Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is Here!

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection finally dropped today to, mostly, great reviews. The game collects 12 classic games which translates to be about $3.50 per game which is an incredible value. Maybe you might not play each game for 8000 hours but dropping in on a few just to understand the journey the franchise has taken seems more than interesting to me. The 30th Anniversary Collection is now out on PS4, XBox One, Switch and Steam and the Switch and Steam reviews seem a bit mixed. The complaint of the Switch version is that the switch controller doesn't flawlessly execute all of the combos and the PC version is getting swamped with reviews complaining to not... Read All

Mega Man 11 Is "Blue Bombing" It's Way To Launch October 2nd!

I'm not gonna lie, I prefer the old school pixel art of the classic Mega Man games. With that, they do need to bring Mega Man to a more modern audience so i'm trying to give the new art style a chance. Mega Man 11 looks to bring the classic 2D gameplay to modern systems with a more anime style that brings back a ton of classic 2D characterization. I don't love it but the style is growing on me and I bet after playing it a bit I might like it quite a bit. It was also announced today with the trailer featured above that Mega Man 11 is coming to consoles and PC October 2nd. For anyone planning on getting Mega Man 11 at launch or beyond what system do you think you will... Read All

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 25: "Solo: A Star Wars Story" Review, Part 1

EXPECT SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS OF THIS POST

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the new Lucasfilm prequel featuring everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler Han Solo. Solo had a somewhat troubled production when Lucasfilm replaced the original directors Lord and Miller with veteran director Ron Howard. We’re now living in a world where we get a new Star Wars movie per year, is this a good thing or has Lucasfilm succumbed to the darkside?

We'll be back next month with Part 2 of our review after things have had some time to settle in our minds. In part 2, we'll tell you where Solo fits into our Star Wars rankings and give our Ghost Scale rating.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/29/2018 at 10:44pm

As with much, i'm going to say that if you want to partake in the comments here to expect spoilers.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/29/2018 at 10:59pm

Yep, thanks Jon. I updated the post with that warning as well.

And as an aside, sorry for my sick-sounding self. I must have gotten whatever Tim had. From across the country.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/30/2018 at 07:52pm

So Solo met my expectations, which is: it is fun, but nothing mind blowing. To me, Han and Chewie are the least interesting characters in the movie. All the other characters were great and saved the movie for me.

I really hope Lucasfilm rethinks their strategy of basing these "Star Wars Story" movies on existing characters. I think it makes it harder to care for the characters when you know where they end up. If they use existing characters and make the movies prequels, they better have a very strong character arc (which Solo did not have for Han). Otherwise I would like to see the characters in a non-prequel setting. For example: for the Boba Fett movie, set it after Return of the Jedi. Maybe have it set up like an Unforgiven movie. I think that would be cool.

As far as more Star Wars releases per year, it doesn't sound like they are going to do that after Solo under-performed.

As for the two Star Wars Story movies, Rogue One was the better film IMHO.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2018 at 07:58pm

They’d have to retcon Boba dying in RotJ for that to work. But I could get behind someone finding his armor near the sarlaac pit and taking over his name and contributing his legacy. That would be awesome.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2018 at 07:58pm

*continuing

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/30/2018 at 08:06pm

We don't know that Boba died in RotJ. He went into the Sarlacc for sure, but it takes "over a thousand years" for a Sarlacc to digest someone.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2018 at 09:00pm

Unless he managed to take off his armor while inside the sarlaac and escape, he’s dead. Jaws eventually dug into the pit and killed the sarlaac and took a lot of stuff from its stomach, including that armor.

That’s according to Aftermath, and LucasFilm’s new canon policy is there’s only one canon, no levels of canon, and every story decision is approved based on whether it violates anything previously done.

So they have some wiggle room for Boba surviving (like a suuuuuper low chance) but he wouldn’t have the armor. Or there would need to be some crazy exposition for it to work.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/30/2018 at 10:04pm

Ah, so it was covered in a novel? I am failing at being a star wars nerd. :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2018 at 10:49pm

Hahaha nah, it’s hard to keep up with all of it. My wife has done a better job of it than I have.

But yeah it’s been covered just by the armor moving around a bit. But I mean technically there’s still no body. Probably LucasFilm being coy with us.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/30/2018 at 10:56pm

Travis, will you write up a Travis' Notes version of Star Wars so we have all the info? :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/30/2018 at 11:50pm

I already did: https://starwars.wikia.com

;)

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:03am

> I really hope Lucasfilm rethinks their strategy of basing these "Star Wars Story" movies on existing characters. I think it makes it harder to care for the characters when you know where they end up. If they use existing characters and make the movies prequels, they better have a very strong character arc (which Solo did not have for Han).

I'm not sure I disagree with anything you said. With that, my guess is that they are doing these (and i've talked about this before in comments) prequel films while they rev up the new films POST Episode 9. They have Rian Johnson and the Thrones brothers (whatever their names are) for those movies but while they are getting those going and the TV shows and other new movies they want to mine stuff and the past seems like a temporarally safe choice.

> As far as more Star Wars releases per year, it doesn't sound like they are going to do that after Solo under-performed.

Marvel did it. I bet Lucasfilm can get the formula right too.

> As for the two Star Wars Story movies, Rogue One was the better film IMHO.

The more I think about where Solo lands the more i'm not sure. I know it's better than most of the prequels but i'm not sure about where it sits with Rogue One? I hope to see it again before part 2.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:31am

Also wanted to link to a YouTube video I watched recently called "What We Want From a Star Wars Movie?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUGLUYYYNQ It's a great breakdown and covers why some people might not have appreciated aspects of The Last Jedi.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:35am

I'm really not sure where I'd put Solo in terms of better or worse than Rogue One. Rogue One was SO good in my opinion but I do get the issues people had with it.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/31/2018 at 03:45am

We all know we really want a Jar Jar Binks movie.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 04:01am

I'd honestly go opening night if there was one.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/31/2018 at 05:03am

“Mesa want your money: A Jar Jar Binks Story”

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:41pm

I would totally go to that and try to avoid all spoilers. I would want to experience the train wreck

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/31/2018 at 05:42pm

I've heard some fun speculation that the Solo/Boba Fett/Obi Wan movies could be a quasi-Darth Maul/Crimson Dawn trilogy. From what I've read and seen, Darth Maul and Obi Wan have a pretty extensive history in the animated shows, so an Obi Wan movie with Darth Maul in it might have to be a retelling of the animated story (so it's probably not likely). It would also be fun for Han and Chewie to be minor characters in the Boba Fett movie.

(I've still not seen Solo, but I've seen a lot of reactions and breakdowns. And I heard a podcast on it too Here's a really in-depth, fun breakdown of all the references and details in Solo: https://youtu.be/fKLHggsywpo )

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/31/2018 at 06:05pm

Interesting chat with Ron Howard about Maul here: http://www.slashfilm.com/solo-reveal-explained/

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 10:54pm

I meant to post that here last night Will. I love how he just didn't know who was going to fill that role, but Jonathan Kasdan wrote it so that it would lean toward Maul.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 11:04pm

There's something that Jon and I talked about in the episode that I've been thinking about. Jon thought it was out of character for Han to give Enfys the loot instead of taking it himself. I mostly agreed but upon further thought, I think it makes sense. And my wife thought this was too obvious to even talk about it so... maybe we're slow :D

So in A New Hope, Han is only in it for the money, until he shows up to help in the crucial moment of the Death Star battle to help.

In Empire, we aren't entirely sure what's happened in the intervening years but Han is about to leave to save his own ass until he finds out Luke is in trouble and he risks his life to save Luke.

Han isn't a rogue scoundrel who only looks out for himself, even in the beginning of when we knew him. He's a good person who had terrible experiences and has made himself INTO a rogue scoundrel to get by. But when it comes down to it he does what's right.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/01/2018 at 01:07am

Yeah as I was thinking about the movie more the night I came back from the theater the more it made sense that they might make this The Maul Trilogy. Should be fun!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/01/2018 at 02:41am

I just saw the movie so now I can partake in spoiler comments! Wow there's a lot to read about here. It took me a while, but I finally recognized Emilia Clarke, "Daenerys!" Wow that was difficult to place, since she's a brunette in this movie. I also thought that L3 was played by Gwendoline Christie, Captain Phasma, but I was wrong.

I thought it was a cool movie, some of it was beautiful (like when they escaped the maelstrom. I noticed the lack of a Star Wars theme music in the beginning, which didn't occur until Hans and Chewie were in the Falcon.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/01/2018 at 02:47am

Hans, the German smuggler.

;)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/01/2018 at 03:06am

I also recognized Ron Howard's brother, so wasn't surprised to see Ron's name in the credits. I also saw the guy from the movie Willow, I believe. Oh and the main villain, he was Vision in the Marvel movies!

I also thought it was cool that Han knew Chewie's language. That was interesting. I mean he never talked to Chewie in his native language before, so that was really cool! Seeing Darth Maul surprised me, the ending twist was a surprise for me, but I guess I'm just gullible and twists in movies actually surprise me.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/01/2018 at 03:07am

Crap, I said "Hans" my bad! I made that mistake before.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/01/2018 at 10:00pm

Seeing Han speak Wookie was horrible! I have to disagree with you on that one Greg!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/02/2018 at 04:13am

I would be somewhere in the middle of cool and horrible on this one. I kinda always thought of Shyriiwook as something that non-Wookiees couldn't speak, just like how humans can't purr. We can kinda approximate it but we don't have the right throat structure for it. Apparently, though, according to a canon reference book it's possible, just really hard on the throat if you aren't a Wookiee.

It was still cheesy to see it though.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/02/2018 at 04:46am

So, I'm getting the impression that I liked it more than you guys. That doesn't quite surprise me as I clearly like the prequels more than you guys. Is this correct? Did you guys not like it very much?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/02/2018 at 06:04am

If you've heard the episode, Jon and I really liked it, and my opinion has stayed pretty consistent since things have gelled in my mind over the last week. My wife and I were planning on a second watch this past Monday but we both got some kind of virus that's worse than a cold. Bubonic chest cold? Yeah Bubonic chest cold.

I've never seen a movie where every single thing worked for me though, and maybe only one or two where nothing worked for me. And I have a spectrum of gripes. Nothing in Solo was really problematic for me, just minor nits. Hearing Shyriiwook spoken by a human was one of those nits but it did get a chuckle out of me if I'm honest. It just seemed out of place.

But yeah I plan on seeing it again at least once before it gets out of theaters and I can't wait for the home release.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/02/2018 at 02:14pm

I’m sick right now too and my voice is pretty trashed.

I liked Solo quite a bit. The Han speaking Wookie was a fun cheese moment and I’m glad it’s there. It reminded me of Luke drinking milk straight from the sea cow. That said, I think I liked the sea cow scene more it was just so much fun.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/02/2018 at 02:14pm

#notmyluke

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/02/2018 at 08:32pm

Solo was fun and I enjoyed it despite my problems with it. It was probably up there with the prequels for me, which I like.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/02/2018 at 10:27pm

Will, what does your ranking list look like? We talked about that a bit in the last episode comments

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/03/2018 at 12:37am

I haven’t thought of rank in a long time. This will take some thought.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/03/2018 at 12:52am

It seems I got the wrong impression, you guys do like it, even if you have some issues w/ it. @Will_Ball, that's cool that you like the prequels, too. I think maybe I'm not too picky, but I liked seeing how Darth Vader came to be.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/03/2018 at 01:43am

I like many things about the prequels. The only one that I would say I struggle to like is AotC. But there’s a lot of crap in there.

Greg I realized that you weren’t in the discussion on the last episode either, care to share your list?

I posted my (updated) list, along with Katie’s and my friend Hari’s (because he has a different take on it than I might, having grown up with the prequels), here:

https://cheerfulghost.com/Travis/posts/3712/cheerful-ghost-radio-episode-24-the-killing-snoke

And of course listen for Jon’s and Tim’s.

I still don’t know where I’d put Solo.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/03/2018 at 05:30am

I don't really care to make a list. LOL

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2018 at 01:41pm

Aw. Everyone needs a Star Wars List.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/03/2018 at 04:47pm

My Star Wars list:

Star Wars
Everything else

😄

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2018 at 06:28pm

Wills list:

1. Ewoks an Endor Adventure
2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
3. The Holiday Special
4. Solo: A Star Wars Story

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/04/2018 at 05:04am

Ok, I still think my first list is the most accurate one, but here is where I stand as of right now:

6
5
4
7
8
Rogue One
Solo
3
1
2

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/04/2018 at 05:45am

Just heard a discussion about a different movie (Infinity War) and one of the guys made the point that *all* movies have plot holes/nits. It's bad if it takes you out of the movie, but if it's something you realize days later, then it's not that big of a deal.

That could probably be applied to a lot of the Solo discussion. Sounds like people mostly enjoyed the movie, but there were minor issues (but like Travis says, you can say that about every movie), but nothing bad enough to take you out of the movie :)

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/04/2018 at 05:47am

(Also, I listened to the podcast halfway through, and listened to others, then originally commented here, then eventually listened to the rest of the podcast and realized the Maul Trilogy was discussed by Jon and Travis lol. I don't think this is the only place I've heard about it, but now at least realize I wasn't contributing anything new to the discussion about that lol)

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/05/2018 at 03:48am

> Just heard a discussion about a different movie (Infinity War) and one of the guys made the point that *all* movies have plot holes/nits. It's bad if it takes you out of the movie, but if it's something you realize days later, then it's not that big of a deal.

That's true. I think though, movie pendantry is becoming a hot take arms race. Like I love talking about it to have a fun nerd moment with friends but I think it's a becoming new wave cynicism that's taking over fandom and becoming really toxic. What amount of nits makes a movie bad? I don't really know, but I know when people can't seem to let things go. Like I've seen lots of movies I didn't like and I can't remember them at the moment because I stopped caring a long time ago. Ok I thought of a bad movie I didn't enjoy, Spiceworld! Can't remember anything about it, but I remember not watching all of it and not much else.

> (Also, I listened to the podcast halfway through, and listened to others, then originally commented here, then eventually listened to the rest of the podcast and realized the Maul Trilogy was discussed by Jon and Travis lol. I don't think this is the only place I've heard about it, but now at least realize I wasn't contributing anything new to the discussion about that lol)

Yeah, i'm sure lots of people had that idea too. Thing is when it turns out to not be true, i'm not going to create a Twitter account attacking whatever director that didn't reward my fandom in the way I wanted them to. PLACATE ME STAR WARS OR I'LL NEVER STOP HATE TWEETEREREASDFASDFASDFASDFASDF

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My Favorite Mods for Ark: Survival Evolved

My favorite mods:

Structures Plus

StackMeMore

Ark Advance

TameXL

Taming Gun

Egg N Poop Collector/Incubator

Kibble Vending Machine

Awesome Teleporters

Awesome Spyglass

Builder's Helmet

I recently watched a video by one of my favorite YouTubers, xBCrafted (embedded in post). This video was about his top five must-have mods for Ark: Survival Evolved. I left a comment for him, but I also thought I’d write a post here about my favorite mods for Ark. Here we go!

Ark is absolutely my most favorite modern day game. I’ve actually played it way more than I’ve played any other game EVER. I’ve already clocked nearly 2,700 hours! So, I know Ark! One of the great things about this... Read All

Batman: The Arkham Series

Azurephile gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Azurephile gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Review

Recommended

Open-world

Simple combos (attacks) including use of gadgets

Familiar characters

Slight RPG elements

Auto-saves, never lose much progress

Different levels of difficulty and plenty of challenges

I haven’t had very many reasons to get a PS4, but I’m really loving the fact that some of the games I wanted to play have come to Steam. Batman: Arkham Knight is one of those games. I had played the Arkham series before on the PS3 and really enjoyed them. Arkham Knight was very similar, yet very different. This was the first time you could actually drive the Batmobile around. It was an exciting addition that made the game feel a little more like GTA. The... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:32am

I have Arkham Asylum and the next game in my Steam library and I haven't played much more than the original demo on the PS3, which I enjoyed. This is partly why I've limited myself to 5 game purchases this year because I have so many amazing games in my backlog yet to play.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:37am

The Arkham games are all great. Origins is definitely the weak link, but it was also outsourced and doesn't have the same voice actors. It's still fun though.

I felt like Arkham Knight really put too much focus on Batmobile combat and the Riddler trophies were just .... there were way too many to be fun to collect them. But still, it's probably my number two behind Arkham City.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:37am

LOL Well you can't go wrong w/ the Arkham series! I think I mentioned in my post that Arkham Asylum is "ok" in my opinion, but the series gets better, especially w/ Arkham City and Arkham Knight.

I understand, I have games that I either haven't played or haven't played much because I don't want to. I want something specific, I think, something deeply engaging, something to capture my heart, like Ark, Minecraft, and Terraria have done. Being a full-time gamer, it really sucks when you have no idea what to play.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 02:41am

Travis, I agree with you about Origins. I did play it thrice, I think. I'm just not a fan of Christmas and this one was based on Christmas Eve. I liked being able to fast travel. I really loved Arkham Knight though, I don't quite agree w/ you there. I don't recall the trophies very much at the moment. I think I already wrote a review here for Arkham Knight, but I recently played the other three again, so I thought I'd write a review for the series. I also wanted to leave positive reviews for them on Steam, since I recently bought them (for a second time) on Steam (first time was on PS3).

Oh and I do recommend using a controller, though I don't know how they play w/ KB/M, I just felt that the controller was just right.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 03:01am

You seemed to agree with me before! :)

https://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/3548/arkham-knight

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2018 at 03:02am

Again I adore the game, those two things I mention are minor.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/31/2018 at 03:19am

Ah, so I did. I just don't remember them very well because I haven't played it since I wrote that. In general (across all games in the series) the Riddler "trophies" were sometimes fun, cool, and sometimes frustrating. Arkham Asylum was cool, because it contained maps that just brought up that "?" on the map, but didn't tell you exactly how to find it. Arkham City did a really good job w/ them (I think). I wasn't so impressed w/ the one for Arkham Origins. Yeah I like the series and have very few complaints about it.

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Do You Need To Run PC Games At Max Settings?

Some PC Gamers spent a lot of money on super powerful PC's. Upgrading a PC like a tricked out roadster is a pretty cool hobby and one reason why you'd want to do this is to be able to run PC game settings at high settings to get as much visual and gameplay fidelity out of them as you can. But do you really need to run games at max settings and if you did would they actually look better? In many cases the answer is yes but not every setting works that way and DigitalFoundry made a video explaining why.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/28/2018 at 12:14am

There are some settings where I legitimately can’t see any difference by turning them on and off, but I can get big performance boosts by turning them off.

I heavily customize video settings to get the best visuals while maintaining performance, but I don’t really bother upgrading parts until I can’t play a game I want. I can play on low-mid settings and be just fine. They still usually look better than games from 5 years ago.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 05/28/2018 at 01:44am

As a lifelong budget gamer, I've never really been able to afford a top of the line PC to run the highest settings on anything new. :P
I've learned to live with playing new games at medium settings and enjoying when I can bump older games up to higher settings.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/28/2018 at 02:13am

Oh hell yeah, of course! I've your not playing at 10k, what's the point? Everything looks ugly w/ less than that! Gotta have max resolution and 1 million frames per second! Hahaha I was being silly. I like to run on max settings, so long as my PC can handle it. I don't do 4k and high FPS, because my monitor is not capable. I like to see what GeForce Experience recommends and if I decide to, I'll adjust settings to fit my desire.

I started having to play Ark with low settings, because it couldn't do SLI (a key feature of my original GPU). But, I decided to upgrade and now I can run most things on high settings.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/28/2018 at 09:41pm

High settings when I can, but graphics have gotten so good, that I think even lower settings look good too. IMHO we are to the point that you don't really need to upgrade every 2 years. But, maybe I am old. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/29/2018 at 05:15am

My PC is almost 5 years old @Will_Ball. I have, however, replaced the GPU. I was able to customize my order and selected a GTX 690, so that's what it came with. Unfortunately, since the GPU is 2 GPUs in one, at least one of my favorite games wasn't able to take advantage of it fully, so I replaced it with a GTX 980Ti (Classified Edition aka overclocked). So, obviously I haven't followed the every two year cycle that you mention. I believe I picked really good hardware and that's why it's lasted so long (along w/ the GPU change). The only thing I'd want to change about it now is adding an SSD hard drive instead of this standard old school hard drive (what do they call them?).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/29/2018 at 08:48pm

I have a good gaming laptop with a pretty solid card somewhat like Greg has. For the PC games I play it works well and depending on the game I can run at reasonable setttings. If I were wanting to run everything at 120 FPS at 4K I’d be running a much beefier PC but the portability of the laptop is really nice.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/29/2018 at 08:49pm

Right now the most visually intense game I’ve been playing in my PC is Hearthstone and Binding if Issac so I’m able to max those out well

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/29/2018 at 09:10pm

Yeah, as for me I'm perfectly ok with 59-60FPS. I'd have to upgrade my monitor if I want to go higher. I haven't seen the necessity to do that though.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/29/2018 at 09:17pm

My monitor caps at 60FPS too which has been fine for me so far. When I get another one I’ll see if it can do 120hz

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/29/2018 at 09:23pm

59fps?! How can you handle not getting a perfect 60 Greg? :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/29/2018 at 09:41pm

Recently i've been looking at high def curved displays for computing and some of those look really great. Some have the same deal mine has which is a 60 FPS cap, which isn't a huge deal but I would like to go to 120hz if it's possible. I have a pretty large Dell Ultrasharp which I consider one of the best tech investments I've ever made. I bought it well before the 4k craze and it sits at 2560x1600.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/29/2018 at 09:58pm

LOL @Will_Ball I hardly notice unless my frames get really low. I do also have screen tearing at times, so I pretty much always use Vsync.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/29/2018 at 10:15pm

I love Adaptive V-Sync. It turns on V-sync at higher fps and turns it off below that, so you don't tank at low framerates.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/01/2018 at 05:09am

Check this out! Apparently Ark is the new Crysis! You kind of can't run Ark on maximum settings even with the best hardware. https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-evolved-is-the-new-crysis-of-pc-hardware/
Watch the benchmarks in action! https://youtu.be/fNbvWbFfeNw

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Unreal 20 Years Later: An LGR Retrospective

Recently Unreal passed it's 20 year birthday and GOG was giving it away for free. During that giveaway I shared a behind the scenes making of Unreal video that focused on the original single player game and what later became Unreal Tournament. LGR made an Unreal 20 Year Retrospective video that goes much more into detail about the Unreal base game alongside some of it's great and not so great parts. It also talks about the Unreal multiplayer and expansions you can get as part of Unreal Gold edition.

Unreal Gold Is Free On GOG

The Unreal franchise is legendary. Unreal Tournament GoTY, Unreal Tournament 2004 & UT3 are all best of breed deathmatch shooters. But Unreal didn't start with the Tournament games it started with Epic creating the base Unreal game in 1998. GOG is giving away Unreal for the next bit so head over now and pick it up if you haven't before. I've included a history of Unreal video above which showcases much of the franchise story including how Unreal came by it's multiplayer Tournament mode.

"Believe dat.

It's been 20 years since we crash-landed on a planet full of ugly aliens, snazzy guns, and conveniently places power-ups. Today we're going back for a nostalgic trip... Read All

Will Nintendo Create A GameCube Classic?

After Nintendo created the amazingly popular Nintendo and Super Nintendo Classic I've wondered if a Nintendo 64 Classic would come this year? Some people have speculated that Nintendo might also bring a GameCube Classic to market and a YouTuber Nintendrew looked into how practical that was. Spoiler alert he actually builds one but it's not cheap, a reason why Nintendo might not be building one anytime soon. That said, computing prices drop fast enough a GameCube classic might come in the next handful of years and if it did, I'd buy one at launch.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/22/2018 at 05:47am

Wow that would be cool. What's interesting to me is that for us in North America, the GameCube is almost 17 years old! Yet I feel like I still see it as kind of "new." Whereas I feel like the N64 is older and much more doable as a mini. I would like to see a miniN64 and a miniNGC though. I really enjoyed my GameCube, I still have it.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/22/2018 at 04:47pm

Based on this video I'd say it's possible. Nintendo could more easily minify their own architecture, but they'd need really high demand for it to make it a good business decision. I'm still betting we see an N64 Classic, and that will be the last one for a while.

What I'd love is a GBA Classic loaded with GB, GBC, and GBA games. A DS Classic runs into hardware limitations probably.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/23/2018 at 05:11pm

The 64 Classic is coming this year. My guess is it will be announced in June or July.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/gaming/704683/Nintendo-64-Classic-CONFIRMED-Nintendo-trademark-suggests-N64-Mini-console-coming-soon/amp

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/23/2018 at 05:59pm

Cool!

Travis Admin wrote on 05/23/2018 at 06:54pm

That isn’t real confirmation but it’s about as close as you can get without an announcement. Awesome!

I’m looking forward to this one because my N64 is a little broken. I kinda hope they do multiple colors like they did with the originals.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/24/2018 at 03:43am

I'm curious if they will do 4 player? They don't have to include 4 controllers but it would be neat if they did. My only game recommendation is they included Dr Mario 64, I think they'll get everything else right.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/24/2018 at 03:55am

I never played Dr Mario 64, I played the Gameboy version. That's something I'd like to see on that list and I think it seems like a good one for them to include, in other words, I think they would include it. I also think Mario 64 would have to be included, that's a classic N64 game. I doubt Smash Bros. will be on it, but that was one of my favorites. I also liked Goldeneye, but I don't expect to see that on there as it's not directly Nintendo.

This leads to a great discussion. Maybe we can come up with our own ideas about what may be included or what we'd like to see included.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/24/2018 at 01:24pm

I bet they’d put Smash on it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/24/2018 at 01:36pm

I think Smash would be a great addition.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/24/2018 at 01:39pm

Ideas:

Mario 64
Ocarina
Majoras Mask
Mario Kart
Smash
Dr Mario 64
Excite bike
Gauntlet
Earthbound 64 (because they go back and finish it, which they won’t but one can dream)
Star Fox 64
Donkey Kong 64

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/24/2018 at 05:42pm

Shit yeah I forgot about the Zelda games and Mario Kart. Star Fox 64 would be great, I've seen it, but never played it. Great list Jon! Hopefully Smash would be in there. Are N64 games small enough to fit on something? Well, I do know that the Zelda games are small enough to fit on a Gamecube disc (because I have that disc).

Travis Admin wrote on 05/24/2018 at 06:30pm

N64 games are very small by today’s storage standards. 32-64mb. So you could fit ten large N64 games on a standard cd rom. They’d have plenty of room to put 30 games on a 2gb sd card.

I would like to see GoldenEye and Perfect Dark on there but I highly doubt they’d get on there due to licensing since Microsoft owns Rare now, so the only Rare games would be properties owned by Nintendo like Donkey Kong 64

Travis Admin wrote on 05/24/2018 at 06:31pm

Oh and you know that Wave Race game is going to be on it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/24/2018 at 10:55pm

Cool, thanks Travis. I'd like to try Perfect Dark. I'm not sure, but I may have played or seen Wave Race.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/26/2018 at 03:37am

Oh! And I want Pokemon Stadium (1 & 2?) on there. Ogre Battle 64 would be a good addition, too, I've read or heard that it's a good game (similar to Final Fantasy Tactics).

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Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 24: The Killing Snoke

When will Cheerful Ghost Radio finally jump the shark by talking about Star War way too many times? In this episode we’re going to circle back and talk a bit more about Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. The Last Jedi was recently released on digital and Blu-ray and we wanted to revisit the discussion and talk the special features. The Last Jedi has received some mixed reviews by fans and this extra review isn’t really an attempt to change anyone’s thoughts on the movie, we are just big Star Wars fans and wanted to talk a bit more about the film.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 12:58am

My list has changed since we did this. A New Hope has jumped up a spot, and I’d now put Return of the Jedi as tied with the one I originally had above it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/22/2018 at 01:02am

Mine is the same. So drop your full list here then I’m having a hard time remembering it all. I know Empire was first and Clones was last

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 03:33am

What I have determined is that I can't come up with a list. I was about to post it as you asked, but then I started thinking about it again. I then complicated matters by asking my wife her list and we made hers, while talking about the merits of them all, and I may have changed my list again. I have at least moved RotJ back to its original place.

There's legitimately no Star Wars movie I don't like. Attack of the Clones definitely tests that. There are so many great things in each of the prequels, they just get bogged down by the bad stuff. Obi-Wan and Palpatine are always a delight, especially Palps. His machinations to take power are the most interesting bits of at least the first two.

And I also have problems with literally all of them. There are some groan-worthy moments in all of them. Tosche station, ewoks, gungans, "I'm holding for general Hugs." But people take them too seriously. I'm guilty of that too.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 03:34am

Anyway, my list. I had to break this into three comments because I got long in the tooth here.

Empire Strikes Back: Sooo good. It's just nearly the perfect Star Wars film for me. The groan-worthy moments are few and far between, the weight of every decision is palpable, and we first meed Yoda and learn about the mystical parts of the force.

A New Hope + The Last Jedi: I initially had The Last Jedi above A New Hope, but I tie them now. I wouldn't have A New Hope nearly this high if it weren't for the emotional attachment and its impact and importance, if I'm being honest, because it's a bit rough in places, but so perfectly edited and the last half is just pure joy. The Last Jedi is up here because, while there are issues, some big ones even, the major choices made worked so well for me. I understand why those choices didn't work for some people but they really do for me.

Rogue One: A major part of why I like this one so much is its effect on the original trilogy. Vader never seemed as threatening as he does in this, and it gives the rebellion more personality. We see some darkness in the rebels that we've never seen otherwise. Jyn's journey is so compelling. I may actually put this higher in the list but I CAN'T KEEP CHANGING IT. Come on Travis, keep it together.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 03:35am

This should start with 4, but since I had to break it into another comment I can't do that.

The Force Awakens: JJ brought the franchise back in a major way. It was a delight to be back in the universe again, and the plot was compelling, the new characters had depth, and it ended with me wanting more. It's been knocked down a peg or two over the last couple of years but I still really like it.

Revenge of the Sith: I know what you're thinking. I haven't gotten Return of the Jedi in yet and I'm talking about the prequels? Yeah I am. I really like this movie. The opening scene showed that the tone of the OT had returned. The humor worked very well. Anakin's internal conflict was painful to watch (for the right reasons) and his emotional performance from when he decides to join Sheev to the end of the movie is some of my favorite Star Wars content ever. Obi-Wan's "You were my brother" speech at the end still gives me a lump in my throat. Honestly if not for the cheesy UNLIMITED POOOWWWAAAAAHHH scene I might bump this one up a notch.

Return of the Jedi: I feel like I have to say this since I put a prequel above it: I don't dislike this movie, not at all. It's very good. But it felt like a bit of a letdown after Empire and the scenes on the moon of Endor haven't aged well with me. There was a time when I would have put this in the number two spot but I dunno. I still watch it regularly and will continue to do so. The scenes with Luke's family reunion in the Death Star still give me chills.

The Phantom Menace: I.... kinda.... like this. Kinda. There's a lot of good stuff in there but so much Jar Jar and "Yipeee!" and "That's a good trick!" If you watch the De-Cheesed version of this on Youtube it's so much better and ... well, less cheesy.

Attack of the Clones: I love Obi-Wan's search for the missing planet, the fight with Jango, the battle of Genonosis... there's stuff to love here. But the borderline-or-maybe-not-even-borderline abusive relationship and the suuuuuper cringy dialogue in some places weigh it all the way down.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 03:55am

Katie didn't grow up with these movies so she didn't have any emotional attachment to them. She'd seen them all but The Force Awakens made her go back and reevaluate them so she has a more recent view of them all.

Empire Strikes Back + The Last Jedi: Apparently Katie likes the middle of trilogies. Except Clones. She prefers these because they have the weightiest choices that put characters into tough spots with real consequences. Plus they both go into the mystical nature of the force and explain a lot about that.

Rogue One: This one is just a badass movie but it also has a lot of those tough choices mentioned above. And in this one you really see the consequences of those choices. They all freakin' die! And the Vader scene, right?

Revenge of the Sith: Basically read my rundown above but she likes it more than me!

The Force Awakens: From here down it's basically "which one do I have the most fun watching?" And this one got her way into Star Wars (maybe more than me... yeah definitely more than me) so this one has the nostalgic connection for her.

A New Hope: Would be higher if not for the whiny protagonist. It makes sense and it was an intentional choice but before getting off Tattooine she struggles a bit with this one.

Return of the Jedi: It's good but it's a little too "Yay, happy ending!" and feels too simplistic after Empire, and she says she may strain her disbelief watching teddy bears defeat the Empire.

The Phantom Menace: The thirty minutes that aren't painful are really, really good. The Darth Maul fight is amazing, with great music, and tells you a lot about the characters.

Attack of the Clones: This one feels like it's more about the relationship between Padme and Anakin than anything else, and it has the most abusive relationship in any movie that isn't explicitly about abusive relationships. It also makes her very sad for Natalie Portman.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/22/2018 at 03:01pm

I asked a friend about this who grew up during the prequel era. He was in third grade when Revenge of the Sith came out and he makes me feel like an old man. Here's his list.

Empire Strikes Back
Rogue One
A New Hope
Return of the Jedi
Force Awakens
Revenge of the Sith
The Last Jedi
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/23/2018 at 05:10pm

This is great, thanks for sharing.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/25/2018 at 12:27am

I've been trying to figure out my list, but it's really difficult! I didn't watch the originals as a child, so I don't have the same nostalgia for them, but they're still the originals...

I think my list is this:

Force Awakens
Empire Strikes Back
A New Hope
The Last Jedi
Return of the Jedi
Rogue One
Revenge of the Sith
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace

(I'm really not sure on my ordering of the last 4 though. Rogue One is just as bad as the prequels to me, but at least in a different way)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2018 at 01:16am

Adam, same here, I didn't watch them as a kid either really. I saw them on USA or TBS or whatever but got bored, mostly because I'd never start at the beginning.

I got way into them during the re-release in the 90s. I was 15 I guess when A New Hope released. It was fine. When Empire re-released I was in. Went and bought a Yoda poster, couldn't wait for Jedi. I watched all the prequels on opening night and thought they were all fine on first watch but they kinda fell apart.

The Force Awakens made me remember being 15 and how I fell in love with them and got me back into it, and more than ever.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/25/2018 at 06:03am

The Force Awakens is a great movie and was a fun theater experience. So much love for that movie and watching it in the theater opening night was magic. To compare, watching Solo on opening night wasn't as electric and there weren't as many people. It was fun though, but I wonder if the "Star Wars juice" or whatever is fading somewhat?

More on out Solo thoughts in the upcoming Radio episode should be out next Monday!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/25/2018 at 02:02pm

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Solo!

But I don't think the Star Wars juice is fading. I am already hyped to see Episode 9, and I'm sure that will be a big event. Sure, there'll be the people who loudly complain about it online, but I'm guessing the majority of people will have mostly good feelings about this current trilogy (even with its flaws).

The juice that does seem to be waning, in me at least, is the reference/rehash juice. We ultimately knew the end of Rogue One. We know that Han, Cherie and Lando all survive Solo (and that Lando's droid and Daenerys probably die, since they're not part of the original trilogy, or ever mentioned by Han or Lando. But I've not seen any spoilers, so I'm not spoilering anything here lol) we even knew ultimately how the prequels were going to end (we just hoped for a better ride). The new trilogy is something new. I've been surprised at where it's gone so far and I look forward to being surprised in future movies in the Star Wars Universe :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2018 at 03:37pm

We definitely know where their stories eventually go but there’s always more context to provide. We basically knew how Rogue One would end but that film informed a few details about A New Hope that really elevated it for me. I’m hoping for the same thing with Solo, or if not that, then a fun romp with some of our favorite characters.

I kinda like the balance of having new stuff alternating with these anthology films that fill in context. We know that Rian Johnson has a trilogy coming and D&D from Game of Thrones have a series (never confirmed as a trilogy or anything so we don’t know how long it will be), and that both of these will be unexplored parts of the universe. As long as the fan service keeps getting balanced with new stuff I’m happy with it.

Honestly I have been thinking that Solo wouldn’t do as well as the others ever since the final release date was announced. Not only is it only a few months since the last Star Wars, people have just seen Infinity War and Deadpool 2. It’s a busy time for big, nerdy action. I kinda wish they had just pushed the standard release date to December. Even spacing and no summer blockbusters to compete against.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/25/2018 at 04:45pm

Good points. We've talked about anthology vs new films and we just disagree lol. But, I hope Solo is fun :)

(And I highly recommend both Infinity War and Deadpool 2!)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2018 at 05:02pm

Yes, I also highly recommend those. We’ve already talked about Infinity War on CG Radio, but keep an ear out for our Deadpool 2 episode soon!

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