Not-so-Special Features

One of the biggest gripes people have with UMD's versus DVD's is the lack of special features. But honestly, how often do you actually watch the special features? I've tried sitting through a commentary track exactly one time, for an episode of Futurama that I loved. There were a few interesting points brought up by the show's creators, but mostly I just wanted to yell, "Zip it! I can't hear the show!" It was like watching Mystery Science Theater, only not funny. Now, you can find a selection of UMD's at GameStop for $5, and they're still not selling, despite the crystal clear PSP display and the sneaky way the small screen forces you to cuddle with your movie-watching partner. Awwww... romantic! But if you don't want to cuddle, you're going to watch the movie by yourself. And not many people do that often, or want to.

Other things like Making-Of documentaries, almost a DVD staple, have crept into game "special editions." Usually, the special editions are just an excuse for game companies to milk you out of another ten dollars or, in the case of Halo 3's Legendary Edition, another $70. On the upside, you did get a helmet that your cat can wear for its kitty cosplay convention. So far, the only special editions I've found that were worth the extra cash were ones including art books (I'm a sucker for art) or games that include free downloadable game content (which probably should have been in the game to start with... but whatever). The best idea is just to wait a few months, then the special edition will drop to the price of the regular edition. You can now get Devil May Cry 4 super-sized at Wal-Mart for $40, or the Fallout 3 lunchbox version with bobblehead for the standard 360 game price of $60 at Best Buy. You can pay a premium, wait, or deal with the standard versions. Your choice.

Power Outage

Last week, the power went out for the first time since I moved into my apartment. Without my 360 or a computer, I had my first reason ever to watch a movie on my PSP. However, it had been so long since I powered it up, the battery was completely dead. Thanks, Sony. If you had given me even one reason since Chains of Olympus to keep my PSP charged, I wouldn't have had to read a Terry Pratchett book with a maglite while eating cold pop tarts.
And you wonder why you've been getting stomped by Nintendo since you debuted. It's the games! It's the games... We already have iPods and portable DVD players. You're superior to the DS in so many ways. Utilize them and maybe I'll charge you again one day.