Final Fantasy... Read All
This years Summer Games Done Quick was one of the best i've seen to date I think a couple reasons for this is that there are a lot of great new speedrunners running awesome games and the Games Done Quick team is better than ever. This years charity was Doctors without Borders and it's a cool thing to consider that Games Done Quick is the biggest single funding event it has and this year was a blowout with 2.1 million raised! If you want to relive the entire week you can stream it all on the Games Done Quick YouTube page or just check out the runs i'll highlight here. I wanted to talk about a few now and will create a few more posts in the upcoming weeks.
Final Fantasy VI Glitchless 100% Speedrun by puwexil in 6:53:00 The final speedrun that closed the event was by Puwexil and was 7 hours of pure Final Fantasy III/VI awesomeness. Since it's a glitchless 100% run Puwexil runs the whole game as quickly as possible while getting each character. It's worth watching and I know you don't have 7 hours to watch it in one go so piecing it out a bit over time seems like a good way to watch it all.
Video embedded above.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D by gymnast86 in 1:32:35 Majora's Mask is a game on my list of shame and I plan on picking it up to play this year. That said, I watched the first half of the run and it shows off why this game is one of the most beloved in the series. I stopped watching because I didn't want to spoil the whole game but if you've played it before coming back to watch the 3DS port is well worth it as it's one of the best ways to play and watch it.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Undead Campaign by CovertMuffin If you haven't watched a CoverMuffin run you should because he's a lot of fun to experience. Later on in the event he was one of the people reading off donations and did a great job doing that. He's a fun personality and his knowledge of WarCraft III is immense. Come of the WarCraft III stay for CoverMuffin's laugh!
The Legend of Zelda Race of LackAttack24 v beetea v Eunos in 36:20 Last year I woke up early to catch the Legend of Zelda race and this years was just as fun but didn't require me to wake up at 5am. It's a great race and each player is quite good. That said, a clear winner emerges by a pretty impressive time and 36.20 is a great run!
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Bingo by Runnerguy2489 in 1:13:06 One new format for running Ocarina of Time that came to this years GDQ was Ocarina of Time Bingo. Basically you start the run with a bingo board and the runner picks a sequence row or column and tries to run it as fast as possible. You need to know the game and all of it's skips and exploits well to get a good speedrun of the format and Runnerguy makes it look easy.
Wanted to wish all the stateside Ghosts a very happy Independence Day. Drop off what youâre doing in the comments and enjoy the national feast of hot dogs!
Wanted to wish all the stateside Ghosts a very happy Independence Day. Drop off what youâre doing in the comments and enjoy the national feast of hot dogs!
Gotta support the national feast of hot dogs! We're headed over to have a cookout with my wife's parents later. Otherwise we're doing some cleaning. Fun times! :D
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 04:49pm
Neighborhood party.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 07:43pm
Doing the same thing I do every day. LOL No hot dogs! Pork is causing me problems.
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 08:41pm
Beef hot dogs.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 10:30pm
Turkey dogs are also a thing. Not a great thing but they exist.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 11:15pm
Yeah and tofu dogs, too, I think. I have gallstones and I've noticed that when I eat pork, I have a gallstone attack. I may need to get my gallbladder removed, but since I've cut pork out of my diet, I've ok. There may be other foods that trigger it, but so far I haven't noticed, or at least I'm not aware of all the foods that trigger it. Supposedly I should stay away from hamburgers, but luckily Whoppers don't bother me. :)
Otherwise, I'm gaming. I've been playing Far Cry Primal and I'm nearly done with it. I've also been playing the Sims 4 a bit. And I've been re-reading Jurassic Park.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 07/05/2018 at 01:44am
TOFU DOGS AREN'T AMERICAN GREG! But seriously, if pork does that, then yeah, cut it out.
I've been playing Hearthstone, but I think i'm going to stop the daily grind as it's getting bothersome. Fun while it lasted though and I have enough gold to open 33 packs next expansion and a junk load of dust for 5 or so legendaries!
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This might seem like an odd topic for Cheerful Ghost but as we are all lovers of film the discussion seems useful. Cheerful Ghost has a booth at Portland Retro Game Expo each year and as a way to make a few bucks to help cover the booth cost and a stab at doing something a bit unusual we sell VHS tapes. I've been a light collector of VHS for the last couple years and selling tapes at the booth was a natural progression of that. All that said, I recently found a video that takes a second look at the home video format and VHS specifically. It's a great video and I think many of the points are spot on as some films really are better suited to be watched at home rather... Read All
This might seem like an odd topic for Cheerful Ghost but as we are all lovers of film the discussion seems useful. Cheerful Ghost has a booth at Portland Retro Game Expo each year and as a way to make a few bucks to help cover the booth cost and a stab at doing something a bit unusual we sell VHS tapes. I've been a light collector of VHS for the last couple years and selling tapes at the booth was a natural progression of that. All that said, I recently found a video that takes a second look at the home video format and VHS specifically. It's a great video and I think many of the points are spot on as some films really are better suited to be watched at home rather than in a theater. The video uses the example of Kevin Smith's Mallrats and Clerks and I totally agree.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an upcoming game for the Switch and 3DS that you can play a demo of right now on both systems. It launches on July 13th but we know quite a bit about it already and from what we know it looks like a great Wii U port. Digital Foundry reviews the new Switch and 3DS demo and compares them to the original Wii U version. Some good news is that the Switch version ups the resolution from 720p => 1080p a really nice improvement. The Digital Foundry video mentioned that the Wii U capped most games as 720p as I figured they'd be 1080p but it seems the Switch is a much more powerful system.
Nintendo keeps brining the amazing Wii U ports and in... Read All
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an upcoming game for the Switch and 3DS that you can play a demo of right now on both systems. It launches on July 13th but we know quite a bit about it already and from what we know it looks like a great Wii U port. Digital Foundry reviews the new Switch and 3DS demo and compares them to the original Wii U version. Some good news is that the Switch version ups the resolution from 720p => 1080p a really nice improvement. The Digital Foundry video mentioned that the Wii U capped most games as 720p as I figured they'd be 1080p but it seems the Switch is a much more powerful system.
Nintendo keeps brining the amazing Wii U ports and in this instance they also are bringing it to the 3DS. It's cool to see the 3DS keep being supported and Nintendo is talking about a possible successor to it. I'm open to a new DS but as with most things Nintendo, it's a surprising rumor to hear as I figured they'd be focusing on a Switch only future.
I'm hoping for more ports. At this point I want to eventually buy a Wii U but what I would prefer is not having the need to do so in order to play a handful of games.
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 07/03/2018 at 04:12pm
When are you getting a switch, Jon?
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 07/04/2018 at 10:32pm
Right so I think about this from time to time as I donât have a switch yet but want one. Two scenarios where Iâd pick one up. First is if they announce Mario Maker for this year. Second case is this Christmas.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 07/05/2018 at 03:39pm
Yep. I think that's a very likely possibility. I'm still super happy with the games I have and the 3DS has turned out to be a great system. In fact I think I could keep going for another year on just 3DS games I have yet to buy and the new stuff Nintendo is brining to it. After I got the Mega Man legacy collection 1 on 3DS it basically made it THE way I play Mega Man 2. I still play it on the NES Classic too but it's a bit easier to pull out the 3DS whenever.
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If you want to play Duck Hunt on a modern LCD TV the Modern Mallard Kickstarter might be the ticket. It requires you to mod your light gun & game cart for it to work and the base pledge is $129. It's a super incredible project but... I got a CRT TV for $10 and it works awesome with Duck Hunt. Still, if you want to HD all the things this is a really compelling option.
"Well, you can't play Duck Hunt anymore with your NES: it doesn't work on modern flat-screen TVs. You need an old, bulky tube (CRT) TV to play. The Zapper can't "see" modern TVs, and modern TVs have enough delay on their inputs to confuse the game. You're out of luck.
Until now.
Do you want to play your... Read All
If you want to play Duck Hunt on a modern LCD TV the Modern Mallard Kickstarter might be the ticket. It requires you to mod your light gun & game cart for it to work and the base pledge is $129. It's a super incredible project but... I got a CRT TV for $10 and it works awesome with Duck Hunt. Still, if you want to HD all the things this is a really compelling option.
"Well, you can't play Duck Hunt anymore with your NES: it doesn't work on modern flat-screen TVs. You need an old, bulky tube (CRT) TV to play. The Zapper can't "see" modern TVs, and modern TVs have enough delay on their inputs to confuse the game. You're out of luck.
Until now.
Do you want to play your copy of Duck Hunt with your NES on a modern TV? Want to relive the fun of the game or share it with your own kids? You can with Modern Mallard!"
I wish there was an option to just buy the Zapper mod and use a rom patch instead of the in-line patching module. That would cut the cost way down. But it indirectly encourages piracy which may be a non-starter. I wonder if rom patches will be made for Hogan's Alley, Bayou Billy, and others.
Either way I'm holding on to a CRT just for when I get the urge to shoot some ducks or clay pigeons so I'm probably not the target demo here. It's a very neat project though.
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Pokemon Quest just launched on Android and iOS two days ago and i've been playing it a bit since it dropped. I'm going to say right at the top that Pokemon Quest is a good mobile game and it's free to play elements aren't too annoying. That said, the game is good but not great and it's not quite boring, but it's not that compelling either. You might as well call Pokemon Quest "Pokemon Rival Turf Wars" because the basic gameplay is you have 3 Pokemon in a group they walk around levels automagically and pick fights with other Pokemon until your Poke-gang kicks everyones ass. Your group has an overall power level and it's easy to tell if you have enough power to beat the... Read All
Pokemon Quest just launched on Android and iOS two days ago and i've been playing it a bit since it dropped. I'm going to say right at the top that Pokemon Quest is a good mobile game and it's free to play elements aren't too annoying. That said, the game is good but not great and it's not quite boring, but it's not that compelling either. You might as well call Pokemon Quest "Pokemon Rival Turf Wars" because the basic gameplay is you have 3 Pokemon in a group they walk around levels automagically and pick fights with other Pokemon until your Poke-gang kicks everyones ass. Your group has an overall power level and it's easy to tell if you have enough power to beat the current stage or not. As you beat levels you are awarded power stones that boost Pokemon attack and health as well as speed up their activated abilities. It's a fairly simple game in concept and execution and I think that's all to it's credit yet even with a fun voxel art style and original Gameboy sound effects the game is ... fine.
That said, I imagine Pokemon fans will enjoy this little jaunt in the Poke-verse and it should make a zillion bucks for Nintendo.
Edmund McMillen is one half of the old Team Meat that made Super Meat Boy and he's recently gone off to work with new teams on projects such as The Binding of Isaac Rebirth, The End is Nigh and now with his brand new Kickstarter project The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls. Four Souls is a neat looking group card game where funding it at $25 gets you the base game and upping your pledge gets you more. Not really sure from the video how the game plays but it looks like fun and if it's anything like the base game, it's difficult, dark and features lots of poop and tears. Which, you know, sounds awesome.
Edmund McMillen is one half of the old Team Meat that made Super Meat Boy and he's recently gone off to work with new teams on projects such as The Binding of Isaac Rebirth, The End is Nigh and now with his brand new Kickstarter project The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls. Four Souls is a neat looking group card game where funding it at $25 gets you the base game and upping your pledge gets you more. Not really sure from the video how the game plays but it looks like fun and if it's anything like the base game, it's difficult, dark and features lots of poop and tears. Which, you know, sounds awesome.
You have a Mazda too huh(I know because we have one and I recognize the steering wheel :smile)? Cool.
Anyways, grats on finally getting one. Happy Nintendo brought these back.
Travis Admin Post Author
wrote on 06/29/2018 at 07:35pm
Yeah thatâs Katieâs new car. Iâm driving it because she has some time off and has my Nissan in the shop for an oil change and inspection. I adore her car though.
And no I didnât get a second controller Will, but I have an SNES classic and those controllers work, plus and 8bitdo and the adapter so Iâm set on controllers.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 06/29/2018 at 08:35pm
I just bought mine at Gamestop! :) I did not get a second controller, that might not be a bad idea,
Itâs totally worth it if you donât have the SNES Classic controllers. ALSO I seriously recommend the cable extender. I have two and they are lifesavers if you play it on a couch.
Travis Admin Post Author
wrote on 06/29/2018 at 08:58pm
Yep and those cable extenders are cheap. Very worth it. Theyâre sitting next to my original NES extension cables in my game junk cabinet.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 06/30/2018 at 12:17am
I actually might have another controller I can use for it. I got one for the Wii and it at least looks similar to these new controller ports. I'll have to try that out sometime, if I can find it.
Travis Admin Post Author
wrote on 06/30/2018 at 03:27am