Month in Review: September 2009
Another cracking month. That comment about cutting back on the game purchases? That turned out to be an outright fabrication on my part.
New Acquisitions
A bit of hardware first. Got this nice little 19" TV from my brother. It's a Samsung LE19B450 LCD TV/monitor and is absolutely amazing. It's going to be my new bedroom TV, which means it will be my first port of call for PS2 and GameCube gaming. It's also got my brand spanky Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray player (bargain buy from Richer Sounds) hooked up at the moment, but that's only a temporary measure so I can watch multi-region DVDs in bed. 1080p is a bit wasted on a 19".
Huge stack of Spectrum games from a guy on eBay. I bought them in one job lot for £9. Some commons, some cIassics, some rarities, a nice bundle all round. Only one duplicate (Dan Dare II) and even that was an improvement on my first copy.
I've always had a soft spot for this old LCD handhelds, and since the real collectables (such as Nintendo Game & Watch) are usually well out of my price range I'm content with whatever quirky little games I can pick up in charity shops and at carboots. These were picked up in a charity shop for £4. I only really wanted the Captain Scarlet one, but they were all together in a baggie so I figured what the hey? It's for charity.
But then I had to go and spoil it all by buying these two Game & Watch games off eBay. I got Mario's Cement Factory and Snoopy Tennis. They are not mint, so I got a bargain price on them, but they are still in very good nick and work fine.
Minty fresh Famicom versions of a couple of early Dragon Quest games (3 and 4). Dragon Quest is one of my favourite game series, so I was thrilled to see these two mint games go for a couple of quid each. Just collector's items to me though, since my Japanese is non-existant.
Ten Commodore 16 games that work on my Plus/4. The real reason I bought this lot (other than the price, just £2) was the inclusion of Tutti Frutti, a real gem from my childhood.
A couple of new PC games from the Zavvi autumn sale. Bargains both, Space Siege was less than £4 and the second Fallout 3 add-on pack (containing Broken Steel and Point Lookout) was £10.95 just a week after release.
A shopping spree in town only turned up two games, but at a pound each who's to complain?
Eight complete NES games from various sellers on eBay. All are in good to mint condition and priced between £4 and £6 each. Double Dragon II, Rygar and Duck Tales are awesome.
Another selection of items from eBay. The NES Max controller and SNES Game Genie are both boxed and complete and only cost a couple of quid each. The black cart is a Codemasters release, Ultimate Stuntman, one of the rarer UK NES titles.
Another minty fresh Famicom collectable I couldn't bear to pass up. This one is Final Fantasy I & II on a single cart and the whole thing is practically new, with map, manual, guide book, warranty etc. The white cart so is clean it hurts my eyes.
A small score from the first carboot I went to this month. Harvest Moon for PS2 is complete and as new. The Space Invaders handheld itself is also as new, but the box is a bit battered. Total cost for both: 70p.
Another small score from the second carboot of the month. These were all £1 each and are all complete.
Games Played
Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence (X360)
Yes, I bought and played this game solely for the points. Actually, that's a lie. I bought and played this game because it cost me practically nothing and it's a mindlessly easy way to spend an afternoon lazing in front of the TV. Any large increases to my Gamerscore are simply icing on a cake that is really only for fans of the show or people who know that the cake tastes like cardboard in the real world and enjoy pointing out flaws in the recipe. I have a degree in forensic science (specialised in fire scene investigation, so lots of burnt cake round here) and believe me when I say that rarely is the cake as delicious as the television would have you believe. Enough about cake, anyway, I'm starting to sound like GLaDOS. Five achievements here, for a whopping 1000 points. Cake.
Fallout 2 (PC)
I haven't played Fallout 2 since 1999. That's ten years since I last sampled one of the greatest CRPGs in history. Sure, I've played the first game several times and last year I was wowed by Bethesda's brand new take on the series, but I still have the fondest memories of Fallout 2. Dark, funny, tough... and despite the graphics and interface aging horribly, the gameplay is damn near perfect. 12 hours in and I'm at Vault City.
Guitar Hero: World Tour (X360)
Goddamn it, I'm never going to catch up with all these Guitar Hero games. Five's out now, Van Halen is on it's way... slow down! Nonetheless, I'm taking my time sampling all that World Tour has to offer. Namely, a disappointing setlist. Was I spoilt by GH3? I've hit 8 achievements so far, for a paltry 65 points.
In Conclusion...
Huzzah! Plenty of retro goodies. Hopefully I'll be getting my mucky paws on some new releases in the next few months too; there's a whole bunch of upcoming and just-released titles on my wishlist: Dragon Age, Guitar Hero 5, Wet, Ghostbusters (finally a domestic 360 release), Brutal Legend, Kingdom Hearts DS, Borderlands, Lego Indy 2... eeek! No time to talk, gotta catch up before I go splashing out on new releases. My 360 backlog is horrendous.
* Once more, big pictures here.