wickedchadwick

Tag: Loot Run

“Loot Runs” are when Zombie and I go shopping for deals. Although mostly focused around video games and pop culture stuff, Loot Runs can also be about any deals, Hell even groceries.

  • Pandora’s Box of Loot

    Pandora’s Box of Loot

    I swear I was going to do the responsible thing this morning. A respectable deal at Shoppers Drug Mart had me planning to restock the essentials. I expected to pick up some toilet paper, paper towel, toiletries, and maybe some food if it was on sale. But it all went wrong/right.

    Today’s deal was a regular one at Shoppers. An offer to spend $60 and get a mystery bonus of either 20k or 30k in points. Potentially 50% back in points but at a minimum 33%, not bad. The only real restriction with this bonus is to limit yourself, purchasing only as close to $60 pre-tax as possible to maximize your bonus.

    The path I travel through this particular location had me pick up deals on cookies (2/$5) and then I drifted over to my guilty pleasure, the coffee-flavored Monster energy drinks. They were 2 for $6 which is now a better deal than the Dollarama and I thought I should treat myself. I drifted through the aisles glancing quickly for sales before aiming for the paper products. Although I had decent stock at home, if any were on sale, it was always a good idea to pick them up. And that’s when I saw the clearance section at the back of the store.

    I had generally been ignoring this section of the store since Shoppers announced they were getting out of the electronics business. Although this was my favorite location for grocery shopping it didn’t have a great game section to begin with. From what I could tell the only remaining games were Xbox One titles behind a glass case and they were still at full retail price. So it became a routine to quickly look at the case, make sure nothing was on clearance and move on. But to the next of this section was a cart and some baskets, evidently the most recently clearanced items in the store that had yet to be put on shelves or out front to be seen. I thought nothing of it but then did a double-take when a PS5 logo appeared amidst a small collection of movies. Long story short, I grabbed every non-sports title.

    Most were $10 each but the real score for me was Avatar at $25. This game had been on my radar for a while as it was current-gen exclusive and I knew it would showcase the power of my PS5 or Xbox Series X. It consistently sold for $50 in my favorite pawn shop and I was not willing to buy a potential Far Cry-esque experience with all my unfinished titles in that series still on the shelf. But thanks to this deal I was spending $25 plus tax and getting 25% back in points (yes, I did the math).

    Will I play all these titles? Probably not anytime soon but we all know I’m a hoarder and at these prices I don’t feel that guilty. I’ve even been toying with the idea lately of reselling some of my collection if I know I’m not going to play them. I’m sure I’d be able to get $20 for most of the $10 games, heck they’re still sealed.

    NIck Wilde Disney Infinity character acting pretty impressed with his new buddy

    On top of that this weekend started amazing with the end of my work day on Friday. A client surprised me with a 3D-printed Deadpool that I had always wanted. Modeled after the Disney Infinity toys I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. He wasn’t thrilled with the work as it was challenging and the model was not easy to work with. He insisted on giving it to me for free. We agreed that I would be buying the Deadpool mask from him in the future and I’ll make sure to repay him then.

    Finally, because it’s also geeky I’m excited to be going to my colouring tattoo for my Skull Kid in the next couple of hours. Stay tuned for more pics.

    Hope everyone has a great weekend whenever you read this.

  • Amazon Impulse

    Amazon Impulse

    Yet another Loot Run round up. This one is brought to you by Amazon impulse purchasing. You know, when you check Amazon for deal and then manage to add multiple items to the cart? All in the name of free shipping, right?

    Recently picked up a 3rd-party Lego rose bouquet and accidentally added a couple of Switch games. All under the guise of a birthday gift for Zombie Fish. A birthday that’s 3 months away. 3. Months. Yeah, so I gave them to her yesterday. What?

    Ni No Kuni I & II

    She’s a big fan of Studio Ghibli animation and they partnered with Level 5 to produce the first title. This was originally released on the PS3 and I’ve started it but never dove deeper. The cut scene animation is as good as any of the studios best such as Princess Mononoke. And a real tear-jerker too, you’ve been warned. The sequel is not as highly rated (although still good) and is a separate story much like Final Fantasy’s releases.

    I’ve also done a rare thing and pre-ordered a game. It’s not often I’ll do this but I’ve been waiting for a physical release of this title. Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered has been released digitally and finally getting a physical release in July. At $45 CDN I easily convinced myself I deserve it.

    Finally, Zombie’s love of Kinder Surprise eggs has got me hooked on these tiny Marvel characters.

    That pretty much wraps up the last couple of weeks Loot. As always, thanks for reading.

  • Vacation Loot

    Vacation Loot

    Here’s a couple of pick ups over the last week, most from Ontario

    Zombie and I visited my parents in Ontario this past week for her March Break. We usually have some great meals and do some shopping on our visits and this one didn’t disappoint. During one of our previous visits we found a respectable pawn shop in town and easily convinced Grandma we had to go. They have a decent selection of Xbox One and PS4 games and it’s a great way to fill out some low-cost wishlist items. I found Assassin’s Creed Chronicles; a trilogy of side-scrolling games in the AC universe. Also picked up Mad Max, a game I digitally own but had on my pick-up list, always preferring a physical copy. These games were 2/$25 so $12.50 each (and no tax),

    We also hit up the local GameStop, always fun because of the familiarity, but nice to see new discount bins and merch. I found Star Wars: Jedi Survivor for $25, a great price considering it runs $50 normally.

    We were back in town ON Friday and decided to check a less frequented pawn shop. Not a bad visit here, I picked up Far Cry 6 (XboxOne) despite already owning it on PS5. My justification was the great price AND I owned all the other Far Cry titles on the Xbox platform.

    Finally, at the Value Village in my parents’ town we found this unopened Carnage Lego. It was pricey ($99) but my dad used his seniors discount for %30 off (so $70) and I didn’t feel as guilty. THEN I checked online and found the set was discontinued and selling for, on average, $200 CDN. All in all, a great find. And yes, I opened it and am half-way through building it. What an awesome addition to our Geek Room.

    Although we did many things on our trip, this summarizes the vacation loot we scored. As always, thanks for reading Internet Nomads!

  • Loot Run VII Remake

    Loot Run VII Remake

    Probably just as a means of managing my travel anxiety I impulsively bought something that I wanted but wasn’t sure I would spend this much on. But it is the deluxe edition with a steelbook, soundtrack, art book and that did tip the scales.

    Presenting final Fantasy VII remake for the PS4.

    Okay, at this point I feel like I need to make a confession in a Catholic church or something. I’ve never played final Fantasy 7. I’m well aware of its cultural significance and impact on future final Fantasy games as well as role-playing games in general. I’m aware that it’s almost always on top 10 lists of greatest games of all time. I’ve also emulated it on multiple devices in the past to give myself the opportunity to play it but have never actually sat down to do so. The announcement of a remaster came up many many years ago, I noted it but decided I wasn’t going to be an early adopter. I didn’t have that nostalgic sentiment  that wanted to see the story retold through modern lenses. But it didn’t change the fact that it was on my bucket list of games in my life I’ve wanted to complete someday. When the new one was finally released I did what I always do, keep my eye on the prices at the second hand shops. So when we entered our regular haunt today and I spotted the Deluxe Edition sitting in the rack, in what I must say was a very good condition box, I grabbed it and continued browsing. Usually this is a sign that I’m thinking of picking something up but if I see something I want more I’ll put it back down. Nothing changed on this trip, there was nothing else I desperately wanted in the collection and said ah “Fuck it”, and picked it up.

    As with any purchase of this price I have buyers remorse. It happens every time. I’m very glad to have this in my library and I’m planning to play it in the near future. From articles I’ve read having the physical PS4 version will entitle me to the Integrade upgrade for PS5 at no cost. That’s going to allow me to play it on the PlayStation portal in bed, greatly increasing the chances of me completing this game. We’ll see though after the trip, I still have Far Cry 4 to complete.

    As always, thanks for reading Internet Nomads, see you next time.

  • Light Duty

    Light Duty

    As my father would say, today was “light duty”. Got the basic errands done and stopped by the pawn shop to browse. Picked up these for a great price.

    Dishonored & Assassin’s Creed

    $2 for Assassin’s Unity was an easy buy. I picked it up years ago digital for, and I remember this specifically, $1.87. But I have so many physical Assassins’ games this was a no-brainer to add to the library. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider came about partially because my daughter convinced me to watch Arcane on Netflix. That art style and aesthetic reminded me of the Dishonored series. At $6 I said, why not?

    This brings the Xbox one collection to 96 physical titles. I’m not specifically chasing numbers but I’m so close to 100 that I’ve been watching for Xbox One titles on the cheap. It seems to be a really good time for it.