Latest news with #SaintsRow2
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Don't wait til Prime Day! Amazon is offering over $350 in credits and freebies right now
Prime Day is an excellent time to buy just about anything. Sure, there are a lot of overly hyped deals, but if you know where to look — there's also a lot of great opportunities to save. Right now my favorite early Prime Day deals come disguised as credits and freebies. For example, right now Amazon is knocking $30 off your next Amazon Fresh order of $150. (You'll need to log into your Prime account to see this offer). I like this deal because groceries are very expensive and it's been awhile since I've seen a significant dollar-off discount at Amazon Fresh. If you're a gamer, Amazon is giving away 9 free PC games valued at over $100. The games include TOEM, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft, Saints Row 2, Star Wars Rebellion, Batman Arkham Knight, and Lego DC Super Villains. A few things worth noting: these deals are for Prime members only. So you'll need to log into your account to see the offers/discounts. If you're not a Prime member, now's the time to sign up for that free 30-day trial. Additionally, some of these deals expire very soon, so my advice is to snag the ones that appeal to you before they're gone. For more ways to save, check out our guide to the best Amazon promo codes. Amazon Fresh: spend $150, get $30 off @ AmazonPrime members who make an Amazon Fresh order of $150 or more will get $30 off their total order. Log into your Prime membership and head to the Amazon Fresh store to see your coupon code. This offer is valid through July 7, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (PT). Prime Gaming: 9 free PC games @ AmazonHeads up, PC gamers. Through July 7, Amazon is offering 9 free PC games to celebrate its forthcoming Prime Day event. In total, you're saving over $100 with these free games. They include TOEM, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft, Saints Row 2, Star Wars Rebellion, Batman Arkham Knight, and Lego DC Super Villains. GrubHub+: $10 off $20+ @ AmazonNormally costing $10 a month, GrubHub Plus is free for all Prime members. Through July 7, use coupon code "PRIME10" to save $10 on orders of $20 or more. The code can be entered during checkout. FSA: spend $50, get $10 off @ AmazonThe Amazon FSA store is taking $10 off orders of $50 or more. The items purchased must be sold via Brands include Claritin, Tylenol, Neutrogena, and more. This offer expires at 11:59 p.m. (PT) June 27, 2025. Amazon Photos: $15 credit @ AmazonFor first-time users only, upload a photo to Amazon Photos and you'll get a free $15 Amazon credit off your next $30 Amazon purchase. The photo must be uploaded via the Amazon Photos app. The credit will expire on July 18 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Kindle Unlimited: 3 months for free @ AmazonKindle Unlimited is a lending library consisting of over 4 million books. Membership lets you browse and download titles that then sync across all devices linked to your account. Magazine subscriptions and thousands of audiobooks are also included. Right now eligible Prime members can get 3 months for free. After your 3 months are over, you can cancel or pay the standard price of $11.99/month. Amazon Prime Visa: $200 gift card @ AmazonAmazon's biggest reward comes courtesy of its credit cards. Prime members who sign up for the Prime Visa card will get a $200 Amazon gift card upon approval. (Offer is valid through July 14). Alternatively, sign up for the Prime Store Card and you'll get an $80 Amazon gift card upon approval. (Offer is valid July 2 - July 11). Prime card members earn 10% back year-round on exclusive deals with Prime Card Bonus and unlimited 5% back year-round at Amazon, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods. Garmin sale: deals from $99 @ AmazonI have to admit: I wasn't expecting to see a surge in Garmin deals. That said, Amazon has various Garmin watches and some accessories on sale from $97. It's easily the best Garmin sale I've seen this year with discounts on some of our favorite models like the Editor's Choice Forerunner 55 on sale for $169. Amazon Haul: deals from $5 @ AmazonAmazon Haul is a new storefront featuring inexpensive deals on fashion, home, lifestyle, and more. It features over 300 million products across more than 35 product categories including brands like Columbia, Under Armour, New Balance, and more. As part of their early Prime Day deals, you can get New Balance apparel from $5. Skechers shoes/apparel: from $11 @ AmazonAmazon is having a massive Skechers sale post Prime Day. The sale includes sneakers and apparel for men, women, and children on sale from $11. As part of the sale, you can get the Skechers Hands Free Slip Ins for $54 (was $110, pictured). YETI sale: up to 25% off @ AmazonIf you're a fan of YETI, you know that a sale doesn't come around often enough. That's why now is the perfect opportunity to save big on drinkware and cooler deals starting at just $15. So don't wait — snag a new cooler or water bottle before these discounts disappear! TV sale: deals from $79 @ AmazonAmazon has smart TVs on sale for as low as $79. Keep in mind, the cheap TVs tend to be smaller, 1080p models (which are more suitable for a children's room or guest room). However, the sale also includes larger sets. These are among the cheapest TVs we've seen from Amazon. By comparison, Best Buy is offering a similar sale with prices from $ check: from $79 @ Best Buy | from $74 @ Walmart
Metro
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
The 90s and 2000s were the best time for video game creativity
A reader is frustrated that game publishers are only interested in following trends, rather than embracing the more experimental approach of earlier generations. I don't think many gamers understand that video games change in accordance with our culture, just like many industries do. Games were afforded the autonomy to express themselves however they pleased 20+ years ago and although we're still seeing games that are expressive, many now seem tame and risk averse. Trend chasing and attempting to fit cohesively into our culture makes developers and publishers money if they do it correctly, but when they don't pull it off, the developers of those games tend to close down. Meanwhile, the publisher who likely gave those developers the blueprints to make their failed games get away with it – again, likely because they chase the money and can leverage developers to make as much money as they deem satisfactory. The games industry, to me, is marching in lockstep with all the other giant industries, such as Hollywood film-making, the music industry, and the television industry; they're catching what trends are popular and they follow it in the hopes they can get rich, and then they'll repeat the formula because what we want is secondary in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, many of us decide not to think about this because we've got great games to play, or other media to interact with. I'm a 90s and early 00s child, and I think many agree that back then we had it really good, regardless of nostalgia. Games such as Conker's Bad Fur Day turned up to show us what sheer lunacy looks like and in my opinion that's partly what I want games to be: irreverent and hilarious fun. 2008's Saints Row 2 captured this as well, by allowing players to spray excrement onto suburban houses while driving around in a septic tank. If not humour, then I'd love my games to make me really care about what's going on. Games like The Getaway in 2002 has you play as Mark Hammond, and right at the start your wife is murdered and your son is kidnapped – and you spend the game walking through metaphoric fires to save your son. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. 2013's Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch is another game I love for its story because protagonist Oliver is so endearing, and the story is about his quest to save his mum. These kinds of stories don't seem to happen anymore and thus it's really hard to care about what's going on in them, I feel. Somewhere along the line video game expression became restricted. I blame the start of the eighth generation (the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) for this change of direction. If you go back and play an assortment of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games you should feel how accessible and focused on enjoyment they were. When the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One came about the landscape altered and now it was about huge open worlds, pristine graphics, and continued exploitation of gamers with loot boxes, microtransactions, and pay-to-win schemes. The truly great games these days tend to do things really differently and we celebrate them for it. Last year's Astro Bot is one of the greatest PlayStation games ever made because although it is a nostalgia-fuelled platformer, it reminds us what makes video games such a beautiful hobby. I don't want games like Astro Bot to become flickers and rarities in the grand scheme of modern gaming, I'd rather they were the norm rather than the exception. More Trending Video game expression is very important, and I think we should break the barriers of our culture in order to find a new horizon for video games. There are so many great experiences, as there always have been, but I believe games should be free of the shackles that often bind them. We should see the best of what this industry has to offer without compromise, because otherwise it seems like it's circling the drain – and when that happens is becomes boring. By reader James Davie The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: Unrivalled success has ruined PS5 and the PlayStation brand - Reader's Feature MORE: Playing Gex again is a reminder of a simpler time for gaming - Reader's Feature MORE: Video games are great for my mental and physical wellbeing - Reader's Feature
