Cheap Date: Feb 20th
Happy Hump Day everyone on this short work week and welcome to a new edition of Cheap Date. For the article, I recommend $30 worth of nerdy entertainment to fill up your week.
Hit the jump to read the recommendations.
Cheap Date: Nov 21st
Happy Thanksgiving this week people! I hope everyone have some fun and filling plans this week, but if you need some inspiration on what to entertain yourself with then you came to the right place. This is Cheap Date, where I will recommend no more than $30 worth of nerdy entertainment to fill your weekly quota.
Hit the jump for my weekly recommendations.
Cheap Date: Nov 14th
Hello, world. Hopefully you have taken a break from playing Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 long enough to swing by for another edition of Cheap Date. Each week, I will recommend $30 worth of nerdy entertainment for you to enjoy because we all know how difficult it can become to save your money.
Hit the jump for this week’s recommendations.
Cheap Date: May 23rd
This is Cheap Date, where I will tell you my opinion on how to spend under $30 for your week’s geek entertainment.
Another light week, but I was able to salvage it and find you some entertainment. Hopefully you can enjoy this week just the same.
Games – $15
ArmA II: Combined Operations is on sale from Amazon for $15 until the 28th. It contains Arma II as well as the expansion Operation Arrowhead. While the game itself is mediocre, there had been a mod that is going around that everyone is talking about called Day Z. What is Day Z? Down to its bare bones, it is a zombie shooter. While that is simple enough, the game is so much more than that. Everything in the game is as realistic as possible (granted there is a zombie apocalypse). You need food, you can bleed out and you can not trust anyone for shit. Other players sometimes play the role of bandits, as players can kill each other. Instead of venturing into a zombie infested town, you can scavenge resources from other players. Like other great zombie fiction, the zombies are just dressing. How people interact with each other is the best part of the game. I am beyond fascinated in playing this game.
Be warned though that this is a PC game and it is very intensive, some hardware may not be up to the challenge. If you past that hurdle, the game is a challenge itself as average life time for players runs about four hours.
Comics – $11
For comics, this week I have three books to recommend.
The first one isBatman Incorporated #1from DC Comics. it is written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Burnham. This will be the first time Batman, Inc. will be showcased in the new DC 52. While I have not always been a fan of Morrison’s writing, I cannot deny that his run before the DC relaunch was one of the better books out there. Plus, it is fun learning about all the different “Batmen” from around the world.
Dan Slott’s run onAmazing Spider-Mancontinues in issued #686 from Marvel Comics. The “Ends of the Earth” story line is rising to a climax soon, so you should hop on board now. All you need to know is the Earth is in peril and only Spider-Man can save the day. Not to mention Slott has promised some seismic changes to the Spider-Man universe by issue #700.
Finally, there’s Cobra #13 from IDW. Seriously, if you are even remotely a fan of G.I. Joe as a kid then you should read the three series that IDW puts out and Cobra is by far the best one of the group. The next chapter of the G.I. Joe story line starts here as the Joes are being backed into a corner. Now we get to see who will get their hands truly dirty.
That will do it for this week’s Cheap Date and hopefully you enjoyed yourself.
Cheap Date: May 16th
Every Wednesday, I help you decide how to best spend $30 or less on entertainment for our very nerdy Cheap Date.
You have two choices that you can follow this week. The first choice is to go over the usual $30 budget and grab Diablo III for twice that amount. Most people are choosing Diablo III this week. It is a game that many people have waited over a decade for. Then there is the second choice which will consist of just comics and a game, but you do get more bang for your buck.
Let us assume that you do not have sixty dollars and want to stay within the thirty dollar budget.
Comics – $10
This week, we have three comics that are looking to thrill you recklessly.
Locke & Key Clockworks #6 from IDW by Joe Hill with art by Gabriel Rodriguez continues to impress. This issue ends the fifth Locke & Keymini-series. We finally learn what ultimately happened to the “Keepers of the Keys” when they face off against a former friend. Stephen King should be proud of his son’s fantasy-horror series that keeps this reader wanting more.
Wonder Woman #9from DC Comics shows us Diana’s continued journey into the realm of Hades. When Brian Azzarello said he was turning the rebootedWonder Womanseries into a horror story most of the audiences were confused. But going into the ninth issue, this series keeps getting better and scarier. Also Cliff Chiang’s art has a lot to do with the book’s success.
Hardcore #1 from Image Comics combines the ideas of Image greats Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri. This new series has an interesting science fiction take on assassins. Imagine if assassins could jack in and take over the body of anyone to complete their assignment. Now imagine if one of those assassins is using those methods to take on all the other assassins. Very interesting cyber-punk feel to the story that I am very interested in reading.
Video Games – $20 or 1600 MSP
The XBLA version of Minecraft was released last week. Within a day, it had already broken sales records and continues to do so a week later. Yes; there are cheaper ways to play this game but there is one thing that sets this version apart, Xbox Live. Xbox Live and its friends lists make the game so much easier to work with other people. When you boot the game up, it shows who is playing and allows you to hop right in to that person’s game. That is the reason many people pay the $60 a year for Live and will pay $20 for this game. No other service now does friends lists as well as Xbox Live.
Minecraft also eats away at time. You have to mine and collect materials to build whatever your mind can imagine, all of which takes time. Last night it took me two hours to clear an area and collect the materials to build an infinity pool that will serve my future castle. I do not even want to imagine how much time it will take to build my future castle without help. Oh well, in the meantime I can hop into other people’s games and leave my mark.
Even if you are unsure about playing Minecraft, you can always download the trial version.
Call Yourself A Nerd 