Gaming Cheap Ideas

Currently playing:
inFamous (PS3), Hakuna Matata (PS3)
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Gaming is an expensive hobby, especially if you are a serious, or "core" gamer. Think about it. Games cost $60. If you want to play with a friend, you're going to need another controller (which will run you about $50-$60 depending on the system). Just to gain the ability to play the games, a person has to plunk down anywhere from $250 to $450 (again, depending on the system). This part gets especially pricey if you plan on getting multiple consoles.

As far as the games go, you'll definitely be interested in purchasing the exclusives "must-have" titles for whichever system you chose. If you're a Microsofty, Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Fable II, and Left 4 Dead are the ones you'll gun for. Sony fan boys will eye Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, and inFamous; Wii-fers will gun for Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Wii Fit, and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. That doesn't even touch major third-party, mulit-platform titles such as Call of Duty 4, COD: World at War, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Dead Space, and either the Rock Band/Guitar Hero series (keep in mind the vast majority of the aforementioned games will typically run anywhere from $50-$60, depending on the system and where you purchase them).

Have I even mentioned portable systems, and their completely seperate games?

I think you see my point.

This isn't a drop in the bucket. Like most other hobbies, if you're going to do it, you need to do it right, and that requires something of a financial committment. In that case, it's important to be financially responsible. Hobbies are good and provide another aspect of life to round us out as individuals, but they should not dominate our time and finances.

What are we to do, then, with this money-gulping activity? What if you're in a tight place money-wise because of the recession? What if you don't have a job? What if you're dependent on others (such as a parent/guardian) for income (read: allownacee). I've come up with some ideas to help out the cash-strapped gamer in these tough economic times, and I hope they are of some use to you, whatever way that may be. Enjoy.

"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes"
Didn't catch that reference? RENT your games! If you're not one of those gamers who get a perverse pleasure from securing all the gamerscore points/trophies a game has to offer, you are, in all likelihood, going to play through the game once, maybe twice. After that, you probably won't touch it again for 6 months to a year, if at all. Why not rent the game, play through it, then return it? If you rent it from your local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, it will run you about $8.50 for five days and nights. If you keep it a total of two weeks, which is enough time to finish any given game, you'll spend $17.00. That's almost a quarter of what you would spend if you bought it.

Pull a Costanza
You might ask me then, "What if I like the game? Then I've paid the rental fee AND the purchase price!" Not if you go with a used copy of the game. Find your local GameStop/EB Games, and purchase that bad boy for about $6 to as much as $25 off. Stores like these assure you that the copy is playable and in good shape, and some even offer a year of insurance in case something goes wrong for only two or three dollars. You can also seek out your local used game store that isn't a member of the giant GS/EB conglomerate. Two I know of here in Middle Tennessee are The Great Escape in Nashville and Geeks, Etc. in Tullahoma.

"You're My Boy, Blue!!!"
Yes, just like Old Man Blue in Old School, the oldies CAN be goodies. Break out that old-school system you have, such as a Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, or even a Sega Genesis. Did you miss any games for the last console generation? I did. I haven't played ICO, Shadows of the Colossus, Okami, or Metal Gear Solid 2 or 3 for the PS2. I also never played any of the Mega Man X games, so I purchased the collection of all seven for the PS2. You can buy any of these for as little $19.99, which is a steal in terms of gaming. What if you don't have any of the old systems? Well, you could probably find the most recent ones such as the PS2 or the original Xbox at a Gamestop, but anything older than that will be a struggle, especially if you don't have a local used game store other than GS/EB. If that's the case...

"Say Hello To My [New] Little Friend!"
Let me introduce you to eBay. I have found so many great deals on eBay, it's not even funny; two brand new copies of Killzone 2: $40.99; a Sega Genesis system with controller and all hookups: $30.00; a Dreamcast with all hookups and two controllers: $60.00; Playstation 3 DualShock 3 controller: $43.00. My advice would be to (1) always purchase from sellers who have a positive feedback rating of at least 150-200. It's even better if they have the Power Seller stamp. (2) Always, ALWAYS ask questions. Ask them if it's still in the factory wrap, even if it's listed as "new." Ask if it's from a smoke-free household. Ask them how much time you have to pay for the item if you win it (you don't want to win it while you're unavailable, not be able to pay for it, and then find out you had to immediately pay for it). Ask if it's NTSC format, which is the format for North America; PAL format won't work in a Region 1/NTSC console.

Now, all of that might seem like a good amount of money, but think about it. You can probably get three N64 games or two Dreamcast games for the price of one current-gen game. That's double or triple the time return on your investment, and that's what we're going for here.

Flash Games
Okay, I couldn't think of a creative comment for this one. Nevertheless, there are all KINDS of free games you can play online. Why do you think of I've posted reviews/little snippets about flash games the lasat few weeks? There are some great, creative, innovative, out-of-the-box IPs waiting for you to discover (go check out Today I Die, or Don't Look Back and you'll see what I mean). Don't think these games have much credibility? Think again. Meat Boy, a title I mentioned in a previous post, started as a free flash game, but is actually coming to WiiWare later in the year.


Whatever your particular case may be, there are tons of ways to game on the cheap. If you have other tips/suggestions, please share them in the comments section below.

Review: Pocket Tanks

One of the things I am passionate about is finding games that appeal to a large number of people. I am not necessarily referring to casual games such as Wii Sports or Boom Blox (although I am not excluding them, either); I am talking about games like Rock Band or Afrika (of which I intend to post a review within the next couple of weeks). These games are very accessible to new players but also have a depth to them not found in more casual games, which appeals to the more serious or "hardcore" player. Games like these a great amount of appeal to me because I enjoy playing games with other people. Don't misunderstand me, games such as Fallout 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4 are fantastic gaming experiences, but I believe games that provide solitary, isolated experiences like those two will only find a limited audience. However, a Rock Band or Wii Sports title can be picked up at any time, by nearly anybody. Games that are both deep and accessible are increasingly hard to come by. Pocket Tanks, however, is one of those games.

One of my favorite games from my high school years, Pocket Tanks is as simple a concept as they come: you have a tank, your opponent has a tank, and you take turns trying to blow each other up in order to score points. I remember wasting hours on this game back in school (yes, including college) whenever friends and I were tired of homework or just didn't want to pay attention in class.

Tanks is one of those games that anyone can play, and that's a major part of appeal. I taught my girlfriend how to play it one night last week and now every time we get together we always have at least a best-of-three match. In a small way, one could compare it to Texas Hold'Em: five minutes to learn, but months to master (no, I was not going to say a "lifetime").

The game starts by entering names and choosing difficulty of the computer, if you're playing by yourself. You then move to the "Weapon Shop:"
From here, you and your opponent each choose ten weapons based on the random selection the computer provides you. All of these weapons are very unique, and all have their various strengths and weaknesses. They range anywhere from a single shot (which does a moderate 40 points of damage with a direct hit) to a sniper rifle shot, which is worth 100 points on a direct hit, although it has no splash damage and can be be notoriously difficult to aim. Other weapons include a Scatter Shot, which sends up five different shots from the spot where it lands; a weapon called the Pineapple, which looks like a giant cannonball on approach, but detonates into approximately 15-20 different shots when it nears you;a Dirtball, which, instead of putting damage on your opponent, erupts into a giant mound of earth that envelops its target;
and my personal favorite, the Hail Storm, which gushes into tons of tiny water balls that, given proper placement, can put upwards of 125-150 points of damage.

When the game starts, it provides you with a random layout of land. It can be a relatively flat plain, two hills with a valley between the two tanks, or a cliff-like format with one tank on a significantly higher plane than the other. Although it may not seem it at first, the layout actually can play a large role. If the wind is turned on (under the "Options" menu at the main screen), it will drastically affect aiming and power. In fact, under the options menu, you can change the size of the explosion, the randomness of the wind, the wind speed, even select a partiuclar land layout you favor (or randomize that as well).

This is where the game deepens. Developer Blitwise provides so many ways to customize the game that you can literally play it for hours and never play the same game twice. This is especially true if you purchase the Deluxe or Collector's Edition of the game, which come packed with 60 weapons or 190 weapons, respectively. All these armaments provide for endless combinations and perferences. Want to play defense? Grab a few Dirt Slingers or Dirtballs to force your opponent to blow themselves out of the earth and forfeit points. Feeling daring? Draft a few hail storms, napalms, or fission bombs, get your opponent in a hole, then fling those bad boys at 'em. It takes a few turn to set it up, but when you hit, it usually nets you 100+ points. High wind in the game? Pick imprecise weapons (like the Spider, Zapper, or Cruiser) that hit a large area of land to insure points when they will be hard to come by.

Pocket Tanks is an incredibly easy game to learn, but that does not mean it is not fun. I constantly find myself opening it up and then realizing I've been playing it for two hours. It never gets old.

And isn't that what we want from games anyway?

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Grade: 9/10
Pocket Tanks is rated "E," and is for the PC & Mac. It can be downloaded at the following links:
Shareware version
Deluxe Edition
Collector's Edition

Stupid Interwebs...

Currently playing:
Fallout 3 (360), Killzone 2 (PS3)
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...and stupid Microsoft; I despise Windows. As soon as I get a TV stand for my new gaming setup, a Macbook will be next on my to-purchase list. Basically what happened is something like ten to fifteen viruses hopped onto my family's computer (which is where I do the majority of my writing)... the parents apparently didn't have great anti-virus protection on their PC. So, I brought it into work and my IT guys here are working on it. God bless 'em, those two are GREAT.

Anyway, that's why I haven't been able to post anything on here the last couple of weeks. I hope to get a couple of pieces up in the next ten days or so on Microsoft rumors for E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) as well as a piece arguing why 2009 might be Sony's year.

In the mean time, check out these games I have found over the last few days:

Meat Boy: great platforming game...controls are incredibly loose and will really test your timing and reaction.
Cursor*10: very unique idea for a game. Just start playing it and you'll get the hang of it.
Today I Die: Literally found this one about an hour ago, but I'm already incredibly impressed by it. This one will stretch what the conventional player considers to be a "game," but it promotes exploration, experimentation, as well as conventional aspects of gameplay. This game is almost like a love letter at times.