When Rare Games Aren't Rare

I'm kind of on the fence about something that is happening in the industry right now. Some rare titles like Gitaroo Man and Rez (both PS2 titles) have been reissued. GameQuestDirect has commissioned reprints of these titles (and others) that dilute the market just when you think you'll never find a copy at a reasonable price again.

While I applaud this when I'm looking for a title, it's kind of annoying when you already own it to think that the value of your prized posession has suddenly gone down.

I think as long as the title is exactly the same, and the "reprints" are somewhat limited in scope, the rarity and desiredness will still be there. Look at the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game on the DS. The third re-printing sold out within a week and the next installment is not due until mid-August. The game is selling because it's a good game, the publisher just didn't think it would do as well as it did.

Overall, this makes you wonder: do publishers really get what we want as gamers? I don't think so.

Sly 3 - Finally Finished

So I finally finished Sly 3 on the weekend. Yeah, I know it's been out for over 6 months...but when you have as many games as I do, it's hard to find time to finish or play ANY of them. Sly 3 makes the 32nd game I've finished (since I've been keeping track anyways, for the last few years). I found it *really* hard to get into at first. Not hard to play, just hard to keep my attention. In fact, I had started playing it before and then got distracted by Genji, Harry Potter, Zathura, NeoPets and Ape Escape 3.

All in all, the game was very well done. As I find with many sequels, some of the "magic" gets lost that is present in the first titles. You certainly can't complain about the variety of gameplay .... from controlling a large squid, to driving, to fending off sharks not to mention the platforming. I found the platforming was really light in this version and was complaining about it just up to the point where I entered the Cooper family vault. Then I shut up. :)

The game was challenging but not hard. Just how it should be. Couple of frustrating moments (I didn't like that 'controlling the shark with the guru' thing AT ALL). There seemed to be some closure in the storyline ... but with the building of the time machine (yeah, sorry no spoiler alert).... maybe there will be a next-gen Sly on the PS3. Sucker Punch is clearly up to something. I think maybe a new IP would be great, but I'd be happy to revisit Sly again.