Target has been taking preorders on games for a little while, but it’s not for every game, and it’s not widely known. Now, the company is starting up a new preorder program that is guaranteed to steal a few sales away from Gamestop. If you preoder the game with $1 down, Target will give you a $5 gift card to the store if you pick the game up within seven days of release. At Gamestop, you have to put $5 down, and then when you pick the game up they try to convince you to pay full price and to roll that $5 over to another preorder. If you say no, you then have to listen to every game that’s coming out in the next 16 years while they make sure that there’s not something that you want to preorder.
So the process seems pretty simple, and if you shop at Target anyway it’s just as convenient as going to Gamestop. Heck, Target even opens up earlier and closes later than Gamestop. It would be great if Target could somehow expand the system to include all games that they plan on carrying, as there is only a select list of titles right now that will be included in this promotion. My guess is that if this really takes off, we’ll see Target go after this much more aggressively. Either way, I know where I’m picking my Punch-Out!! from on release day.
Top 10, 20, 50, 100, or whatever the number might be lists are always sure to be somewhat controversial, but it never keeps anybody from putting them out. Edge has compiled their 100 best games of all time list, and I have to say it’s pretty good (even with the glaring omission of Metroid Prime and the baffling inclusion of FIFA 09). There was a strong slant toward newer games or to those that have aged well. It seems that games that were only great in their time struggled to make the list, which may or may not be fair depending on your personal criteria. So, here’s the list:
100. Ridge Racer Type 4
99. Far Cry
98. Star Fox 64
97. Resident Evil
96. Zelda: Twilight Princess
95. Football Manager 2009
94. Space Giraffe
93. The Sims 2
92. Animal Crossing Wii
91. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
90. Braid
89. Final Fantasy VI
88. Panel De Pon
87. Doom 2
86. Singstar
85. The Secret of Monkey Island
84. God of War
83. Peggle
82. Sam & Max Hit the Road
81. Silent Hill 2
80. Quake III
79. Pac-man CE
78. UFO: Enemy Unknown
77. Zelda: Majora’s Mask
76. Planescape: Torment
75. F-Zero GX
74. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
73. Frequency
72. Skate 2
71. Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
70. Daytona USA
69. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
68. Shadow of the Colossus
67. Chrono Trigger
66. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
65. Thief II: The Metal Age
64. Puyo Pop Fever
63. Lemmings
62. Ninja Gaiden
61. Robotron 2084
60. Puzzle Bobble
59. Viewtiful Joe
58. Gears of War 2
57. Deus Ex
56. Counter Strike: Source
55. Pokemon Yellow
54. Ico
53. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
52. Fable II
51. R-Type Final
50. Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes
49. Rez HD
48. Final Fantasy VII
47. Eve Online
46. Disgaea: AOD
45. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
44. Jet Set Radio Future
43. Portal
42. FIFA 09
41. Race Driver GRID
40. WarioWare Inc.
39. Super Monkey Ball
38. Starcraft
37. Fallout 3
36. Burnout Paradise
35. Castlevania: SOTN
34. Bioshock
33. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
32. Team Fortress 2
31. Bomberman
30. Company of Heroes
29. Advance Wars
28. GTA: San Andreas
27. Mario Kart DS
26. Medieval II: Total War
25. Final Fantasy XII
24. Virtua Fighter 5
23. Zelda: Wind Waker
22. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
21. Metal Gear Solid 3
20. Super Mario Bros. 3
19. Civilization IV
18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
17. World of Warcraft
16. Super Metroid
15. Rock Band 2
14. Street Fighter IV
13. Left 4 Dead
12. Grand Theft Auto IV
11. LittleBigPlanet
10. Yoshi’s Island
9. Halo 3
8. Super Mario Galaxy
7. Tetris
6. Super Mario World
5. Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Resident Evil 4
3. Half-life 2
2. Super Mario 64
1. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
My personal top 100 would look very different, but I feel the vibe Edge was going with here. It’s very kind toward newer games, but that’s ok because they list it in their explanation. I would guess that this list here is probably far more relevant to today’s younger gamer. Also, it’s very clear that the game has a strong Euro slant in some places.
I’ve been searching around, bidding on auctions, watching local classifieds like a hawk (a chicken hawk, to be precise), and even sent out countless emails to old contacts trying to track down a Punch-Out!! arcade cabinet. Most of the time I was either outbid on eBay, was just a little too late with the local classifieds, or sellers just wanted too much for what they had to offer. Earlier this week I finally found a great deal on a working Punch-Out!! that didn’t have any structural or electronic issues, so I jumped right on the opportunity to get the game. Now, this thing is going to need some work to get it just how I want it, but I’m ready for some restoration work out in the garage before I move the game into the arcade room. I picked up a few restoration supplies at Home Depot yesterday, and I have some parts on order that should be here by the end of the week. Below are some of the pictures as the machine looks right now.
As you can see from the pictures, the machine is completely missing its sideart and the paint job is a little scuffed up in places. The upper monitor needs to have a cap kit done on it, the bezel needs to be replaced, and the control panel overlay is torn up in places. I already have a new CPO on its way, new sideart stickers, and two new orange buttons. The marquee is fine, but the bulb needs a new starter, and the marquee brackets actually need fixing.
Here is the fix list (not necessarily in order):
- Fix marquee brackets
- Install a new starter into the marquee bulb assembly
- Strip down the cabinet, sand it down, fill in the holes/chips, repaint the sides, back, top, front
- Apply new sideart and control panel overlay
- Replace the bezel
- Build and paint a new cabinet base (it’s currently missing one)
- Install new casters onto the bottom of the cab
- Install a cap kit on the upper monitor
- Install new t-molding
- Remove the coin doors, strip the paint, and repaint them
- Install a cap kit on the sound board
- Put the whole dang thing back together and pray I didn’t ruin anything in the process
- Move the thing into the arcade room!
I’ll try and remember to take work in progress pictures as I go, but I’ll definitely post pictures of the completed project before I move it out of the garage so we can have some good before/after comparisons. This is the last of the “must have” games, so I’m pretty happy to have this one home. I also have my eye on a handful of other games that I found locally that need some restore work, but I’d most likely just get them back to 100% and flip them to other collectors.
Yes, for the limited edition of Rock Band Beatles, you will be paying as much as it costs to get a brand new console. The package sounds cool, but there’s no way that the majority of people out there are going to opt for this version of the game. Either way, here’s what you get in the package:
- The Beatles: Rock Band software
- Höfner Bass controller
- The Beatles branded Rock Band drums
- Microphone and Microphone Stand
- and additional special content
Man, for that price I would half expect Paul McCartney to be working that bass and singing backup while you’re playing any of the other instruments. I don’t know what the “additional special content” is, but I swear I’m going to kick some nuts if it happens to be extra tracks that you can’t get otherwise. I’m really, really excited for this, but I better be able to get the full experience by just buying the disc version.
Oh yes, and Gamestop is already taking preorders for the game here: Rock Band Beatles Preorder
Collector’s editions of games are all the rage now, it seems. People are dropping $10, $20, 0r even $30 extra dollars on specially packaged versions of their games in order to get some bonus swag with their game. Many times these collector’s editions of games are exclusive to a particular retailer or, or only offered for a limited time, or are for pre-orders only. Well, right now on Amazon.com you can buy a couple of Punch-Out!! collectibles. The first, which comes in at a whopping $90, is a green boxing glove in a display case, which is “autographed” by Little Mac. The second is a Heavyweight Contender Kit, which contains a King Hippo mini crown, a desktop punching bag, some boxer shorts, and a Doc Louis chocolate bar. Neither kit comes with the game, but both are oozing with nerd bragging rights. Below are the links to the products on Amazon.
Punch-Out!! Amazon.com Exclusive Little Mac Boxing Glove
Punch-Out!! Amazon.com Exclusive Heavyweight Contender Kit
Ok, I have to admit that I think that the boxing glove is pretty dang cool, but I don’t see myself spending more than $15-$20 on something like that. The fact that it’s $90 and doesn’t come with the game kills it for me. I’m planning on putting a Punch-Out!! arcade machine in my home soon, and this would be the perfect decoration to go alongside it, but right now I just can’t justify the money. Hopefully these things will either come down in price at some point or that they’ll be available for less on the second hand market. All you die-hard Punch-Out!! fans, you found your dream swag if the price is right, however.
Here it is, folks. GameTrailers.com has the first gameplay footage released for BioShock 2. The video shows some of the combat and some new enemies. Click below to check it out.
I think it looks pretty good, but I’m still having a hard time convincing myself that this is going to be as good as the original game.
Nintendo is the publisher for Tecmo’s Fatal Frame IV over in Japan, and earlier this week they announced that they have decided not to bring the game to North America. Because of region locking on the Wii, that means that unless you have a Japanese Wii, you won’t be playing this game. What a bummer. Fatal Frame is one of the more enjoyable and definitely one of the scarier survival horror series out there. Fatal Frame II still ranks up in the top 3 scariest games of all time in my book, so I was really hoping that the fourth game in the series would make its way here.
I’m guessing that Nintendo has chosen not to bring Fatal Frame IV over to North America because they feel that it either won’t be profitable or that it doesn’t jive well with their current lineup of games. If you ask me, either reason is total crap. Sure, the game may not be a blockbuster seller, but at least you’d be helping out our relationships with a 3rd party developer that is willing to produce engaging and complex content for your system. I think Nintendo is sending a very bad message to developers, its fanbase, and to potential buyers that may be weary of the console’s hardcore game offerings. I love my Nintendo Wii as much or more than most people out there, but I honestly can’t deny that the lineup could use a few more games like Fatal Frame IV.
In response to the release of the DSi, Sony’s PR wonder (or is that blunder?) team sent out releases to a variety of gaming outlets that attempted to sway journalists to see the DSi in a particular light. Here is how the release reads:
If Nintendo is really committed to reaching a broader, more diverse audience of gamers beyond the “kids” market that they’ve always engaged, there isn’t much new with the DSi to support that. Significant gamer demographic groups are being ignored, and there continues to be limited opportunities for games from external publishers to do well on the DSi. Compare that with the PSP platform, where we have many blockbuster franchises from our publishing partners launching this year, representing a wide variety of genres and targeting diverse demographics. Games such as Rock Band Unplugged from MTV Games, Assassin’s Creed from Ubisoft, Dissidia Final Fantasy from Square Enix, and Hannah Montana from Disney demonstrate the commitment that publishers have to the PSP. From our own first-party studios, we’re launching unique versions of LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm, and we’re also planning a steady stream of downloadable games — both new titles and PSone classics — to add to the content that PSP owners can already purchase wirelessly through PlayStation Store.
There’s a lot of things wrong with what Sony has said there, but the act itself is more concerning than the actual message. Why send this out to journalists? Is it going to be received in any other manner than just outright mockery? Is anybody actually going to create their own stories supporting this sort of nonsense? Well, if you’re not a Sony dedicated fan site, then the answer is no. The DS is by far recognized as much more of a hardcore platform than the PSP, and that’s not something that Sony can change with a silly little press release. To their dismay, it’s also known as a far better platform for mainstream releases. It’s a shame, because I really try and like my PSP, but honestly I pull it out and play it once every 6 months for maybe an hour or two. There are good games on the PSP, but they are buried under generic and watered down console ports or remakes. The PSP has no unique flavor to its library, and until it gets one, software sales are going to continue to be terrible.
I think it’s time that Sony makes an appointment with a shrink or two, they’ve clearly got a severe inferiority complex that they’re dealing with right now. I guess this can happen when for the first time ever you find yourself behind in all aspects of the gaming hardware and software wars.
I’m probably going to take some more more heat for this, but I think it’s worth it. Before I continue with this piece, let me explain my methodology for choosing those pictures found in this post. Every once in a while you’ll see a message board thread inviting the community to share their gaming and/or home theater setups. Eager forum users time and time again step up and post their pictures while proudly stating, “this is my setup!” Well, if you’re going to put yourself out there, I’m going to be the jerk that saves your picture, shares it with an audience, and ridicules each and every one of your missteps. To be fair, however, I don’t make fun of people for having poor setups due to financial constraint; everybody is judged according to how well they did within their financial means. It’s all about execution, people! Also, you can click on the images to enlarge them (and believe me, but the final image you’ll want to).
Note: I’ll be adding to this as the need arrives. If you find worthy submissions, email them to me at jar155 [at] gmail dot com.
I’m guessing that there must be a good reason why everything in this person’s room is jammed into this single little shelf unit. I figure that the house was built upon an active volcano and that the floors are indeed made of hot magma. Why else wouldn’t you let your power bricks sit behind everything on the floor? Or maybe they just look great elbowing for space with dusty figurines, smashed game boxes, and whatever else might be on there. One solid bump, and that’s all coming down.
I had a conversation with this guy, and I said, “Hey buddy, why don’t you move some of that stuff into boxes or somewhere else where they won’t be so tightly crammed in?” He said, “Well, now, I can’t do that, can I? I already have the game shelf. It’s the game shelf. I put my game stuff on the game shelf.” In order to avoid a possible British comedy style conversation, I just nodded and left him be.
I’m not certified, and I’m certainly not qualified, but I have to write this guy up for a safety violation. We all can see what’s going to happen here. This guy will asleep in bed and his little brother will be using the bathroom in the next room. Little bro will let the lid drop too hard on the toilet seat and the resulting vibrations will send everything crashing down. Should he survive the initial avalanche, digging out won’t be easy. And how in the world is he getting games out of there to play? Some of those are stacked two deep and several levels high. I want to make friends with him just to ask if I can borrow one of those hard to reach games.
And finally, you don’t need to store your Rock Band drum sticks in the impale position, there’s a holder for them that lets you store them horizontally, also known as the “don’t die” placement.
Keep reading past the jump for more. You know you want to. You know you will.
