Buy This Stuff: “Even Though I Didn’t Have to Pay For It” Edition
Stacking (PSN/XBLA)
Sometimes I have a hard time connecting with my friends when we talk about video games.
A trip to Gamestop:
Me:You should check this game out! It’s amazing.
Them:What game?
Me:THE SLY COOPER COLLECTION.
Them:Haha, no.
Sly Cooper, Katamari, Ratchet and Clank…don’t even get me started on what happens when I try to get them to play Portal.
Me:It’s like two hours long!
Them:Yeah I’ll play it.
Them:[NEVER PLAYS IT]
As soon as I booted up Stacking, I knew it was going to be one of those games.
You play Charlie Blackmore, the littlest Russian stacking doll, in a world where every living person and animal is a Russian stacking doll. There’s a plot about an evil Baron kidnapping your family here, but I’ll be completely honest, I missed some of the text at the very beginning, so I don’t remember all of the details. He’s bad, and you’re good.
Charlie has the unique ability to stack with other dolls, inhabiting their bodies. Each doll type has a special ability that is either useful in solving puzzles (unlocking doors), or just funny (farting). Sometimes they’re both (farting on other dolls).
Each level has several challenges for you to solve, and each challenge has more than one solution. After you solve a challenge once, you’re encouraged to replay the same challenge to find another solution. This helps enable your OCD, and also unlocks trophies/achievements. There’s also a set of “hi-jinks” in each level, which are various ways to make trouble that also earn you trophies/achievements/trips to the psychiatrist from all of the OCD.
The game is fun, creative, funny, and you get to jump inside of people’s bodies and make them do stuff. If you’re a PlayStation Network Plus subscriber, it’s free; it’s $15 otherwise (1200 Microsoft points on XBLA). It’s a good idea, so do it.
Sure, there’s a movie coming out next month, and maybe you don’t want to be THAT GUY (OR GIRL). You know, the one who goes “oh I read the book/comic/original screenplay/napkin/poem/short story first and blah blah blah they forgot to make his shoes green or whatever”.
I can see that. And yet, I’m often that guy, because sometimes movies are dumb and books are great.
In Scott Pilgrim’s case, I’m confident that the movie will not be dumb, and the books are still great.
A summary without spoiling too much: Scott meets Ramona, and he has to defeat her seven evil exes.
This book is about the seventh.
Video game references and hilarity ensue.
And it is epic. You might want to download the Inception soundtrack right now or something, so you can play it while you read it, or just because Inception was awesome.
Buy This Stuff: “Or Not. But I’ve Already Invested So Much Into This That I Have To” Edition
Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
Look, I get it, alright? Yes, he has a high pitched voice. Yes, it’s a little prog-rock and silly. Yes, it is a story about space and stuff split into five albums. And yes, they have comics based on their albums that are on sale at Hot Topic. I understand why you don’t care.
And still, here I am, driving to Best Buy, and buying the latest Coheed and Cambria album. Guilty pleasure? No. That would require me to feel guilty about it. I really like them, I actually know (some of) the storyline, and I want to see how it ends (begins, since this is the prequel). This is something I have to do.
It’s like on LOST, when Locke starts pushing the button. He just has to do it. It’s his destiny.
Buy This Stuff: “A Thing That Came Out in the US in 2008” Edition
OH MY YES.
Spaced: The Complete Series
If you’re excited at all for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and you haven’t seen any of Edgar Wright’s other work, start here. If you’ve never seen Spaced, buy this. If you like other things, you’ll like this thing.
This series makes me sure that Scott Pilgrim will end up amazing. The paintball fight, the dog rescue, the fake gunfight, and about 10000000000 other reasons will convince you, too. At the very least, you’ll own something that is amazing and unique. Like some kind of ancient magic sword, except you can pick this up at Best Buy.
Try not to get creeped out by the anthropomorphic animals. If you manage to make it past that, you’re in for an awesome movie, in that it is exactly how you would imagine a Wes Anderson movie to be. It even has cussing! As in, they say “cuss” instead of swear words. IT IS LIKE A REAL WES ANDERSON MOVIE EXCEPT GEORGE CLOONEY IS A FOX AND A MURDERER. Buy it.
Mad Men: Season 3
Why do I like Mad Men? Is it because of the sharp writing? The amazing set design? The awesome-but-still-a-jerk Don Draper? The jerk-who-is-really-just-a-jerk Pete Campbell? The DARING OR WHATEVER look at the 1960s? The glimpse into the world of advertising in the olde timey times? Alison Brie?
Maybe it’s all of those things. Maybe it’s none of those things. Maybe it’s Christina Hendricks. Maybe you should buy this set. Actually, just buy it anyway.
