Way back in 2013 when I was just visiting California I decided to check out one of the local used game stores. While I found some games there and the owner had an impressive selection, I never decided to go back there once I moved here because of the prices. They weren’t terrible, they were just fair. And while fair is fine, I’m not usually looking for fair (I’m looking for great!). This week I decided to check out Game World once again, hoping maybe some things had changed. Well, the place was just as cramped and overflowing as before, and the prices were just the same. Regardless, maybe I’ll have to check out the place more simply because it’s really the only place to get PS2 and earlier era games! Let’s take a look at this week’s haul.
 Kelly Slater’s Pro SurferPS2 Release Date: September 16th, 2002 Purchased at: Space Cat (San Jose, CA – $5) Not as great a pickup as the Xbox version from Goodwill but a good find nonetheless. Essentially a Tony Hawk game but on water, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer is riding the waves of success from the THPS series. You can’t tell me if this game came out first it would be as popular as the skateboarding games. Still though, it’s a nice addition to the library for helping complete the Pro Skater series. Now where’s Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX? |
 Touchmaster 3DS Release Date: October 27th, 2009 Purchased at: Space Cat (San Jose, CA – $5) A bit pricier than I would have liked, but getting a complete copy of this game meant finally completing the Touchmaster series on the DS. Through a lot of different avenues I was able to track down the other three games in the series, but for one reason or another a complete version of Touchmaster 3 always eluded me. It’s funny though, because as excited as I was to finally get the game, I know I’m likely never going to play it! |
 WordmasterDS Release Date: August 12th, 2008 Purchased at: GameStop (San Jose, CA – $1) Someone turned in a large assortment of mediocre DS games at this GameStop in San Jose I don’t get too to often, and many of them were puzzle games that only cost me a buck! Take for example Wordmaster, a word based puzzle game that has you trying to deduce which word the game has hidden on screen. It sounds fun enough, but for me it was really just about getting the game complete for a dollar! Also, kudos for a pretty cool cover, all things considered. |
 Bust-A-Move DSDS Release Date: December 6th, 2005 Purchased at: GameStop (San Jose, CA – $1) This game looks remarkably similar to Bust-A-Move Universe on the 3DS. It’s almost as if they just took the design and characters of the first game’s box, typed them in a different font, and then threw them on that box. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me, because as much as I love Bust-A-Move, the game hasn’t done anything to make it noteworthy. The same can be said for the classic game Tetris, but that game is so iconic and solid you can get away with just re-releasing it again and again. Not so much with this one. |
 My Chinese CoachDS Release Date: August 26th, 2008 Purchased at: GameStop (San Jose, CA – $1) I’ve definitely bought worse games for a dollar. And you know, for some reason I’ve always had some intrigue with the My Coach series. If the game can help me learn a language, what’s not to like? And man, for that price you really can’t go wrong! One of my good friends speaks Mandarin as well, so maybe I’ll ask him to see how well the game works! |
 My Word CoachDS Release Date: November 6th, 2007 Purchased at: GameStop (San Jose, CA – $1) Another game complete for a dollar, and another game I’ll likely never play. I’m sure I’m above the target audience for this one, so it’ll likely be a waste of time. At least with My Chinese Coach I’d be learning something new. With this one I feel like I’ll blaze through it lickity split. Now that I’ve said that I need to make sure I’m up to standard on my English, otherwise I’ll look pretty silly *nervous laugh* |
 Courier CrisisPS1 Release Date: November 14th, 1997 Purchased at: Game World (San Jose, CA – $7) It’s a game where you pick up packages around the city and deliver them via bicycle. What more do you need to know? Courier Crisis didn’t receive a lot of great reviews upon it’s release, and I didn’t even know about the game until this week. Paper Boy comes to mind here, but seeing some reviews makes it almost seem like a cross between a poor man’s Grand Theft Auto and Crazy Taxi. With the new’ish movie about bike delivery dudes starring Joseph Gordon Levitt maybe this will be timely again! |
 Codename: TenkaPS1 Release Date: November 17th, 1997 Purchased at: Game World (San Jose, CA – $7) While looking through the PS1 shelves at the store, I would pick up a game that caught my eye. I started noticing after the third or fourth game that they were all created by Psygnosis, including the first person shooter Tenka. The back of the case made the game look like a very standard sci-fi shooter, but I started thinking almost immediately about Duke Nukem. Maybe it’ll be as good as those games, maybe not, but for the price I’m happy! |
 PsybadekPS1 Release Date: November 17th, 1998 Purchased at: Game World (San Jose, CA – $7) A game sponsored by the shoe company Vans, which I used to wear back when this game came out all because of those damn Tony Hawk games! Anyway, I, like you I’m assuming, had never heard of Psybadek. For a game sponsored by Vans, it doesn’t focus on shoes all too much: it’s a futuristic game where you play as a rad kid who rides on a hoverboard trying to stop some evil alien or something. IT’s just so crazy I might give it a go! |
 Shipwreckers!PS1 Release Date: October 1997 Purchased at: Game World (San Jose, CA – $7) While looking at PS1 games time and time again over the past years, Shipwreckers would commonly pop up and I’d think, ‘Huh, that looks kind of cool, I should try to find it.” I believe I found a few copies here and there back in Lafayette, but they were always high priced. This time though it wasn’t all too bad a deal ($7 is a bit under the standard price), and combined with the bundle price of the entire set of games from the store this one stood out as the best in my mind. The game is a strategy/action game where you, wait for it, try to sink your opponent’s ship! |
 Bust-A-Move DeluxePSP Release Date: April 4th, 2006 Purchased at: Space Cat (San Jose, CA – $3) I think I only picked up this game because I found the DS version earlier in the day and thought it’d be a fun story if I bought both on the same day. Also, this is kind of a consolation prize for me. I was trying to find the PSP version of Price of Persia: The Forgotten Sands at both Space Cat and Game World, but neither store had it. So I decided to not walk away empty handed in the PSP department and settled on this one. Which is now a fun story! So there’s that… |
Laters,
Jsick
