Comments for Project Echelon :: X-Blogs

Comment on GAME enters the ‘dead-room’ by Simon Watts

Simon Watts — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:17:00 +0000

I know a lot of people like Game for the pre-order bonuses and reward points. For me, where I shop is always based on price or transparent trade in prices (e.g. CEX, HMV). My sister ran a very successful independent game shop for many years. It had plenty of competition but they kept their prices as low as they could and their trade-ins fair. They only got out of it simply due to retirement.

Comment on Catherine Review by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:50:36 +0000

I’m glad someone has come up with an article on this as I’ve heard a little about it and was a bit in the dark on what it was all about.
Thanks for your review Paul, it sounds a very interesting game, even if a little ‘alternative’ to what most folk might choose at first. Sounds like it could be quite an immersive adventure as well, and I do enjoy a game with a few twists and morally challenging decisions!

Comment on GAME enters the ‘dead-room’ by Paul Mitchell

Paul Mitchell — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:10:17 +0000

I suspect if GAME go and take GameStation with it, there’s zero hope for independent retailers. A friend of mines owned a store in Glasgow city centre and folded inside of a year not due to competition entirely, but partly due to high costs. It’s all online now. I firmly believe it’s only a matter of time before any high street retail is purely groceries for the quick food & drink requirements, or clothing for the convenience of being able to try stuff before purchase.

Comment on GAMEfest 2011 Day 3 by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:05:30 +0000

Sadly I havent played any of the Mass Effect games (yet) but you’ve prompted me to look into the series now.
I was interested to read what you thought of Forza 4, and I’m sure everyone will breathe a deep sigh of relief at your kudos of the game.

James, you’ve done a great 3 day review for us, and this last article is a great wrap-up to the event. Thank you once again!

Comment on GAMEfest 2011 Day 2 by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:00:42 +0000

Oh. My. Goodness.
Lost in awe at he whole Ghost Recon series, so Future Soldier is high on my purchase list and definately in the centre of my radar. You’ve decribed it exactly as I hoped it would be and I can’t wait for March 2012 when it’s released.
Not so fussed on the Assassin’s Creed multiplayer, but encouraging to hear the solo campaign will up the stakes on storyline and graphical impact.

Comment on GAMEfest 2011 Day 1 by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:49:58 +0000

James, thank you so much for writing not only a superb review, but also your first article for us!
You’ve put a lot of work into this and your reporting detail is fantastic. I really appreciate you doing this.
The whole three days sound like quite an adventure, and you’ve oviously enjoyed it!

I was particulalr keen to hear your thoughts on Battlefield 3, and it’s great to see everyone’s hopes will be met with this game.

Equally I was keen to hear about Modern Warfare 3 as well, but it seems you were quite disapointed in the presentation of the game. Everything I’ve seen so far (news, screenshots, and videos) has been quite encouraging so far, so hearing the final product isn’t ticking the boxes is a real shame. There’s alot of high hopes for this game in Project Echelon.

Thanks again for writing!

Comment on Chook’s Chronicles #2 – Adventures in the ‘Pre-owned Zone’ by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:47:39 +0000

Thanks Simon, good to get feedback. How do you find the renting of games? Are you pressured to get through them in a certain timescale before needing to return disks? I’ve not had any experience of hiring games really, although I know people who use LoveFilm etc. I’ve heard of CEX too but don’t have one near me to check prices, and I thought they were more to do with mobile phones these days. Yes I agree, Blockbuster do have some great deals on for buyers, but for trading in you lose so much money, unlike a few years ago when I would have sworn by them. Personally I don’t fancy a digital download only generation, as I’d feel a bit naked without a disk lol…

Comment on Chook’s Chronicles #2 – Adventures in the ‘Pre-owned Zone’ by Simon Watts

Simon Watts — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:03:58 +0000

A nice comprehensive article. Trade ins have their ups and downs for sure. I’ve grown towards only buying new for the big releases that I’ll never trade and have switched to renting as the pile of shame gives me too much guilt. I wish stores were more open about their trade in prices. CEX and HMV (albeit by an iOS or Android App) are the only ones that allow you to see what your games are worth before you go in. CEX are generally good value but their prices to buy can be a bit higher sometimes. Blockbuster have some brilliant sales from time to time but their trade in prices are terrible in my experience. I do dislike GAME and Gamestation’s motto as generally they will be beaten until challenged but at least t the option is there. In a brave new world of next next gen, who’s to say it won’t all be digital download – gulp!

Comment on Chook’s Chronicles #2 – Adventures in the ‘Pre-owned Zone’ by Chris Allan

Chris Allan — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:07:48 +0000

I’m glad you added that about the online content Paul as I had actually written a bit about it around Hot Pursuit, and ended up losing it in a formatting screw-up with the picture alignment lol. Thanks for filling in the gap there. It is very important to remember that when buying pre-owned, and I think it was your good self that mentioned that to me after I’d bought the game. In my opinion they should reduce the price of the new games if they’re going to charge for online passes.

Comment on Chook’s Chronicles #2 – Adventures in the ‘Pre-owned Zone’ by Paul Mitchell

Paul Mitchell — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:33:34 +0000

Good article dude. I personally don’t tend to go for pre-owned titles at all. Oddly, not due to any snobbery around fresh copies being better, but becasue I generally don’t go into stores at all and do near all of my shopping online

I think one point well worth a mention however is that more and more games are using an online pass. You mention NFS Hot Pursuit and Homefront, but both titles require an online pass to play. These are available on the XBox marketplace at 800MSP each, but it adds another £6.80 to your preowned purchase. I’m pretty sure FIFA 11 also uses this, so unless there’s £7+ saving over a new purchase (which comes with the online pass included) then you don’t save a lot in the end