The Best of the Cheapest Nintendo DS Games

The Goozex Report welcomes back the Nintendo DS fanboys and girls. TGR did not forget about you! Today's post is dedicated to newcomers and those who are looking for a freebie.

Currently, there are 66 Nintendo DS games valued at 100 points on Goozex. You might have noticed that you receive 100 free points when you join this game trading community. Hmmm, can someone smell a free game?

After painstakingly pouring through the 66 games and comparing them to the Metacritic scores, TGR found 5 Nintendo DS games that might be worth your free 100 points.

• Feel the Magic - Metacritic: 75
  
• Pac Pix - Metacritic: 71
  
• Polarium - Metacritic: 73
  
• Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith - Metacritic: 73
  

Happy Gaming!

Why Netflix Refuses to Rent Video Games

With the Xbox 360 Fall Update quickly approaching, most everyone is talking about avatars and the removal of the blades, and lost among the talk is Netflix. Now that Netflix has signed a deal with Microsoft to allow streaming movies over the Xbox 360, is the next logical step the ability to rent games either through the mail or via download? A representative from Netflix says the answer is a flat out no. Netflix has no intention of renting or selling games. It is simply not a feasible economic model for them. According to Netflix, games supposedly have a short shelf life. To paraphrase, "No one will be playing Madden NFL 09 two years from now, but people will watch a great movie over and over."

At this point, you might be wondering if TGR was talking to a Netflix rep or an EA rep. TGR asked Netflix if the game publishers had any influence in their no-game-rental policy. There was silence on the other end of the line. The Netflix rep then reiterated that game rentals are simply not part of their business plan. They do realize that other companies like Gamefly (who advertises on Netflix's famous red envelopes), are renting games. TGR tried to contact Gamefly on two occasions and both times were met with silence.

What Netflix apparently fails to realize is that gamers do play games that are more than a couple years old. A quick survey of the top traded Xbox 360 games on Goozex reveal three games published in 2005 (PGR 3, Perfect Dark Zero, and Condemned) and five games published in 2006 (Deadrising, Oblivion, Fight Night Round 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, and Saints Row). These older games do have an audience and gamers are playing them.

Each Holiday season, the game publishers flood the market with more games than any one gamer could possibly buy or receive. Because of this, a year or two might go by before a gamer is ready to play something they missed earlier. And while no one wants to pay full retail for a two-year old game, they still want to play the game, regardless if they buy, trade, or rent it.

Welcome Nintendo DS (and the Poll Results are In)

Here at The Goozex Report, we are mostly Xbox 360 Fanboys, as you can probably tell by the content. However, we understand there are other consoles and game machines in existence. Right now, our attention is turned to the Nintendo DS.

Friday's "Do You Buy, Rent, or Trade" post was picked up by Go Nintendo, which is the site where the majority of comments were posted. And besides one Goozex fan, and one sort-a Gamefly fan, it appears that Nintendo DS fanboys and girls all buy their games, sometimes trade with a friend, but really don't like the idea of giving up a game they own. We thinks we found a group of collectors...

A quick scan at Amazon shows that Nintendo DS games range in cost from $35 to $15. The thing to remember is that trading costs far, far less than any other option... Just something to think about.

While 18 of you voted, a couple hundred of you (hey, it was a slow weekend at TGR) decided to looky-loo and not participate. As they always say: there's a first time and a last time for everything; and sometimes the first time and the last time occur at the same time. You might say this was the first and last poll that TGR will host...

Without any further ado, let's get to the results of the poll. We were a bit surprised that Buying Games edged out Trading Games as the winner (66% said they do a little of each). You might have thought that Trading Games would have been the clear cut winner. The truth is, the majority of readers of TGR come from N4G, so we have a very diverse audience that is not truly dedicated to trading games.

Hockey is Missing the Mini-Game

I've stated before that I'm not a hockey fan, and I don't think I'll become one anytime soon. It seems that all you do in hockey is skate up the ice, maybe get checked, maybe not, maybe you can pass to someone, if anyone's open, and then maybe you can get a shot off before the ref stops the game for offsides. And when I do get a shot off, it feels like a random-generator determines if it's a goal or not. On the defensive side, not having control of the goalie gives you a helpless feeling when the enemy, eh, I mean the opponent bears down on the goal.

This game is sorely missing mini-games. When your forward approaches the net, it should go into a close-up mode (so you can actually see what's going on), the action should slow down, and you should be given the time to set up your shot, swing your stick, aim the puck, and let it fly. Otherwise, you're just swinging the so-called skill stick and maybe the shot will get off, maybe it won't. Most of the time, if the shot doesn't go wide, then the goalie easily blocks it, and then sometimes, for no reason at all, the puck might go in the net. It's ridiculous, there's no rhyme or reason to the whole thing.

Unless you're a die-hard hockey fan, chances are you've never heard of any of the players. Which makes trading players, and creating a dynasty, seem much more like a chore than anything associated with fun.

I've heard from gamers that hockey is really just about the fights. So, I started some fights. And they sucked. It seems like all you do is push the R stick up repeatedly and eventually you'll knock the other guy out. There was no blood splatters or anything. I felt very let down.

And that brings me to the critics. The damn critics. They gave EA's NHL 08 glowing reviews and heaped awards on this game while the 2K version basically got dumped on. It really, *really* makes me wonder how much EA pays off critics and publishers with rewards, gifts, or special preview copies, because there is nothing in NHL 08 that really makes me want to continue playing. This one is back on the offers list and I really doubt it if I'll play another hockey game. The skaters are hard to control, the action is too far away to tell what's going on, and there are many times where I completely lost the puck. The checking appears to happen at random. The passing seems to happen at random. I think I'm passing down the ice and next thing I know the puck is heading back to my own goal. What is that all about? I'm done ranting now. I'm just glad I didn't pay any money for this. I'm just hoping to trade it back at even value for what I got for it. I just feel bad for the next sucker who might trade for it.

I'm going back to finish up the Shivering Isles and maybe some more CoD4 multi-player before CoD5 comes out. Now those are games. Damn good games.

Do You Buy, Rent, or Trade?

These days, what with the Intertubes and all, gamers have at least three choices when it comes to obtaining new video games: they can rent, buy, or trade. The Goozex Report breaks down the options in an objective manner.

Buying
At $60 a pop, and the Holiday season approaching, fanatical gamers could easily spend hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars on brand new games. You can also buy cheap used games from stores like Gamestop, Overstock, and Amazon. However, you might have to wait up to a year to get the best deals, and buying every game you want brand new could send you to the poor house.

Renting
Gamefly will cost you $15.95 a month. That’s $192 a year. That roughly translates to three brand new games. However, you can only play one game at a time. If you want two games out at a time, it will cost you $22.95 a month ($275 a year). That roughly translates to 4.5 brand new games. Chances are, if you’re an avid gamer, you’ll play more than 5 games a year, but you’ll also want to play more than 2 games at a given time.

Trading
Goozex is free to join, and the money out of pocket is shipping and trade credits, and any initial points you want to purchase. Chances are pretty good that you already own some games that you can trade to earn more points. The problem with Goozex is that it can be painfully slow. It can be slow to trade your games and slow to receive games. And you’re at the mercy of your fellow gamers if they come through with shipping a game in good condition. The only real advantage is that you’re paying very little money. Goozex is for gamers with a lot of patience and they don’t mind playing games that are a couple years old.

Responses from Gamers
TGR conducted a short poll and received back two excellent responses from fellow gamers. The first gamer, THWIP71 shares his thoughts on why he mostly prefers to buy new or used games; but he’ll still occasionally rent a game.

By contrast, bgrundman prefers trading and renting games and only very rarely pays for them.

THWIP71 (Live Gamertag) Likes to Purchase New and Used Games
Basically, it boils down to three factors: initial length of single player campaign, replay value, and online play. Some games have enough of one, to compensate for a lack of the other two...but those are my primary criteria. Whether or not I pay retail for a game, is solely based on how long I've been waiting for it. Oblivion was a day-1 purchase, for the Special Edition box version; my wife and I played about 300 hours of Morrowind, and had been waiting 4 years for the sequel. We got AT LEAST that much gameplay out of Oblivion...including all of the expansions...so $70 was $$ well spent.

The Darkness is one I picked up for $8.00, used, after it'd been out for over a year. The online play was tacked on...and NOBODY plays it on LIVE...and there's not much replay value to the SP (according to reviews). I loved the game, but I'm glad I didn't rush out and drop $60 on it at release.

By comparison, SW:TFU will be a rental, for me, because it fails on ALL of my criteria, and isn't getting great reviews to boot. Plus, I'm not a HUGE Star Wars fan, beyond the first three original films (nostalgia of having been in grade school when they originally released, I guess).

Blake Grundman (Goozex: bgrundman) Prefers to Trade, Occasionally Rent, and Rarely Buys
A big factor to consider when choosing to buy, rent, or trade is how quickly you can play through a game. I, for one, tend to play through games at a blistering pace the first time through. Normally, the first run through is for two reasons: reviewing for my site and reviewing for myself. If I find that I like the game, and it has a good replay value, I will keep it. However, if there is no replay value or the single player campaign is lackluster, I will relist it for trading. If the game is highly demanded, I can normally receive a game, play all the way through it, and have it back out by the end of the week. Under most circumstances, this normally nets me the same amount that I initially received for the trade, so all I had to pay for was shipping. I think that is more than a fair cost.

There are only two occasions that I ever rent a game. The first is when I feel the primal urges of my inner gamerscore whore. I can cop to the fact that I have rented games like TMNT, Avatar the Last Airbender, NBA 2K6, and College Hoops 2K6 just to increase my gamerscore. Games like this are normally a one-day rental—and under some circumstances—like Avatar and the 2K basketball games, I had them returned in a matter of hours.

The other reason I rent a game is if it received mixed reviews from the media. Some of these games include Boom Blox, Assassins Creed, and NFL Tour. This one-night rental is used to decide if it is worth my effort to trade for the game or not.

Rarely, there are very few games that I will purchase. Exceptions to this rule are games that I have really been looking forward to like Halo 3 (which I waited in line in the snowy winters of Iowa for the midnight launch), Rock Band 2, Mass Effect, and the upcoming Gears of War 2.

Trading for games is a great way to get your hands on rare and Special Editions of games on the cheap. I would consider myself a collector of sorts and through Goozex I have been able to acquire the special editions of Unreal Tournament for PC, Assassins Creed, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Call of Duty, and the granddaddy of all: Halo 3 Legendary (cat helmet) Edition. The beautiful thing about it is, when I relisted the non-Special Editions of these games that I already owned, I would almost always recoup the value of the Special Editions.

Moral of the story is that trading is the key to success. After receiving 125 trades and sending out over 130 games, I am forever thankful that services like Goozex exist.

New Logo From PCKTLNT

The Goozex Report is celebrating our one-month anniversary with a new logo. Special props and a big Shout Out goes to Goozex member PCKTLNT for contributing the artwork as seen in the banner and here in this post.

Here at TGR, we think PCKTLNT could have a career in graphic design.

Thanks PCKTLNT, and Happy Gaming!

Point Drop Round Up

It’s time for another addition of Point Drop Round Up. This is the feature of The Goozex Report that lets you know which of the top games are dropping in value on Goozex. These are the games you should wait to finish dropping in value before requesting. Otherwise, you run the risk of buying high and selling low.

Just like last week, Grand Theft Auto IV is taking center stage. Now valued at 900 points, GTA IV did not rebound like CoD4 (even though CoD4 did drop back down to 950 points, it has the potential to go back up to 1000). It seems like gamers have grown tired of waiting for GTA's long-promised DLC to be released and are letting their copies go.

Happy Gaming to you.

• Burnout Paradise
• Don King Presents: Prizefighter
• Fight Night Round 3
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Halo 3
• NHL 07 and 08
• NHL 2K7
• Orange Box
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2

The Best 100-200 Point Games on Goozex

Let’s say you recently joined Goozex and now you’ve got 100 free points and a free trade credit. Now you’re thinking, what can I get with this? You’re not going to get the latest and greatest, that’s for sure, but there are some gems out there. After weeding out the XBLA games and the demo discs, here’s a list of your best bets.

100 points:

• NHL 07 (Metacritic: 79)
  
• Project Gotham Racing 3 (Metacritic: 88) (editor’s pick)
  

150 points:

• 2006 FIFA World Cup (Metacritic: 62)
  
• Ridge Racer 6 (Metacritic: 74)
  

200 points:

• College Hoops 2K6 (Metacritic: 70)
  
• GUN (Metacritic: 75) (editor’s pick)
  
• Kameo: Elements of Power (Metacritic: 79)
  
• Major League Baseball 2K6 (Metacritic: 66)
  
• NBA 2K6 (Metacritic: 81)
  
• NCAA Football 07 (Metacritic: 79)
  
• Rockstar Games Present Table Tennis (Metacritic: 81)
  

Racing on the 360

Pure is an adrenaline pumping, non-stop racing game that allows you to perform tricks on your ATV while flying through the air. The game is exaggerated, for sure, and the demo might get you hooked. However, The Goozex Report recommends holding off on purchasing Pure, and waiting for it to drop in value before requesting it. In the meantime, there are plenty of other racing options to choose from.

The cream of the crop appears to be Forza Motorsport 2 and the runner up is the Burnout series, which has recently added downloadable content. If you favor something not-so-in-depth, and more geared towards racing than crashing, then the arcade style Project Gotham Racing 3 is your best bet.

If you’re brand new to Goozex and want to spend your free 100 points, then go ahead and trade for PGR 3. Why not? It’s a great game for it’s time and serves as an excellent introduction to the racing genre. You might want to stay away from PGR 4. After playing the demo, it appears the franchise has run out of steam and ideas. The demo plays almost exactly like PGR 3, but with motorcycles added to the mix. If someone else picked up the job of producing PGR 5, it would probably be a good thing.

DiRT and GRiD round out the top picks. DiRT takes you off roading and GRiD has you traveling the continents. The GRiD demo is very worthwhile to checkout and will have you waiting patiently for it to start dropping in value. Stay tuned, and The Goozex Report will let you know when that happens.

Electronic Arts, surprisingly enough, appears to have hit a brick wall with their Nascar series. Both their 08 and 09 titles failed to impress the critics. Maybe you should steer clear of EA when it comes to racing?

Contributing writer, Blake Grundman, has this to say on Forza 2 and the rumored take over of the PGR series:

Forza Motorsport 2 was Microsoft Game Studios first venture into the world of racing simulation on next generation consoles. Turn 10 Studios developed the game to be the most realistic racing simulation ever released. Another selling point of Forza 2 was the game’s custom design, which was tuned to utilize the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel to its full potential. To assure the game was an authentic representation of racing, professional drivers were brought in throughout the development process, helping to hone and perfect the racing experience.

All of the extra time and effort proved to be very beneficial, with Forza 2 creating a level of realism that rivaled the likes of the Grand Turismo franchise. Features like custom designed paint jobs, the ability to share cars, and a fully integrated online community, drove Forza 2 to become one of the most ambitious Microsoft Game Studio releases to date.

However, this did not make the game perfect. Players complained that the tuning and balance of vehicles, while extremely detailed and complex, would create a rift too large for new players to bridge. In many cases, this proved to be true, with online numbers dwindling in recent months. Despite the outcry, Forza Motorsport 2 has been universally well received by critics, and securing a Forza sequel for developer Turn 10.

In more recent rumors, it looks like Turn 10 may also be taking control of the Pro Gotham Racing franchise. When PGR’s developer, Bizarre Creations, left Microsoft Game Studios earlier this year many assumed that Turn 10 would take over PGR 5’s development. According to sources within Turn 10, it looks like this might in fact be the case. There could be an announcement on this rumor as soon as September 25, so stay tuned. For more information see Kombo.com.

Welcome Quadville!

The Goozex Report is a relatively new blog, but it’s gaining readers fast, thanks in large parts to networking. Quadville is a family blog that my wife found and we read it on a regular basis. They were kind enough to list TGR on their blog, and so I wanted to say Hello, and let the Quadville readers know what this blog is all about.

TGR is probably not the typical blog found on family blogs, but it probably should be. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I’d say a fair majority of kids are playing video games these days. There are probably a fair number of Dads (and Moms) who play video games as well. I'm a parent of twins, I grew up playing video games, and I turned out to be a responsible, contributing member of society (at least most of the time). I figure at some point my kids will start playing games as well. So, video games are not evil, they are just expensive. And that’s where Goozex comes in.

Goozex is a game trading community that allows gamers to interact and trade games with each other. Each game is assigned a point value. When you want a game, you simply make a request for it and you are placed in the queue. When you want to trade a game, you simply make an offer, and again, you are placed in the queue. Games are traded for points. To earn points you can purchase them or you can trade games you currently own. When you first start, you might want to purchase points, but after you trade for a while, you’ll find you have plenty of points and no longer have to purchase them.

The Goozex Report provides recommendations on when to purchase, when to trade, and when to offer games. We also post game reviews as well. In short, if it has to do with Goozex and video games, we’ll post it.

I hope you enjoy reading TGR and we look forward to hearing from you.

Trading for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

I wrote awhile back that I'm planning on buying Star Wars: TFU, and while I haven’t bought it yet, I will probably have to if I want to play it any time soon. I have this game on My Request list and there’s a long wait. Looking at the Trading Info for this, I might have a VERY LONG WAIT ahead of me. There are currently 13 copies on hold and 332 requests.

Yeah, I know, I just said I hope to get this game via Goozex while earlier I said I’m going to buy the game. The thing is, my current budget simply does not allow me to go out and drop $60 on games. I know that probably sounds pathetic, but that’s how it is. So, I either to need to wait for my birthday to get this game or I need to wait for Goozex, which ever comes sooner…

Because of the numbers, I still highly recommend buying this game if you plan on playing it sometime in the near future. I think it's virtually guaranteed you'll receive the full 1000 points when you trade it in. Right now, the game is valued at 900 points, but it won't be long before it's worth 1000.

Disc + Manual versus Full Package

I always list my offers as "Disc + Manual" but I always ship the case, usually in brand new condition. In the same way, I always request to receive games as "Disc + Manual" and I always receive the case. Looking closer at the Trading Info, I see the majority of people request the "Full Package." Because of this, I should get games much quicker by requesting "Disc + Manual" as opposed to "Full Package." Let's hope this theory works and I get TFU before the 271 other people.

In the meantime, if anyone has a review of this game, I’d love to post it. Drop a comment or use the link in the right column to respond.

Grand Theft Auto IV Drops in Value

It's time for another Point Drop Roundup. The biggest news is that Grand Theft Auto IV has dropped in value. That’s right kids, the critics favorite has started dropping in value. It will be interesting to see if it rebounds like Call of Duty 4.

It might be time to request Madden NFL 08. It has not dropped in value since the end of August and 400 points is pretty cheap for a game with a Metacritic score of 85.

Here's a list of games to hold out for because they are dropping in value week-after-week:

• Burnout Paradise
  
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  
• Gears of War
  
• Halo 3
  
• Orange Box
  
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 2
  

Here's a list of games that have dropped marginally in value:

• DiRT
  
• Don King Presents Prizefighter (I wouldn’t be surprised if this one starts dropping value week-after-week)
  
• Elder Scrolls: Shivering Isles
  
• Fight Night Round 3
  
• NHL 07
  
• NHL 2K6, 2K7, and 2K8
  
• Tom Clancy’s GRAW (I’m currently playing this one, and it’s HARD)
  
• Viking: Battle for Asgard

Hockey for the 360

I’ve never been a fan of hockey and I’ve never played any hockey video games. But with the release of two new hockey games for the 360, and me looking for something new and different, I’ve decided to give one a try. Turns out that NHL 08 won several awards last year and received great reviews. I went ahead and requested it. It cost me 500 points, but I’ve got a couple thousand points burning a hole in my pocket, so I figured, Why not? Let’s give it a try.

I played the demo for NHL 09 and liked it. I thought it was pretty cool. And it’s receiving pretty good reviews. But then Xbox 360 Fanboy posted news that it’s having trouble. Hopefully, EA will fix the bugs by the time I’m ready to play it. That is, if I like NHL 08.

Hockey is one of the rare sports genres that give you a choice as to which game you want to trade for. Currently, both EA and 2K offer hockey games. Looking at the Metacritic scores, and the point values for both games, it looks like EA has a leg up on the competition.

Fellow gamer and blogger, Blake Grundman (Goozex: bgrundman) was kind enough to provide this review of NHL 08. Blake can be found on Thoughts of a Random Gamer and Kombo:

NHL 08 was the game that truly brought hockey into the new console generation. The game was redesigned from the bottom up, with an innovative new control scheme that placed the player right in the thick of the action. Many fans were alarmed to hear that the traditional turbo button had been removed, in favor of emphasizing passing and a balanced team attack. Another key addition was the Skill Stick, which moved all puck handling such as passing, shooting, and fakes from the face buttons, to the right analog stick.

The numerous gambles paid off as NHL 08 won several Sports Game of the Year awards from web sites such as 1up, IGN, and Gamespot. Critics and fans alike hailed the new Skill Stick feature as one of the biggest advancements in the franchise’s storied history. Along with the improved team dynamics, the game has an immersive quality that has yet to be matched. This is by far the most comprehensive hockey game ever released and a must-have in any hockey fans collection.

Viking is a Cool Game

Goozex is all about community, and The Goozex Report is no exception. If you have something you’d like to write about, and it relates to Goozex or Xbox 360 games, I’d like to hear from you. Just drop a comment and I’ll get back to you.

To kick off the first special guest commentary, it’s none other than my brother, Monmin (that's his Goozex Username, mine is JimmyJames70, look us up)…

I think Viking: Battle for Asgard is a pretty awesome game.

Where Grand Theft Auto IV was a chore to play through, I can't wait to dive into Viking, and once I do I can't stop. I've been doing some late night gaming on this one.

Sure, the game is a little repetitive, but so what as long it's fun. Somehow the game kind of reminds me of Assassin's Creed. Creed has a more complex climbing and jumping scheme to it, and Viking has a more complex combat system, but after that the games 'feel' the same when I play.

One of the things that I like about Viking is that if I die, most times I can teleport right back into the action and pick up right where I left off, there isn't even any loading times. Compare that to GTA, where if you die, you have to wait for the game to load back to the hospital, then you have to use your cellphone to restart the mission, then you have to wait for the mission to load back, then you have to look for a taxi or a car (and sometimes there's none to be found), then you have to drive to the mission start-point, wait for the cut scene to load (which you've already seen once before, so even though you waited for it to load, you just skip it once it starts playing), then you attempt the mission once again, and if you die you get to repeat the whole process over again. If you die many times on a mission, you eventually run out of ammo, and you have to add the additional step of finding the gun shop.

GTA is a much better game if you're really good at it and you never die. Unlike me, I died many, many times on a lot of the missions and it drove me nuts.

Viking is a breath of fresh air after GTA and has restored my craving to play games.

Boxing for the 360

When it comes to boxing on the 360, the pickings are slim. The latest releases, Don King Presents: Prizefighter and Facebreaker, received less than stellar reviews. Prizefighter has a cumulative Metacritic score of 57 (ouch) and Facebreaker is currently at 58. And EA’s Fight Night Round 4 is slated for next year. What’s a boxing fan to do?

My recommendation is Fight Night Round 3 (Metacritic-86). While it’s not without it’s faults (way too much in-game advertising and a complex attributes menu), it’s still a fun game. I burned through this one fast. It had an innovative punching mechanism that utilizes the LS and RS. It is not a simple, button-mashing game. You actually have to think to dodge, duck, and counter-punch. Plus, the super-duper KO punch is fun to attack your opponent with. Your heart rate quickens when the game goes into slow-mode and you’re on the ropes. Knowing the next punch can send you to the canvas will put you on your toes and suddenly dodging and ducking sounds like a good idea as opposed to nailing the other guy with roundhouse punches.

Fight Night 3 has gone up in value since I traded for it. I bought and sold it for 350 points earlier in the year. It’s now worth 400. It’s a small increase, but for a game that’s over two years old to go up in value, it’s a sign that the boxing genre is lacking some real hits (pun intended).

Get The Shivering Isles for Free (Strong Potential)

In 2006, Bethesda Software released a little game called, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This game gained Game of the Year status. I bring Oblivion up for a couple reasons. The first, is that Bethesda Software is about to release Fallout 3 in late October, which renewed my interest in Oblivion. I remember liking the game a couple of years ago and I never followed up on the expansion packs.

This brings me to my second point. Subscribers to the Xbox Live newsletter know that Microsoft is having a sale on The Shivering Isles, the expansion pack to Oblivion. The expansion pack offers 10 to 30 hours of new content (depending on who you listen to). This is in addition to the 100+ hours you can play with the original game. You are definitely getting your money’s worth with this completely awesome game. It ranks as my second favorite of all time for the 360.

If you decide to download the expansion pack through Xbox Live, it’s going to cost you 1600 MS points (while it’s on sale). If you trade for it on Goozex, you’ll get it for 500 Goozex points. The beauty of this is that you can trade it back for 500 Goozex points, and you’ll essentially have the expansion pack for free. That’s what I did. I can’t guarantee it will work for you. But looking at the stats shows that it probably will.

With an expansion pack, you install and save the game on your hard drive. So, you get the disc, install it, and then trade it back.

If you look at the trading info, there are a limited number of these discs being traded. And there’s a lot more people asking for it than offering it. That means, there’s an excellent chance you won’t have any trouble trading it back.

Give Oblivion a try, or go back and revisit it, if nothing else it will get you ready for Fallout 3.

Too Human Too Awful?

This is a first for me. Granted, I’ve only been using Goozex since April, but this is still a first for me.

I was very much looking forward to Too Human. I DL’d the demo the day it was available and I kind of liked it. It was a little hard to control, and I told myself I’d have to get used to flicking the RS to swing a weapon, but you have to get accustomed to every new game.

And then Too Human was released. And the critics slammed it (Metacritic score: 66). And now it’s in the Top 10 of Most Offered games on Goozex. And it was released 15 days ago. Gamers are tired of this game after 15 days? Whoa boy. This is a doozy. I have a strong feeling this game is not going to be worth 1000 points for very long. I’ll keep a close eye on this one.

Yahtzee's review (NSFW)

Point Drop Weekend

Some people call it Labor Day weekend, I’m calling it Point Drop weekend. Of all the games that I’m following, eight of them experienced point drops. A couple games went up in value, like my all time favorite CoD4 (I’m happy it’s worth 1000 points because I still have not traded it yet). Perfect Dark Zero also went up in value; probably because it’s been on the Top 10 lists.

The most notable games that have dropped in value are Madden’s NFL 08 and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

NFL 08 is now worth 400 points. It was worth 550 back on August 13. This game is dropping and it’s dropping quick. It received an 85 from Metacritic, so it might be worth checking out if you don’t mind outdated rosters. My advice is to wait for the game to stop dropping in points before you request it.

While CoD4 is still worth 1000 points, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is dropping like a rock. It’s now worth 700 points and appears to drop in value every week. Stay tuned on this one. I still haven’t played the first Rainbow game, so by the time I’m ready for it, Vegas 2 should be pretty cheap.

Here’s the list of games (that I’m tracking) that dropped 50 points over the weekend:

• BioShock
  
• Burnout Paradise
  
• Eternal Sonata
  
• Gears of War
  
• Orange Box
  
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (dropped 100 points)