Purposely Gimped Games

Age of Empires IV

Oh baby. I will be following this one. I would expect it to take a couple of years to finish. I'm not sure if I want to get the definitive edition though. I would ex.pect a steam release for it though. Check it out.

Dokapania- A Review (Transylvania: Curses and Traitors)

This review is being written independent of other sources. I have not looked at any other published reviews for the game. Therefore the opinion offered is my own and developed as my own.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

So let's talk about this hybrid board/card game: Transylvania- Curses and Traitors. The objective of the game is to discover knowledge cards and return to the Church in order to break the curse hanging over the land. Or...you can become that which you fear and slaughter everyone else.

 Everyone is dealt a random hero card per the rules. I talked with some fellow gamers and they are disappointed that their starting character cannot be chosen. The rules say nothing about randomization of characters when the player starts a new one, though. Some have good movement scores while others excel at fighting, thinking or praying (spiritual rolls). I like to think that an averaged out character is good for this game- but it really depends on how you want to play.

Play is somewhat straightforward: when you land on a 'step' token you can initiate a check. Roll the corresponding dice indicated by the character card's printed value- and a greater than or equal to value results in success. A card is drawn from the universal discovery deck. There is no individual decks for players. Sometimes players will cross an "E" whether on a 'step' token or not. An event occurs which can be good or bad. Usually it is bad.

 'Examining' (playing) a card may modify the values printed on your character card. One card gave a character +3 ATK (three additional dice to roll in checks) but made them one step away from becoming a Vampire and losing one maximum health capacity. A lot of event cards don't give you the choice of examination- they must be.

Players will die in this game. But when you do you start a new character. When a player acquires enough cards to transform they have two options. They can transform right there or wait until they attack another player. Monsters in this game have special rules. There is the vampire, the zombie and the werewolf. Each has a unique perk and a lot of health and movement points. As a monster your goal is simple: kill everyone else (you need to kill 'X' characters, rounded up- where X is the amount of players) or kill another monster. Completing either task wins the player the game.

 But herein lies my issue with the game. I feel that the random element of chance is too random. Sure you are supposed to stumble into traps or get beaten to within an inch of your life- but the game is too liberal with its punishment. Not being able to pick your initial character also peeved me. You can only heal so much and there is no way to protect yourself from incoming damage. Die rolls are supposed to be random, but I believe the game relies too much on them. I have no problems playing this game with people who want to play it or try it out- but be prepared to get salty. Here is what I mean.

 In one instance an Event Card hung over the Church. It said that the priest went missing and that any monsters can move through the church zone without penalty (or stay in it). Normally for crossing into that tile as a monster you lose 2 health. This event card turned that off. The Abess ran into an event card where she discovered a hungry hellhound. It killed her by ripping out her entrails (I came up with that in my imagination- the event card reduced her health to below 0) and when the player was to create a new character and start at the church she arose as a werewolf monster.

The werewolf monster made its way through the church zone to attack the other two players: the inventor and the templar. The werewolf moved in to attack the inventor first because of his lower attack value. The monster and the character did combat- and the inventor was to take 8 damage, bringing his health to 1. In desperation he examined a discovery card in his hand called 'The Voodoo Doll' and made a roll on it. he succeeded at the highest possible reward- giving all the damage to the templar (who was at 5 health), killing that other character. That is major league dickery- and might cause some people to at least think about strangling you.

But I do want to praise the game where it deserves praise. I like the idea of flipping tiles, but I am more in love with the concept of a building game world via tiles. It adds to the game's replayability factor and makes adventures fresh, but familiar to older players. There is no real key to winning the game outright at the start- you have to think about what others are doing, understand the meta game and understand when you should shift gears so that you come out on top. To restate my problem- I think the game is too liberal with its 'chance' engine.

In terms of durability I did not like the material the character cards are made with. They are extra slippery- probably to help with the health pointers and their sliding across the bottom of the card. The overall quality of the product is excellent except for one detail- which I will get to. It is difficult to get the game board markers into the little plastic display stands. Be careful or you will booger up the markers. Use your thumbnail to kind of spread the lips apart- then insert the marker via the corner somewhat gently. The instructions, in my opinion were not written well. Steps to play the game are out of order or are unclear. This is why my friends decided to give me the game- because they could not figure it the hell out. I had to learn how to play the game by watching  two youtube videos. Once I run through a game with them I intend on giving it back to them so that they can enjoy it.

I would rate it a 6.4 out of 10 (Board Game Geek Score: 6.2/10). It's not a horrible game- it's average. If you like the mythos of Transylvania, Castlevania, vampires, werewolves etc- this would be a good game to own in the collection and one to break out every now and then.

"Average"

This Week in Skyrim... (#1)

I felt like hanging out on Belethor's counter. Might rot there eventually.

Mjoll the Lioness

A dragon got a hold of me and flung me into the sign post. One in a million shot.

Where's Waldo/Where's Dragonborn?

Alduin v. 100 Imperial Archers. The archers were annihilated.

The Red Dragon Inn

I've played this game for a few months now. I have to say- there is some depth to it where deception is concerned.

The jist of the game is that you have a fortitude on one end of a scale- and alcohol content on the other side. If they both meet at some point or pass- you pass out drunk and lose the game. Each player gets a deck of 40 cards. In the base set the different characters can do different things. You perform one action for the turn- which can include screwing over opponents or gambling.

You get a certain amount of gold per game. Lose all your gold and you lose. Then you order a drink for someone at the table- and then drink any drink that is in your 'drink me' pile. You move your counters in the corresponding direction. Sometimes you can get some NASTY chasers- which mean you drew one alcohol card plus another. In some games I was out very quickly. Tonight I won a game.

A lot of it is a mind game. If you know what is in each character's deck you can anticipate moves the player might make. When one player was low on cards I made a ballsy move to hit her for four fortitude points- and it knocked her out of the game. I was using an expansion deck for Pooky the manic rabbit. There are counters- and then there are counters for counters. You have to get a feel for how a person plays their deck and what deck the person is playing. I played my hand carefully and won- learning afterwards that the card I wanted to play so badly would have been countered- so I applied some small force just a little at a time.

I've also drank real alcoholic beverages playing this game. I don't recommend heavy drinking or mixing alcohol because you will throw up with that combination. Although the game isn't my favorite past time- it is still fun to play from time to time. Check it out.

"The Rules"
Official Website
Example Gameplay
Funny Gameplay
Board Game Geek Page 


Buy It
______
Amazon.com
CoolStuffInc
Ebay (USA Only)

Project Bunnies: Budget Version $22 deck

When it comes to Magic the Gathering- I am not an experienced player. In fact I am a novice, but I still enjoy playing from time to time despite getting my ass kicked by my expert friends. This deck idea evolved from wanting a weenie deck, then it evolved into a token power up using green and white cards. This post will cover the BUDGET VERSION at a total cost of $21.27. This is definitely do-able for me and fellow kitchen table game players.


Turn 1
There won't be a whole lot going on on turn 1- so if you do get [Hopeful Eidolon] or [Blossoming Sands] do play them.

Turn 2
On turn 2 we have more options: [Anafenza], [Brave the Sands], [Leafcrown Dryad], and [Raise the Alarm]. I usually draft [Leafcrown Dryad] when I draft green, and I like the 2/2 and reach. This helps the deck deal with flying threats. [Anafenza] lets me continue to bolster my forces free each turn after I play her. [Brave the sands] is a dick move which gives my fledgling army vigilance. At this point my opponent needs to begin worrying about that card as a threat. [Leafcrown Dryad] less so, but still an issue. [Raise the Alarm] will let me get out more tokens, and I pray that by this point I have not been hosed of my tokens- as there are a lot of cards out there that will do it.



Turn 3
Turn 3 offers more problems. [Avenging Arrow] was inserted to help deal with threats my opponent is dropping early game. If that threat is hexproof, then this card does no good. [Boon Satyr] is just 'the shit'. It's a great card, it can be played as an enchantment and become a creature, or be cast as a creature. Preferably play this card later on turn 5, but it is still an option on turn 3. [Lingering Souls] begins to create more problems as I get two 1/1 spirit tokens that have flying. The goal, if possible is to begin buffing them up or bolstering them. [Spear of Heliod] works great in this deck, but I can justify replacing it with other cards. Let me know if you would pull it out for something else. [Wayfaring Temple] is a mini-bomb that can become a BIG, BIG issue if it is not dealt with. If it hits a player, I get to populate.

Turn 4
I threw in [Advent of the Wurm] for fun. I am sure there are other cards that could replace it. Get a fat 5/5 worm token with trample, ENCHANT it next turn with Boon Satyr (blue players: COUNTER THAT CRAP). With 15 possible enchantments I feel that [Ajani's Chosen] will work out fine- though I could pull it for something else.

Turn 5
If I have not already begun to bestow [Boon Satyr] on my denizens I will drop [Cathars' Crusade], or a combination of other cards with lesser costs. I will have to manage this deck and see if it requires any card draw or if CMC boosts are necessary.


I think this deck will be a lot of fun on the cheap. I don't have a lot of money to spend on things, but I enjoy playing casual Magic the Gathering. This deck is modern legal.


Decklist
2    Advent of the Wurm
3    Ajani's Chosen
3    Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
3    Avenging Arrow
4    Blossoming Sands
3    Boon Satyr
3    Brave the Sands
2    Cathars' Crusade
5    Forest
3    Hopeful Eidolon
4    Leafcrown Dryad
2    Lingering Souls
14    Plains
3    Raise the Alarm
3    Spear of Heliod
3    Wayfaring Temple

ESA's Anti Consumerism and the Future Death of Retro Gaming

Many moons ago I discussed how games going digital download only was not only inevitable, but that it is a bad idea, a form of digital rights management. Recently the Entertainment Software Association came out slamming emulation and game preservation, threatening to bring the hammer down onto it. Really it just seems like a fancy cartel to me- the ESA protects the gaming industry's "interests". Lately, as we have seen with Konami, among many other developers- digital copies of demos and games have been permanently removed from Playstation Network and Xbox Live with no reason given.

Worse, when customers complained, companies simply ignored them. This is the model that gaming is following. Yes it will be nice to have instant access to a game, but at the cost of you 'not owning' the disc, which is an entire other conversation about copyright. Once that game becomes vaporware, that is it. There is no more downloading it, and just to ram us one final time I would wager there is a delete timer on each file that you download, and I don't care how illegal it is or it is perceived to be- they will do it.

There will be no more retro gaming once we transition into digital only copies. You own a copy of the game yes, but not the rights to it, and some, like Ubisoft in the past, have argued that you don't "own the game" either, just a "license" to play it. It is anti-consumer. Including copyright laws, I should be able to do whatever I want with the product I purchase. Just because you want to protect your copyrights does not mean you can have control of my product after the transaction is complete. Blizzard does this. Multiple other companies do it. When the servers go down- you are out of luck; and that is just the nature of some games today that require always online authentication- like Simcity 5 or Diablo 3.

It is a sad, inevitable future we are arriving at unless customers speak with their wallets. You can yell, you can kick, you can scream all you want- companies just don't care about you. When you hit their sales numbers and then tell them why, either they will begin to comply or another company will come out with a CD copy. But remember the ESA? Console manufacturers can simply refuse to design a disc drive into the next generation of consoles. It will be then that I call bull honkey and enjoy what is left of physical gaming media.

Retro Pickup #1 (Let's consider this 2015)

Been a while since I have posted to the blog... huh.

I recently came across some spending money and won an Ebay auction to build up my game boy collection. The games add up to $54 loose. I paid $24, for a savings of about 54%. That's good stuff right there. A lot of sellers want top dollar for their games and they aren't going to get it unless someone MUST have something. With retro gaming more popular now than it was 10 years ago, there are literally many more fish in the sea.

I went after this lot for Wario Land. I got some more games in it too- and anything I decide to not keep gets traded into the retro store for credit towards stuff I actually do want.

Armored Core For Answer- RGN Episode 30 [Review]

Armored Core For Answer

Introduction
Armored Core is a time honored series that began in the late 90’s as a mech sim combined with a 3rd person shooter to provide something gamers had never seen before. When the 1997 demo disc came to our home, Armored Core for the Playstation 1 was on it, and I played the game to death.

The series is known for its customization of your robot, taking missions and fighting opponents either in the missions or through an arena mode. This game in particular, 4 answer, was published by Ubisoft and developed by From Software, who has developed much of the series to date. Ubisoft is well known for publishing other titles. Although I don’t know how much influence the corporation had on the development of 4 Answer, the game certainly seems to be polished, at least mechanically.

Without further adieu, let’s begin the review proper.



Gameplay
The learning curve for 4 answer is much less than other entries in the series. The game starts you off with a tutorial mode that will make sure you know what you are doing before you begin. I prefer control style A; it just feels right to me. Selecting a corporation isn’t a big deal; it just starts you off with a newbie craft that you can change later. Pick whichever one you want. For further testing, there is a test mode under the ACSIS menu.

Like older games, 4 Answer lets you conduct arena matches sponsored by the game’s league of corporations. You won’t earn too much money facing earlier opponents, but it’s something to do either during or after the main game’s missions.

Missions are generally fun and follow a logical sequence of events, but some of them can get tedious. However- those tedious missions can bring good money that you can use to customize your machine. In addition, I have to go and wander around to find enemies, which is indicative of a map that is a little big. The environments are destructible however- something we have come to expect in this day and age. That or there isn’t enough action. Sometimes the game prompts you to ‘go it alone’ or to select a hired hand. I firmly believe that consorts are a waste of money, even on hard mode. If you don’t like how the mission turned out, you can always replay it afterwards to try and reduce your repair bill.



When you play in ordered matches you face opponents for cash and equipment. Beware though- you can only get so far with a starter craft. I got about five or six opponents in with a basic craft and began having my butt kicked. In general, the minute you lose your primal armor, which is a lot like a shield, they will begin to eat you like a piranha. Basic enemies throughout the game will mostly stand still and act dumb, however there are some that are smarter. Some AI such as the pilot behind Wonderful Body are just plain stupid. Some have so much armor that if you aren’t conservative with your shots, you will run out of ammo.

The weapons in the game are a lot of fun. Some are hard to use, but can be incredibly powerful if they hit. I personally like back mounted grenade cannons. They feel cheap, but a well-placed shot will devastate even a NEXT. Laser blades are pretty much useless in this game except for multiplayer duels and the one mission here where you have to take down GA America’s Arms Fort.

Arms forts are enemies in the game that set 4 Answer apart from every other game in the series. Earlier games had giant ass enemies here and there, but not in the numbers encountered in this game. There are really two ways to defeat an Arms Fort: the easy way and the hard way. Most of them have a blind spot. If you take advantage of this fact you can deal massive damage while remaining largely unscathed. Sounds like poor design choices to me. If you feel like being cheap, or as efficient as possible- there are ways to avoid taking big hits when fighting these monoliths of 3,000-5,000 people hell bent on killing you.

Some fire massive fireballs. It is good practice to avoid being hit by said fireballs. They hurt. I have no idea where some forts get the power to fire shot after shot in quick succession, but I digress. Like here. How the hell did I not get hit by that shot? Twice! I should be dust. If you’re not careful, blasts will not only take out your primal armor, but you will sustain around 40-50% damage. Not fun.



Controls
The controls in the game are rock solid, responsive and in the case of flight- sensitive to the press of the shoulder buttons. I’ve never had any issues with the controls. The learning curve to pick the game up is light to moderate, making it an easy game to get into. If you need to, control options can still be accessed under the ACSIS menu. Everything seems to make sense. If none of it makes sense to you, you can always custom map whatever you want.

The game features intuitive menus and a kind of key that can be accessed by pressing start. This shows you what you can do with the menus and comes in real handy during the assembly process.

Graphics
For a game that only puts out to 720p, 4 Answer doesn’t look half bad at all. At some parts in the environment you can tell they skimped out, particularly with buildings and solid walls. Sometimes levels can seem a bit bland, but that’s what you get in a post-apocalyptic scenario. Some fights, like the Spirit of Motherwill mission will push the PS3 to its absolute graphical maximum. This shows because at times the PS3 will begin to chug along as it renders all of the stuff going on with that encounter. For the most part the game is smooth, polished and well done. From Software has always done a good job, but I feel that Ubisoft may have had a hand in some of the polishing.







Customization
Armored Core would not be what it is without complete and utter customization of your craft. You will spend as much time modifying your machine as you do fighting with it. If that kind of work bores you to death, you may want to try an arcade style 3rd person shooter.

You will be able to choose everything from your paint scheme to your camo pattern, if you want one. As you look at parts in the assembly menu, the triangle button will allow you to see all sorts of data- not even I fully understand it all. This game is hardcore with its customization. Eventually you will get so far into the series that you can just buy every part available in the ‘SHOP’ menu. Early on you won’t have much money or a wide selection of parts, but later on the game offers at least twice the customization of Armored Core 4.

Other than the great gameplay, the crowning achievement of 4 answer is the ability to press Square in the assembly menu to sort any part by a plethora of factors: from fire rate to load to energy cost to armor protection. Good god, I have spent so much time building NEXTs it isn’t even funny. This sorting ability makes it easy as cake to effectively select what legs you need for a particular load out- something that was slightly more complicated in earlier installments of the series. You can literally mix and match whatever you want. The number of load outs has to be astronomical.

4 answer introduces stabilizers which help balance your craft’s movement. You can also take advantage of instabilities by moving faster in a given direction, OR you can create those instabilities on purpose. FRS memory is unlocked by completing missions and defeating arena opponents gradually. These points can be used to fine tune your machine in every way. I generally like to put early points in primal armor, then generator output. You can save designs you like, in addition to loading other schematics. If you have all of the parts you can load a schematic and boom! You have the craft ready to go sans FRS enhancements.

Story
The story is pretty standard and at times bland- but you can get into it if you really try. A league of corporations has taken most of mankind to the skies after the Earth has been polluted by Kojima Particles- the stuff that NEXTs run on for primal armor. Some were left behind on the surface- and formed colonies. One such colony is Line Ark.

The league involves your major political issues reflected in today’s society: corruption, pollution, morality and ethical dilemmas. Eventually a new organization, ORCA will take prominence against the league and attempt to punish the corrupt organization. How so is up to you to find out. The voice acting is well done. If you know your anime, the game is narrated by the gentleman that did the voice of Treize Kushrenada from the English dub of New Mobile Report Gundam Wing.




Multiplayer
Missions you take in the game will affect what comes next, though in free play mode you will be able to select any mission, access the hard mode and face any opponent NEXT. There are co-op options, but in order to play the single player game co-op both players need to remain on one screen. It isn’t ideal.

The weakest part of 4 Answer’s lineup is the multiplayer. It’s here, but the split screen is just awful. They letter box everything and shrink it down, making everything hard as piss to see. Why was this necessary? I have no idea. You can also play LAN to eliminate the split screen issue if you have another copy of the game and another Playstation 3. I’m not sure how long the servers are up for this game, but there were many ONLINE matches going on, with many of the players being Japanese and American. They’re ruthless. If you think you’re good at the game, they will shred you to death with laser blades and other instruments of death. It’s nuts.

*5 second cutaway*

Conclusion
This game has to be one of my all-time favorites. I would go so far as to say that 4 Answer is a hidden gem that can be found on both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. Complete you can find it for around $19 dollars. It’s not by any means extremely rare or anything, but according to my sources the game is beginning to become uncommon. It’s definitely worth your time. I’ve spent around 120 hours inside of the game and I paid $30 for it back in the day. That equates to around 4 hours per dollar, a great value in comparison to a $60 game on the market that provides, at most 20-30 hours of gameplay for a hour/dollar ratio of about 0.5. This means that for me, 4 Answer was eight times the value of a standard $60 off the shelf game.


I gave this game an amazing score of 93.9/100 back in the day. Giving it another look now, the combined score weighs out to about 93.6/100, making it my #16 best game of all time.

Haven't Cared About 'Console Wars' Since Gen 4: Xbone Better Drop the Kinect or Tap Out of the Ring

In life there are people that think they are better than you because they show loyalty to a person or product. Sometimes, people have anger issues with seemingly 'innocent' things. Woe to the person who crosses the fan boy with an anger issue. They are all too common on Xbone Live, I hear.

I don't own a PS4 and I don't plan on buying one for another year or two. I like to get into new systems when they mature. I am a retro kind of guy. Now that the last gen is... last gen, I've been looking at expanding my Wii collection, my PS3 collection especially, and I am considering investing in an Xbox 360 if there are exclusives worth playing on the system.

I have had the chance to play both the PS4 and the Xbone. Completely barring the NSA and Kinect camera spying from the picture- I felt both were good systems that have a lot of potential. When it came to UI- PS4 seemed a little different to me, while the Xbone had a Windows OS- something more familiar. With that said, I prefer the PS4 UI.

I don't care about console wars anymore. I haven't cared since generation 4. I can't find Playstation 4 in stores, but I see plenty of Xbones. I am sure you can find either system online, though. What I do care about are good games. I may be on the majority a PC and Retro gamer now, but I still enjoy picking up a controller and playing good games.

I prefer value in my games rather than shelling out $60 for 30 hours of content. What, are they up to $70 for games now? sheesh. I don't know. When I buy a title I seek value. Skyrim. Borderlands 2. Goat Simulator (deviant example). Bioshock Infinite ($10) and games like GRID ($4) or Ace Combat Assault Horizon ($7). Steam.... is impossible to leave.

I've pumped over 400 hours into Skyrim before I finished everything I wanted to. Borderlands 2 had netted me around 170 hours. In college, I dumped 400-500 hours into Borderlands easily. I'm still not done with the sequel and I have found value in both the original game and the DLC. Gearbox Software does DLC right, unlike some companies I know who force you to pay for "disk locked content". I don't buy games to have the chance to buy something on the fucking disk, thanks.

There might be a couple of exclusives that Rhombus has in store for us. In the future I might look at getting one. As for the spy box, I am too pissed at Microsoft for wanting to bring a water cooler and a seal team dog to my living room, along with big brother. I've already got a water cooler in my fridge and I have no use for a german shepard. Too many vet bills. Can't deal with the heartache. No cats or dogs for me.

If Xbone wants to survive, and I say this from the neutral sidelines (I don't have a WII U, PS4 or XBONE) the puppet masters better ditch that $100 kinect device fast. Then, and MAYBE then I would recommend the console to people, until I just realized that Microsoft can throw a switch on and fuck with gamers again, by either requiring constant connection DRM schemes or stopping physical media from working. Bad move on the second part, and I know Sony is capable of doing it- but Microsoft is more likely to go through with it. Sony is in a position (and they investigated the idea of additional DRM) to cater to a bunch of pissed off gamers- and that is exactly what they are doing. Value, support and good games.

Diablo 3 Crashing Randomly

Well- I am getting random crashing with Diablo III. I will ask our resident IT guy to look at the situation, but he is going to swear up and down that it is Blizzard's problem- and not the networks. I thought I was getting random disconnects because he was playing League of Legends at the same time. It's almost 1 in the morning and his machine is shut off. I am still getting random disconnects.

Diablo III should have been a single player experience- not an online DRM one.

Haggling Retro Games

So later today I am going to go down to 8 bit and see if they want to buy some of my retro games. They deal in this stuff, and I want to help them out- so I will do a direct trade for credit towards other titles in the store.


There are a couple of things you need to know when selling or trading your retro games.

1) Do they work
2) Value of the lot
3) What you want for them


Do they work?
Don't sell a good retro store games you know don't work. They will check the carts and discs anyway- but be ethical (and adult) about it and sell them legit product.


Value of the lot
Know the value of the lot. Pricecharting.com helps with this.


What you want for the games
Be realistic. A store is in business to make money, not give you full price for games and make a 10% markup. Let them offer a price first, then go from there. I like to offer them about 60%-65% of what the games are worth, and if I am lucky get 70% value in trade in credit. As a retro gamer I am not looking to cash in. I am looking for more games- and in the long run, trade in credit hurts a company less than giving out straight cash. Know when to keep your stuff, too. If they low ball you way too far, you don't have to sell. I plan on starting strong in taking 70% value of the games, given discounts due to condition- and haggle from there.


What are you selling today?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS3) (CIB)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
PGA Tour Golf III (GEN)
F22 Interceptor (GEN)
Sonic 2 (GEN)
Jungle Strike (SNES)
NBA JAM (SNES)
Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)


A business has to take a risk on product. They may not even take the whole lot, to which I am open and flexible. If I were a business into quality retro games, I would probably not buy PGA Tour Golf or F22 Interceptor. Everything else is fair game. Donkey Kong and Zelda WILL fly. They will offer me money for those. I am interested in getting a fair price for my games, but at the same time helping the store out. After all, the goal here is to expand my retro collection and sell my duplicates, not make a quick buck. Know your minimum thresh hold and stick to it.

8-Bit Games in Shillington, PA

2017 Update: The store no longer exists. It was replaced by a shoe shine shop (source: friend)
 

It's quite a bit of a drive, but I heard about a retro video game store from a friend in this area. Having nothing to do today I ventured a few hours out here to find a mecca of retro memories, Super Mario World running on a demo station, old and obscure boxes of retro consoles, memorabilia, nice staff and fair prices. I scored some stuff today, including:

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
God of War Collection (PS3)
Tak and the Power of Juju (PS2)
Nuclear Strike (PS1)
Crash Bandicoot (Black Label) (PS1)
Choplifter III (SNES)

I paid roughly 10% above market value on the goods. The prices were extremely fair (come on, they gotta be in business to make money) and importantly- they take Visa. If you are in the Reading, PA area stop on Lancaster Avenue (parking can be a bit ehhh... park behind back) and give these guys a try. Walk in the door and there is so much to look at. I took a stroll in there, then had to stop and focus on what they had on the shelves.

A managerie of great games, some rare- some common- at fair prices. A couple of boxed stuff too if you collect that.

PS: They don't sticker up their games like Gamestop. That alone is reason to shop there. Trades and Sales welcome. Just remember... they are in business to make money. Don't expect Ebay offers. They have to put risk into stuff they take in. The discs I had were immaculate to B+ condition. I'm not being endorsed by the store- but am providing my first impressions upon walking in- and giving them a shout out.

Let's Play 019- Sonic the Hedgehog (Part 03) [480p]

Let's Play 018- Sonic the Hedgehog (Part 02) [480p]

Let's Play 017- Sonic the Hedgehog (Part 01) [480p]

Let's Play 014- Pokemon Stadium (Part 01) [480p]

Let's Play 020- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Part 01)

They are out there!

Good to see Zelda nerds out there! I immediately recognize the decal on the back of this vehicle. It made me smile.