Tag Archives: Gamestop

Fried Game Consoles, or The Importance of Having a Good Surge Protector

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Only slightly exaggerated

So there I was…Shell was doing some research on the computer last night, which meant it was time for me to play a bit. I turned the PS3 on, booted up the new Jurassic Park game, and was in the options screen getting things situated when all of a sudden my PS3 just died. There were no blinking lights, no beeps and blips, just complete and utter silence and stillness. I pushed and held buttons, plugged and unplugged wires, gave the PS3 a tour of all the outlets in the apartment, but no such luck. I was horrified, and it got even worse as I tried to turn the system back on without success. I was crushed.

This morning I gave Amazon a call to see about getting an exchange. I had purchased this system in September, so the 30 day return policy was long overdue. But I didn’t let Amazon’s policy stop me from getting what I wanted. I spent an hour talking to two customer service reps and one supervisor before I convinced them to give me a refund. It was a battle, but a battle worth fighting, as the alternative was to wait weeks for Sony to “fix” it, and we all know those don’t always go as planned. So I packed the PS3 up and took it off to UPS so that Amazon can do what they want with it. Read More »

What’s the Deal with “Online Passes” in Today’s Games?

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Within the past few months, more and more games are requiring an “online pass” to play online. Granted, the code is provided in all new packages of the game. So you run into this problem when you either buy a game used or rent a game, in that you will have to pay $10 (every one I’ve seen has gone for $10 so far) in order to play online. Is this fair to gamers? The game companies think so.

The Defense:

Game developers believe they have a right to charge people who did not purchase the physical game $10 to access the online co-op and multiplayer features. They argue that they should be properly compensated for the time and effort they put into creating and maintaining these modes.

My Argument: Read More »

Preparing for the Fall “Video Game Overload”

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Yes, that time of the year is on hand again…the prime time for new video game releases. Usually there are one or two games I consider “must-haves” each year, but this particular year is unusually chock full of great new releases. In fact, all the games that I will be wanting to snag early on are sequels to some of my most beloved franchises, which make things extra hard. What makes things super extra hard is that all these new games are coming out, and I have no income to pick them up! The titles I’ve got my eye on this year are:

  • Resistance 3
  • House of the Dead: Overkill- Extended Cut
  • Uncharted 3
  • Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • WWE ’12

As you can see, every one of those games are sequels to some hard-hitting franchises, so I already know what to expect from each via playing their predecessors. So what’s a poor gamer to do with all these great games just begging to be purchased and played? Why, trade in your old games of course! Read More »

Just Snagged Time Crisis: Razing Storm

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One game genre that I am a sucker for is rail shooters. Not only is it my favorite type of game to play on the Wii (and I have a hell of a lot of them) but it’s also the only genre of game that I would buy additional peripherals for. I scoff at the idea of buying plastic baseball bats and swords, but I’ll step right up to buying a plastic pistol holder for my Wiimote (Wii Perfect Shot) or PS Move controller (given the uncool name of the PlayStation Move Shooting Attachment.) Since I first got move in January, I’ve been trying to rent two rail shooters from Gamefly; Time Crisis: Razing Storm and The Shoot. After months of waiting, I finally received Time Crisis on Monday. I spent about twenty minutes playing it on Tuesday before I dropped it back into it’s packing slip and sent it on its way…not because it sucked but because it was AWESOME! I had a $25 gift card to Gamestop so it was actually cheaper for me to purchase from Gamestop as opposed to keeping it from Gamefly.

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LevelUp’s Rock Band Ottoman: The Ideal Storage Solution

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Like many gamers, I gave in to the addictive fun that is the music game genre. As a result, I have a few plastic instruments lying around the living room. It was a cluttered mess, and didn’t exactly look all that great in the open. I was also wondering how to safely pack the instruments (the drum set in particular) for the upcoming move.

I then remembered reading about ottomans that were specifically designed for Rock Band storage. I first went to Amazon, but didn’t like the one they had on there. Then I remembered reading an article on co-optimus about them, and went to see which brand was mentioned. It was an ottoman from LevelUp, and I believe the model I purchased is the “Rock Band Double Ottoman”. I searched online for it, and was surprised to find quite the deal for it at Gamestop of all places. It’s available on their website for the price of $89.99, with $20 or more S&H, depending on the speed you choose. The lesser quality ottoman on Amazon was $119 with free shipping, but I wanted this beautiful piece from LevelUp, so I was sold. I placed the order online on Sunday night and  when I came home last night there was a huge box waiting for me.

I was super excited so I grabbed the nearest knife and started opening up the package. I couldn’t wait to see this wonderful piece of black furniture that would be solving my plastic peripheral woes.

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Complete WWE Allstars Roster

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Today IGN finished unveiling the entire WWE Allstars roster, including the first batch of DLC. Here are your wrestlers:

Legends:

  • Andre the Giant
  • Bret Hart
  • Eddie Guerrero
  • Hulk Hogan
  • Jake “The Snake” Roberts
  • Jimmy Snuka
  • “Macho Man Randy” Savage
  • Mr. Perfect
  • Ricky Steamboat
  • Roddy Piper
  • Shawn Michaels
  • Sgt. Slaughter
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
  • The Rock
  • Ultimate Warrior Read More »

Is Gamefly Worth the Price

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I was fiddling around on my Gamefly account today, and I was surprised to find that they had a full log of every game I ever rented from them, started from 2008 to the present. I decided to use this information to my advantage and factor in how many games I rented for the year 2010 and, based on the yearly membership price, determine if it was worth it. Below is a list of all the games I rented in 2010: Read More »

Finally Getting My Fifth $25 Gamestop Giftcard

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It’s been quite a few months, and the surveys have been far and few between, but I finally accumulated enough points today to snag my fifth gift card. This time I plan on holding onto it, and waiting until I get another one. This way instead of buying a cruddy used game for $20 or so, I’ll be able to pick up a new release and have the vast majority of it paid off with $50 in Gamestop gift cards.

PS3 Review: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

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Spider-Man (or any super hero game, for that part) games tend to be hit or miss. If it’s a movie tie-in, chances are the game will be limited due to having to work within the terms of the film, and will also need to be rushed in order to meet deadlines. If the game story is not following a movie’s script, then there is a chance that the game will be pretty decent. I was a huge fan of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and the other Spidey games that allowed you to move about in a sandbox environment. Sadly, Shattered Dimensions drifts away from this by offering 14 different stages rather than an open area to explore and find missions to advance the story. Still, despite this huge limitation, Shattered Dimensions proves to be a very pleasant Spidey experience…so long as you don’t mind playing a game that only lasts nine hours.

The plot is pretty straight-forward: Mysterio steals a tablet that gives the user great powers, but the tablet is shattered, and the fragments go flying across four different “realities/dimensions” and fall into the hands of Spidey’s villains. Thus, four different Spider-Men explore their world as they track down each individual villain to reclaim the fragments so that they can repair the tablet and stop Mysterio. There are four different Spider-Men to take control of. The Amazing Spider-Man (the one I’m used to…his storyline is the classic one) is the main one and his levels are pretty straight-forward and basic. Ultimate Spider-Man (similar to Amazing, but has some differences in the environment and story) is a Spidey with the black suit, so he has some different “aggressive” abilities. Spidey 2099 is a Spider-Man from a future world. Finally, Spidey Noir is from a 1920s-themed era and is a bit more “realistic”, in terms of the abilities of himself and his enemies. Each Spidey has three levels, and then all four are playable in the final level. Each level is a different environment, and the different Spideys have different abilities, making each character a tad different (with the exception of Spidey Noir, who is completely different IN A GOOD WAY.)

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Back in LittleBigPlanet

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LittleBigPlanet was one of the first games I bought for the PS3.I remember that soon after getting the system, Toys R Us had a buy three get one free sale, and I used that as an opportunity to stock up on some PS3 titles. I liked LBP in the beginning, but I remember eventually getting bored with it (plus I was stuck on a boss that I couldn’t get past, which was frustrating.) I never got into the level creation either, so eventually I sold the game off and put the credit towards Fallout 3.

Lately I’ve been missing it, and wanted to get back into it. So when I saw that the GOTY edition had hit the $30 Greatest Hit Collection, I was tempted to pick it up again. Then came my $25 gift card to Gamestop, and the day that Gamestop had a 10%off, free shipping online sale, so my gift card ended up paying for almost all the game (I think I had to put a dollar and change on my credit card.)

So now that I have the game, I’ve really been enjoying it. I got through the Metal Gear levels, which were fun. The game was fun in itself, but the addition of combat with the paint gun was a brilliant idea, yet still cute enough to fit the LBP environment. I also just picked up the Pirates of the Caribbean levels, but haven’t checked them out yet.

I’m also in the midst of making my own level. I’m a little rusty on the controls (because there is a lot to do in the game and a lot of information to remember when making your own level), so I’ll probably go through the tutorials again to refresh my memory. However, I have been enjoying playing around in it, as I love creating content in games (just like all the ridiculous CAWs I make in the WWE games.)

And last but not least, I’ve also started checking out some of the community levels. There were so many trophies I never received due to my avoidance of the online player-created levels, but now I’m feeling good about it and enjoying it. The game is a really fun game, and I’m mad at myself for getting frustrated with it and sending it on its way because I lost a lot of good play time that I could have had with it.

Busy Weekend Coming Up

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With April winding down and May (the month of our wedding) fast approaching, our weekends are guaranteed to get busier and busier. This weekend is no exception.

Tonight we have to head over to the church after we get off of work to have our final meeting with the priest. We will have to be making all the plans, such as how we are going to be situated and how the ceremony is going to go, as well as go over the readings we selected for the mass. Fun in a bun for sure.

Tomorrow is kind of a lax day, but I am taking Shell geocaching around town. There are a lot of parks nearby that have multiple caches. I am going to start by going back to the town park and let her find the two that I already found there. Then there is another there that I have not yet found. After that, I would like to go to two more parks in town that  have two caches each. Should be a fun-filled day of hiking, exploring, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Sunday is a pretty busy day. After church in the morning, we have to hit the mall for a day of shopping. Shell wants to buy a new wardrobe for her bachelorette party and the honeymoon. As for me, I will probably be buying some new clothes for the honeymoon as well (not because I want to, but because Shell believes that all my clothes are “faded”.) I also want to stop over at Gamestop and see what my gift card will get me. Later in the day, Shell also has to go to David’s Bridal for a final fitting on her dress.

So there you have it…a jam-packed weekend. I am actually looking forward to the weekend since this is the first time since November that I have had a full week of work, so I can actually relish in the time off!

Getting My Fourth $25 Gamestop Gift Card

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That’s right, I finally snagged my fourth gift card for doing my surveys. Keep the games coming!

God of War III Has Arrived!!!

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Gamestop finally delivered, and I received my copy of God of War III in the mail today. While it only cost be about $4.00 (I had $50 in giftcards, and then $10 free coupon for complaining to them, and then free shipping- only had to pay tax), it was still annoying to have to wait four days for it’s delivery. But now it is here, and I can’t wait to rip Zeus’ head off and toss it off Mt. Olympus!!!

God of War III Ships Tuesday

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It has finally come…March 16th is just around the corner, meaning that in a few mere days God of War III will be making it’s way to my house (I pre-ordered it from Gamestop.) I really have no idea what to expect. I have been avoiding reading up on the game, ignoring any review or article I see about it in magazines or online. I have also boycotted the demo and have not touched it, since I did not want to go into the game with any misconceptions based on anything that was not the final version of the game. God of War III is definitely one of my most-anticipated sequels, and would only be overshadowed by the release of a Kingdom Hearts 3 on the PS3.

Once I receive the game, you know darn well that all other games will be stepping aside for the time being, and all my gaming time will be solely devoted to the masterpiece which is GoW III.

Boycotting the God of War III Demo (for good reason)

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Today’s PSN update includes a demo for God of War III, and I for one am not downloading it. Not because I hate God of War, but because I don’t want to ruin the experience. I have the game pre-ordered from Gamestop, so I am definitely going to be owning it when it launches in a few mere weeks. I don’t want to spoil it by cheating and taking a peek at the demo before playing the finished game. That being said, I am not going to play the demo.

But I know it is going to rock!!!!

Gamestop Buys My Loyality, Pre-order GoW III From Them over Amazon

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I am always flaunting the Gamestop giftcards I receive from doing surveys. I had two saved up (totally $50), and was all set to pre-order God of War III from them. However, I also checked out Amazon (since I pre-ordered Bioshock 2 from them) and compared the two offers.

Gamestop offers:

  • the game for the full MSRP of $59.99
  • an exclusive skin
  • free “value” shipping, which takes 5-11 days

Amazon offers:

  • the game at a discounted price of $56.99
  • an exclusive skin
  • $10 off your next video game purchase from Amazon
  • free release-date shipping, meaning I get to play the game the day it comes out

Read More »

Getting My Third $25 Gamestop Giftcard

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So I filled out the final survey I needed to get my third Gamestop giftcard today. I got my last one in November, and now its January. Getting $25 every two months is sweet! I still have the one from then, so I now have $50 stockpiled, which pretty much covers a brand-new game.

Now the question is, what do I buy? When it comes down to it, there are two choices: Dynasty Warriors Strike Force or God of War III. This is gonna take some time to figure out…

What I Got for Christmas

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Heres what I ended up getting for Christmas from everyone. It took me awhile to write this since I just saw my parents and future father-in-law this weekend…

-Games

  • Dragon Age: Origins
  • Beatles Rockband
  • Year subscription to Gamefly

-DVD

  • Watchmen
  • Star Trek
  • Wolverine
  • Street Fighter
  • Simpsons Season 12
  • Cronkite Remembers

-Books

  • Best Little Stories from the Civil War
  • Washington’s War
  • Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born graphic novel
  • For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
  • Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City
  • Andrew Jackson: American Lion

-Clothes

  • Dress shirt/tie combos
  • Flannel pants (x3)
  • Solid T-shirts
  • Long sleeve shirt
  • Boxers
  • Declaration of Independence tie

-Gift Cards

  • Gamestop
  • Wal-Mart
  • Disney

-Other

  • Gummi Bears
  • Assorted chocolates
  • Gumdrops
  • Gum
  • Cash
  • Toiletries
  • Wine
  • Batteries
  • Scratch-offs

Getting My Second $25 Gamestop Gift Card

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I mentioned a few months ago that I received a $25 gift card from Gamestop for completing online surveys from a third party company. Well today I accumulated enough points for a second $25 gift card, which is on its way.

I received my last gift card in September, and used it to buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. So I will be getting this next one by the end of November. Thats like a $25 gift card every two months! I dont know what to get next, though my eye has been on Dragon Age:Origins and Buzz Quiz! TV.

I just want to thank Gamestop again for this awesome opportunity to get free games!!!

Definitely Buying Uncharted 2 from Gamefly

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So I sat down and did some math, and have determined that I will get an awesome deal for Uncharted 2 for Gamefly. Here’s how it breaks down:

MSRP- $59.99

Gamefly’s Keep it Now price- $47.99

5% Discount (being there 6 months)- 2.39

$5 Gamefly credit (issued every 3 months)- 5.00

Remainder of my Verizon phone rebate card- 26.39

Price I pay out of my own pocket: $14.21

So yeah, I will be paying out under $15 for a $60 game. Thats a savings of like $45, which is ridiculous. This is why I love Gamefly…the day a game is released, if you rent it, the price to keep the game is always $47.99, which is like almost $15 off. Its such a racket, but its great. So I’ll definitely be keeping Uncharted 2 that very day. Cant wait!