So here's the progression of events.

1) Sim 3 comes out. I purchase said Sims in a retail environment in exchange for real Human Monies.

2) Best Buy has a 1/2 off sale on point cards for the Sims. Sim-meep is getting along well and I want to get him a DLC tiki lamp. Despite my skepticism at the system, I pick eight of the things.

3) Sim-meep starts getting mad lady action. The game is shelved in a mix of jealous and self-loathing.

4) A pile of point cards shows up in the mail. Swearing commences.

5) It is discovered that Sims points are actually generic "EA points" that can be used in their store. Dragon Age is nearing release. An inquisitive eyebrow is duly cocked.

6) The collector's edition of DA sells out everywhere but the EA store. A heavenly shaft of light pierces the clouds and shines on the pile of cards currently relegated to the Corner of Shame on my desk.

7) Six and a half cards are traded for the CE. There is peace.

8) Now, about to install DA for the first time, I go to the EA store in expectation of being able to buy the inevitable DLC there and burn off the last of the cards. They are nowhere to be found.

9) I venture to the Dragon's Age website, clicking around to locate the DLC. Eventually, I find it.



Seriously guys, fuck you. I'm playing Torchlight first now. Go sit in the goddamn Corner of Shame.

Will you marry me?

Technically these are from two different locations, but da-yum all the same.

So, as I've been posting up and down for the last day or two, I was trying to track down a copy of the Dragon Age CE. When news broke that a special edition of it would be available on Steam for a significantly reduced price, I was pretty happy. As far as I'm concerned the $5 more that this version costs is for the inclusion of the first bit of DLC that I would have been purchasing separately anyway.

Then saw the stack of cards on my desk. Sims 3 cash cards. Y'see, I went through a...phase, I guess you could call it. I played the hell out of the Sims, then abruptly stopped when I realized my sim-self was doing everything that I should be doing instead. Silly me had also stocked up on these cash cards when Best Buy had them on sale. $5 for a $10 point card, essentially.

I had left them on my desk, a tribute and warning to myself, lest the madness be e'er upon me again.

Then I discovered that EA's point cards are universal for their store. The $90 worth of digital lamps and themed expansion packs in-potentia? I could just as easily covert them into something meaningful! An actual game! Callooh callay!

Now I sit, however, a browser tab opened on both Steam and EA's pages. What does the extra $10 get me for the physical CE? Essentially I would be in for the tin, a cloth map, actual discs and a 'making of' DVD. I hate 'making of' DVDs, so it may as well not be a factor. The tin is neat, but it'll spend it's life on a shelf. The map will be covered in cat hair. Do I really care about having a physical DVD over a download that I can back up myself if need be?

Not really, I'm coming to find.

It's about price at this point.

Essentially, I can pay for the game I want or I can use the spoils of my follies to get it for "free" but with a version that's slightly less than what I would want.

It's a damn hard decision. I think I'll ponder it awhile longer.

If there's anything that I like, it's a good deal. My constant perusing of CAG and Slickdeals can pretty much confirm this. I'm also a complete sucker for a markdown, even if it's something I'm not immediately interested in buying. This is where the wonder/horror of Target comes in.

You might not be aware, but in all of their stores, they have at least one aisle endcap dedicated to their clearance items. Usually it's one of the DVD racks facing the back wall, away from the main walking thoroughfares, but it can vary depending on the store. Either way, it's a mecca for bargain hunters. Today I walked away with copies of FEAR 2 and Sacred 2 for $28 and $35, respectively. A few weeks back it was Velvet Assassin for $12. Space Siege came home with me for $12 too, a few months prior.

For the life of me, I don't understand the reasoning why some items get dropped here so quickly. I suppose it has something to do with the constant revolution of their PC stock. When you only devote half an aisle to non-fluff games, I guess you have to change it up frequently. Either way, it works out in my favor.



I need a camera that isn't a cellphone :/

Bam! Round numbers!



And then she cat-oozed over to where the shirt was on my bed and claimed it as her own.

Honestly, I forgot I'd even ordered the blamed shirt. Mind like a goldfish nowadays... I'm pretty happy with it, though. Good and sturdy, I like the logo size... It shall be proudly worn to the office on Monday!

I'm unboxing! Whee!

Not so much a "midnight launch" on GameStop's part, per say. It was more of a "midnight two fratboys, a kid with his mom and me and my roommate standing around awkwardly and not making eye contact with anyone else." In and out with minimal fuss.

So far, I'm digging the thing. This is a straight upgrade for me from the DS Phat, so I never got to experience the majesty of the Lite's improvements. I've fiddled with them before, though. The D-Pad and buttons feel like they're right in the sweet spot between the clicky-keys of the Lite and the softer mush of the Phat. Screen's nice and vibrant and I can definitely see the improvement in the size. It's small, but very noticeable. Henry Hatsworth is goddamn vibrant.

The system came with a bonus of 1000 points for DS Ware, but the initial offerings really didn't sound that impressive. I think I'll hang on to them until the Katamari downloadable rolls it's way on over... However, registering did push my Club Nintendo account into the Platinum tier... Fingers crossed that this'll mean I'm due for an SNES controller.

...

Man, I'm out of blogging shape. I need to figure out why I can post on my new netbook, but why my PC has decided to arbitrarily block Dtoid...