Went out to Toys R Us and picked up the new Ratchet & Clank game. I don't hold out much hope, but I dearly want this to accelerate the series forward in the way that the second game did and the third game didn't. At least it will look damn good, no matter what happens.
We had a 20% off coupon that expired today. I headed out planning on R&C but kept Eye of Judgement in mind as a backup. In the mail we received another batch of coupons that activate tomorrow. It's that time of year. Interestingly, the coupons we received as TRU credit card holders are worse than the coupons sent out to everyone else. The card holder discount saves you $25... if you spend $250. The "normal" coupons give you a $10 gift card if you spend $75. Way to go.
Of course, since my Toys R Us absolutely hates to sell things, they had no Ratchet & Clank boxes out on the shelf. None. But there it was, stashed sideways in the glass case behind the counter. They really are shit worthless out there. If you're looking for the PS3 editions of Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man 3, or any given carbon copy sports title, they're your lads. Brand new triple-A games for a console that's barely treading water and has fans desperate to nail anything that moves? Hidden.
And don't even ask about Eye of Judgement. I could not find it anywhere in the store, and I checked all the stupid places that my idiot TRU would possibly file it... like with the pink MP3 players or over by Electronic Battleship.
I did see the EoJ booster packs, surprise surprise. They were stashed on the other end of the store with the other CCG packs, in a move that you'd think would make sense but probably doesn't since the game's whole purpose is as a PS3 thing. As I was standing in the card game aisle, it occurred to me that "The Eye of Judgement" is a really lousy title.
So I did manage to avoid buying it, although it's just the sort of proof-of-concept hardware/software combo that I tend to enjoy. Maybe one of those upcoming TRU coupons will make it seem more attractive.
Something minorly exciting about pre-ordering Mario Galaxy through TRU. Not only do you get the silly coin, but you also receive a free Remote glove (offer also applies to Smash Bros and Mario/Sonic/Olympic Games/Awful Crap). You know, those ugly-ass rubber things that Nintendo has been trying to sell since launch. If you haven't received your free mail-order Wii Remote jackets yet (mine just showed up this week), note that the new free ones are not the same shape as these old versions. The new ones have lots of large swellings built into them to absorb the impact when you smack player two in the head. The accompanying instruction manual has this ultra-useful image:
