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.
Showing posts with label retro games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retro games. Show all posts
December 15, 2014
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.
April 10, 2014
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.
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.
April 3, 2014
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.
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.
February 17, 2014
February 16, 2014
Carrier Aces Review Script [Uncensored]
On Camera:
Fucking ay! It's Carrier Aces! I played this game all the time back in the day!
VO:
I don't hear a lot of people talking about it, and this is a great game for the Super Nintendo that I think is often overlooked. In 1995, near the end of the SNES' life cycle, cybersoft came out with what I think is a gem of a combat sim game if you are a fan of those types of games. There are two ways to play the game: 1 player versus the computer and 1 player versus 2 player. You can be either the Americans or the Japanese.
There are 7 campaigns to choose from in addition to a training mission, which lets you practice the different aspects of the game: dogfights, strafing, dive bombing, torpedo runs, and landing the planes. None of these campaigns look familiar to me in any way- and when I say that I don't recall any of those campaigns being realistic battles fought in World War II. For what ever reason they made up their own names I suppose. The only thing close to a real battle I think was the defense of the buppa oil fields which may have occurred in the Phillipines.
We need to clarify one thing off the bat. When you select the first campaign, the Americans claim that the Yamato is speeding ahead, and that it is a destroyer. The Yamato was not a destroyer. It was not a frigate. It was a mother fucking battleship, ok? The in game representation is wrong too. Being a kid though- I wouldn't have known the difference.
This game will let you build your squadrons. In general you will receive options for two fighters, a dive bomber and a torpedo bomber. I like the dive bombers- and you'll see why in a bit. Generally I like to divy it up into 5 dive bombers and three fighters. Don't forget to load your planes with ordinance- I forget to do it all the time and wonder why my Dauntless isn't dropping its bomb. Woops. Forgot to have the crew tie a bomb to my plane! hurpty durr!
You will get a quick cutscene showing your planes taking off. After that, the game resorts to a sort of board game fashion which shows you the layout of the area. The enemy is nearby and they have one to eight fighters as well. You'll have to dogfight them in order to move onto your target.
Dogfighting on the super nintendo is one big turning fight. That's all it really is- and the computer is VERY, VERY good at doing it. This is why I prefer the dauntless- you can press the right shoulder pad and enter rear gunner mode. I set my speed to medium, get my altitude dangerously low and open fire when the enemy catches up. He is going to get behind you anyways. If you manage to shoot out the enemies fuel tank or oil tank- they will slowly plummet into the ocean- probably to be eaten by sharks. It's possible Genesis' Ecco the Dolphin saves them; I dunno.
Do your best to shoot him down and that should minimalize casualties for your side. Unlike other sim games that are nice to the pilots when you blow their planes up, when your plane explodes in this game- the pilot inside dies. There are no ejection seats in world war II. Dogfighting is fun for a time- but after the third protracted dance it really begins to get tedius. Maybe it would be better against a player opponent- but not on the campaigns.
When you reach your target- whatever it is- one player gets to attack it and the other defends with a 5mm cannon or a 40mm bofors. fighters and torpedo bombers will strafe while the Dauntless will dive bomb. The farther away you are from your target, the less accurate you will be. However- the closer you get to your target, the more likely your planes will sustain damage. It takes a lot of practice to get really good at this game- and it can be a ton of fun between two players.
Basically- destroy your target and move on. You'll win- but then you need to land your planes. Unlike Top Gun for the NES, landing planes in this title is easy- follow the flag man's instructions and slow your speed upon touchdown. It's that easy.
The controls are solid- but often I second guess myself. It can be tricky to learn how to dogfight- but in order to succeed at the game you have to become good at this skill. Again, this is why I pick the Dauntless or the japanese dive bomber equivalent. The music, although good- gets monotonous with time, and that ties in with the extended dogfights. As a kid- and even now as an adult- extended dog fights put me to sleep. I'm not joking. The real fun is in dodging stationary guns- especially with a good friend. The campaigns may be repetitive but back in the day this was a good source of fun. Not for $50 mind you, if you can believe that SNES games sold for that much back then. It's an OK versus game in today's market of retro gaming, but some other folks who don't fit the niche of Carrier Aces will want to look elsewhere for a fix.
RGN gives this game a [/]. Even if it was mediocre at best, Carrier Aces will always have a place in my heart. Until the enemy shoots my oil tank.
Fucking ay! It's Carrier Aces! I played this game all the time back in the day!
VO:
I don't hear a lot of people talking about it, and this is a great game for the Super Nintendo that I think is often overlooked. In 1995, near the end of the SNES' life cycle, cybersoft came out with what I think is a gem of a combat sim game if you are a fan of those types of games. There are two ways to play the game: 1 player versus the computer and 1 player versus 2 player. You can be either the Americans or the Japanese.
There are 7 campaigns to choose from in addition to a training mission, which lets you practice the different aspects of the game: dogfights, strafing, dive bombing, torpedo runs, and landing the planes. None of these campaigns look familiar to me in any way- and when I say that I don't recall any of those campaigns being realistic battles fought in World War II. For what ever reason they made up their own names I suppose. The only thing close to a real battle I think was the defense of the buppa oil fields which may have occurred in the Phillipines.
We need to clarify one thing off the bat. When you select the first campaign, the Americans claim that the Yamato is speeding ahead, and that it is a destroyer. The Yamato was not a destroyer. It was not a frigate. It was a mother fucking battleship, ok? The in game representation is wrong too. Being a kid though- I wouldn't have known the difference.
This game will let you build your squadrons. In general you will receive options for two fighters, a dive bomber and a torpedo bomber. I like the dive bombers- and you'll see why in a bit. Generally I like to divy it up into 5 dive bombers and three fighters. Don't forget to load your planes with ordinance- I forget to do it all the time and wonder why my Dauntless isn't dropping its bomb. Woops. Forgot to have the crew tie a bomb to my plane! hurpty durr!
You will get a quick cutscene showing your planes taking off. After that, the game resorts to a sort of board game fashion which shows you the layout of the area. The enemy is nearby and they have one to eight fighters as well. You'll have to dogfight them in order to move onto your target.
Dogfighting on the super nintendo is one big turning fight. That's all it really is- and the computer is VERY, VERY good at doing it. This is why I prefer the dauntless- you can press the right shoulder pad and enter rear gunner mode. I set my speed to medium, get my altitude dangerously low and open fire when the enemy catches up. He is going to get behind you anyways. If you manage to shoot out the enemies fuel tank or oil tank- they will slowly plummet into the ocean- probably to be eaten by sharks. It's possible Genesis' Ecco the Dolphin saves them; I dunno.
Do your best to shoot him down and that should minimalize casualties for your side. Unlike other sim games that are nice to the pilots when you blow their planes up, when your plane explodes in this game- the pilot inside dies. There are no ejection seats in world war II. Dogfighting is fun for a time- but after the third protracted dance it really begins to get tedius. Maybe it would be better against a player opponent- but not on the campaigns.
When you reach your target- whatever it is- one player gets to attack it and the other defends with a 5mm cannon or a 40mm bofors. fighters and torpedo bombers will strafe while the Dauntless will dive bomb. The farther away you are from your target, the less accurate you will be. However- the closer you get to your target, the more likely your planes will sustain damage. It takes a lot of practice to get really good at this game- and it can be a ton of fun between two players.
Basically- destroy your target and move on. You'll win- but then you need to land your planes. Unlike Top Gun for the NES, landing planes in this title is easy- follow the flag man's instructions and slow your speed upon touchdown. It's that easy.
The controls are solid- but often I second guess myself. It can be tricky to learn how to dogfight- but in order to succeed at the game you have to become good at this skill. Again, this is why I pick the Dauntless or the japanese dive bomber equivalent. The music, although good- gets monotonous with time, and that ties in with the extended dogfights. As a kid- and even now as an adult- extended dog fights put me to sleep. I'm not joking. The real fun is in dodging stationary guns- especially with a good friend. The campaigns may be repetitive but back in the day this was a good source of fun. Not for $50 mind you, if you can believe that SNES games sold for that much back then. It's an OK versus game in today's market of retro gaming, but some other folks who don't fit the niche of Carrier Aces will want to look elsewhere for a fix.
RGN gives this game a [/]. Even if it was mediocre at best, Carrier Aces will always have a place in my heart. Until the enemy shoots my oil tank.
February 14, 2014
February 5, 2014
February 3, 2014
February 2, 2014
January 31, 2014
October 18, 2013
Retro Collecting Growing- But I Have a Huge Backlog
Hunting games down is fun- especially when you go flea market or thrift shop hunting. I've been told my collection is rather small. It is- at around 300 games. However- like model building there has to be a limit to how many pieces I buy. While I do scoop up cheap games now and then- I MUST watch my intake. Model builders get trapped all the time- they buy so many kits that they will never finish them all. Here is my backlog of games introduced to our combined collection from my roommate- and a few I picked up that I have yet to play.
I've got a while to go- then I can procure more games. Meanwhile I can spend money on other things- like models and furniture- and even then, I have a couple of kits in progress too. The only one I will nab now is the Wing Zero Proto.
A Boy and His Blob
Ape Escape
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
Battletanx: Global Assault
Champions: Return to Arms
Contra Shattered Soldier
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Destroy All Humans 2
Devil May Cry 2
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
God of War
Jak II
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Overlord: Dark Legend
Ratchet and Clank
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Starfox Adventures
Super Mario Galaxy
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
I've got a while to go- then I can procure more games. Meanwhile I can spend money on other things- like models and furniture- and even then, I have a couple of kits in progress too. The only one I will nab now is the Wing Zero Proto.
A Boy and His Blob
Ape Escape
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
Battletanx: Global Assault
Champions: Return to Arms
Contra Shattered Soldier
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Destroy All Humans 2
Devil May Cry 2
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
God of War
Jak II
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Overlord: Dark Legend
Ratchet and Clank
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Starfox Adventures
Super Mario Galaxy
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
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