Tomb Raider Underworld
So, I've been saving up this year for a Playstation 3.
Initially I tried zapping money into my savings account, and labeled this money Playstation Money. But by the end of the month, I found that we could use the money elsewhere, so it was zapped straight back out of the savings account and labeled Dinner.
In the early part of the year, Jo gave me a gift card for Game, which for our American friends is a nationwide computer games store. I can only spend money on this gift card in Game. I then decided that the best way to save up for a Playstation 3 was to continue adding money to this gift card. I have been adding money to this card on a monthly basis, and at the end of November I had £250 on my Game card. I decided to get my Playstation on Boxing Day, and have been eagerly monitoring Game's PS3 offers online over the last month.
On about the 10th, they offered a PS3, with Tomb Raider Underworld and Little Big Planet for £300, which is the RRP of a PS3 with NO games. They withdrew this offer after a week or so, and replaced it with some thoroughly uninspiring offers. I went in on Boxing Day determined to get a reasonable deal. Here's what I ended up doing:
I bought the "I Am Legend Blu-Ray" Playstation 3 set, which came free with Little Big Planet, FIFA 09 and a PS3 remote. As soon as they gave me this pack, I asked to trade in I Am Legend and FIFA 09. This earned me £24 towards Tomb Raider Underworld. TRU was on sale at £24.98, so I ended up paying about £1 more than I wanted, but got a free remote control thrown in! I was reasonably satisfied with the result of the negotiations.
So, Tomb Raider Underworld. As with the previous game, it was disappointingly short - there are only 6 levels. The puzzles seemed few and far between, with a far greater dependency on leaping about from ledge to ledge and from pillar to post. There was some kind of adrenaline/head shot thing that was going on, but I ignored it (read: tried once and failed to do it properly), and found that combat was easy enough anyway. There were NO BOSSES! Treasures weren't hidden, they were just sort of lying about, mostly in jars. Also Lara seemed to have little respect for stacks of pots that were potentially thousands of years old, as she gladly kicked them to see what was in them. Also she had no compunction in killing endangered tigers or yeti. But the worst thing was that we bought it on Boxing Day and completed it this afternoon! With dozens of "treasures" to be "found" in each level, I can't be arsed going back and doing it all over again. Thank goodness I only paid 98p for it!
I've taken it back to Game now and traded it in for Dynasty Warriors 6. I also traded in Tomb Raider Anniversary on PS2, and used some points on my reward card. Consequently DW6 only cost me £2.08! However, if DW6 is anything like the previous 5, there should be MONTHS of gameplay in it rather than 4 days.
And Little Big Planet? I've barely played it. It appears to be narrated by Stephen Fry though which is a pleasant surprise.
In other news, is Jonjo in town? Jo bought me Hotel for Christmas and we should all play it! The rules are printed on the inside of the lid. What were the Jonjo Rules again? Compulsory Purchases, I think. Also, we have noticed that we're doing nothing for New Year's Eve. Would anybody like to come over here and help me mark a full year of having given up smoking by getting drunk and probably keeping Lexy awake? I've got the recharger for my dad's video camera, so I plan to put some more Lexy up soonish. Probably when he's got over his first cough, which he's currently not enjoying.
Initially I tried zapping money into my savings account, and labeled this money Playstation Money. But by the end of the month, I found that we could use the money elsewhere, so it was zapped straight back out of the savings account and labeled Dinner.
In the early part of the year, Jo gave me a gift card for Game, which for our American friends is a nationwide computer games store. I can only spend money on this gift card in Game. I then decided that the best way to save up for a Playstation 3 was to continue adding money to this gift card. I have been adding money to this card on a monthly basis, and at the end of November I had £250 on my Game card. I decided to get my Playstation on Boxing Day, and have been eagerly monitoring Game's PS3 offers online over the last month.
On about the 10th, they offered a PS3, with Tomb Raider Underworld and Little Big Planet for £300, which is the RRP of a PS3 with NO games. They withdrew this offer after a week or so, and replaced it with some thoroughly uninspiring offers. I went in on Boxing Day determined to get a reasonable deal. Here's what I ended up doing:
I bought the "I Am Legend Blu-Ray" Playstation 3 set, which came free with Little Big Planet, FIFA 09 and a PS3 remote. As soon as they gave me this pack, I asked to trade in I Am Legend and FIFA 09. This earned me £24 towards Tomb Raider Underworld. TRU was on sale at £24.98, so I ended up paying about £1 more than I wanted, but got a free remote control thrown in! I was reasonably satisfied with the result of the negotiations.
So, Tomb Raider Underworld. As with the previous game, it was disappointingly short - there are only 6 levels. The puzzles seemed few and far between, with a far greater dependency on leaping about from ledge to ledge and from pillar to post. There was some kind of adrenaline/head shot thing that was going on, but I ignored it (read: tried once and failed to do it properly), and found that combat was easy enough anyway. There were NO BOSSES! Treasures weren't hidden, they were just sort of lying about, mostly in jars. Also Lara seemed to have little respect for stacks of pots that were potentially thousands of years old, as she gladly kicked them to see what was in them. Also she had no compunction in killing endangered tigers or yeti. But the worst thing was that we bought it on Boxing Day and completed it this afternoon! With dozens of "treasures" to be "found" in each level, I can't be arsed going back and doing it all over again. Thank goodness I only paid 98p for it!
I've taken it back to Game now and traded it in for Dynasty Warriors 6. I also traded in Tomb Raider Anniversary on PS2, and used some points on my reward card. Consequently DW6 only cost me £2.08! However, if DW6 is anything like the previous 5, there should be MONTHS of gameplay in it rather than 4 days.
And Little Big Planet? I've barely played it. It appears to be narrated by Stephen Fry though which is a pleasant surprise.
In other news, is Jonjo in town? Jo bought me Hotel for Christmas and we should all play it! The rules are printed on the inside of the lid. What were the Jonjo Rules again? Compulsory Purchases, I think. Also, we have noticed that we're doing nothing for New Year's Eve. Would anybody like to come over here and help me mark a full year of having given up smoking by getting drunk and probably keeping Lexy awake? I've got the recharger for my dad's video camera, so I plan to put some more Lexy up soonish. Probably when he's got over his first cough, which he's currently not enjoying.