Console Games for $20 or Less
Posted on January 21, 2007
Note: I get a commission for any game that you buy after you click through the link.
This will become a weekly feature. I will search through the offerings at Amazon and gather my favorite picks in one post. After all, a good deal is a good deal, right?
A Link to the Past ($17.99) — Gameboy Advance
I mentioned this one before, but the price has gone down since I talked about it last. $18 for a Zelda game that was released for the SNES is a pretty good steal, since some people (will, my friend) asserts that this is the best Zelda ever. I still enjoy the Minish cap more than this one, but, hey, it’s part of the Zelda series, which just lets it speak for itself.
It also has the “Four Swords” extension that allows you to hook your Gameboy Advance to your Gamecube to play the critically-acclaimed Four Swords Adventures. Of course, you’ll need four other friends, too.
Sly Cooper: Band of Thieves is the follow up to Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. It has the same cel-shaded animation and the same quirky humor as the first game. In this game, you can play as Sly’s other friends in order to complete certain levels. The gameplay is pretty well-done and it goes in the same vein as its predecessor.
This is a great deal and I hope you take advantage of it. If not this week, then at a time that you want to play a good platformer. If you like Ratchet and Clank, you’d like this one. Or, even better, if you played any of the other Sly games, you’d like this one.
Come back next week for more under $20 picks from Amazon.com. Hope you liked this week’s features.
Filed Under Not Free, Video Games, Under $20 | 4 Comments
Bookworm Adventures: Trial Play Review
Posted on January 20, 2007
Rarely does a game’s trial spike as much interest as Bookworm Adventures did for me. Even more ironically,
I’m not much of a fan for the regular Bookworm game. As in, I’d play it, but I wouldn’t pay $20 for the complete version. However, this hybrid RPG/Word game does wonders for the word game genre.
In it, you play Lex, the now-recognizable bookworm. The fact that he is horrendously over-sized (the worm equivalent to Godzilla, I would say), doesn’t matter too much because he isn’t exactly a gross-looking bookworm. He’s quite endearing, actually. Leave it to Popcap games to make an endearing bookworm.
Anyhow, you battle foes by putting together words in from the letters in the box underneath the action. Words with a higher point value deal more damage to your opponent. It’s a rather ingenious way to incorporate the word game and RPGs together. Okay, now I sound like I’m repeating myself.
In my 30 minute taste of Bookworm Adventures, I managed to acquire three different power-ups. In normal gameplay, the power-ups will probably allow Lex to do more damage, heal himself, or protect himself. You seem to be only to hold three at a time; you acquire them by defeating the boss at the end of each level.
So far, I’ve had no quibbles with this game and actually quite enjoyed it. The concept is original and it is pulled off superbly. Even those with a phobia of their English teachers will love it. If I wasn’t being so stingy with my money this semester, I definitely would have paid for the game.
Filed Under Not Free, Video Games, Downloads, Extremely Happy Rating | 4 Comments
Best Undownloadable Games for under $20
Posted on December 20, 2006
Christmas is on Monday. Today’s your LAST chance to get anything by Dec. 22 if you order from Amazon. So get your last minute on-line shopping done and over with. Here’s my suggestion of fun, yet amazingly cheap, games playable on any home or handheld console. (In no particular order, might I add).
Escape from Monkey Island — Windows ($19 from Amazon Sellers)
This jewel case version for Windows (it works on XP, if anyone’s wondering, although it’s made for older versions) is a little wonky with the controls, but still has that genuine Monkey Island humor to it. You play as Guybrush Threepwood (Mighty Pirate) as he wanders (erm… sails) through the Caribbean trying to bring his wife back from being legally declared dead. And other mishaps leads him back to that place he was before: Monkey Island. Fun all around.
Sidenote: Okay, fanboys, eat me up now, since I know you think this is the worst of the Monkey Island series. Read more
