[General Discussion] IT'S A PRICE TRAP! EVADE EVADE! Ugghh...

[From journal entry]

Yes, I've done it, you may have done it, but when you're out shopping and a price tag of 50% off jumps out right at you, or if the game is selling for less than $10 and such, it doesn't always justify actually BUYING the damn thing.

Well I did it again, this time with Max Payne 2 for the PS2. Yes, I admit I was "blinded" by the $9.95 price from Best Buy, and said to myself I played MP1 on the PC years ago, and loved it. Surely I'll love this too!.

Um yeah, no. Well EB games, you keep boasting your trade and save, so it looks like I'll actually use this again, despite it being a total rip off. But oh well, at least I can get perhaps $3-$5 back if I'm lucky. And what's funny is my card expired, so I'll just be turning in a game for a new card.

Other "OMG so cheap deals that ate my ass":

1) Dark Cloud 1 - $13 or something like that used. Played it until the 3rd chapter - Queens, then traded it because I was damned bored.

2) AIR COMBAT - PS1 - $5.99 or something like that, just because. Don't ask.

3) King of Fighters '95 - PS1 - $2.99, again, I was like, herm, a fighting game. Certainly my gaming collection would like some fighting games.

4) Suikoden III - PS2. This one actually I got kinda ripped off, $35 for a used copy. =/ I played maybe 2-3 hours of it and hated it, despite it getting "superb" scores from various game sites. Sorry to Sui fans, this was my first Suikoden game, and I'm not too inclinded to try anything much else. I just couldn't get the hang of the "3 parties of 2 people each" battle deal. Traded this for a surprising $14 credit, I guess this is a sought after PS2 game, but better for it to go to someone who can appreciate it more than I do.

5) Game already mentioned to start this journal entry off.

HEY SPATULA, YOU DO REALIZE THEY PRICE THESE THINGS AT DIRT CHEAP BECAUSE NO BODY ELSE IS IDIOTIC TO WASTE THEIR MONEY ON IT! EVEN A LOTTERY TICKET IS WORTH MORE THAN THIS!

As "inspired" by my journal entry, in this thread, discuss games that you bought pretty much on impulse because of super cheap prices, and ended up REGRETTING the purchase. Also share the price if you remember and if you read the reviews or not. =/ Ya know, so I don't feel so bad for myself, and take that others have fallen into the same 'price trap'.

I guess the moral of the story is: SAVE YOUR MONEY! (for better games lolololol)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'm a big fan of those older gamers that come in big boxes. Most of them are cheap, but suck too.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Bode Miller Alpine Skiing-$10. Not bad for the price...Until I actually decide to sit down and play it. It IS worth it for the terrible announcing, especially on wipeouts.

Invasion from Beyond-$10 again. Little known game for PS1. Great framerate, horrible gameplay. I don't enjoy receiving an automatic gameover for not "staying in fucking formation"...I prefer getting blown up.

Gran Turismo 2-$20. Figured I'd take a chance. It only taught me: A) I loathe driving sims B) I loathe driving sims with license tests even more than average driving sims and C) the sim disc breaks a lot easier than the arcade disc.

Megaman X8-Good thing I waited for the price on this one to drop to $20 (didn't take long)...It's not even worth that, thanks to atrocious level designs, which seem to be the norm for the series now.

Metroid Prime 1-$10. I can see where people like this one, but I couldn't get into it. I ended up trading it in and got about 80 cents for it.

Legend of Mana-$20 new. I've had it for 6 years, I've been able to stay awake long enough playing it for maybe 8 hours.

Tiny Toons Wacky Stackers-$10 new. Horrible puzzle game. Braindead AI, awful mechanics and the license is barely used.

That said, I generally do pretty well buying cheaper games...I probably wouldn't have tried games like Ace Combat 4 or Burnout 3 if hadn't gotten them after their price drops, but I'm definitely glad I did.

Edit: Of the ones I listed, the reviews for Prime, GT2, X8 and Invasion were glowing and it played a minor role in my purchase decisions. The others were either not rated or just considered so-so in reviews I saw.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Glad to see I'm not the only one getting suckered in with CHEAP CHEAP prices. They had a sale at Canadian Superstore liquidating very old PS1 games. The only good ones were FFVII and FFT for like $5.99. Other than that, you've got your PS1 FORD RACING EXCITEMENT, Crash Bandicoot 1, and some misc tennis game extreme .

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hell, I bought Crisisbeat for €9.95, which isn't even that cheap =/



The game is a completely awful scrolling beat 'em up with completely awful controls and collision detection, but my inner wap gets a boner because they retained the Japanese dialogue. WHY THE HELL CAN'T BETTER GAMES DO THIS ;_;
Not that I could really play beyond the first level because it was just that awful.

I like to keep it on my shelf to remind how even I can be a complete idiot when it comes to sales (and I generally like to think I have good judgement). Then there's the camp value of course, I like to have the few oddities in my shelf, like Ephemeral Fantasia.

How ya doing, buddy?

well when I got my ps2 (like 1-2 week after the release date) I was really deperate to get new game for it and everybody know how awful the first batch of games was, and I ended up buying Fantavision for 5$can. You know this weird game with the fireworks? well it's not that bad, it's just that I played one tiem with it and never touch it again in years XD (but sometime I play just for the pretty fireworks effect XD)

but beside this game, i never actualy buy a game only because it was cheap...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Again, Fantavision for a mere 9.99 looks really good, but I really didn't know better. I was bored stiff, especially with the initial difficulty being very steep for me. I don't appreciate playing through the first stage every time and not being able to save. Being one of the first PS2 games, I think I should have watched out for sure.

Beyond Good or Evil did seem all right for 9.99 or so. However, I regretted it because the brand new disc would freeze for some reason after the part right at the start where Jade faints. Gee, more like a problem with the disc somehow, so I didn't play it enough to see what all the hype was about. I never bothered to purchase BG&E again, despite having traded it in for about the same value.

$4.99 for Gearheads, a really old Windows 95 game I saw in my first gaming magazine, Gamepro's December 1995 issue. I was going by the fact that it was apparently dirt cheap and that I had wanted this game for a long time until I forgot about it a couple of years further. I realized that there's a reason it's cheap, and there's a reason it wasn't very popular. I haven't so much as touched the game since I played it many weeks ago.

FELIPE NO

D2 (Dreamcast) - $7.99. I had the first game for Playstation. D was interesting because of the puzzles, so when I saw the sequel, I thought the game would be similar. It was very different and too many elements had been changed.

Ephemeral Fantasia (PS2) - $19.99. Looking back, that's still expensive for a game I regret owning. I played for about six hours and realized that I couldn't go on further.

Threads of Fate/Dew Prism (PSX) - $8.99. I remember getting this one on my way out of the store. I finished Mint's story only and didn't bother with the second character. The game only lasted about ten hours for me, and except for a few challenging bosses, I haven't picked it up again.

How ya doing, buddy?

hey quarky, i got this g4me calld ico for liek $13 dollars, and its really ...liek stupid your this dude wit horns on teh h34d that has to like drag this b1tch around and i dont like it so y3ah wh4t4 waste of tim3. needs moar rockety luanchers amirite.


___________


Seriously though, another game I just thought of was Sly Cooper 1 for $9.99. This game itself wasn't too bad, but I bought it purely out of the cheap price. I didn't get past the first stage, as at the time I wanted a more "mature" title that involved killing with more conventional weapons, not so much his swiping cane thing. =/

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Quote:

Legend of Mana-$20 new. I've had it for 6 years, I've been able to stay awake long enough playing it for maybe 8 hours.

First, before I begin, I just have to say that you suck. Go play in traffic.


Ok, now that I'm done with that, onto the topic.

Games I regret?

Beyond the Beyond (PSX) - $9.99 at some used games store. Between the crappy graphics and boring storyline, I lost interest fast.

Darkstone (PSX) - $9.99 new at Kmapart. Horrific loading times, 6 blocks to save, boring gameplay, crappy music (what little existed)

Parasite Eve 2 (PSX) - After having loved the original, I thought this would be an awesome game. It was...for about 5 minutes. Then it proceeded to suck more than Monica Lewinsky.

Final Fantasy Anthology (PSX) - Got this used at a rental store. I liked FF VI, really. But the loading times and awful music quality PAINS ME SO. And makes my ears bleed. Give me the SNES version anyday please. And FF V was plagued with the same problems and a boring overall game. ;_;

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quote:

Final Fantasy Anthology (PSX) - Got this used at a rental store. I liked FF VI, really. But the loading times and awful music quality PAINS ME SO. And makes my ears bleed. Give me the SNES version anyday please. And FF V was plagued with the same problems and a boring overall game. ;_;

Ya know, I was considering getting this since I wanted to see the CGed stuff they did for FFVI, but NOW I KNOW (and the less I'll have to lament in this very thread).

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Sir VG

Final Fantasy Anthology (PSX) - Got this used at a rental store. I liked FF VI, really. But the loading times and awful music quality PAINS ME SO. And makes my ears bleed. Give me the SNES version anyday please. And FF V was plagued with the same problems and a boring overall game. ;_;

I looked everywhere for this one and although the loading times were indeed slow, I played through both games. I don't regret getting the PSX version, but at the time, it was the only one available. The same can be said about the Greatest Hits copy of Xenogears I have.

How ya doing, buddy?

Quote:

Ya know, I was considering getting this since I wanted to see the CGed stuff they did for FFVI, but NOW I KNOW (and the less I'll have to lament in this very thread).

Just have somebody rip them. The CG stuff was indeed nice (much nicer than FF Chronicles), but just leave the rest of the game alone.

Quote:

I looked everywhere for this one and although the loading times were indeed slow, I played through both games. I don't regret getting the PSX version, but at the time, it was the only one available. The same can be said about the Greatest Hits copy of Xenogears I have.

To each their own. But I own the SFC versions, because I'm crazy. ^^;;

I was speaking idiomatically.

I very rarely make these kind of mistakes. Usually when I go to the videogame store, I know what I'm going to buy, and I pick it up, pay, and leave. Sometimes reviews, previews and other such things have helped me make that decision months in advance. However, there were a few games that I bought because they looked appealing and cheap, so I can't say I've never done it.

1) Final Fantasy X2: I've never played this for more than a total of four hours. It just bores me that much. My roomie last year loved it though. Go fig.

2) Max Payne 2: I just don't play this type of game that much. Despite it being cheap, this one has been no exception. The first one was an exception, hence the purchase.

3) Phantom Brave: I thought that because it was by Nippon Ichi, and cheap to boot, I couldn't go wrong. I have been more mistaken in my life, but not by much.

4) Enclave: It sucks. When I first got my xbox, I was looking for some cheap games to fill out the collection. This game has sat on my shelf constantly ever since the first day.

There is also that short list of games that I intended to buy which turned out to be utter dogs, but that's not what this thread is about. Those are my four big "impulse buy" regrets.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Ya know, I could expand this thread to games that we planned to buy, but after reviews, STAYED CLEAR AWAY ( a lesson the Titanic could have used, LOL)

Also, I learned about FFX-2 the easy way (playing it at a friends house). :saves $20:

FELIPE NO

The Lion King (MD/Gen) don't remeber the price but it was dog cheap too: ... just don't ask.

Nightmare Creatures 2 (DC) around 10€ (bought before money change): Boy this game looked like it has coded in QBasic Plus it was dead boring.

Waverace (GC) 9.90€: Not a bad game, just not my style but I bought it anyway since it was so cheap... ended up hating it obviously.

Viewtiful Joe (GC) around 15€: The worst game I ever bought, not only is repetitive to no end (complete game walkthrough: dodge skull -> SlowRHOH) but it goes further by bastardarizing the awsome game genre that it side-scrolling beat-em-up. If that wasn't enough it ungodly hard! Worst game ever and not worthy 0.01€ (I don't care about you Viewtiful fans, so don't bother)

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I was interested in getting Viewtiful Joe as I was looking for a side scroller beat em up. Now my hopes are dashed to pieces. ;_;

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sir VG

First, before I begin, I just have to say that you suck. Go play in traffic.


Parasite Eve 2 (PSX) - After having loved the original, I thought this would be an awesome game. It was...for about 5 minutes. Then it proceeded to suck more than Monica Lewinsky.

Legend of Mana sucks balls, VG. It's repetitive, and a fucking raping of the Mana name. It is nothing but a sidescrolling slasher with no innovations or entertainment value. Too fucking bad for you. Figures you'd like it though, it, like a lot of the things you like, is meant for people under 14.

And also, a Lewinsky joke? Thanks a lot for the topical reference there, Leno. God, you just suck so hard.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I was also looking for one and I got VJoe once I found it out... after 30 minutes of play I knew I was up to something frustrating instead of fun.
The entire game is like this:
- Go near a baddie
- Dodge the skull (it show if the baddie will do a high or low attack)
- Hold R trigger (slow), press B (zoom) and then hold Y (punch)
- Repeat

This is the same for every enemy in the game be it a weak baddie or the final boss.... plud the game in insanely hard if you try to beat it 'freestyle', instead you have to learn the patterns of the bosses and baddies. And that's pretty much it, the enemy's AI is nothing but a set of repetitive patterns, even SoR1 has better AI (MisterX anyone?)
And that special power while dies loads of damage it's really annoying since the zoom will restrict the 'camera' to Joe, ie. Joe will occupy the whole screen and you won't be able to see anything asides him.

To make things worst the replay value is none, if you manage to finish it in normal (adults) dificulty you gain access to a even harder (!) dificulty (V-Rated) and to a new character, Sylvia, that instead of being stronger to even the odds with the new harder dificulty she is twice as weaker, each attack makes the double of the damage it did to Joe making the game twice as hard!
Every new character is weaker than Joe meaning there's no drive to use any of them, realisticly most of us won't even bother to unlock Sylvia left alone the other where you need to beat the game in hard and ultra hard!!!!!!! WTF were they thinking?

Unless you like insanely hard games based on strick, repetitive patterns VJoe isn't for you, stick with Comix Zone and Streets of Rage instead.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Spatula

I was interested in getting Viewtiful Joe as I was looking for a side scroller beat em up. Now my hopes are dashed to pieces. ;_;

Right, because a member named devilmaycry thought it's crap (and who apparently thought it was too hard and felt it was repetitive because he kept using the same move over and over). I suppose if xcloudiroth6 posted here and said San Andreas sucked, you'd immediately need to stop playing it, right? Or did that already happen with Vagrant Story? >=0

I personally wouldn't touch the PS2 version (which you obviously planned on doing), but the GC version of VJ is an awesome game. It's inventive, it's hard as fuck but still hilariously entertaining, with a bold and wonderful aesthetic design and superb controls.
I guess you can get tired of it eventually, but then that will happen with any game. And when is a scrolling beat 'em up not "repetitive"? VJ certainly didn't feel tired to me, though Fire Leo makes me weep.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Quote:

Or did that already happen with Vagrant Story? >=0

Cloudakilraa666 said it sucked balls and you can only do 1 damage to regular enemies so I stopped playing it yes, and he also said ICO was made of devil and lose so I stopped playing that too oh wait. So I should go get a game cube then okay Q. >_> God of War is pretty rinse and repeat, but strangely fun. And also Q didn't catch my sarcasm, after reading it and it only got a 88% so I dunno. But oh wait the GC gets over 91%.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Spatula

Also, I learned about FFX-2 the easy way (playing it at a friends house). :saves $20:

Although I regret buying it, I can't find it in me to begrudge my roomie the endless hours of fun he got from it. He's the type who plays like two games a year, but plays them about 8 hours a day. On that basis, although I regret spending the money on it, I don't entirely regret possessing it. He has a bizarre taste in games.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Then sell it to him! Then both parties should be happy.

How ya doing, buddy?

Any game that sucks is a price trap, at any price. Unfortunately, low prices lower our barriers of resistance to picking up crap. I've learned my lesson, but I am still definitely a cheap ass gamer. It's a dangerous job, but somebody's gotta do it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Ah shit man you certainly can't go wrong with these fine racing games!







C'mon, Ford always wants the best for the gamer.

So awesome, even 3 year olds can enjoy them!

Jam it back in, in the dark.