Big Daddy is busted

This morning at 7:30am I got in the car and started my commute to Redmond. This is pretty standard practice for me except for a couple of things:

1: It's a little earlier than I like to leave

2: I wasn't going to work or the gym today.

By 7:55am this morning, I had already visited the Jack in the Box drive thru and gotten a wonderful hot breakfast. I plunked down an "ass mat" (a nice little foam pillow designed to make concrete comfortable) and sat down outside EBGames in Sammamish, WA. I was alone. My wait for Bioshock had begun.

So why wait in line by myself for a copy of a video game I've already beaten?

First of all...Bioshock is awesome. Even though I've had a chance to play through it already, I love it...and wanted to make sure to buy my own copy on launch day. I plan to go through it at least another couple of times trying to unlock all the secrets.

On Friday I learned that there was a special edition of Bioshock, which came with a Big Daddy figure. By the way, the "Big Daddy" is one of the game's toughest villians. Unfortunately, by the time I heard about this....the special edition of Bioshock was sold out everywhere I called. I tried at least 5 or 6 stores before I called Sammamish EB Games. According to the sales clerk I talked to yesterday, they had a very limited number of copies for sale on launch day. After calling another 5 or 6 stores, I decided that even though it is out of the way, I would make my stand in Sammamish.

I was only alone for only 15 minutes when the 2nd person in line arrived. He was a 17 year old store employee who was there to pick up his pre-ordered limited editions. He informed me that they only had ONE copy for sale today, and that because I was first I would probably get it. He also joked that he could just go in and buy them all, but that he wasn't going to do that. I thanked him for that courtesy. Now that I had this info, I was a little more excited.....and felt a little more justified in being outside in the rain at 8am waiting to buy a video game. I called John, who was up in Lynnwood trying to buy the game as well. He chose Lynnwood because it was closer to home. At 9:15, he was the only one in line there. We were both doing pretty well so far.

90 minutes passed since my arrival and more people eventually joined us. No one who walked up looked happy to see a line. This was the scene around 9:30 this morning:

A quick census revealed that everyone in line was there to buy the same game we were. Almost no one had pre-ordered. Within the next 30 minutes another 4 or 5 people showed up, all for the same game. The store manager came out with a case of Halo Fuel for us, and we each opened one up. By 10am I was feeling caffeinated and very pleased that I was first in line.


When the doors opened, I went up to the register and asked for a special edition copy of Bioshock. The clerk informed me that because I had not pre-ordered, I would be receiving the copy with the busted Big Daddy figure in it. He also gave me a piece of paper with a website on it where I could return my broken dude.


Figuring this was the best I was going to get....I bought it and left. First time I've probably ever knowingly purchased something that was broken and wanted to keep it. I called John, who had struck out in Lynnwood and was trying another store. Later I learned that he struck out everywhere he tried and ended up with the regular edition. Alas, these Big Daddies were hard to catch.

I got back to work, opened up my prize...and was a little surprised to find out just how broken Big Daddy was. He's missing both arms and a leg, all severed nicely at the joints. I wonder if perhaps he battled a Jedi?



Here's my artist's rendition of how that battle might have gone down.







Overall, I don't mind waiting a few weeks to get a new Big Daddy figure mailed to me. Perhaps by then, I will have beaten the game completely. Until that day comes, this broken one will be a reminder that you should never mess with a Sith.....and you should always pre-order your games.