Getting Wet

Hidden Gem Hunting will accompany me as I search charity shops, car-boot sales & discount stores for cheap video games. I will report my findings back here, once a week. Please bear in mind that these are my first impressions on these games, and are definitely subject to change once I have played them. If it turns out that a hidden gem or a heap of shit is among these, you’ll see a review pop up in the near future and I’ll link it here.

Wet (PS3) £2.00

Eliza Dushku voices the main character, Rubi Malone in this score-based story-driven third person shooter. For those of you not familiar with her, she voiced Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In Buffy she was a total badass and it looks like even here, outside of the Whedonverse, she keeps her badass flame lit. This game is all slow motion, grindhouse inspired gloop, and that’s my favourite kind of gloop. This is my sleeper pick for the week, second only to…

Operation Winback (PS2) £0.50

A very early PS2 release, ported from an N64 1999 release, Operation Winback is of note for near enough inventing the cover mechanic we know today. Many people herald Gears of War to have ownership of that title but this third person shooter is the true OG. The game features two possible endings, a bot mode and all the boss characters as unlocks for the split screen mode. This is my pick of the week for it’s innovation and interactible story choices, which for 1999 is amazing.

Genji: Dawn of the Samurai (PS2) £1.00

Genji is a Dynasty Warriors-like hack n’ slash adventure game. It spawned a PS3 sequel so my assumptions are that it must’ve had some sort of fan following back in the day. Since the sequel, the IP has died off so it’ll be interesting to see whether this was down to the original or the sequel. I have heard that it’s quite story-based, and I hope to become immersed in the game.

Fuel (PS3) £2.50

Fuel was part of the late 2000’s open world racing phase inhabited by the likes of Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed Undercover. Fuel was different though, as it took elements of MotorStorm and blended them with the aforementioned design. The map in Fuel is humongous at over 5,500 square miles (roughly the size of Connecticut). There is a huge amount of different vehicles to unlock as you progress.

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter (PS2) £0.25

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter is a futuristic space FPS set in a world where aliens and humans live in harmony. However, there’s always an arsehole in a perfect world, and it’s Mace Griffin’s job to stop them. The weapons all have alternate fire modes which adds variety to the game. The draw to this game for me is that punk band Black Flag’s Henry Rollins is the voice of Mace, yet I doubt that’ll be enough as this game looks incredibly clunky and unpolished. It might just be that the guest voice actor is the only redeeming quality in this game.

Total Spent: £6.25

Pick of the Week: Operation: Winback (PS2)

Sleeper: Wet (PS3)

Most Likely to Suck: Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter (PS2)

Be sure to keep an eye out for reviews of these games to see if they were worth a second look, or worth retracting the first look everyone gave them. Check back next week for five more possibilities.

Sam Marshall

Sam Marshall delves deeper into the darkest depths than any man who dared to tread before him. Some people enjoy a little mind-crushing torture. He is one of them.