Diary Entry #12: Shopping Spree Stuff

                I've been playing Ultima V very erratically. All I really can do is wander to all the different towns, though I am very intrigued by the story that is unfolding. I've talked to a group of resistance members at midnight near a well, found a resistance base in an underground base, and even blasted a cannon through Lord British's throne room. There's a couple in depth descriptions elsewhere, so I'm not going to bother going into too much detail unless I find something that really piques my interest. I also played through the first level of Fade to Black, a feat that my dad was never able to accomplish back in 1996.

                For my girlfriend's birthday, we hit up a few hot shopping spots that we've largely ignored over the past few months. The cold winter has been pretty brutal, but it was good to get back out in my usual video game buying stomping grounds. The first place we hit up was Play 'N' Trade, which had some good deals.

                I really love handheld RPGs, so the Harry Potter Game Boy Color games have always been a most wanted for me. It probably won't be any Final Fantasy Legend or Sword of Mana stuff, but I needed it anyway. Next on my must-buy list: Animorphs, a Pokemon ripoff for GBC. This was a couple of bucks complete. I've only bought a handful of boxed Game Boy Color/Advanced games: Gunstar Super Heroes, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Planet of the Apes. The latter is probably the weirdest, a Prince of Persia rip off where your only goal is to collect lots of flags.

                

                Also at Play 'N' Trade, I got Shenmue 2, .hack Infection, and Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze. I've already played through the European Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2, but getting the American version is a good excuse to replay one of my favorite games. Gadget's Crazy Maze looks like it's a Windows 95 game, meaning it's a game I'll love. .hack games have been getting more expensive on eBay, so I jumped at the opportunity to buy the first one. I guess it's supposed to be a poor man's Kingdom Hearts. Since I think that game sucks, maybe I'll find it to be the good man's Kingdom Hearts.

                I got the random CSI PC game at the Salvation Army next door. With all of the CSI and Law and Order video games out there, I'm sure there's some really good ones. I figure this random title from 2002 will be a good entry point into the licensed crime drama game genre.

                We also stopped at a vintage toy store, which had an interesting array of goodies. All the games were over-priced, but these Sonic books were too good to pass up. After browsing the initial chapters of Sonic X-TREME, I've determined that these books will make great bathroom reads. They follow the same continuity of the classic Saturday Morning Sonic the Hedgehog show, much like the Sonic comics that are still around today. Target reading level appears to be third grade, but whatever. After years of undergraduate and graduate level English courses, I think I've earned the right to read some elementary level stuff. I'll give in depth reviews as I read through them.

                I'm torn between continuing Ultima V and starting .hack. The former is a rich and innovative RPG, while the latter is ridiculous crap. I'm excited about both.