Random finds at used game store

General and high profile video game topics.
User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Random finds at used game store

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 3rd, 2017, 7:33 pm

While visiting family in Western MD I stopped at a local used game store.
The games I find most interesting are the ones I've never heard of.
Picked up a few random titles for cheap:

Tinhead (Genesis) - never heard of this one, but looks like a fun platformer. Despite being packaged in one of those flimsy red cardboard boxes, this is in surprisingly good shape.

Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (PS2) - I've been told I need to review the Tenchu series, which contains "real" ninja action. Still, I should probably begin with the original PS1 game.

Tony Hawk's Downhill Domination (Wii) - looks like a Tony Hawk skateboarding game with an arcade slant. I'm intrigued.

Snocross 2 (PS2) - saving this one for the first snowfall of the year.

Sprint Cars: Road to Knoxville (PS2) - I enjoyed my Xbox 360 Sprint Car game, and figured I'd pick this up to complete my Sprint Car collection (I think there are only two).

I'd like to hear about your game shop adventures as well.

User avatar
Stalvern
Posts: 1952
Joined: June 18th, 2016, 7:15 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby Stalvern » September 3rd, 2017, 9:29 pm

Tinhead is really fun. The jumping is twitchy and bizarre (you go up and down at a constant speed, so the trajectory is a triangle instead of an arc), but everything else is excellent. It's a bit like Vectorman, with big levels to explore and lots of enemies to shoot. Really nice (if twangy) Genesis music, too. I remember reading somewhere that there were planned SNES and Amiga versions that got cancelled.

My favorite games to buy blind are PC games from the mid-'90s or so. They don't tend to show up in game stores, but thrift shops usually have a few. Mission Critical (sci-fi adventure game) and Terminal Velocity (dogfighting game somewhere between Incoming and Descent) were good surprises.

User avatar
Retro STrife
Posts: 2530
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby Retro STrife » September 5th, 2017, 12:46 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (PS2) - I've been told I need to review the Tenchu series, which contains "real" ninja action. Still, I should probably begin with the original PS1 game.


Tenchu was an interesting series- I agree, start with the PS1 original. I played it quite a bit back in the day. My friend had the game and loved it, and played it constantly. I borrowed it from him and thought it was just ok. I just remember the dark atmosphere of the game, and everything relies completely on stealth..sneaking up on all your enemies. My guess is that it's the type of game that won't hold up well today, but still, it's a significant enough series that it's worth a review if you have time for it.

User avatar
Atariboy
Posts: 956
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 11:07 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby Atariboy » September 6th, 2017, 4:39 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:Sprint Cars: Road to Knoxville (PS2) - I enjoyed my Xbox 360 Sprint Car game, and figured I'd pick this up to complete my Sprint Car collection (I think there are only two)..


If you're a fan, you'll be happy to hear that's not the end and that the best one of them all awaits your attention. World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 for the Playstation 2 hasn't been reviewed here and is usually held in high regard by fans. For what it's worth, I enjoy it, too.

Meanwhile, THQ's Road to Knoxville (And there's also a sequel titled 'Showdown at Eldora') were viewed very negatively upon release. I never bothered with either THQ release due to the bad press, so I'll be curious to see what you think of it.

Wii also got a shovelware sprint car game.

Image

Unlike the THQ racers, I've actually played this one and can vouch that it's not a disaster. But it's very cheaply done and unlikely to be recommended by anyone.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 6th, 2017, 6:23 pm

Wow I didn't know about these other Sprint Cars games, but I will try to review them!
Thanks for the info guys.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby VideoGameCritic » November 7th, 2017, 7:56 pm

I was in Louisville over the weekend and stopped by the Half-Price Bookstore which had a small games section. Picked up some cheap titles in great condition:

Simpsons Wrestling (PS1) - Probably a novelty title but looking forward to giving it a try.
Escape From Monkey Island (PS2) - I had no idea this existed.
Salt Lake 2002 (PS2) - with Winter Olympics coming, seems appropriate.
Polaris Snocross (PS1) - looking forward to playing this during first snowfall.

Also picked up a Street Fighter 2 World Warrior Encyclopedia which I plan to include in an upcoming feature reviewing video game related books.

User avatar
Atariboy
Posts: 956
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 11:07 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby Atariboy » November 7th, 2017, 10:16 pm

Escape From Monkey Island is a great PC conversion on the PS2. That was still somewhat a rarity back then, with many PC to PS2 ports ending up pretty watered down.

I have a feeling you'll enjoy that one.

User avatar
Matchstick
Posts: 977
Joined: October 26th, 2017, 6:45 am

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby Matchstick » November 8th, 2017, 1:42 am

Whoa, Louisville - that's my hometown! It's pretty rare for me to hear of anyone mentioning it, especially casually in conversation like that. May I ask what brought you there, Critic?

If you plan on going there again, or travel there on a regular basis, I can definitely recommend a few smaller, local game stores for you to check out. Not sure how many are still in business (it's been nearly a decade since I've been back there) but as popular as a few locations were "back in the day," I'd imagine that most of them are still there.

First off, check out Book and Music Exchange. Locals call it "BME." It's located on Bardstown road, which is a pretty popular, busy street. The game section at BME has its own room, with tons of rare games, accessories, and a few import titles, too. Titles were pretty fair from what I remember. I used to travel there time and time again.

Another store I'd recommend is GameForce, which is also on Bardstown road. GameForce is about 15 miles west of BME, in a neighborhood of Louisville knows as Jeffersontown, or J-Town to the locals. Near the time I was moving away, this store was transitioning into a hybrid game store / skateshop (hmmmm...) but I thought that was kinda rad, honestly. As you can probably tell from my forum icon, I like games, and I like to skate! Plus, they used to have a full-size Die Hard Arcade coin-op machine that was set up for free play. It was more or less your typical used games store, along with DVDs and music. Fair prices, and regular sales on used games, too.

The last place I'd say to check out is The Great Escape. It's located on, you guessed it, Bardstown road, right in between BME and GameForce. TGE is more of a comics shop that happens to have games and toys, but the place has been there forever, and has that "old bookstore" feel (and smell!) to it. There aren't too many places you can load up on NES games, old school Transformers, and vintage copies of Heavy Metal magazine all in one go, and the selection at this place, at least when I used to go there, was second-to-none. Great prices, too!

Hopefully, you get a chance to check some of these places out. I hope they're still up and running!

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby DaHeckIzDat » November 8th, 2017, 10:20 am

The most surprising thing I've ever found was a PS3 copy of The Orange Box, which I was beginning to think was about as easy to find as the Arc of the Covenant.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Random finds at used game store

Postby VideoGameCritic » November 8th, 2017, 7:20 pm

Matchstick - I got a buddy who lives over there who I try to visit at least once a year. Thanks for the recommendations - I'll keep those in mind next time I'm in town!


Return to “Video Games General”