Well…if you want to part with two qualifying items.

Qualifying trade-ins include:

34 PS3 titles including Borderlands, Call of Duty 4, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition, LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year Edition and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

34 Xbox 360 games including the above mentioned, minus LittleBigPlanet but including Halo 3: ODST and WET

Playstation 2 systems – the original and the slim

The “sale” runs between now and the 29th of November. If you read the fine print, you’ll see that you might be responsible for full sales tax depending on what state you live in.

The fact that GameStop is putting a trade-in premium on the PS2 systems just goes to show you that the system is still in high demand – it’s one of my personal favorites.

Toys “R” Us has the Wii listed at $199.99 so after you trade in two game that you paid $60 a piece for new I’m not quite sure how good of a deal this is. BUT, if you have a PS2 hanging around in your house that you never use anymore and maybe you’ve beaten one of the games on the list then you really have nothing to lose by trading them in, putting some cash with it and getting a new system out of the whole thing.

Image|Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

Wii for $149.99 at GameStop

Before he left, we all went to Target to stock-up on essentials for the time he’ll be gone so I don’t have to wrangle a couple of kids and a shopping cart by myself.

As is often the case, I found myself staring at the PS3 games that Target and salivating at the copies of Assassin’s Creed II and Borderlands that were just hanging out in there happy little plastic holders and calling my name.

Really. They were calling my name. Upon further examination, maybe I should worry about that little detail.

Anyway.

Target has both Borderlands and Assassin’s Creed II for the low-low price of $59.99 and there’s no way in hell that I can convince my husband that it’s fiscally responsible to purchase both games at the same time.

I might be able to convince him to buy one of them since he wants to play both of them but Modern Warfare 2 is coming out very, very soon and I have a feeling this is going to boil down to a my game and his game kind of thing.

So, after Tucker had left for Drill, I had this “light bulb moment”. Since I write about gaming and this is my job then a game purchase would be a work expense. Right?

I could buy both of the games that I’m drooling over and then, I could write off the expense of the games since I had to purchase them for my job. I like to think of Assassin’s Creed II and Borderlands as my staples and manila folders. You can get that, right?

I wonder if my accountant would agree?

Image|pjstoneson

Post from: EveryJoe

Staplers and Manila Folders

So, yeah, I haven’t played Borderlands yet and I know you’ve got to be tired of hearing that because I’m tired of writing it.

How hard is it to rent a girl a freakin’ video game?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the game is going to end up under the Christmas tree – at least it better end up under the Christmas tree.

Then again, maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t started playing yet since there appears to be some “issues”

I was reading through Game Informer’s website [if you haven't been there in a while, they've redesigned it and it's pretty sweet] and hit on this article about a bug being found in co-op games.

Like a nasty ass bug that causes you to lose skill points that you can’t get back no matter how hard you try.

According to Game Informer, Gearbox has made it clear that they’re going to do their best to restore everything back to where it should be and the Gearbox forum for Borderlands has this to say about loss of skill points and weapons proficiencies issues:

Issue: Skill points or items disappear, or skill points are gained, usually after a multiplayer game
Frequency: client-side, moderate
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

Issue: weapon proficiencies disappear upon leaving a co-op game
Frequency: Client side common
Status: A solution for this problem has been discovered and a fix is pending

So, keep your pants on and make sure that you’re saving your stuff on an external memory card before you enter into a multiplayer game.

Image|Stealth Foto Ninja

Post from: EveryJoe

Bug Found in Borderlands

I didn’t pre-order the game and I didn’t rush out to buy it. I’m still holding an artistic grudge against Borderlands developers for changing the artistic direction mid-streams but now it’s time to suck it up and get on with it.

Sure. THIS game isn’t the game that I had pictured in my head but from what I got all last night via texts, it is a very, very solid game that “freakin’ rawks” – direct quote.

So, later on today, I plan on heading to my local game rental store and seeing if I can secure a copy of Borderlands. I figure my chances are about as good as a bottle of beer in an AA meeting, but I’m going to give it a shot.

I’ve talked enough crap about Borderlands without actually having any in-hand action and now it’s time to put my money where my mouth has been.

Hopefully I’ll have a review for you in the very near future.

Anyway. Here’s a video I found that IGN did. It’s pretty freakin’ funny. I laughed.

Image|Gearbox

Post from: EveryJoe

Borderlands is for Real Gamers Video

The plot takes place in the distant future in a time when people looking for a better life wander to the planets on the outer edges of the galaxy.  Unfortunately, these planets, including one called Pandora, are not all that they appear to be.  Pandora is the home of an ancient, long-dead alien civilization and, after the planet’s huge orbit slowly brings close to its sun, a once unknown and horrifying type of creature springs up and begins terrifying the colonists.

Players can engage in high-speed vehicle combat (with road-killed enemies included!) and will have hundreds of thousands of weapons at their disposal.  Sounds intense.

Post from: EveryJoe

“Borderlands” Out Today!

Call of Duty: World at War

If I were to buy all of these games, the cost would equal $230.96 [not including shipping or tax]. That’s a hunk of change.

I can get two iPhones for that.

Or, I could get eleven casual games [if they were $20 a piece].

I bring up the casual games idea after reading a piece by Eric von Coelln about Facebook eating the PC Download game model.

What I took away from the piece is that there is a HUGE market for low cost, downloadable games out there and I’m included in that market.

Imagine a kid in a candy store.

You give the kid $20 bucks and tell the kid that he can buy whatever he wants. On one display, the kid sees a ginormous head sized lollipop that costs $20. On another display, the kid sees tons of candy for $.10 a piece. What do you think the kid’s going to do? Go with the one lollipop or buy  200 pieces of candy?

Hell, what would YOU do?

That’s how I’ve been feeling recently. I have a limited amount of resources and those 200 pieces of “candy” are looking mighty tasty.

Now, I don’t fault the price of games like Call of Duty:4. After two years of development, a proprietary game engine, all of that marketing and the salaries that they had to pay…well, the cost of video games isn’t that hard to understand.

But, I can’t help wonder how many people will pick just one of the games off of their Christmas lists this year and then spend the rest of their candy money on casual games?

Image|papalars

Post from: EveryJoe

Like a Kid in a Candy Store

Hello? Mr. Obvious, it’s Amy. How are you?

Maybe it’s just me but for as long as I can remember, if I did something without being asked {whether that be cleaning my room or playing a video game} then I always got more enjoyment out of it than if I was asked/told to do the same task. I’m not sure if it’s just me being a contrary type person or what but this seems to translate into my work life as well.

Even if I weren’t getting paid to write about video games, I’d still be playing them. But, when I remember that I AM getting paid for writing about games, well, it begins to feel like a chore. And then, I realize that I sound like a big ole whiny baby and I suck it up and write something like this where I bitch about bitching.

I honestly believe that part of my problem isn’t necessarily the job {which I love} it’s the uninspiring fare that I’ve had to sample recently.

I’m holding out some hope for BioShock 2, Borderlands, Heavy Rain, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Heck, I might even go back to playing casual games for a while; they’re good for taking your mind off of things for a while…and they’re pretty damn addictive.

Image|JulyYu

Post from: EveryJoe

Work Makes Gaming Feel Like…Well…Work

I’m still conflicted on the change in the middle of the stream that 2K did with Borderlands’s art direction, but this trailer ranks up there in my top five of trailers that I’ve seen.

The music is awesome, foot tapping stuff, the “87 bazillion guns!” text made me laugh out loud and the game play looks good enough to eat.

My only reservation was with the rendering of the game – still…I know.

I found myself paying too much attention to the comic bookesque graphics and not enough attention to what was actually happening with the game play. Once I made myself focus on the action, it was awesome, but I don’t think that I should have to make a conscious effort to ignore the way that the game is rendered; game art should enhance, not detract.

Just so you know what I’m talking about, here’s the new trailer – complete with the great song by DJ Champion {No Heaven}:

And here’s the original trailer with the grittier, original art direction:

The only thing that’s gonna make it so that I can shut up with my useless bitching about the art is me getting Borderlands in my hot little hands and that won’t happen until the end of October.

I’ll try not to bitch too much until then.

Image|Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

Borderlands Box Art and New Trailer

Gearbox Software has been working for years on Borderlands, its next big thing. Borderlands is a massive, open world RPG, set on a remote planet that doesn’t take itself entirely seriously. It’s been described as Mad Max meets Fallout 3, and the description isn’t far off.

Much has been said about the game’s controversial switch to cel-shaded graphics, but the only question that really matters is, Is it any fun?

Gearbox describes Borderlands as an “RPS” — a combination of RPG (role-playing game) and FPS (first-person shooter), aka a role-playing shooter. The buzz phrase is “unique experience,” as Borderlands has been built entirely to ensure that every gamer that plays has an experience different from anyone else. This is accomplished through the literally millions of combinations of gun loadouts and configurations, thousands of enemy types, and tons of vehicles, all of which are randomized in-game, so you never know what you’re going to get.

You’ll spend most of your time treasure hunting and looting, in an attempt to mine the planet for everything it’s got. Despite the huge focus on fighting over resources, there’s a huge value offered to those who take the time to explore, with near-infinite secrets scattered across the landscape. And you can play through the game singleplayer or in drop-in/drop-out co-op, and the game will automatically adjust its difficulty levels based on how many co-op players are working together.

Trading is expected to be a huge component to the game, as co-op players can freely trade weapons anytime they want. There are some super-powerful, super-rare weapons that Gearbox anticipates being the most sought after. Gearbox also plans tons of downloadable content, though everything about the game will be exactly the same whether you play on PC, PS3, or Xbox 360 — there are no platform exclusives planned.

About that art style, Gearbox claims it was changed to make the game “more beautiful,” but the widely-held suspicion is that it was done to avoid strong similarities with the similarly-post-apocalyptic Fallout 3.

Judge for yourself this October, when Borderlands arrives in stores.

Images: Copyright 2009 ©Gearbox Software.

Post from: EveryJoe

E3 ‘09: Borderlands impressions

I’m not going because the conference hits on the same weekend as my mom’s family reunion and you don’t want to see my mom’s reaction if I were to tell her that I wasn’t bringing her grandkids to see her because I’m going to be drooling over video games. My mom doesn’t do technology and I highly doubt she would “get” why I would rather go to E3 than spend a weekend reminiscing about mistakes I made 20 years ago.

Oh. My. Digression.

THE POINT is that I’ve found a video from GameSpot where their people talk about which games they’re really looking forward to seeing.

Lots of games are mentioned and there is some gameplay footage woven in to give you a taste of what’s to come.

Dragon Age looks so freakin’ sweet and I’ve been waiting on Borderlands for what seems like YEARS so I’m hoping to see some awesomeness concerning them. Also, I’m sure EA will be showing some stuff on Sims 3 and you know I’m always eager to hear about any of the Sims games.

Fun, fun stuff is coming.

Post from: EveryJoe

GameSpot’s E3 2009 Preview