I Just Want to Play the Game, Not Sell It…

Kube00 Says: It’s funny how eBay becomes the dumping ground for a lot of older “rare” games. Most of these games I enjoyed playing as a kid, and eventually, I gave away to my neighbors. DOH!

A good example is Final Fantasy VII which fetches anywhere from $50-$70 or more if the game is sealed. I guess I should have held onto my copy for a few more years.

I’ll admit, after getting rid of my own copy many years ago, I’ve found and sold several FFVII’s. But honestly, the game is not that rare, outside of eBay, it’s cheap to find and there are plenty of copies available. It is a great game and one of the best Final Fantasy’s out there.

Wanna save yourself a few bucks? Go with the PC version, its $30 on eBay and only 650 points on Goozex, although it’s not available right now.

Another more recent example of a “rare” game is Gripshift for the PSP. I’ll be the first to say that it is a terrible game. In fact, less than a year ago, copies were less than $5 in the clearance bins at most retailers. But within the last few weeks eBay has seen prices go as high as $120 for a single copy, although since then, the market has been flooded and the price has come down to $30-$40. Without going into too much detail, Gripshift is needed for PSP 3000’s. But unlike FFVII, where most people want to have it to complete their collection or to play, no one wants Gripshift because it is an “epic” game. This just goes to show that the value of something can change rapidly even if it sucks.

I can understand how older cartridge games are rare. Most of these will never be printed again; some may come out on the Virtual Console or Xbox Marketplace, which only seems to drive their value up even further. How does that work? You can play it again, so why the sudden value jump? Some of the Super Nintendo games are worth a few bucks here and there; just don’t expect your copy of “Super Adventure Island” to be worth anything more than a few dollars.

But the point is why do we as consumers feel the need to have the original sealed copy of a game if we are never going to play it? Wouldn’t it be nice to have something that was cheaper to obtain just so we could play it?

This is where Goozex shines. Goozex is one of the only places I can find decent copies of older games to play. A good example is Twisted Metal 2 for Playstation 1. It’s hard to find on eBay and most Brick and Mortar stores consider it a “rare” game and won’t sell it to me for less than $30. Well, on Goozex it’s readily available for 150 points with lots of copies. So next time you want to play that last gen game that is nowhere to be found and eBay is price gouging, check Goozex, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Revisit Classic Co-op Games

Kube00 Says: Techradar.com has an interesting piece about co-op games. The article mentions Left 4 Dead and scratches the surface of games like World of Warcraft and Team Fortress 2. When I think of co-op games I think back to the 90’s, a glorious time full of wasted afternoons dumping quarters into machines. I fondly remember spending time in the arcade playing games like Metal Slug 3, The Simpsons Arcade game, X-men, TMNT, and of course of the greatest co-op game I’ve ever played: Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (if you’ve never heard of it I understand). The mention of co-op gameplay also brings me back to games like Double Dragon on the NES, Streets of Rage on Genesis, or Mario Kart 64. To me, co-op means two or more people playing on the same machine working toward a common goal.

As the Techradar article points out, and it’s something I agree on, co-op games have slowly faded to the back of gaming much like simulation games. What was once a thriving industry with a purpose has given away to each of us owning a 360, Wii, PS3, or a PC and playing with and against our friends scattered all over the U.S. With the exception of music-based games such as Rockband and Guitar Hero, co-op play in one room is unheard of.

Most co-op games have become fps’s or MMORPGs. And many of the last gen so called co-op games have made it so easy to play without a partner that when it comes time for someone to jump in, you would rather have the computer continue to fill that role. I am looking at you X-men Legends, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. So much easier to have the dumb computer tag along than a human counterpart, they don’t die as much or complain when I kill them.

This doesn’t mean all co-op games are dead. Some of the classics are being re-released on the Wii’s VC, Sony’s PSN, and the Xbox marketplace. There are still a few games from the last generation worth playing for co-op. Let me suggest a few:

• Time Splitters FP (PS2, GC, Xbox). Although it is an fps, playing through on co-op makes the game 10 times more fun. The studio recently went out of business so I doubt we’ll ever see a 3rd game.
• Twisted Metal Black (PS2). It is a short game, I would say the single player is maybe 6 hours? Still, with a partner, things are so much easier. Double the firepower equals double the punch, a sorely needed element in the boss fights. You can thank me later.
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (PS2,Xbox, GC). It may be lacking on ideas, but it’s a kick back to the old school with fourlayer support and voices yelling “Player 3 is getting low on health!”

You owe it to yourself to try at least one of these. Most of these games are readily found on Goozex for less than 300 points.