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

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

The single player game was awesome with a storyline that was surprising since it was a bit out of the box. Even with the great story, multi-player is where Call of Duty 4 was able to shine. We’ve had that game for what feels like forever and we’ll still play the multi-player to let off steam. While single player replay value might be low, the multi-player is definitely the gift that keeps giving.

After a disappointing fifth installment to the Call of Duty series [without Infinity Ward-bad move] we now have Modern Warfare 2 which promises to cause me to spend way too much time in front of my TV.

Here are two screens from the 360 version of the game and below the pretty pictures is a demo that was shown at E3 this year.

Graphics look sick and be sure to check out 5:15 in the video for a sweet new way to kill your closest enemy.

Images|Infinity Ward

Post from: EveryJoe

Modern Warfare 2

Well, I’ve got a nice, happy list for you that would make any dad proud and all you have to do is shell out a bit of cash to make your pop’s day.

Systems:

#1 Sony PS3 160 GB Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Pack

This system is my all-time favorite and comes with a kick-ass game. With 160 GB worth of space, Dad won’t run into space issues when he’s downloading games online and saving every five second. Though it’s pricey [$469.79 new/$371.55 used] it is a major workhorse of a system and will be useful for years to come.

#2 Xbox 360 Elite

If you’re going to get your dad a 360, get him this one. Not only will he get a very solid system, he’ll also get Halo 3 and Fable II-two games that are awesome unto themselves.

The console will set you back just shy of $400 [$399.99] and comes with free shipping.

#3 PSP Go

This is THE handheld gaming device to get Dear Ole Dad.

Granted, it doesn’t come out until October of this year but you can pre-order it and then give Dad a card with a note letting him know to check the mail in a few months.

The PSP Go boast both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity as well as 16 GB of on-board flash memory. As if that wasn’t enough, Metal Gear Solids’s next installment: Peace Walker will be offered exclusively on the PSP Go.

The price point of $249.99 might scare some off but take heart! This little guy has so much to offer that Dad will be having SO much fun that your aching wallet will be a distant memory.

Accessories:

#1 PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad

If Dad spends a lot of time playing Call of Duty:4 or tooling around PSN Home, then he needs this keypad.

Who really wants to to deal with taking all that time searching out letters and numbers when now you can just type like you would from your phone?

This handy little guy will set you back $43.99.

#2 Xbox 360 MC2 Racing Wheel

Most dads seem to like racing games and if he’s a hardcore racing fan then you have to get him this wheel.

• Features vibration feedback technology
• Double injected steering wheel with rubber coating is specially designed to provide optimal vibration feedback
• 10 High-performance action buttons provide superior control
• Retractable leg supports put you in the driver’s seat and keep you there
• Vertical vector design means when you throttle up, the pedals won’t take off

Games:

1. Prototype [$59.99]
2. Red Faction: Guerrilla [$56.99]
3. Fuel [$56.99]
4. Infamous [$49.99]
5. Call of Duty: 4 [$46.99]
6. Fallout 3 [$56.99]
7. Burnout: Paradise [$19.99]
8. NHL 09 [$56.99]
   
9. Grand Theft Auto IV [$49.99]
10. Madden NFL 10 [$58.99 pre-order for Aug '09 release]

When all else fails, get Dad a giftcard. ;)

All images|Amazon.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Gifts for Your Gaming Dad

Steve III is a 20GB PS3 that was purchased right after the PS3’s launch.

You definitely pay a premium when you buy cutting edge technology while it’s still “cutting edge” and we paid an arm and a leg for the thing. I don’t begrudge paying what we did since I wanted the PS3 NOW [well...then] but I think it’s funny that I can find a 120GB PS3 with a game for less than what I paid for my 2oGB system.

Alas, I digress.

The controller that came with Steve III was a run-of-the-mill Sixaxis controller. Nothin’ fancy, just a cute little charcoal colored controller.

This controller has seen better days.

After spending a couple of years being drooled on by two infants, being dropped numerous times from varying heights and once having a beer spilled on it, I’m surprised that the damn thing still worked.

But, worked it did and I have been playing Flower and Fallout 3 with no issues…until yesterday.

Usually the controller sits somewhere on the couch within easy reach for impromptu gaming sessions. For some reason, the controller had been moved to the top of our entertainment system [about six feet tall]. Tucker [the husband], intended to grab the controller so that he could play Call of Duty4 and instead, hit the controller’s edge and rocketed the poor thing to the floor…the acid stained concrete floor.

Now, we were the proud owners of a controller that kinda-sorta worked but only if you held your mouth in just the right position and didn’t expect the thing to be able to shoot anyone with any sort of accuracy.

How the hell was I supposed to snipe Super Mutants if the controller had a mind of its own?!

We begrudgingly sped made our way to Target and purchased a dual shock Sixaxis controller for the low-low price of $54.99 and though I haven’t used it yet, I doubt that I’ll be disappointed.

The main reason that I wasn’t standing in line to get one of the first PS3s was that I just couldn’t give up the Dual Shock functionality of the PS2 controller. Maybe that sounds stupid to some, but I feel that the “rumble” feature adds a a lot to the gaming experience and I couldn’t part with it.

Obviously, I reconciled that hang-up but I am VERY excited to give this new controller a whirl.

On a related, yet annoying side note, Tucker fixed our original controller. So now we have two controllers and he’s trying to get me to take the new one back.

Ain’t happening.

Image|Sony

Post from: EveryJoe

A Controller Can Only Take So Much

I almost lost my lunch.

I am not a prude or old woman, but this is too much for me.  I won’t play COD4 in front of my daughter, and it has a tame gore rating compared to most other games.

Now, I watch Tom and Jerry and the Looney Toons gang with her.  The act of a cat getting his head slammed in a door is violent, but it is not graphic, and that is the big difference.

My generation was raised on cartoon violence and most of us are fine; we are not crazy psycho killers.  I am not say in that graphic violence will make you a psycho, but I do believe that it does desensitizes people.

Like all of us, my daughter will eventually have to find the acceptable level of violence that society will tolerate.  I found that fighting is acceptable.  Fighting and using a weapon is not.  It is called assault with a deadly weapon and is punishable by law.  The inevitability of children throwing blows at school is alright with me.  It is the desensitization to that type of violence that frightens me.

Here is an example.  In 1968 the band MC5 sang the song, “Kick out the jams.”  The opening line in the song was, “Kick out the jams mother@#&%*s!”

In 1968, this caused a huge up roar.  Can you imagine if this album had been released today.  That was the only swear word in the entire album, but is was THE one to many.  Today people are desensitized to this kind of language.  I would be willing to bet that you have at least 5 CDs that used that word repeatedly.

Not only has the language usage changed but it seems that the fighting that I talked about earlier has given way to gun battles on the playground.

So, the point is when we are no longer phased by the elevation of violence then it starts to become accepted and easier to do. That kind of cozy relationship with blood and guts is never good.

If you have not seen any Gears here you go, but be warned.

Image Source:Poldavo (Alex)

Post from: EveryJoe

Get Off My Lawn!