You don't hear that being said too often. GameStop is known for how it treats it's customers, co-workers and games like shit. They open new games to play themselves, sell them as new even tho they are used, buy stolen games, higher asshats, employees lie about pre-order amounts, they push reserves down your throat...I can go on. Usually it is not a fun experience going to GameStop. I have to agree. A lot of GameStop's over the years that I've walked in and out of have been shitty. One GameStop close by, however, has become a place of goodness among evil, and I want to tell to you about it.

When I moved to Colorado, one of the first things I looked up was where I was going to buy my video games from. Nerdy, yes, but I am what I am. I had a Best Buy, a GameStop in the mall, a GameStop on a corner, and this place called Game Force down in Boulder. Generally BestBuy is a good bet on finding games, but I didn't go there first. Game Force was too far and I was not a fan of going to the mall at the time so I skipped those. With doubt in my mind I walked into the corner GameStop and was greeted by a woman who I would have to guess is in her late 20's. I asked if they had the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection and she almost seemed to perk up at the mention of Street Fighter. "Yeah, we have one copy on the bottom shelf. Get it while it's here because it's hard to find PS2 versions of that anymore." That was true. Hearing that, I struck up a conversation on fighting games and this one time me and my friend searched far and wide in Ohio to find a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. She said that I could sell that for a lot, and if I didn't want it anymore, don't trade it in.

What? Did someone, a GameStop employee, just say not to trade in a game for shitty GameStop credit? Don't these people slice throats to get trade in's?

After that conversation and then some, I walked out happily with my copy of Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. I returned a week later looking for more fighting game-age. They did happen to have a fine selection of them, of all places. While I didn't buy anything that day, I met the manager. He's a cool guy named Andrew. After talking about random things such as release dates and how much people REALLY want GTA4, I left. More then a week later I returned looking for...something. I was probably stopping by for no real reason, just to kill time. That's not important. What is important is that as soon as I walked I was greeted by Andrew with "Hey Marc. Need anything?" I was shocked. I only net the guy once and he remembered my name. I felt like I was in some kind of Twilight Zone of GameStop's. Over more and more visits I've come to love this one GameStop. When I quit my old job (working at a gas station), I filled out and application with them and got an interview. I didn't get the job, but two days ago when I spoke to Andrew again, he said he's still not hiring but keeps my application on file. If I remember, the limit on holding applications for most retail stores is six months, and it's been over a year now.

So, despite all the asshole's and evil that can come from GameStop, I seem to have found one store of goodness and awesome. I can spend more then 5 minutes in the store without getting weird "You gonna buy something or what?" looks. I can buy something and not get nagged for pre-orders. The employees are human beings! Awesome. Pure awesome. So now I stop by any time I need anything, and it is good to have someplace to go you wont be jeered at.