Finally Selling Gaming Magazines

Gaming Magazine Back Issues

In the last few weeks I forced myself to get off the iPad for a while every day and start reading gaming magazines regularly again. It used to be one of my favorite things, but I've been so preoccupied with posts about Fringe (still am) for the past many months that they've mostly just piled up unread. And damn do I have a lot of them. I certainly can't keep them all. I've pared my subscriptions down to Game Informer and EGM due to the cost and time constraints, but I used to have every one I could get my hands on: Playstation the Official Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine, Play, GamePro, et cetera. I even went to Barnes & Noble a number of times to get a couple very nice British mags, but they were too expensive to keep that up.

I haven't rid myself of them to reclaim valuable space yet because gaming is one of my passions. I don't like the thought of them being recycled, and BackIssues.com doesn't buy gaming magazines. I am stubbornly holding onto this form instead of moving digital, because when I'm online it's for work, play, or blogging. If I don't have a physical magazine I just don't read about gaming. Even if I paid for a digital subscription, it would go unused. In fact, I have the new EGM, but the digital portion of it I've looked at only once. I watch videos instead, like the ones from Revision 3 Games with Adam Sessler. I'll follow the Sess wherever he goes, because I've gotten more game news from him than any other source over the years.

I don't know when I'll get the chance to actually put any of these magazines online, but if I wait until I'm not busy then I'll never start; it's happened to me before. If I list one that doesn't have a link or isn't in bold, that means I have it but haven't put it on eBay, eCrater, Bonanza, or wherever, yet. The list will continue to grow for some time, because there are so many. Please don't hesitate to ask if I have a certain magazine from the 2000s until now that's not listed. I just may, but it could take a while to find.

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The Chronicles of L.A. Noir, Part 1

I'm driving to a street crime half way across town in L.A. Noir. Seeing how fast and far I can go with my siren on and without hitting with someone. I accidentally take a wrong turn and it's when I'm going maybe 5 MPH that some a-hole sideswipes me. Why not? Well, really, it's kind of my fault. Then a few mnutes later I'm almost there and see a dump truck I know I've never been in. I stop him and get in number 71 of 95. Woohoo! But I stopped near a gas station. Of course, I had to drive right into the pumps to see of anything would happen. Boom! Officer Down. Case Failed. HA! Oh, wait, now I have to drive to the street crime again. Damn it. That's me. Always thinking ahead.

Why didn't I take a screenshot? Because I thought of it only after it reloaded. Then I finished the case and ended up back at the precinct, where there was another vehicle I hadn't driven yet: a firetruck. :D And right across the street was another gas station. >:D So, I did it again. Then the game wouldn't pause when I blew myself up and I didn't get a picture. *grumble* *sigh* I guess I'll try again later...maybe.

There will probably only be a couple posts about this game since I'm certainly more than half way through and life is busy.

Xbox 360, $19.99 @ J&R

PS3, $19.99 @ J&R

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Dead Space 3 Premiered at E3

Holy shit, I don't want to fight that. Bring it on! If you watched the video, you know what I'm talking about.

Dead Space 3 will be amazing. Heart-stopping enemies out of nowhere, extraordinarily creepy atmosphere and visuals (same reason Silent Hill is so effective), and great story and voice acting all combine into a very memorable package that I could play until the end of time. I gasped, shuddered, shrieked, and loved the first two games so much I played through both four times, starting on Zealot, then Zealot again with all my weapons and upgrades, then Casual to see how quick it was, and something else for an achievement I somehow missed. Then I tried Hardcore and realized there was no way I had that kind of time to be replaying hours over and over again, because there are only three saves. That's a big deal for me. There's not a lot of time to devote to games, and so I don't play too many more than once.

So, I checked my achievements and it turns out I never unlocked the Zealot achievement. I finished the game twice on that and nothing. I don't switch difficulty levels when something is too hard either...never. So, that's wonderful. I think Microsoft is going to be hearing from me.

Don't care how, I want it now. Sadly, Dead Space 3 won't be out until February 2013. Pre-order yours today...or later. You've got some time. If you haven't played Dead Space yet, you have no more excuses.

Dead Space
PS3, $19.99

Dead Space 2
Xbox 360, $29.99

 

Dead Space 2
PS3, $29.95

Dead Space 2
Limited Edition Game Guide, $25.99

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Yeah...Looks Like ~ The Last of Us

I'm behind on my magazine reading. I used to get way too many. Good thing then, I guess, that I can't afford much more than Game Informer, EGM, and Official Xbox Magazine. Actually, I think I forgot to re-subscribe to the last one. I would miss it if I had the time. I'm even further behind on game site reading. I almost never go to places like 1Up, unless it's to look for a review, which is why I lament so many magazines ceasing publication. I spend an inordinate amount of time online. A magazine is a nice escape.

Wait, why am I here right now? Oh, yeah, it was because of a letter I read in the May 2012 issue of Game Informer. I apparently had seen it a while ago, but then I forgot to comment on it. The writer said they wanted to know what The Last of Us was about as soon as they saw the trailer and they turned right to the feature when it was on the cover. I somehow misread this as they wanted to know who made it. Anyway, did anyone NOT think this was a Naughty Dog title the second they saw a screencap or artwork? Though it's a very different game, I thought of Uncharted after just a glance and knew it had to be them. If you somehow avoided news about this game, look at this with your fresh perspective and tell me you don't see it.

Related Article //
5 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Last of Us'

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Need to Finish This Game

"Skyllian Verge," my brain whispered today. What? Then it went away. "Skyllian Verge," it just said again. Are you kidding me? Was that from Mass Effect 2? Are you trying to tell me that I'm taking too long? Shut up. It's not my fault this month has been ridiculously busy and my save from the first game was stuck on my brother's Xbox for two years. Here, occupy yourself with this...

Lovely concept art to tide me over until I can finally start Mass Effect 3. Interesting that at 0:54 the picture and music combine to make me think of Goldeneye.

Concept artist talking about Mass Effect 2. I'm addicted to behind-the-scenes stuff in games, movies, and TV. I always wish I went into one of those fields.

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Wish I Had Time to Revisit Arkham City

X-Play Blair ~ "If you haven't picked up Batman: Arkham City, I'm gonna be honest with you. You're dead to me, completely and utterly dead to me, 'cause that game is amazing and you have no excuse not to play it. But you can correct this horrible mistake, the worst one you've ever made in your entire life, by grabbing a copy of Arkham City Game of the Year Edition..." (Blair Herter, X-Play)

So, PLAY IT! It's about damn time. Of course, I really have no room to talk. I'm behind on so many games. I'm just now getting near the end of Mass Effect 2. Never had the chance until recently even though I had the game. I refused to start it without my Mass Effect game save which was on my brother's Xbox, but there was a long period of time I didn't visit his home much. We got together, but it was more movies, dinner, and then go our separate ways again.

Just a little side note, because it's the first thing that I think of when someone mentions this game. I play every game I can on the hardest difficulty available. I love a challenge. But I almost threw the controller in frustration trying to fly Bats into a cage on the water. It inspired the words, "Oh, so much fuck you, man, I can't even begin to fuck you enough," which I swear I tweeted. This guy says it took him a minute to get this trophy. I remember it taking me many, many...many..........many minutes to give up and try again another day. It seems he did it the exact same way I did, but I just couldn't get a handle on not dive bombing like a penguin or overcorrecting into the cliff. Maybe it was the controller, but I don't think that was half broken until a bit later.

Why not help another gamer out? Please buy Arkham City at DeepDiscount. They would be Amazon links, but they don't do business in my state anymore.

Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360)
Batman: Arkham City (PS3)

Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition (Xbox 360)
Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition (PS3)

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Call of Duty Black Ops II Trailer Music

It doesn't happen often that a trailer gives me goosebumps. The music is a big factor along with perfectly chosen and edited clips, like with The Dark Knight and Inception. Even if the game turns out terrible, I will remember it for introducing me to a new artist, Cliff Linn from Riptide Music.

Found with the always useful AdTunes.

Here's the whole song and it's not just trailer-length!

While searching for that, I also came across Mt. Eden.

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Goodbye Sess

Holy shit! Have I really been gone since December? Wow. Well, I didn't move on to Forza. Instead I decided on Mass Effect 2. (Yes, I'm far behind and should be on the third game, but that's a story for another day.) I don't know when I started, but Raptr says I've played for 72 hours. But for the last month I've had to take it easy because I hurt the outermost knuckle on my left hand, really hurt. Then I messed up my right hand compensating for the left. Ridiculous. I've also been working on a post about Fringe since January, which is now more of a rant/love letter type of thing.

Wait, why did I come here? Oh, yeah. So, everyone now knows about Adam Sessler leaving X-Play last week. This is very sad, because he was the reason I watched Extended Play in the first place, before G4 gutted TechTV. I will still watch the show, because I love Morgan and Blair. But Sessler always made me laugh and will be missed. He was a true 5 out of 5. Follow Adam on Twitter to find out where he goes from here.

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