Ninja Gaiden II Drops In Value

Ninja Gaiden II ($18 on eBay) started dropping in value. It’s now worth 900 points on Goozex. If you’re a seller, you might want to make your copy available before it drops lower. If you’re a buyer, hold on, it will probably get cheaper soon.

Here are the games that are still dropping in value. If you’re thinking of picking these titles up, hold on, they might be cheaper next week.

• Burnout Paradise—$16.99 on eBay—300 points on Goozex
• Burnout Revenge—$8.99 on eBay—200 points on Goozex
• Lost Odyssey—$20 on eBay—750 points on Goozex

Dirt ($25.99 on eBay; 600 points on Goozex) has temporarily stopped dropping in value. Now is a good time to pick this one up.

A Fanboy Debate to End All Debates

Contributed by Andrew Weymes--I have yet to meet a fanboy in real life, but the Internet is brimming with them. I'll get this out of the way right now: I own all three current generation consoles, and I prefer my Playstation 3. Am I a fanboy? I don't think so, but you can be the judge of that.

I am more than willing to play a game that catches my interest on the Xbox 360, or Wii. In fact, I own a few 360 games right now. The Xbox 360 had a year headstart, and with games like Gears of War, and a few solid RPGs, it's definitely a console to own. Xbox 360 fanboys love to act as if the 360 doesn't have any flaws, though. They love to act as if Microsoft dealt with the RROD issue and shouldn't be mentioned ever again. I'm glad that Microsoft has extended their warranty, but in all honesty, if they wouldn't have, very few people would buy their next console. I like my Xbox 360, but there is a reason I buy all of my multi-console games on the PS3, and it's because so far, my PS3 has been very reliable.

Xbox 360 fanboys also refuse to acknowledge the superiority of Blu Ray over DVD. We may as well argue about how VHS is better than DVD. They have to accept that Blu Ray won. Blu Ray has more storage space, therefore more things can be added without the inclusion of another disk. It's that simple.

A relatively small issue is the noise that the Xbox 360 makes. Sometimes, I cover my head while playing my 360 out of fear of it launching itself into my ceiling, and bringing debris down upon my head. As I said, it's a minor issue, but it is something few people complain about.

Don't get the wrong idea about me. This is not an entirely pro-PS3 article. PS3 fanboys have some silly things to say regarding the Xbox 360 as well. We all remember PS3 fanboys going on, and on about how achievements are silly, and that you play games for the enjoyment of the game, and not to gain rewards. I suppose that entire argument went out the window when Sony announced trophies. The same people that said achievements are silly are probably addicted to acquiring every possible trophy a game has to offer. I wouldn't be surprised if games that support the trophy system sell more than games that don't at the moment. Sony is messing up a little in my opinion. They need to make trophy support mandatory very soon, similar to Microsoft making achievements mandatory. Achievements, and trophies are just a next generation way of getting the high score in an arcade game. It's not some new idea, it's been around forever.

I notice that PS3 fanboys are also very bitter about the JRPG support that the Xbox 360 has been getting, so everytime a review isn't great for a game such as Infinite Undiscovery, they go off on how they wouldn't want it anyway, because it's crap. I believe they're kidding themselves. Most JRPGs don't receive great ratings, unless they have amazing graphics, and mind-blowing cutscenes, but that doesn't mean that they aren't enjoyable. If you enjoy JRPGs, and turned based combat, most likely you can get into most JRPGs as long as the story is decent.

Fanboys love to rip apart each consoles exclusives, but in the end, they're not hurting anyone besides themselves by not playing enjoyable games. When I picture a raging fanboy, I picture a younger male that just doesn't have enough money to purchase a second console, or a person with a very limited interest in video games, meaning that they only have a 360 to play Gears of War 2, or some other competitive online game. Personally, I give the edge to the PS3 when it comes to exclusives, but the 360 has exclusives that make it a system worth owning in my opinion.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't find fanboys very entertaining. Imagine N4G without the raging arguments over which console is a failure. It just wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't giggle nearly as much. Some fanboys even make some valid points now and then, but then their next comment about Xbots being homosexuals or vice versa usually nullifies that reasonable comment they made earlier. If any fanboys exist that can provide a reasonable explanation on why they refuse to play excellent games that another console has to offer besides not having the money, I would love to hear it. As for me, I'll still prefer my Playstation 3 because of the reliability, and the inclusion of a Blu Ray player, but I'll probably be playing my Xbox 360 later on tonight, because I haven't finished Mass Effect yet, and I had better before the holiday rush begins.

Yahtzee Makes Our Day

On October 7, The Goozex Report published an article that described why Saints Row is better than Grand Theft Auto IV. Today, Yahtzee confirmed it.

About 1:37 into the review he says it, "Saints Row 2 is better than GTA IV." Why, you ask? Because it’s a fun game.

There. Issue put to bed. Let it sleep. Night Night GTA IV.

Are Reviewers Too Critical of PS3 Multi-Console Games?

Contributed by Andrew Weymes—It is understandable that if a professional reviewer—such as the people at IGN or Gamespot—believe that a game is superior on one console over another, that they should rate it accordingly.

An example being the Fallout 3 review from IGN. Fallout 3 apparently runs better on the Xbox 360, therefore the 360 version gets a 9.6, while the PS3 version gets a 9.4. I don't see a problem with this. People deserve to know which version is superior. What I do have a problem with is inferior Xbox 360 games getting the exact same score as their PS3 counterpart.

An example of this is Grand Theft Auto IV. Here is a quote directly from IGN, "While GTA IV is pushing the PS3 and 360 to the limit, it also runs amazingly well. Sure, there are framerate hitches here and there and (particularly on the 360) there is some texture pop in, but it actually runs better than I expected." If the technical problems of Fallout 3 for the PS3 are enough to lower the score by .2 when compared to the 360 version, why have we never seen a PS3 version of a multi-console game get a higher score for the same reason?

I'm sure many gamers have a lot of conspiracy theories as to why this is, but while I'm not going to accuse anyone of any wrong doings, I still find it odd. Imagine if the most over hyped game of the year, Grand Theft Auto IV, were to get a 10 on the PS3, but a 9.9 from IGN, or a 9.5 from Gamespot on the 360. Xbox Fanboys would erupt.

If GTA IV did receive higher scores on the PS3 than the 360, then I would assume that more multi-console owners would have bought Grand Theft Auto IV on the PS3, rather than the 360; regardless of any DLC that is almost irrelevant by now (but that is another topic).

In the first year the PS3 was out, developers were still getting used to the hardware, so many multi-console games were of a slightly lower quality than the 360 counterparts, and they were rated accordingly. Over the past year, however, we have seen most PS3 games get the exact same score as their 360 counterparts, but when I read that the 360 version has problems that the PS3 version doesn't, I can't help but wonder why there is no difference in the score as I feel there would be if it was the PS3 version having the exact same problems.

Five Reasons Why Fallout 3 Should Be a Summer Release

1. There’s no way an RPG is going to hold it’s own against Gears of War 2. Even though it was released a good couple weeks before GoW2, those who can only afford one game this Holiday season have their sites set on GoW2.
2. Get in Line. If you haven’t already placed your request for Fallout 3 on Goozex then you’re going to be well over number 300. Plan on playing this sometime over the summer if you want to trade for it.
3. A classic doomed for mediocrity. Given the past success of Oblivion, and that Metacritic is already giving this game a 93, this one is a future classic. However, it will still get lost during the Holiday season’s onslaught of games. Fallout 3 really deserved to be released in April after the Holiday games lost some of their shine.
4. Fallout 3 is a game that deserves your full, undivided attention. You’re going to need to devote countless hours to this one. The Holiday feeding frenzy won’t allow that happen. What you are going to do? Play this game for two weeks, put it down for Gears, only to pick it back up three months later? You’d have to start all over from the beginning. It’s best just to wait and play it over the summer months.
5. Last summer, the release of good games were far and few between. Fallout 3 would be considered a diamond shining alone if released in April. And it would receive the individual attention that it deserved.

Three Good Games That Are Real Cheap Right Now

Some people have plenty of money to spend on video games. Other people don't. There are also those of you who do have plenty of money but don't like spending it. Whatever category you fall into, here is a list of good, cheap games.

Right now Burnout Revenge, Project Gotham Racing 4, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 8 appear to have stopped dropping in value. Now is an excellent time to pick up these titles if you haven't already.

IGN Crushes GameSpot in Game Review Poll

GameSpot is not receiving a lot of love around here lately. Our most recent poll has them in dead last for game reviews behind IGN, Metacritic, and Yahtzee.

Looks like IGN is now The Goozex Report's official game reviewer. Congratulations, IGN, would you like to advertise with us now? HA! Just kidding. But seriously, call us, OK?

In addition to game reviews, IGN is known for walk-throughs of games. If you ever find yourself stuck in a game and you have no idea how to continue or solve a puzzle, or whatever, chances are IGN has the answer. This site comes highly recommended and here at TGR we're happy it did so well in the poll.

Metacritic came in a close second place, so if for whatever reason IGN does not have a review of a game, then TGR will post links to Metacritic.

There were a few write in votes for 1UP, Gamestats (which appears to be associated with IGN), PS3 Life, and something called The Lens of Truth, which doesn't appear to be online yet.

Last but not least, gamers rely on themselves, demos, and friends for the best reviews, which we wholeheartedly agree. All games should have available demos, if not, it's kind of like: what do you have to hide?

Speaking of hearing reviews from friends, if you've become a regular reader and would like to contribute, send us your review of a game. We'd love to read it and post it.

Here's a shout to Yahtzee and his review of Silent Hill: Homecoming.

Can't Truss It: The State of Video Game Reviews

Who trusts game reviews these days? You've probably read articles that accuse corporate sites of writing favorable reviews for publishers who provide early copies of games. And you probably also read the stories about how a reviewer was fired after writing a negative review of a game, which prompted the publisher to pull their advertising. After hearing stories like this, can you really trust the corporate sites?

The independent sites might be better, but there's a million of them, and they take a few extra weeks to review a game, if they do so at all.

Yahtzee tops the Digg lists every Wednesday, but he admits himself he has to put a negative spin on his reviews to make them funny and to keep his audience coming back. While he's very entertaining, he might not be the best source for a review.

Sites like Metacritic provide one possible solution by aggregating several reviews, assigning a number to each review, and then creating an average. But many, many gamers don't feel that assigning a number to a game is a fair and accurate means to understanding a game.

The reason this topic is brought up, is because The Goozex Report wants to provide reviews for the games mentioned here. In the past, we've always leaned on Metacritic, but not everyone loves Metacritic as much as we do, and we really, truly do want to please all of the people all of the time. That's our burden in life, and we carry it proudly.

Tell us who you read, who you trust, and TGR will link to their reviews when we mention a game.

The poll allows multiple answers and you can provide write-in votes through the comments.

The Best Place to Buy Used Games

Do you buy used video games but you're never sure if you're getting the best deal? The Goozex Report cross checked five top rated Xbox 360 games that are a couple years old to find out who consistently offers the best deal. Find out if Amazon, eBay, GameStop, Goozex, or Overstock offer the best deals (no, it wasn't Goozex). Also discussed is a tip on how to make money selling used games.

eBay was the overall winner. Of the five games checked, they offered three games at the lowest price. Amazon came in second by offering two games at the lowest price.

The worst place to buy used games is GameStop and Overstock.

While Goozex operates on a point system and not cash, TGR calculated the approximate dollar value each game is currently worth.

If you're smart and thought this through, theoretically, you could buy Gears of War on eBay for $18 and then sell it on Goozex for $25. Of course, you'd get that $25 in points, but then you can use those points to trade for other games.

I Love Goozex

It recently came to my attention that not everyone knows how Goozex works. I originally wrote about Goozex on one of my first blogs, Down The Hill We Go. I've since abandoned that blog, but decided to move the I Love Goozex post to The Goozex Report. This is the post that started it all. The response I received on this post is what prompted me to start The Goozex Report:

This was orginally published on Down The Hill We Go on August 19, 2008: I started using Goozex, the game-trading service, in April 2008. Since then, I have received 18 games. In my eyes, that’s $1080 (not including tax) worth of Xbox 360 games. If you’re a gamer, and you’re tired of dropping $60 for the latest titles, then I whole-heartedly recommend Goozex.

The web site works off a point system. Each game is assigned a point value, which fluctuates based on popularity, availability, and for how long the game has been available. Points can range from a maximum of 1000 to a low of 200. You can obtain points two different ways. The first way is to trade the games you currently own. The second way is to purchase them; you can purchase 100 points for $5. For each trade, you need a Trade credit. A Trade credit is worth a dollar. To keep it simple, think of Points going back-and-forth between the traders, and Trade credits go to Goozex (they have to get paid somehow). After someone requests one of your games, then it’s up to you to purchase a bubble envelope, print out the address, and head to the post office. Not a big deal, but on some days it can be a hassle getting to the post office, but they do give you three days before you have to mail it.

A game like Peter Jackson’s King Kong is worth 250 points. Simple math says that you can purchase King Kong from Goozex for roughly $12.50. If you bought it brand new in the store when it was released, you would have paid $60. While King Kong is a fun game with awesome dinosaurs, there is no way the game is worth $60. It is, however, worth $12.50 and I was very happy with my $12.50 game. What made me even happier is that I purchased the game for 200 points and I sold it back for 250 points. That made me very, very happy. In the end, I earned 50 points ($2.50) off the game. That offset the cost of shipping.

For every excellent deal like King Kong, there’s a Viking: Battle for Asgard. A simple button-masher of a game, it does offer beautiful scenery and awesome cut scenes. However, it is very repetitive and the core of the game tests your button pushing skills. I bought this one for 900 points (a big mistake) and, two months later, it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting for someone else to request it. When I do sell it back, I will only receive 750 points (provided it does not drop further in value). I’m looking at a potential loss on that one. Looking at it positively, if I trade it for 750 points, then I will have spent 150 ($12.50) points on the game. Yes, the game is worth $12.50, so in the end, I’m still happy.

Then there are games like Grand Theft Auto IV. When this game released, I ran to the store to purchase it. The game critics were raving about it and it was deemed the game of the century. Personally, I thought the game was severely over hyped and did not live up to it’s potential. I finished the single-player missions and promptly put it up for sale on Goozex. Less than an hour later, someone requested it, and I earned 1000 points for it. My $60 purchase of GTA IV earned me the equivalent of $50. Basically, I played GTA IV for $10. The only way you could beat that is if someone gave you the game for free. This is the beauty of Goozex: it allows you to buy games you wouldn’t normally purchase in the store and it allows you to sell games that you’re not happy with.

The service does rely on the honor-system: if you say you’re going to trade a game that is in good condition, then you better do so. You can provide Positive, Neutral, and Negative feedback. That way, if you decide to be a jerk and trade scratched games, or never send the game at all, then karma will come back to bite you. On the other hand, if you keep your game, case, and manual in new condition, promptly mail the game to the requester, and send a nice note, then you will receive Positive feedback and your karma remains healthy. I’ve only had one negative experience so far and it wasn’t really that bad. I sent a requester a full package, and they gave me Neutral feedback saying I only sent the game and the manual. In the long run, this hasn’t hurt me or my standing with Goozex, and I have had no problems since then.

Video Game Trading Strategies

There's more to trading video games than simply requesting and offering games. You have to employ strategy to make it work. Is that worthwhile? Heck ya. How would you like to buy a game for 900 points only to sell it back for 300 points? You just lost 600 points because you didn't strategize. Here are some helpful strategies for trading video games.

The Short Play
The Short Play strategy works for brand new games that are worth 900-1000 points. For best results, request the game the day it releases. Then sit back and wait for someone else to make it available. Then, as soon as you receive it, make it available for trade. Chances are, you'll get a request for it very quickly. Simply tell the buyer that you'll mail it in three days. This strategy provides an excellent opportunity to play a brand new game for free (minus shipping and the trade credit). If three days does not give you enough time to fully play the game, then you can always put it on hold for a couple weeks. Brand new games tend to hover around 1000 points for a good amount of time.

The Sell Back
The Sell Back strategy works best if you absolutely have to play a game the day it releases. In this scenario, you buy the game, play it till your fingers bleed, and then make it available for trade. Once again, brand new games tend to hover around the 900-1000 point value range for a long time so your chances are good you'll earn 1000 points for it. This strategy allows you to play a brand new game and recoup the majority of your costs.

The Long Play
The first two strategies are geared toward games with limited or no online multiplayer and offer short single player modes. But what if you're playing an epic like Oblivion or Fallout 3 and you want to play the game for months on end? In this case, it's best to wait for a game to drop to it's lowest value and then request it. The Goozex Report will notify you when new games start dropping in value and then level off. After a game levels off and stops dropping in value, this is the time to request games you'll want to play for a long time. Several months later, when you're ready to sell it back, you won't be so concerned if the game dropped a little more in value. And you never know, the game might go up slightly in value as well.

Play Ball!

It's October, and that means the best-of-the-best in baseball action. The playoffs are heating up and the World Series is around the corner. If that doesn't rev you up for baseball gaming, then nothing will.

First up is the XBLA's MLB Stickball, this one got up to the plate, scratched, then promptly struck out after looking pretty at the plate. Rest assured PS3 owner's, you're not missing a thing. And 360 owners, don't even bother with the trial version. This one looks good, and has promise, but it's boring as all get out and very repetitive. You're better off with The Bigs.

If you're looking to score a cheap baseball game that you can toss aside after the World Series. Your best bet is The Bigs. The focus of the game is on you, not player rosters, so playing a game that's a few years old doesn't matter much.

The Bigs is what baseball would be like if all players were juiced up and the baseballs were loaded with pyrotechnics. Career mode starts you off with a Rookie player. You build up attributes, including tattoos, customized bats, shades, your own theme song, etc. You play through spring training, perform training games, and then play through the season, which ultimately places you in the World Series.

The game is fast-paced as compared to the relatively slow-paced nature of baseball. It has special effects, like flames coming off the ball when you connect for a homer. And there are mini-games that slow the action down for catching balls heading over the fence or when you're bearing down on home plate for a collision with the catcher. These features make the game fun to play. 

The training scenarios are fun as well. Batting practice is the best, it allows you to tee off on the pitching coach. The fielding scenarios let you dive for grounders that look out of reach, but because you're such a phenom, it's no problem reaching the ball. The only training scenario that needs help is the running game. The running scenario has you run an obstacle course that's more frustrating than enjoyable. An excellent improvement is to replace the obstacle course with stealing bases. You can steal bases in the game, so why not practice for it?

The difficulty levels in The Bigs need fine tuning. The easy level is far too easy and allows you to run up the score; on the other hand, the harder levels have the opposing team running the score up on you. Fortunately, you can change the difficulty level midway through a game. So, if you're crushing, or getting crushed, you can change the tide of the game by changing the difficulty level.

For the PSP crowd, here's a review of MLB 2008: The Show from Thoughts of a Random Gamer.

Gone Alligator Wrasslin'

The Goozex Report staff is going on vacation and where we’re going there’s no Xbox 360. Instead, we’re going alligator wrestling in Florida. Wish us the best.

In the meantime, keep up-to-date with all the latest and greatest in video game news from these two sites:

• Games are Evil
  
• Thoughts of a Random Gamer

TGR returns next week.

Want to Write for The Goozex Report?

The Goozex Report is looking for writers who love games and like to write about them.

Expectations:

• None what-so-whatever.
  
• Just write something about games that you think other gamers would enjoy reading and commenting on.
  
• Do try to avoid flame-bait articles. We've been down that road before...
  

There is no compensation. You'll be doing this because you want to do it. If you do get serious about it though, there are ways and means you can earn Goozex points, but we can talk about that later.

Send an email to thegoozexreport at gmail dot com. We can skip all the Hello's and How Do You Do's. Just include in your email your post.

Zero Punctuation Plays Star Wars on the Wii

If anyone is paying attention to the publishing schedule, you'd know that today is supposed to be Wii day. Well, here at TGR, we are Xbox 360 fans and really don't know anything about the Wii. It was contemplated to do a Best of the Cheapest Wii Games post, but does anyone really want that? Drop a comment letting us know your thoughts on that one.

In the meantime, Yahtzee reviewed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on the Wii. And he regretted it. The video, as always from Yahtzee, is NSFW (but it is hilarious as always).

Saints Row is What Grand Theft Auto Should Have Been

Saints Row 2 releases October 14 and you might be ho-hum on this one, especially if you're still playing—or maybe a little burnt out on—Grand Theft Auto IV. Truth is, Saints Row is what GTA IV should have been; sure, it's simpler and the graphics aren't as nice, but it's so much more bad ass. And yes, I'm talking about the first Saints Row, not the brand new shiny one coming out next week. You're probably shaking your head in disbelief right now if you haven't played the first Saints Row. For SR veterans though, they know what I'm talking about.

Saints Row lives up to the reputation that GTA built. Instead of bowling and throwing darts like in GTA, in SR you're pimping ho's and throwing yourself in front of cars for insurance fraud. Sure, in GTA you can walk around drunk, that's fun the first time, but the second and third time it's just annoying. But in SR, when you throw yourself in front of cars to scam insurance companies, that's fun, time after time after time.

Saints Row isn't as pretty as this year's GTA, but SR was published in 2006, so let's get over that hurdle. If you allow yourself to imagine how SR would play with GTA's sophistication, then you're talking Game of the Year status. All I'm saying is, if you haven't played SR yet, and GTA IV left you feeling let down, then definitely trade for SR and spin it around the block a few times; you'll see what GTA could have and should have been. Saints Row is a fun game to play while GTA can feel like work playing it.

I have very high hopes for SR2, even though it probably won't warrant a purchase during the Holiday rush, it's definitely on my watch list for games to trade for.

Saints Row is currently valued at 400 points on Goozex and there are plenty of copies available.

The Best of the Cheapest PS3 Games

Not everyone has $60 to throw down for the latest games. Luckily, there are other ways to get your games, like trade for them. The Goozex Report breaks down the cheapest games for the PS3.

The Holidaze aren't here yet, and the best of this year's games have yet to be released, so here are some recommendations to hold you over.

The Score column represents the cumulative Metacritic score and the Value column represents the current trade value on Goozex.

TGR Knows What Xbox 360 Owners Are Buying in November

The poll results are in and it looks like Cliff Bleszinski and the hype-machine have Horde-stomped the competition. Gears of War 2 took in 77% of the vote, with Call of Duty: World at War finishing a distant second place with 26% of the vote.

James Bond came in a respectable third place with 15% of the vote.

EndWar barely registered with only 5% of the vote. Out of 53 voters, EndWar got three lousy, stinking votes. Tom Clancy is probably happy he's sold the publishing rights to his name. It might not be a happy Holidays for the Ubisoft crew. Oh well. Maybe this will give them time to finish up the next chapter in the Sam Fisher saga. TGR would like that.

November Buying Decisions for the Xbox 360

One month from now, four titles that have caught your eye will be released for the Xbox 360. The question is, what are you going to buy and what are you going to hold out for? Also, six games that are dropping in value.

Nov 4: James Bond 007 in Quantum of Solace and Tom Clancy's EndWar
Nov 7: Gears of War 2
Nov 11: Call of Duty: World at War

One question that comes to mind is, should James Bond even be mentioned among GoW2 and CoD? And for that matter, should EndWar be in this list as well? Some of you might think World at War should not be mentioned along side Gears; or, you might think that GoW2 is over hyped and the game is going to be a major let down.

Let's Break It Down
James Bond is eternally cool, Tom Clancy has voice recognition gameplay, CoD has a flamethrower, and GoW2 features Horde stomping.

TGR's predictions: James Bond will eventually get played, but probably as a trade after it drops in value. EndWar sounds pretty cool, but shouting into the headset doesn't seem like that much fun. Depending on the reviews, EndWar might not get played at all.

That leaves GoW2 and World at War. At this point, loyalty to a franchise comes into play. If you're a die-hard Call of Duty fan then you might be leaning towards World at War, despite it coming from Treyarch. On the other hand, if you couldn't get enough of Gears of War, then you're probably leaning towards the sequel.

Looking at the top 10 Live games, it appears that CoD has the edge. But looking at the hype-machine GoW2 has going for it, the tables turn and GoW2 has the edge.

After weighing the pros and cons, TGR is staying faithful and going with Call of Duty: World at War for the November purchase. Is this a minority opinion? Will the rest of the Xbox 360 world bum rush the stores for Gears of War 2? Vote in the poll and make your opinion count (poll allows for more than one selection)!

Games to Hold Out For:
Here's a list of games that are currently dropping in value on Goozex. These are games you definitely want to hold out for on requesting:

• Alone in the Dark
• Burnout Paradise
• Call of Duty 4
• Don King Presents: Prizefighter
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08

Three Great (and Cheap) Finds for the PSP

The PSP has 63 games available on Goozex for 100 points. You might have noticed you earn 100 free points plus a trade credit when you sign up for Goozex. Mmmm, can someone smell a free game? Of course, the freebies are not the newest of the new games, but there are some gems to be found.

TGR found three games with good Metacritic scores that can be had on Goozex for 100 points. Check 'em out!

Football Manager -- 79
Review from Thunderbolt
Review from PALGN

NBA Live 06 -- 80
Review from GamePro
Review from IGN

Virtua Tennis World Tour -- 84
Review from Modojo
Review from GamePro

Announcing a New Publishing Schedule

The Goozex Report announces a new publishing schedule that features the hottest consoles and hand helds. Each day of the week, TGR will feature gaming information for a different console. The content will include the following:

• Cheap Game of the Week
• New Games That Started Dropping in Value (If you're holding on to a game, but thinking of trading it, this feature gives you a heads-up to offer it before it drops too much in value)
• Hot Games That are Continuing to Drop in Value (If you're thinking of requesting a game, this feature gives you a heads-up to wait on requesting it until it stops dropping in value, so you can request it at it's cheapest value)
• Game Reviews

This content should prove invaluable to gamers who prefer to trade for games rather than spend cash.

Publishing Schedule:

• Xbox 360 (Monday)
• PS3 (Tuesday)
• Wii (Wednesday)
• PC (Thursday)
• Nintendo DS (Friday)
• PSP (Saturday)

TGR Welcomes PS3 Fanboys

(PS3 fans--please read the entire post before replying)
Earlier today, TGR posted an article listing games released on the Xbox 360 consoles and the PS3 that scored a 90 or higher on Metacritic. After the results were compiled, it was clear that the Xbox 360 had a far greater number of titles that have the critic’s attention. TGR decided to write the article, added a controversial headline, and proceeded to post it on N4G.

The post was approved, appeared on N4G’s front page within moments, skyrocketed to 140 degrees in a blink of an eye, and generated over 50 comments quicker than most gamers can type.

The PS3 fanboys were not happy. It was reported 21 times and was eventually removed from the site. What happened to having an open environment where everyone can present research?

In any event, TGR now recognizes the PS3 fanbase, and now PS3 content can be found in the right hand column.

In the future, you can look to TGR for PS3 reviews, game point information, and everything else previously afforded the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo DS.

It is TGR’s intention to report fairly and accurately for all consoles.

Xbox 360 Beats the PS3 by a Score of 16 to 5

Xbox 360 has 16 games with a Metacritic score of 90 or higher.

PS3 has 5 games with a Metacritic score of 90 or higher.

Xbox 360 has 10 titles that is not yet available on the PS3 with a score of 90 or higher.

There is only one title that the PS3 has that the Xbox 360 does not with a score of 90 or higher.

Point Drop Round Up

This will be a very quick and dirty edition of Point Drop Round Up. Only two games that TGR follows has anything new to report. All other games appear to be holding steady in their value.

NHL 2K8 is now worth 250 points, but TGR is not surprised, nor do we care too much. Our love for hockey never materialized, and after reading the hate mail we got from the last hockey post, our love for hockey fans never materialized either...

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 appears to have finally stopped dropping in value and is now worth 550 points. For those of you holding out to play this one, now might be the time to request it.

Editor's Ramble on CoD4:
After playing through the CoD4 SP three times, and playing countless hours of online matches, I finally put the game down after close to a year of non-stop playing. Today I put it in the mail after selling it for 950 points. I really have to consider CoD4 to be one of my best purchases ever. The Call of Duty series was always my favorite, and so I never played any of the Tom Clancy titles, that is until recently.

With CoD5 not out yet, and me looking for something new, my attention turned to the Tom Clancy titles. I started with Splinter Cell: Double Agent and loved it. I am currently playing GRAW and have only two missions left to go. I don't love GRAW as much as Splinter Cell, but I do like it, despite it being a very hard game to play.

I am looking forward to playing the first and second Rainbow Six games. I'm just not sure when I'll get around to it.

Yahtzee and Major Nelson

Two bits of news:

Major Nelson announced on his blog that Starz play is coming to Netflix instant streaming. That means later this year, Xbox 360 gamers will have access to over 12,000 titles.

Yahtzee posted his review of Mercenaries 2. TGR immediately moved this game to the Requests list. We don't mind dropping 1000 points on a game Yahtzee likes!

Because Mercenaries 2 has a long wait, and TGR is looking for something new to play, it means Saints Row was also moved the Requests list. Are you looking forward to Saints Row 2?