Cancelling GameFly
My Dealer
I’ve had an “on again off again” relationship with Gamefly ever since I first started using them back in college where money was scarce and time more plentiful. I had been playing video games since I was a child and often visited rental shops to get some semblance of variety on a schoolchild income. It was a rare and joyous occasion when I was able to get the same rental copy of Final Fantasy II (IV now that I know better) and could continue where I left off. So the idea of a rental store that delivered video games to my mailbox like Netflix (back when you could get three discs for $10/mo) was very appealing. I was instantly a fan and signed up for the two games a month plan and split the cost with a roommate.
However, after college I got my first job and departed to Florida. At the time, Gamefly had only one warehouse all the way on the west coast. This led to an average of turnaround time of a week and a half. So I was paying nearly $8 just to get a new game. This was compounded by the fact that Netflix turnaround time was only a few days. So generally I was able to send back a watched DVD (these are pre-BluRay days) and get a new one before Gamefly even got my game. So with a heavy heart, I cancelled my subscription and got my game fix by getting games off Amazon and with my EA employee discount.
Back for a Fix
After moving to Chicago and Gamefly having opened a warehouse in Pittsburgh, I decided to try it again. By this time I had a Wii and more importantly, a 360 with its achievement system. While I wouldn’t classify myself as an achievement whore, I did take some satisfaction in having a higher score than my friends. Having a Gamefly account again enabled me to get a wide selection of games easily and fairly cheaply too. Plus I have always considered myself a bit of a video game connoisseur, always wanting to check out stuff that was different and novel that interested me, so renting is a convenient way to do that as well.
Overall, I would say that I was happy. But as time wore on and free time became more scarce with the addition of two children to my household, I noticed my game playing habits were starting to change. Sure, there was the obvious fact that I had less time to play games, leading me to cut out many that I was hoping to play as I noticed that the age of games that I was playing was steadily getting older. The more subtle one was that I tended to play my rental games primarily, and only really play the games I had actually purchased while I was waiting for the mail delivery to get me the next game. A big part of this is due to the fact that Gamefly charges monthly. So I am paying for the game if I am playing it or not. Being the frugal gamer I am, this causes me to primarily play the rental games and to do it as quickly as possible, leaving games I liked enough to actually purchase primarily sit around gathering dust.
Another change that has occurred in video games is the emergence of downloadable games producing great game experiences. With XBLA and PSN putting out increasingly better and more original games, I would like to play some more of these. Since these aren’t exactly available to rent, they tend to fall in the same category as purchased games, meaning that I generally don’t play them. As I am hearing about some true gems coming out from smaller developers, though, I would like to support their efforts and this new area of gaming. But I realize that with a subscription always in the back of my mind, that isn’t likely going to happen.
Rehabilitation
Most recently, I had an issue where a game took over two weeks on its turnaround time. I figured that it was lost in the mail and reported the shipping issue and Gamefly sent me another game (this time a more desired one as well, availability has been another sticking point). Not too surprisingly, the original game finally arrived after a few days. Since I was supposed to send it back as soon as I received it, I attempted to play through it as quickly as possible. My reasoning being that it took so long for the game to arrive I had already paid for the rental time so it was okay if I had two games for a little bit. However, upon tearing through and then returning it, I came to the realization that I wasn’t really enjoying games like I wanted to. I would like to just be able to take things at my own pace, and with Gamefly routinely deducting from my bank account each month, I wouldn’t be able to set my own pace and be comfortable with it.
So I decided that I will cancel my account at the end of this billing period. I decided to purchase the game that I was renting since it was fun (and I had a $5 off coupon) and remove all the games from my queue except two shorter ones (which I am still waiting on to ship to me). I figure I can get games used through Glyde, which I have primarily used to sell off my old collection, or Amazon generally has decent prices if I want to get something new. When I am done with a game, I can always sell it again. I figure this will end up costing me about the same in money that I had with Gamefly overall with the added benefit of taking things at my own pace. Plus it might even help soften the blow of the ever increasing prices at Netflix...
Game Reviews: Fable 3
I Need to Stop Playing Fable
Peter Moleneaux is great at drumming up hype about how world-changing his games are going to be. The first such one that was trumpeted up was Fable. I am generally pretty thorough before spending time with a game, and considering that I didn’t play Fable until I had an Xbox360 (when Fable was for the original XBox which I never owned), I had a pretty good idea about what parts of his boasts were true and which fell short. Nevertheless, I got myself a used copy and played through it.
It was charming and fun in a simplistic way, but nothing that changed the world like he said (and I didn’t expect it to honestly). But I don’t have any regrets about playing it and it was different enough to be interesting and, in a way, compelling.
Fable II came out for the Xbox360 a little bit after I was done playing the original game and it was promised that this one would add in the features that were ultimately cut from the first one. Again, I listened to reviews and they said the game once again came up short from what was promised. However, there was one design decision that completely broke the economy. When you purchased property, you would gain income from it in real time. This happened whether you played the game or not. So if you went a week without playing, you would start with a bunch of money (assuming you owned sufficient property, of course).
This led to a game that almost encouraged you to not play, and in not playing, made itself easier. So I would go a few weeks between playthroughs and then forget what I was doing but had plenty of money to throw around. This diminished the experience and made the fairly easy game even easier. There were also a few disconnects, such as when your character is imprisoned for ten years, and then you return and nothing really has changed and people act as if you were just gone for an hour. It led to a situation where the game resembles the uncanny valley, in that it tries to mimic reality but there are enough small differences that the whole thing comes across as a bit unsettling.
Fable III
So, after two less than stellar game experiences, why would I want to go and play a third game? This one promised to change things up a bit. Where you had the obvious overthrow the corrupt king and place yourself on the throne plot, this game went one step further and had you actually rule and make decisions that would affect the entire kingdom. It was a concept intriguing enough to put it on my rental queue and give it a go.
Unfortunately, like the first game, this one too had enough broken design concepts as to take away from the overall enjoyment of the game. The main issue came up after you become king/queen and get to make decisions about how to run the kingdom. The downside is that all these decisions boil down to money in your treasury. The idea behind the second half of the game is that you need money to finance an army to defeat the darkness that will swarm the land in a year. It comes down to one gold piece for each citizen. If you end up choosing the evil decisions when given the option, then you will get more money but will be seen as the tyrant your brother was but will end up saving more people. It is an interesting concept and I was hoping to actually have to struggle a little bit when making the decisions, but since it only ends up dealing with money there is a very obvious way around it.
As with the previous games, you can also gain money by buying and renting out property. This goes into your personal treasury which you can then donate to the kingdom’s. This also has no effect on how people view you morally. So the easy workaround is to be good and give the people everything they want while taxing the lifeblood out of them on their rent and shop prices. By doing this I was able to save everyone and we all lived happily ever after without having to really give the kingdom’s decisions any thought.
Of course, the game tries to reason away why you can’t just tell your kingdom about the incoming darkness and explain to them (and show them examples and testimony of people who have already been ravaged by this danger) that it will be a difficult year of hardship and sacrifice, but after it they will be able to keep their lives, by telling you that the citizens wouldn’t understand. I think that is ironic since the game also tries to treat you in the same way.
If you want to see a more entertaining reviews, check out Zero Punctuation for Fable 2 and Fable 3.