Adding to the Backlog – Seven PS2 Games at a Severe Discount

My original and only intent for heading to the local GameStop over the weekend was to pick up a used copy of The Last of Us, that way I could continue onwards from where I left of after playing a friend’s copy during that overly hyped blizzard last week. As I’m wont to do, I checked out the mini-section for PlayStation 2 games, since I think this shop and one other in the area are the last of their kind to still sell these case-less games for real cheap. It’s certainly only a matter of months until they stop. So, I saw a sign, a literal one hanging right in front of me–all PS2 games were 75% off. Oh boy.

I stopped doing these “adding to the backlog” posts long ago as it just didn’t interest me to call out every new game that I either got or downloaded for free. Which happens pretty frequently with me, thanks to indie bundles and PlayStation Plus and so on. Some purchasing occasions are more exciting than others, like this one. I can’t expect many to care, though SlickGaming might take note to see if his local GameStops are also running a similar promotion. Right. Here’s what I nabbed, and for future reference I’m going to include how much each one cost me after taking 75% off the listed price tag:

Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse

Bought for $0.67. Yup, that’s sixty-seven cents. Be prepared to see others in this listed around the same price. Anyways, I had no idea what this was, but after some quick research, it seems to be an action RPG inspired by titles like Diablo and Fallout. Okay, sounds good. Though I’m quite puzzled over how the main character’s anatomy works on the case’s cover, which, thankfully, did not come with my purchase.

My Street

Bought for $0.45. A mini-game collection with a plot involving you being the new kid in the neighborhood and beating an infamous bully to the ground before the first day of school starts. Yeah, I can get behind that, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a ton to My Street. I feel like I played a demo of it way back in the day and liked what I saw, but the memory for that is extremely fuzzy. Call me crazy, but I’m more inclined to try this one out first of the whole group.

Sonic Mega Collection Plus

Bought for $2.25, which was the highest of the bunch, but that makes sense when you realize that Sonic Mega Collection Plus is actually twelve to fourteen games on a single disc. A few of those copy over to my copy of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, but that’s okay. A collection is a collection, and there’s some rarer Sonic titles here, though I promise to never touch Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine again. Still bummed to hear about Sega leaving the gaming business.

007: Agent Under Fire

Bought for $0.45. Funny enough, 007: Agent Under Fire was eventually going to be a Games I Regret Parting With post, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. Now I never will. It was actually my first Bond game, though I have no memory of how it went, save for some weird wristwatch shooting sections.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4

Bought for $0.45. Skating!

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2

Bought for $0.67. More skating!

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

Bought for $0.67. I NOW HAVE ALL THE SKATEBOARDING GAMES, I WILL NEVER TIRE OR GROW WEARY OF SKATEZ AND HALFPIPES AND SICK, SWEET OLLI TRICKS NO NEVER!

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Woo, seven more games to…well, not play right away. Yup, you know me, I have a few other things to attend to first, such as finishing up The Last of Us, DuckTales Remastered, and possibly starting either Final Fantasy IX or Silent Hill 3, both of which are on my to-do list for 2015. Also, now I want to pop over to the other local GameStop and see what PS2 games they have for super cheap before the deal vanishes and they just toss everything into a bin and set it ablaze. Gah, it never ends.

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is like a joke

There’s a new Indie Impression up over at The First Hour, and I participated in it despite my disinterest in all things basketball-related. However, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is more than an annual sports romp; it’s a fan-made, freeware sequel to Barkley, Shut Up and Jam!, which was, by all accounts, a traditional two-on-two street basketball simulator for the SNES. Except the silly minds behind it created something truly unlikely: a post-apocalyptic basketball RPG.

Um…

I didn’t understand it and never even got to see a turn-based fight. I shut the game down when I…well, you’ll just have to go over to The First Hour and do some reading to see where Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden lost me. I have to imagine one would have to have both an interest in RPGs and basketball to really enjoy this Frankenstein’s monster, and that person is not me. However, when they ultimately make Barkley, Be Quiet and Tee Off: Redemption…please, please, let me know.

Playing the Ludum Dare 22 Winners, #4 – Final Trip Soccer

Like many, I was forced into competitive sports during my younger years, and I was never very good at any of them. I knew that then, and I know that now. In baseball, I mostly daydreamed in the outfield or sat on the bench, teaching myself how to juggle while other kids around me got mad and raged over things like striking out or missing an easy catch. For basketball, I did my best to stay out of everyone’s way and always passed the ball away a fraction of a second after it got deposited into my pale, weak hands. For soccer…actually, I had some good moments in soccer. Generally, I played defense, either as a sweeper or a dude that hung out near the goalie, kicking the ball away with a mighty foot; I do remember, however, taking an offensive role in one game, going so far as to even score once. Or maybe I just dreamed all that. Surely I was never any good at any kind of athletic activity…

That said, soccer in Final Trip Soccer, the number four spot from Ludum Dare 22‘s top 50 star-grabbers, is no stroll down a playing field. It’s actually your only weapon, your very chance for survival; better make sure your cleats are on nice and tight. Okay, let’s start at the start. A big soccer match gets interrupted when a UFO comes swooping in, eradicating everyone but you. Think your name is Nathan. It’s just you, a soccer ball, and an empty stadium. Here, you learn how to kick the soccer ball, which goes like so:

• Move around: Use left, right, up, and down
• Focus your kick power: Hold the Space bar down
• Shoot the soccer ball: Release the Space bar
• Control the soccer ball: Tap the Space bar when near the soccer ball

Those controls sound kind of simple, but they can be extremely frustrating. Controlling the soccer ball, which again I will mention is vital to Nathan’s survival, is a clumsy affair. If you get too close to the ball, you end up kicking it away, and generally, you are just trying to get close enough to charge up your focus power. Why? Oh, did I not mention that you have to kick the soccer ball at attacking alien blobs? Yup. Only a charged kick is strong enough to kill ’em. And with each successful screen, the number of enemies increases.

The premise and look of Final Trip Soccer are fantastic. It’s got this retro style, and the sound of charging you up your kick power will remind you fondly of Super Metroid and Mega Man X. Well, it did for me. Gameplay is a little slow, often requiring Nathan to constantly circle enemies or walk to the other end of the screen after a missed kick. I made it to the third screen, but a green-colored alien blob was too quick for me, and I was never able to get a focused kick against it. When you die, you just respawn on your current screen. I gave up after a few tries.

Final Trip Soccer is available to play via the Internet; give it a kick. And don’t let that jarring music on the start screen scare you away. And if you get farther than I did, please, tell me what happened.