Economy-ics

The sun has been shining and the birds have been chirping over the last few days in Northern Virginia, and Easter has come and gone (no I'm not crazy, but I am Coptic Orthodox www.stmarkdc.org). Fellow Broke College Gamer Rob came down to visit family as well which gave us time to catch up and discuss video game... belt buckles. Besides that though, Rob and I spent some time together at several video game stores (EB Games and Game Stop) just browsing, destroying the video game demos in less than 5 minutes, and staring all googley-eyed at the GTA4 promos.

Walking through all these stores, I noticed something that I really wasn't aware of before. Something that has been there for the last 8 years now but every time I walk in, it tends to grow more and more, taking over the store. Originally it was no bigger than just the black cart they stayed in, but now, oh man now...

These used game carts are so conveniently placed in the middle of the store with huge signs of "$9.99 cart and below," or "Buy 2 used games Get 1 FREE!" These of course are great deals, for these older systems if you have them (and by the way, original xbox is $60, game cube is $30, and PS2 is $70), but with these new next gen consoles out, I just shake my head and walk away. I don't sell games, in fact I have kept every game I have ever had for any system, yet seeing these carts make me wonder. The majority of people probably bought these games at retail price when they first came out, beat them, and then sold them for $11, $27 or what $38, only to have these stores turn right around and almost double the price.

I remember the joy of opening up brand new games and taking the plastic cover off, then the sticker in anticipation of seeing the disc design of the game. Now, this feeling has gone away slowly since I can buy used games from an overstocked cart with games in no order whatsoever and spilling over on to the carpet. Now if you're like me, you will still go to these ugly beasts of wonderful deals to buy games, but if you're like some of my more economic Broke College Gamers, you should look in to getting a Gamefly account.

So if you're like me, be cheap and hold out until those once $60 games go down to $5, or be like a fellow Broke College Gamer and get Gamefly. Either way, stay broke, and enjoy it.

A Little Rant on GTA4...

So I "heard" from somewhere that Grand Theft Auto IV's camera works on a standard axis. You push up on the right stick, the camera goes up. Left goes left, down goes down, right goes right. That's pretty normal. They also have an invert look option which swaps the y-axis. Up goes down, down goes up, and left and right go left and right respectively.

Now what really pisses me off is that there isn't the option in invert the x-axis at all. If you are not familiar with either of these camera schemes, you are going to be stuck trying to learn the camera controls. While it's not a huge deal, it really disappoints me. You would think a game of this much caliber and hype would have a simple option to invert both.

I normally play 3rd person games with both invert x and invert y on so this kinda makes the game unplayable for me... Until I decide to suck it up and play with the crappy camera controls.

Guh...

Difference of Opinion

So I ran into an article online today called "Making Gaming Better". The author put up seven things to make gaming better. Some of his points made sense.... like buying direct, finding random games that get no press but are good, and stop wasting time defending bad games with bad reps. But the other tips would take more away from the gaming experience.
The first thing he said was "don't be a jerk online." HAHAHAHA.....I believe there is a reason for stereotypes and a stereotype for gamers is that we're jerks. Its just our style. For example, the best time I had playing online was when I got drunk with a close friend and played COD4 and having them yell at us. It was even better, and ironic, because my friend was cursing in Arabic and we heard the funniest comments. To tell the gaming community to stop being jerks is like telling frats to stop hazing pledges. It's just not going to happen.
The next thing that sort of made me laugh was that he had an issue with gaming piracy. Piracy is just a part of life now. It is everywhere and is so easy to do. It doesn't mean that I am pro-piracy because we have seen casualties. For example, the Sega Dreamcast, which is in my opinion one of the best systems ever created, was completely hacked and modded so that a person could basically burn all of his/her games. It basically killed Sega's chances of staying in the hardware business. But we all still love what came from that system. So I think piracy will always be around and maybe the gaming companies can lower their prices so we can actually be like...I'm a broke college gamer, but this game is a good cost and I will pay for it.
The last thing that the writer said that made me laugh was be nice to newcomers aka n00bs. And we all know we need an initiation for the newcomers. It's just a part of life. I can't help but think about my WoW experiences. If I wasn't called a n00b in the beginning I wouldn't have tried so hard to become better.
That is just my two cents about it, since thats all I have anyways.

Confessions of a True Broke College Gamer...

I must say that I was a bit iffy when I bought my 360 because I already had a PS3. But man... I must say I'm happy with my decision for reasons I probably shouldn't post here. ^^v

GPA Review: BAWLS G33k B33r

Kicking off our first GPA review is the energy drink BAWLS G33k B33r! G33k B33r is the newest flavor out of the BAWLS line. The catch being that this drink is a high caffeine root beer, a drink that is normally caffeine free. So how does it hold up as both an energy drink and as root beer?

Taste: A

There is no energy drink taste here, just pure unadulterated root beer. If your a root beer fan, which I am, then this is the drink for you. I'd go as far as saying it's better than most of the standard root beers out there.

Energy: B+

It's a nice gradual kick. Not to strong that you get the jitters but not too weak where you have to drink a couple to feel it. It's a nice balance but as someone who's used to caffeine, you might be left wanting just a little more.

Crash: A

No crash at all, you come down gradually and can still function after.

Look: B+

Call me a sucker but I love the bumpy design of the bottle, it just feels right in your hands. The only downside is that brown isn't exactly the sexiest color.

Cumulative GPA: 3.75 B+

On a 4.0 scale, this drink comes pretty close to perfect. If you're an energy drink and root beer fan , than this one's for you. This reviewer is contemplating monthly shipments, so that says something. Look if your still on the fence just put some BAWLS in your mouth (couldn't help it) and try it for yourself!

Gr8est Site Ever?

Remember spending countless hours three feet in front of your 27 inch tube television, mashing those red buttons and pushing stiff directions on the D-pad while Bebop and Rocksteady mopped the floor with you in TMNT2? What about running for 300 yards a game while zig-zagging with Bo Jackoson in Super Tecmo Bowl? Or who could forget the Mario Trilogy?

Now if your family was like mine, they cared more about your education and bought you games once in a blue moon. And remember back in the day when games cost $50? You'd have to save up your allowance, birthday money, Christmas, Easter, chore money just for 1 game.

Well they're back, and FREE. No need to download an emulator here, Ninetendo8 allows you to play all your old school games on about a 4 x 4 screen inside your web browser. With all the games you loved playing growing up (at least on Nitendo), as well as the amazing 8 bit sound, you can't really ask for a better site.

http://www.nintendo8.com/all/

This site offers hundreds of games on the NES and if you scroll through you might even recall games you saw in Blockbuster that your parents wouldn't let you rent for one reason or another. Some of these games obviously were miserable then, and are miserable now, but it's nice to reminisce.

This site does not have all the games for Nintendo, but enough to keep you entertained through a class, or before a boring work meeting. Enjoy

Inclass Game of the Week

Hey all, I am back to this week to give this week's game. Double wires is a very simple game to comprehend but becomes very challenging. All you have to do is click your mouse towards a shape and the stick figure will shoot a string towards it and then lunge itself forwards or back depending on which way you are facing. The goal is to get as far as you can and your score is the length you get before you die. Just be careful while playing in your class, we don't want any sudden noises of disappointment while your professor is trying to explain to you what a derivative is.