Co-Op Conversations: Mitch Hallock Talks CT Gamer Con, TerrifiCon and More

In our latest Co-Op Conversation, Brian talks to Mitch Hallock, organizer and promoter of TerrifiCon and the upcoming CT Gamer Con. They discuss how Mitch got into the convention business, building TerrifiCon to what it is today, and putting together this first year of CT Gamer Con.

CT Gamer Con is happening April 1-2, 2017 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. You can learn more about CT GAmer Con, grab your tickets and register for events at www.ctgamercon.com.

You can also learn more about TerrifiCon and get updates about this year’s show at www.terrificon.com.

If you want the audio version of this interview only, you can grab it and other episodes of the Co-Op critics podcast on iTunes and on our Spreaker page at http://www.spreaker.com/show/co-op-critics.

 

monolith

Co-Op Critics Podcast–No Man’s Sky

In the latest episode of the Co-Op Critics podcast, we discuss our game of the month, No Man’s Sky, look at some of October’s releases, and talk about what we’ve been playing over the summer.

You can listen to the episode right here in the player above, or check us out on iTunes and Spreaker. You can also listen to back episodes on our podcast page. And don’t forget to check out the YouTube page for videos and discussion on all of the games we’re playing!

darksouls-blog

Co-Op Critics Podcast: Dark Souls II

In the latest episode of the Co-Op Critics podcast, Brian is joined by Nick Merritt to discuss Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. It’s Nick’s first Souls game, and they talk about the game’s learning curve, the risk-reward nature of its systems, and the joy of multiplayer.

You can listen to the episode right here in the player above, and don’t forget to visit out YouTube page, for the Dark souls 2 videos we’ve put up over the past month.

For our June podcast, we’ll be doing a special episode on E3 2015, so look for that mid-month.

ElderScrolls-giveaway

Win a FREE copy of Elder Scrolls Online for Xbox One or PS4

We’re giving away a copy of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited to one lucky winner! All you have to do to enter is follow us on Twitter, tweet about the contest, and Subscribe to our YouTube channel (click the subscribe button in the sidebar). You can come back and tweet about the contest once a day to continue earning more entries! Follow the instructions in the contest widget below to enter.

The winner will be announced at the on June 2nd. To be considered, you must be currently subscribed to our YouTube channel and following us on Twitter. Winner will choose between a copy of Elder Scrolls Online for Xbox One or PS4.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LEGO

LEGO DIMENSIONS is Going to Completely Redefine the “Toys to Life” Genre

Today Warner Brothers and LEGO and TT Games unveiled their next big thing–LEGO Dimensions, a “toys to life” game like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, where players will be able to play through all of the different licensed LEGO worlds using a portal, toys and figures they assemble themselves. Here’s the reveal trailer:

Now you might be thinking that since the addition of Nintendo’s Amiibo, the toys to life genre is a bit over-saturated right now. And that might be true, but LEGO is about to completely transform this genre, because they are adding an element that the other have not and cannot (at least to the same degree).

Building.

As you see in the trailer, Joel McHale actually builds the portal that is then used to activate figures and vehicles. He also uses pieces of the Batmobile to create an entirely new type of vehicle. And while we really don’t see much in the way of gameplay in this trailer, I believe those things are shown for a reason. With that in mind, imagine an expansion set for the game where you’re building the vehicles, weapons and structures yourself, and then porting them into the game. I’m sure there will be limitations as to what you can actually do, but even just building the Batmobile and porting it in is pretty darn sweet.

I have an eight year old son, and I can tell you he is going to lose his mind over this. We already have Skylanders and Disney Infinity, which we both play together. He is also a huge LEGO fan, as evidenced by the thousands of LEGOs we have and his LEGO Club membership. This game will be a day one purchase for us.

The potential of LEGO Dimensions is endless. And I’m sure everyone has their ideas of what sets they want to see in the future, so allow me to make a suggestion. If Microsoft is smart, they will find a way to make a LEGO Minecraft XBox exclusive set happen. Not only would it make the Xbox One the lead platform for LEGO Dimensions, it would sell gangbusters. I cannot wait to get my hands on this game.

GameStop PowerUp Rewards Vs. Best Buy’s Gamers Club Unlocked

In mid-February, My GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro subscription expired, and like I do every year, I went back and forth about renewing. Over the past few years, I’ve been buying less games overall, which means less used games, which means I haven’t been getting as much of a return on my PowerUp Rewards investment. Now that said, I do still enjoy Game Informer magazine, and I would argue that a $15 a year subscription fee for a print magazine is well worth it. And I saved a little over $100 for the year, so the subscription fee was made back and then some.

So I was leaning toward renewing again when I saw that Best Buy was having a sale on its Gamers Club Unlocked (GCU) membership, knocking the price down from $99 to $30 for a two-year membership (a change it has now made permanent). I still buy a lot of stuff from Best Buy, so I decided to sign up for GCU, and see if it it held more or less value for me over the next year.

For your reference, here’s a quick breakdown of the core benefits of both of these plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, both of these plans offer an additional 10% in trade-in credit, and 10% off of used games. To me, there are two major differences. GameStop is offering a print magazine with your membership, while Best Buy does not (they no longer put out @Gamer magazine as of May 2014, I believe). BUT, Best Buy gives a 20% discount on new games to GCU Members, while GameStop does not offer a discount on new games. That discount takes the price of a new game down to about $48 (plus tax) instead of $60. After taxes a new game is about $51 with GCU (instead of $63). On top of that, GCU often offers additional reward like $10 Best Buy reward certificates for pre-ordering games. And those rewards stack.This past week, I pre-ordered Battlefield: Hardline, got the bonus DLC (which GameStop also offers) and a $10 Rewards Certificate, which can be used on anything. Plus the Rewards points which are doubles for new games purchases). My total was $51.

Another big difference with Best Buy Rewards is that you can use the certificates for more than just games–they’re basically gift certificates to Best Buy.

If you’re considering one  of these rewards programs over the other, I think you’d have to decide whether the GameStop’s print magazine or Best Buy’s 20% discount on new games is more valuable to you. I feel like the Best Buy GCU membership is a better fit for me right now. Time will tell if it ends up being more of a value to me than the PowerUp Rewards subscription.

Of course, you could always spend $45 and get both of them, which is still less than the cost of one new game.