Playing video games can be a very expensive hobby and even more so for those of us who consider ourselves not only gamers, but also video game collectors who maintain a library of artistically interesting and historically noteworthy games. With limited disposable income, the average gamer can only purchase so many titles at full price per year. So with that in mind, this is a blog feature devoted to finding the best deals on gaming essentials for would be collectors and anyone looking to play a good game at an affordable price.
For the debut of this blog column, I wanted to feature two games that I have been tracking for quite some time that I rarely see go on sale: Monster Tale for $13.99 and Radiant Historia for $19.99. I have yet to play either game, but I have been hearing good things on both titles for quite some time and thankfully GameCritics staff have reviewed both.
In the case of Monster Tale, our own Richard Naik had this to say about the unique gameplay in his review:
The gameplay relationship between Ellie and Chomp distinguishes it from just another Metroid mockup, creating a remarkable fusion of platforming and monster training sim mechanics. Chomp faithfully follows Ellie, sometimes clearing enemies for her or taking down obstacles. Ellie can let Chomp attack on his own or issue direct commands to use his powers. As Chomp levels up by either fighting or eating food, he learns new powers and eventually entirely new forms of his own. Chomp's powers range from quick projectile attacks, to powerful melee hits, to pure defensive abilities, so outfitting him with an eye towards strategy is critical.
As for Radiant Historia, our resident JRPG expert and horror afficienado, Mike Bracken drew a strong comparison between Radiant Historia and what many consider to be the greatest JRPG of all-time, Chrono Trigger in his review:
Fans of Chrono Trigger, rejoice! At long last there's another deep and engaging Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) that makes use of time travel. Radiant Historia, brought to us by the fine folks at Atlus, may be the most perfect spiritual successor to Square's classic game-yes, even moreso than Chrono Cross. Only a few niggling flaws keep it from being classic-but the end result is still one very good role playing experience.
Both games are part of a "4 Star Games Under $20" sale on Amazon, but since the sale is only for one day, be sure to act quickly.
Update: Sadly as for 3:30 pm EST, Radiant Historia, has already sold out under the discounted price. None the less, it's still a title worth highlighting and I'll be sure to feature it again if it goes on sale.
Somewhere between all the gaming, Chi some how managed to finish high school and get into the New York Institute of Technology. At the same time, Chi also interned at Virtual Frontiers, an Internet software consultancy where he learned the ways of HTML. Soon after acquiring his BFA, Chi went on to become the lead Web designer of the Anti-Defamation League. During his tenure there, Chi was instrumental in redesigning and relaunching the non-profit organization's Web site.
Today, Chi is the webmaster of the American Red Cross in Greater New York and somehow managed to work through the tragic events of September 11th without losing his sanity. Chi considers GameCritics.com his life's work and continues to be amazed that the web site is still standing after the recent dotcom fallout. It is his dream that GameCritics.com will accomplish two things: 1) Redefine the grammar of videogames much the same way French film critic Andre Bazin did for the art of cinema and 2) bring game criticism to the forefront of mainstream culture much the same way Siskel & Ebert did for film criticism.
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[quote=frogofdeath]Just wanted to say I am glad to see this type of feature return to GameCritics.com. As a long time reader, the Bargain Basement was probably my favorite thing to read on the site. Pleased to see something in a similar vein be part of the main page posts. As always, keep up the good work.[/quote] Hey Frog, I’m glad you saw the connection between Bargain Basement because I was definitely thinking along those lines. The reason why I tweaked it a bit to be collector focused was because writing a mini-review for Bargain Basement can be just as time… Read more »
Just wanted to say I am glad to see this type of feature return to GameCritics.com. As a long time reader, the Bargain Basement was probably my favorite thing to read on the site. Pleased to see something in a similar vein be part of the main page posts. As always, keep up the good work.