Sunday Roundup: 5/31/15 & 6/7/15

Way back in March I preordered this game through Amazon, thinking that I’d really be excited for it when it came out and couldn’t wait to play it. Then I had second thoughts and cancelled my preorder two days before it released. And then we went to this anime convention and for some reason there were Puzzle & Dragon themed plushies, t-shirts, and memorabilia all over the place (not to mention plenty of Mario stuff as well), almost like it was calling out to me to buy it. So after the Con I went and bought it. So far the game’s been great: A surprising challenge and a fun mixup to the puzzle formula!

The Wii’s Sonic games are fairly easy to come by, but for some reason I could never find a good quality copy of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Unleashed! Either they were too expensive or too badly damaged to take the plunge. And then, against the odds of this specific pairing, someone online was selling both games in brand new, still sealed condition! I swooped in quick, because I knew they wouldn’t show up together and in this condition for a long time! Thanks, random online dude!

When Sonic Unleashed was coming out, I remember there being a lot of hype around the “Were-Hog” transformation for Sonic, and how it was going to change the lackluster combat/gameplay of the 3D Sonic series. Unfortunately when the game came out I don’t recall anyone saying it really did this. Despite all that failed hype, I still thought the game was intriguing enough to hunt down after all these years. Thankfully a few years after this game we were given Sonic Colors, which at least was a fun game to play.

Splatoon was the biggest game I was waiting for this year, and so far it has not disappointed. Even Laura’s been getting in on the action, and I would venture to guess she’s much better at it than I am. Nintendo’s approach to the shooter is unique and fun: it’s not about killing your opponent, it’s about winning. The novelty in the artstyle and gameplay is overflowing, and it’s a new must-own for for Wii U owners, no doubt.

Part of the reason I found the game relatively cheap and complete was likely thanks to a listing that didn’t provide any real pictures of the items. I took a gamble and decided to buy it, since the seller said it was complete with all inserts, the game worked, and they had excellent ratings. Everything was included, but for some dumb reason the seller shipped it in a standard shipping envelope! So the cardboard box got all crushed! Stupid on their part, but it still came nice enough for me. Worth nothing, this is a spinoff to the House of the Dead light gun games from Sega, and while you might think a light gun game turned pinball game would be the strangest turn for the series, think again…

This trip to Goodwill proved to be fruitful! They had plenty of video games available, which isn’t always the case. While a few Dreamcast games were there, only a small handful were ones I didn’t already own. Sadly though they were almost all in terrible condition. Even this game, which is complete with the case and everything, has a load of scratches on the back. I hope the game works, but seeing as it’s 102 Dalmatians I will likely never play it to find out.

Man, if this disc actually plays, I’ll be a happy collector! The Dreamcast version of the Sega Smash Pack sells for much more than $2 (but nothing outrageous: it usually goes for around $10). On top of that, there are actually some great games included here: Streets of Rage 2 is a true classic, and a complete version of Virtua Cop with lightgun support is always welcome! Online sources say the emulation of some of the games is poor, but it’s still a great piece for my Dreamcast collection!

A few weeks back you I picked up Baldur’s Gate II from the Sunnyvale Goodwill store, and had to pass on a handful of other PC games because they were actually bootlegs, one of those games being Icewind Dale. Well after some research and a few weeks time, I happened to find a legitimate copy at this Goodwill for the same price! When compared to Baldur’s Gate I don’t hear much of Icewind Dale, but a lot of hardcore RPG players praise this game just as much as the prior.