New additions to the media collection in June 2018

June 2018 was another fantastic month for collecting, in both the movies and games department, even including new and old consoles.

Starting with the Games TM magazine that only arrived three weeks later because I did the replacement email thing again, I was surprised that this wasn’t out of print, considering that it was the 200th issue and included a “200 Greatest Games of All Time” special.

Not sure if the Retrogamer replacement had the subscription-exclusive cover, but isn’t it about time that something is done by the logistics department? It doesn’t seem that way, as they’d much rather do the replacement thing and lose money instead of getting to the bottom of the problem.

Fortunately, the LEGO magazine remains a constant, and having an AT-ST is one of the coolest things ever, at least in my book.

What is even more cool than LEGO? Old Nintendo consoles, that’s what! After having missed out on the first hyped releases and problematic small numbers in production, I finally got my hands on both an NES and SNES Mini. They’re both worth it. Even if I don’t know when to find the time to play all these games, a few short rounds proved that they look, sound, and control as greatly (or as outdated) as when these games were originally presented on old CRT screens. Of course the only problem for the NES Mini is that no second controller is included, and that both consoles don’t have a power adapter is a cruel joke on Nintendo’s part, as is the very short length of the cables. Fortunately other companies can provide what the big N doesn’t seem to care about…

Storing and protecting these consoles was obviously the next best thing on my mind, and these nice Amazon Basics bags are a perfect fit to put everything inside.

The future of gaming is obviously VR, and even if the PS VR might not have the highest resolution, it’s the cheapest entry point. So I finally bought myself the 2.0 version, including a camera and a download code for VR Worlds. My first impression is very good and a bit disappointing. Even if I didn’t expect this to be a substitute for a 3D projector, I didn’t think that the effects were nothing to write home about, despite the bigger screen options. The less said about motion sickness the better. However, having played some of the games, especially Ocean Descent, I’m convinced that the technology can do so much more for gaming. Looking around and seeing a shark attack or going deep into the depths of the ocean remains an amazing experience, and I’m looking forward to try out as many games as my stomach can manage.

Being able to protect the more expensive hardware, this bag for the VR equipment and those two dust covers for the PS4 Pro/Xbox One X should prevent the fate of my PS3 that recently stopped reading discs…

Of course a gaming console is only as good as the software, so getting some real classics like Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 HD ReMIX are must-haves. But completing the Uncharted collection with the latest two games was also a no-brainer.

I’m usually not much of a competitive online gamer, but just paying around 5 Euros for each Titanfall title didn’t make me think twice of purchasing them. A few Euros more, but more than justified, I got my hands on the Gears of War HD remaster and Sunset Overdrive, because sometimes one doesn’t want too many cerebral games.

It doesn’t have to be violence and gore, either, as the Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros game should be a satisfying and cute diversion.

It might not be VR, but 3D is still the way to go when buying movies (even if I still don’t have the equipment to watch them in full glory). Despicable Me 3 was among the few I’ve already seen so far, although it was at the cinema, and it’s just as crazy and fun as its predecessors. Prodigies I can barely remember from the Fantasy Filmfest Nights 2012, but with a nice lenticular 3D cover, this was worth it for the packaging alone, and it was cheaper than a cinema ticket.

Mediabooks are always nice to have, and it’s even nicer if they come cheap and include some good movies as well. Except for Hardcore I didn’t know what to expect from these, though.

Not being a big anime fan, this still looked pretty cool, as it also reminded me a bit of Studio Ghibli animation, only with more violence.

I’m always careful about movies that are promoted as “best”, “true classics”, but this one seems to be rather special. I might even have seen it a long time ago, but can’t quite remember. So much for “classic”, “unforgettable”…

Yes, this is a very strange horror movie with one goodie involving a vomit bag. Even Eli Roth (of Hostel fame/notoriety) said he wouldn’t go this far. I’m skeptic about this hype talk and still have to watch it for myself, but the mediabook is already a highlight, especially with the poster.

Hardcore (or Hardcore Henry) is a movie that perfectly captures the excitement of first-person shooters, and despite not having much of a storyline or memorable characters, it does what it sets out to do: delivering non-stop action and violence, something that The Villainess tried in its first-person scenes at the beginning, but couldn’t maintain for the rest of the runtime (as can be read in the Amazon Prime Video watchlist: May 2018 article). Including a comic and the soundtrack on CD, the mediabook is a really cool supplement to the movie and I’m happy to have waited for the price to drop and skip the normal BD release.

With 88 Films you never know what kinds of “cult classics” you get, as these can often be very bad from today’s perspective. Still with these eye-catching titles alone, there should be enough weird and sick fun in there, even if it means that the (alternative) cover artworks could turn out to be better than the content itself.

The 88 Films Italian Collection is also a mixed bag of unintentionally funny movie material and interesting covers, but sometimes there might even be a gem among the not so stellar releases.

I wasn’t particularly impressed by the Shaw Brothers movies I reviewed in the new additions to the media collection in May 2018, but these are horror movies, so maybe they’re more entertaining. At least the art is pretty great to look at.

Speaking of hit-or-miss “classics”, I always wanted to watch the rest of the Children of the Corn flicks, and as Halloween isn’t too far away, the trilogy pack (together with the remake) on BD and the others on DVD should be a good way to finally do this, although one is still missing (Genesis), but I’ll get that in Germany when it’s cheap again. Waiting for a Runaway discount, too.

More horror or “classics” and some I’ve already watched. But I’ll save most of my opinion for a full review, coming soon in October ;-).

Time for some knock-out fistfight action, and who is better than Scott Adkins? Maybe Amy Johnston for kicking some butt. Still have to watch these, but they look like a lot of bloody fun.

The Taxi movies should also provide some good entertainment, but in the non-offensive speed/car chase way.

Finally, as it was quite a hot summer month, being able to wear something that wasn’t black was a good idea, so these shirts were perfect for me. I bought them after the Pokémon GO Safari Zone 2018 event in Dortmund, which was a good idea, because changing clothes under such conditions was almost essential.

So yes, it was another quite expensive month (especially considering that I was still looking for a job), but what can you do if there are so many bargains? Let’s hope July doesn’t have as many… although at the time of writing, I can clearly say… not a lot has changed ;-).

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