CC Goes Gamin' - Anthologies

To me, I like buying games where there's more than one game within the cartridge/disc/whatever. Especially older games that I grew up with.
Yep, I'm a damned dinosaur when it comes to games. The new 3-d stuff is alright I guess, but I still find myself going back to the old stuff I grew up with.
Anyways, this is sort of a review over the few anthologies I've bought over the years.

So, here's a quick review/opinion article over some of them.

#1 Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection

Price I paid: 16.35
Number of games: "over 40"
approximate cost per game: $.41+or-
Worth it? : Totally!
So, I didn't exactly grow up with the Sega Genesis. My cousin had it and when we went to visit, I indulged a little and played. I did manage to get a Genesis when I was about 15, but traded it to a friend for some N64 games.

My main reason for buying the game was some of the RPGs on it. Shining force I and II are on it as well as Phantasy star 1-3 (You have to unlock #1 but it's doable.)
There's also plenty of good arcade games on this puppy. The original Alien Syndrome, Decap attack, Fantasy Zone and Gain Ground are on here. In addition, it has a pretty handy save state function for games that didn't otherwise have any kind, like streets of rage, the first sonic game and several others that simply lacked but needed a save ability.
There's also plenty of games for single or 2 players.
This is the kind of thing I love. Plenty of games and added features all for one simple price on one disk.

#2 Metal slug Anthology

The one I bought didn't have boxart...

Price I paid: $32.24 (USED)
Number of games: 6 1/2* Read further on this...
approximate cost per game: $4.96
Worth it?: Uh, Yeah!
So, I have a bit of an unexpected Metal slug addiction, which is actually somewhat surprising, seeing as how I don't usually like many "Run-n-gun" games. But there's a long back story as to how I got into metal slug.
       I was about 13 when my mom took me, my sister and two of her friends  to this campground. They had this little arcade in the basement. There were 2 or 3 pinball machines (Addams family, Jurassic park and I can't remember the other one...) Galaga and metal slug 2.
 I put in a quarter and got to playing and was taken by the graphics and gameplay. I was just wowed and had never heard of the game before.
Fast forward a few years later to college. A friend of mine had an X-box 360 and one of the games on the arcade was MS3. I had been reunited and was happy.

Anyways, The MS: Anthology comes with "7" games. Metal slugs 1-6 and Metal slug X which is just Metal slug 2 with some modifications, It's still the same game, just with some added bonuses.
The only problem is that (To me) The only ones that feel worth playing are 1, X,3 and 5. I don't know why but I feel that the other games, 2, 4 and 6 are mediocre at best.
There is something though. If you have a second player, it changes EVERYTHING. All the games become something different and it adds a nice Competitive Co-op mode.

#3 Mega Man Anniversary Collection - PlayStation 2

Price I paid: 12.99
Number of games: 8 + 2 games that can be unlocked
Approximate cost per game: $1.30
Worth it?: Hells yeah!!!

So, I grew up a massive fan of the Mega Man series. I had 2-6 on the original NES but after the house went down after the storm, I had a profound desire to play them again... That's when I heard about the collection on Gamecube and PS2. I bought it online and it fulfilled my robot bloodlust.
All the games I grew up with were there in their original format along with some other ones I had never played before.
I only played 7 a few times and I never even heard of 8

The first 6 were what I was accustomed to and they were in their original unaltered versions which made me happy. 7, which I had played maybe 2 or 3 times in the past, was alright. 8 was okay but I never got around to beating it. 

#4 Mega Man X Collection - Nintendo Gamecube

Price I paid: 30.00? (But now I see it on amazon for PS2. NEW for 12.00)
Number of games: 6 + one game to be unlocked
Approximate cost per game: $5.00 or 10.00 per game I actually liked to play...
Worth it?: Let's talk about that...

Ah Megaman X. The grown up version of the thing I grew up with. A little darker, better graphics... I actually disliked the X series. But again, I grew up with 1-3 because I had the SNES and rented it constantly.
    At the time of me buying it, I was in college and had some extra money holed away. I saw it on sale at Wal-mart and thought "Hey, It might be fun to get back into that." I was half right. The first 3 games brought back a sense of nostalgia. The catchy music, the decent graphics and neat enemy design made me remember what I did like about the series. And then there was X4 - X6.

Growing up, I didn't get a playstation until I was maybe 13, and even then, I only played it at my dad's house which I only went to maybe 4-5 times a year and it didn't have a memory card. The games I had were Crash Bandicoot Warped(good), Austin Powers Pinball ( Yech.) and Croc (Meh...)
I never got into the 4-6 games and looking back, I probably wouldn't have. The complex storyline, the desparate reaching for creative enemy design and dark edginess didn't do it for me. 

And then there's the game that you unlock... a Megaman racing game. To me, it isn't good. It feels like a poor version of Mario Kart with Megaman characters. Meh. 

The X Collection was my first introduction to the later X games and I wasn't Thoroughly impressed. It might be for some gamers, but not for me.

Well, That's it for now. Go play or something.

Deadstocked : Action figure cleanout

I've been cleaning out all the old junk that has accumulated in my house lately. A majority of it was stuff I bought thinking I could make a profit by reselling online. I had high hopes. I could find a bag of action figures at thrift stores for as little as a dollar with the chance to make 30 - 50 dollars a piece.
Unfortunately for me, a few things happened... Other people got the idea and I didn't read the fine print that "Box included" is what made the items so fetching in cost. So, a few years have passed, My ambitions are low, so it's time to get rid of all this junk that's been cluttering up my room and garage. Heck, some of this stuff I've had since childhood. Let's take a looky-loo at what we have...

"Talking" Steve Irwin with Alligator

I went to school for wildlife management. One of the reasons I went was my love of nature and the desire to educate others about the wilderness. My inspiration to do so came from a few key people: The Kratt Brothers, Jeff Corwin and of course, Steve Irwin, The crocodile hunter.

Mr. Irwin passed away while I was in my first year of college. His passing kinda hit me hard. I had always wanted to meet him and found him to be inspirational. I found an action figure of him that has a speak function that isn't working right now. (I think the batteries might be dead.) I still feel kinda attached to this one, so back into my collection he goes!

Big ass collection of power rangers

I grew up half-watching the power rangers as a kid. It was neat, The monsters were cool and the plots were simple enough. I guess but I never got into it. Whether I wasn't really old enough when it was on or it just missed me altogether, I'm not sure. It also did fall into a group of things I didn't really like because as a kid, I loved mega man (Oh, here we go again...) and people that saw me liking mega man figured I'd like MMPR as well... It really wasn't my thing. I managed to find the figurines a few years back and had heard there was a movie coming out so I put them in storage. I never found the opportunity to list and sell them so whatevs. From what I've seen online, they don't sell for much anyways.

Bigger Ass collection of pokemon

I now noticed that my sister drew on Chancey.

Ahh, Pokemon, AKA Jump The Shark The Franchise. I was part of the first wave of pokemon. I even got a damn VHS explaining what pokemon were and how to prepare for the invasion. I got into it a little bit. I bought Pokemon Red, Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Stadium... But that was about it. My real love came partially from the figures. I bought a single set and then everyone around me decided "We know what to get him for gifts for every occasion" I had amassed a collection of dozens of the damn things. When Pokemon Gold/Silver came out, I was on a delay and hadn't got to play it for a few years. I haven't even picked up the later games. I kept one or two that I legitimately liked, but the rest are going to be donated, Let some die hard freak win the lottery...

The shitheads... I mean, Hersheys Kisses people

That's what they look like though...

Ask any kid what they think these things are, and they'll tell you they're some sort of attempt to cash in on the emoticon movie. But, they're not. Once upon a time, in a mystical land called Pennsylvania, some guy invented chocolate and took over the world... He built a theme park based off of chocolate or something.

In all seriousness, these are the little mascots for the Hersheyland park that remind me of the 7 Duffs from the simpsons. I've had these sitting around for about 20 years and gave up trying to make heads or tails of them. Whatever. NEXT!

Farfel the dog

Does anyone else find it ironic that they're using a dog to sell chocolate?

I didn't know who or what the hell Farfel was until I looked him up recently. He was a puppet used to sell Nestle brand chocolate. I'm not even sure where I got him, but I'm now somewhat glad he's gone. I feel like the ads he was in were damn creepy.

The cameraman was killed instantly.

 the director was found hours later, stuffed with baby Ruth wrappers.

Some simpsons figurines

Once upon a time, I actually liked watching the Simpsons. I bought the video games, I watched the shows, I bought the kids meals just so I could get the stupid toy that came with it. Then, one day, I quit watching. Not just the Simpsons, but like... Everything.

In college, I didn't have much time to watch much of anything, so shows I was interested in (Lost, umm... There were others...) got the axe in my interests. Simpsons was one of them. I missed close to 12 years, and I don't really plan on catching up. For what it's worth, Uter is a neat character, and Creepy flanders was cool too, but not cool enough to keep.

Weird Heavyset GI Joe knock-offs

These things were cool. I remember getting them when I was about 9 and thought they were the greatest. I can't remember the brand name they were, but they were only sold at dollar general for a few years. Each of them came with an accessory ,usually a gun, or a grenade. The cop came with a night stick, The climber guy had a pick axe and the fire fighter has a fire extinguisher.

I had the entire set and then one day, the stores just stopped carrying them completely. I never figured out why. I don't know why, but they sort of remind me of the Heavy from Team Fortress 2. Whatever, They don't bring me Joy anymore. Into the donation bin they go!

Ephialtes from 300

300 was a movie that came out while I was in college. Everyone quoted it, did the "THIS IS SPARTA!" quotes and all the other crap. I found this amazingly detailed figure at a thrift store for 50 cents and bought it hoping it was worth some bank. It was not. He wasn't in the box and didn't have his extra head, so he wasn't worth listing. 

Buncha Kaiju

Awesomely enough, these 3 were in a box at a yardsale marked "Dinosaurs" I got them all for a dollar and kept them for a while. While I'm not the biggest fan of the old Godzilla movies, they're pretty detailed figurines. I hope a big Kaiju fan finds them at a thrift store and loses their mind on the luck they had finding them.

Stinky diver from Kablam!

I have no memory of how this guy got in my collection, but I have a vague memory of the show Kablam! Stinky diver was part of a group called "Action League Now!" which was a group of crime fighters that... Fought crime... Ack, just watch a damn episode.

Inspector Gadget with a friggin' Ax.

I found him like this. I'm not kidding.

I remember going to a yard sale where action figures were in little bags. These two were bagged together along with the silvery ax that the one gadget holds. I don't know why he was packaged like this by the people selling him, but I like it. I'm keeping him. The other one can go.

Well, that's one of many crates of junk cleared out. Stay tuned! Or don't... I'm just writing this dumb thing, It's not like I have authority over what you do.

Farewell to my last job : Working at a neat saddle shop

About 4 years ago, I got a job at a saddle shop doing internet sales work and IT stuff. It was the first real job I got since graduating college and it paid the bills.
In addition to this, I had also managed to get my driver's licence and started making my way in the world.

It started out simple enough. Manage an Amazon, Ebay and regular store account with some help from another IT worker. Things were going pretty good and normal until about a year and a half into working...

I assume this means no more horsing around at work...

My boss, who is an avid military collector decided to buy a collection and add it all to our regular merchandise. After a while, I became the only IT person and learned quite a bit about military stuff. 

But, things can't remain the same for long. I grew tired with my job, and other stuff happened. So, starting soon, I'm making my way into the medical sector.
With all this being said, here's 10 things I got out of working for a neat little saddle shop.

#1 I learned how to drive in a northern Ohio Winter

Hope you have mittens...

Before I started working, I had never learned to drive a car. I knew how, but never got around to getting my license. Luckily for me, I managed to get it all figured out by August of 2013. By November, the first heavy snow storms had hit and there I was driving a 10 year old Oldsmobile Alero (White by the way,) Into a damn Blizzard.
I also learned that car electrical systems get wonky as hell in the cold. One morning it was -30 out and when I started my car, the windows decided to roll down, When there's ice on a window that's trying to go down, the window tends to shatter and break. Long story short, I drove 20 miles into town with no window and cuts on my face to get a replacement.
Though I dread winter still, I'm still confident I can make it to and from work without dying. (fingers crossed, Note to self, buy St. Christopher Pendant.)

#2 A surplus West German combat helmet (with cover!)

What tended to happen often with certain items was that they just wouldn't sell. We'd list them, they wouldn't sell. Time would pass and my boss would ask me to go ahead and relist them. This helmet was the first of many items I got tired of seeing not sell. I finally decided "Heck with it, I'm buying it so I don't have to reshoot it and re-list it." Price-$10.00

#3 a surplus East German M43 Spring hat (2 of em!)

I accidentally the pictures...

Yet another in the line of items that didn't sell well. But with a little difference. I actually wanted one of these. Something about them, I really like. The color is good and the earflaps are nice. I like them so much, I bought two!

#4 WWII Era 83rd Division Patches

This is where things get neat. During WWII, My uncle Sam Magill Served in the 83rd Division where he managed to get 20,000 German Troops to surrender. My sister made a video on youtube about him. I jumped at the chance to buy the patches that belonged to my Uncle's division. 

#5 A replica German Luftwaffe officer's sword

I actually don't condone anything the Germans did during WWII. This thing has a funny story. My boss was going to a gun show but didn't have enough room to take this. He buzzed me in my office and asked "Do you want a sword? It's a reproduction but it's a sword." I was hesitant but said yes. He brought it up, asked for 10 bucks and also threw in some other stuff. 

For what it's worth, the sword is an obvious fake. I debated for a while of altering the pommel and guard piece to make it into something else. But I'm lazy.

#6 A gas mask I'm afraid to do anything with.

I can't even remember what I did with the real thing...

The gas mask I bought was a case of laziness at work. I didn't feel like researching where the mask came from, and I didn't feel like photographing it, so I just asked how much my boss wanted for it. He made a deal so I threw it in the trunk of my car and was like "Great! Now I have a gas mask!" 

A few weeks passed and I was researching another gas mask when I learned that a lot of the masks used asbestos in the filters. I put the mask away somewhere and have never messed with it again. Eventually, I might get it back out and get it tested, or just pitch the damn thing, but I haven't decided yet.

#7 Pretty good experience with customer service

This was actually pretty good. In the 4 years I worked at the store, I learned how to negotiate with frustrated customers, communicate with customers from other countries and just plain deal with people. There's no picture for it, but it's good anyways.

#8 My photography got used in a book I can't read.

While working on old Civil war era photos, I was contacted by a group that did research for photos of the era. They said my photo skills were impeccable and that they wanted to use my photography in their book. I agreed and was hoping to get a copy, except, it's on this thing called "dropbox" I don't understand it so I'll probably never see my handiwork. Oh well. 
(If you're interested, here's a link to the facebook page.)

#9 A pretty darn nice Knife

Not a whole lot to say about this one. It's a nice looking knife.

#10 Surplus West German Dust Goggles

To be used for my supervillain costume.

Well, that's it. I start work at my new job on Monday. See ya all later!