Xbox 360 Elite Price Drop

No leaked photo would be complete unless it was blurry; and, in a recently leaked ad, it appears that the Elite version of the Xbox 360 will drop in price down to $299. This seems to suggest that perhaps the Pro version will be discontinued. Now that it will be the same price as the old Pro version, the Elite version looks to be an amazing deal and hopefully be enough for Xbox to gain a bigger share of the market. The ad is set to be released in a few weeks, so stay tuned to see if the price really does drop.

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Steam Weekend Deals

Okay so we have all heard of Steam before in our lives as gamers, at least I hope we have. If you haven’t it is an online distributor that you download to your computer. It is not just your run of the mill service though, it can launch games, set up multiplayer matches, and download games directly, many DRM free. I highly recommend it and you can download it here. Steam also has many deals, which is a big plus to any Thrifty Gamer. My favorite is their “Weekend Deals” where they will have games for incredibly low prices for the weekend. For example: this weekend they had Dawn of War II for 25% off and World Wide Soccer Manager 2009 for 50% off. These are both excellent steals and I recommend both games. So give Steam a try and watch for those special deals.

Rock Revolution

Depending on who you ask Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour are the king of the music game genre. Unfortunately the full packs of these games can cost over $100. If you aren’t willing to put down a couple hundred dollars on fake instruments and have an interest in the drums then check out Rock Revolution. The drums are a lot more different than the other drums out there, consisting of 6 oddly shaped pads, but giving you more variety in your play over rock bands 4 pads and Guitar Hero’s 5 pads. It consists mainly of indie music, but this game is a great deal if you can’t afford the real thing. Don’t get it expecting Rock Band quality but for being more than a third of the price of Rock Band then this could be the music game for you until you can afford something better.  You get Rock Revolution and the drums in this bundle for under $50! Order it now and it comes with free shipping.

Get Your Money’s Worth: Mirror’s Edge

So you just spent $60 on Mirror’s Edge, you finished it in about 6 hours. So now what is there left to do? many people just stop playing and heartlessly trade it in, or let it collect dust. Personally, I have played through Mirror’s Edge roughly ten times. Each time is just as fun as the last. Here are the ways that I take Mirror’s Edge and make it fresh each time I play. This is not a game for the story, for me its a game of freedom. I can run around for hours just jumping and flying across roof tops. There is no greater joy than being able to string together a complex stunt unharmed. So here are the things I do to get my money’s worth out of Mirror’s Edge.

Play Without Guns

After playing through the story initially, go back through and try it without using guns. You will soon find that it takes a different set of tactics to tackle your opponents in order to stay alive. It adds a new level of excitement in situations of intense fire. Then mix it up and do it all over again on a harder setting.

Take off Runner Vision

After playing through a few times and knowing the levels somewhat, turn off runner vision. This takes off the red hints and lets you find your own way around. By taking this off you really get the feel that you are a free runner. You aren’t relying on a guide, it’s just you and the environment. This will also help you find new ways to scale each level, adding some variety into the game that wasn’t there before.

Play on a Higher Difficulty

Enemies become harder and gameplay changes. You will need to be more resourceful in your approach to enemies and it will add more challenge into the game. Take off runner vision to add even higher difficulty.

Make it a Movie

Sometimes it’s fun to pretend. Remove Runner Vision and the Reticle. Follow the story and live it like you are in a movie. The reticle was put in to help prevent motion sickness, but if you can handle it, take it off. Without it you will change the way you play slightly and you will fell that you are Faith. it’s just you and the city; there is nothing else in your way.

Time Trials and Speedruns

Once you feel you have your route down, race yourself. Play through the time trials and see if you can get 3 stars. Then play through the speedruns to see how fast you can complete the game. Race against your friends or race against the best to find an even faster route. Once you have these down then you can move to the DLC. Pure Time Trials. These time trials are just you and a bunch of floating blocks, these can add several more hours of play time for only a few dollars. A good value if you really enjoy the time trials and racing yourself.

Don’t Die

Just don’t die. I’m sure the first few times played through there were a lot of Faith guts on the ground below. After a few times you died less, but now try to go a whole level without dieing. Then the the whole game. Imagine the feeling of playing through the entire game without dieing once.

Mix It Up

Combine several of these tips to make this game more challenging and even more fun. Most importantly just make it fun. Find what parts of the game you like and build on them. Do stuff that is out of the ordinary, as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters. if you don’t have this game then you should try it! This is a revolutionary game in the first person genre, you are a free runner. Nothing is cooler than that, you can purchase the game for only $30 Here. If you have this game, let us know what you think about it in the comments. Then try some of these out and tell us what you think. How do you get your money’s worth out of Mirror’s Edge?