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GameFly Review |
Launched in late 2002, Gamefly are one of the premier US based video rental companies that that offers users a huge range of playstation 2, xbox, gamecube and gameboy video games.
At the moment they are offering a 10-day free trial of their service. The gamefly site is very easy to browse through the titles on offer in each category of console. The rental plan allows you to have 2 games out at any time for $21.99 per month. A 1 or 3 game plan is also offered.
Naturally this includes free shipping both ways, no due dates, nor any late fees. Games are dispatched from LA.
Click here to Visit GameFly
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GameFly Customer Reviews |
Todd from New Jersey on 2008-05-20 Rates them:  
I joined and was happy at first, but that changed. I returned my 2 games that I had rented. The next day I canceled because I did not need the service. They sent an email saying that the needed the games within 7 days. They received them within 7 days but I accidently sent a wrong disc in one of the sleeves. They contated me and I asked what to do. They said that they would send me my game and a sleeve for me send them theirs back. Then I got an email that they wanted to charge my account for not returning the game. I had not recieved my game or the sleeve yet and emailed back explaining what was going on and asked what else I was supposed to do. They said nothing and that the email was forwarded to customer service. I just got the sleeve sat in the mail. the following Monday I put it in the mail for them. The next day they charged me for the game. How I could have gotten it to them faster I am not sure. Not only did they charge me but they charged me a higher rate than what was offered while I had the service to buy the game for. So... they now have my game, their game, and my money but they don't see what the problem is. The company is way to disorganized to do business and if you value your money you sould not do business with gamefly. |
Kevin from Pittsburgh on 2008-05-08 Rates them:
I signed up for gamefly right after GTA IV came out since I thought it was going to be the first of many great games for the PS3 this summer. I added it and other games to my queue not expecting to get GTA since I thought it would be in high demand. To my surprise the day after I signed up they supposedly shipped GTA. Well since I live in the same metro area as a distribution center I thought that I would receive it fairly quickly. In all my time living here I have never had anything take more than 2 or 3 days to get sent anywhere within the metro area. So when it had not come after 5 days I decided to email their customer support to explain the problem. All I got in return was a cold message that it wasn't 7 days yet so they wouldn't do anything. This is when I started to get angry. The next day I sent them another email thoroughly explaining the situation. I received the same response as the day before. Finally when it still had not arrived on the seventh day I threw in the towel and demanded a refund in a scathing email. Basically I signed up for Gamefly and all I got was hassle. Not one single game. They said they would refund me but we shall see if they do or not. Had this happened with Netflix, which I also have, they would've sent out a new movie after the first email. The problem with Gamefly, apart from their poor distribution and shipping, is their lack of caring about how they treat their customers. |
Jeremy from NY on 2008-04-20 Rates them:
I think part of the problem is that some users, without even knowing knowing that they are, try to compare renting on every level with the positive side of buying, which you just can't do. It's like trying to compare buying a car with renting a car. If you've decided that buying a car is not financially or socially feasible then renting is a great option if you still need to use a car. Of course renting a car can be frustrating, but if you've already decided that you can't buy, then you start to see all the positive things about renting that far outweigh any frustration. Of course, some rental companies are better than others, but if you compare each one to the best things about buying, then you'll never be able to enjoy the benefits of renting. I rent for one reason: at today's game prices I can afford to play only a small number of games if I buy. And if you've decided to rent video games, from my experience, Gamefly is the best option. I've tried a few of their competitors, including blockbuster, and can tell you that Gamefly reduces the frustration that can come with renting while piling on the benefits of not having to buy.
I'm on my second term with Gamefly (this time 5 months going) after stints with other companies. Gamefly's service has improved a lot since the first time I tried them and is far better than what I've experienced elsewhere. Not sure what spongeknob is talking about with not being able to add to the queue. Gamefly's queue system is easy to add and remove games from as well as allows you to shuffle the order very easily to take advantage of a game's current availability (which they tell you and update regularly.) Game condition is good. Delivery time does vary. For me it's between 2-3 days with the occasional delay. I sent back one game because of its condition and Gamefly gave me credit. I guess you could argue receiving bad games should not happen. But anyone who regularly uses disks should know that a small scratch in the right place can go unnoticed but render the disk unplayable while chips and nicks in other places don't seem to have any impact on playability.
I assume any company of this type that is successful (Gamefly seems to be very much so) processes thousands of disks a day so a few duds must slip through. I can understand that, there's going to be some margin of error there they can't control for. What impressed was Gamefly's willingness to comp me for it, no questions asked (something they can control.) If they hadn't, then I'd think about dropping the service. Their CS is somewhat automated as just about everyone is moving toward (I think it's called technological advancement) but I get responses by a person after an initial auto-email informing me that my inquiry was received. Yes, it does take a day or so via email. They also have phone CS, but I haven't used it. We're talking about video games here, not hypersensitive financial transactions or cell phone service that is vital for daily communication.
Obviously with the high demand of some games, no one in this industry can keep enough of each and every title to satisfy everyone. Of course there's going to be some 'cycling through to their customers.' It's a rental service for Christ's sake. If you need to have each and every game you want unplayed and right now, probably best to buy...but then how many games can you actually buy at the current astronomical prices for games.
Not many...which is why I rent. I have a two-game monthly plan which amounts to about $275 for a year of service, an amount I can budget in advance (video games for the year? Check!) That maps out to about 5 - 6 games bought new. In 5 months of service I know i've already gone through well over 10 games. I've rented crap and sent it right back (that's a great thing cause I probably would have bought some of those otherwise), i've rented games i never would have bought and thoroughly enjoyed them. I've rented the latest and greatest and also old releases that I hadn't played before. The idea that Gamefly has gone to cr*p is not credible. To the contrary everything I've read and experieced would indicate that they're expanding and improving service and adding on new features to make the system better. (i.e. new distribution centers, free music downloads, a new game trade-in system.)
Of course, feel free to shop around like I did. But I can tell you right now, I would have been better off just sticking with Gamefly. |
Jamal from IDK on 2008-04-13 Rates them:
I hate gamefly!!!! I recently bought the trial from gamefly and after a months time I wanted to cancel it ( I only did it for an offer on a website)...well I canceled it and they said I had 7 days to send it back. I looked all over my house to find the sleve for my disk and couldn't find it. So I emailed gamefly telling them that I needed a new sleeve (which they have sent me a sleeve before). They started getting an attitude with me saying that if I don't give them the disk back within the 7 day period that they are going to make me pay the whole fee! I told them that I am going to tell my credit card to decline any of the transactions they want to charge. They will get their game back when I feel like bringing it to the post office end of story.
Correction...I lost the mailer and the sleeve. |
Chris from USA on 2008-04-13 Rates them:
I REALLY tried not to buy into all the reviews, telling myself "oh, maybe they were just in a bad part of the U.S. for shipment" or "Oh thats only 50 people out of how many rentees? But then... for myself, I found first-hand how crappy (i would choose stronger words if not for restrictions) this GameFly service really was.
They have sent me games numerous times after a few months of being with them (keep in mind I was apart of them back when the started, and hated it then) they kept sending me games that were 21st or 15th down my queue. I understand they say you won't always get number one, but the thing is.. Above the 15th or 21st game? were other games they claimed that were INSTOCK or AVAIALABLE NOW. So its a crock, they should get rid of the queue, make it something like a "GRABBAG" and tell the customer, you'll get games on random.
So for the casual gamer or expierenced, thats want a service that gives you the games you want when you want it? Steer clear from this company, you're better off paying 21 bucks for one game a month from Blockbuster, where you can go inyourself on release dates and get the game instead of waiting. |
Jeremy from NY on 2008-04-13 Rates them:
Part of the problem is that some users, without even knowing that they are, try to compare renting on every level with the positive side of buying, which you just can't do. It's like trying to compare buying a car with renting a car. If you've decided that buying a car is not financially or socially feasible then renting is a great option if you still need to use a car. Of course renting or buying a car can be frustrating, but if you've already decided that you can't buy, then you start to see all the positive things about renting that far outweigh any frustration. Of course, some rental companies are better than others, but if you compare each one to the best things about buying, then you'll never be able to enjoy the benefits of renting. I rent for one reason: at today's game prices I can afford to play only a small number of games if I buy. And if you've decided to rent video games, from my experience, Gamefly is the best option. I've tried a few of their competitors, including blockbuster, and can tell you that Gamefly reduces the frustration that can come with renting while piling on the benefits of not having to buy.
I'm on my second term with Gamefly (this time 5 months going) after stints with other companies. Gamefly's service has improved a lot since the first time I tried them and is far better than what I've experienced elsewhere. Not sure what spongeknob is talking about with not being able to add to the queue. Gamefly's queue system is easy to add and remove games from as well as allows you to shuffle the order very easily to take advantage of a game's current availability (which they tell you and update regularly.) Game condition is good. Delivery time does vary. For me it's between 2-3 days with the occasional delay. I sent back one game because of its condition and Gamefly gave me credit. I guess you could argue receiving bad games should not happen. But anyone who regularly uses disks should know that a small scratch in the right place can go unnoticed but render the disk unplayable while chips and nicks in other places don't seem to have any impact on playability.
I assume any company of this type that is successful (Gamefly seems to be very much so) processes thousands of disks a day so a few duds must slip through. I can understand that, there's going to be some margin of error they can't control for. What impresses is Gamefly's willingness to comp you for it, no questions asked (something they can control.) If they hadn't, then I'd think about dropping the service. Their CS is somewhat automated as just about everyone is moving toward (I think it's called technological advancement) but I get responses by a person after an initial auto-email informing me that my inquiry was received. Yes, it does take a day or so via email. They also have phone CS, but I haven't used it. We're talking about video games here, not hypersensitive financial transactions or cell phone service that is vital for daily communication.
Obviously with the high demand of some games, no one in this industry can keep enough of each and every title to satisfy everyone immediately. Of course there's going to be some 'cycling through to their customers.' It's a rental service for Christ's sake. If you need to have each and every game you want unplayed and right now, probably best to buy...but then how many games can you actually buy at the current astronomical prices for games.
Not many...which is why I rent. I have a two-game monthly plan for a set amount I can budget in advance (video games for the year? Check!) The price of service equals about 5 - 6 games bought new. In 5 months of service I know i've already gone through well over 10 games. I've rented games I didn't like and sent right back (that's a great thing cause I probably would have bought some of those otherwise), i've rented games i never would have bought and thoroughly enjoyed. I've rented the latest and greatest and also old releases that I hadn't played yet. The idea that Gamefly has gone to cr*p is not credible. To the contrary everything I've read and experieced would indicate they're expanding and improving service and adding on new features to make the system better. (i.e. new distribution centers, free music downloads, a new game trade-in system.)
Of course, feel free to shop around like I did. But I can tell you right now, I would have been better off just sticking with Gamefly. |
Handler from USA on 2008-04-04 Rates them:
I have only been with GameFly since December 12, 2007. Since that time 3 discs have never made it to me. (I have been with Netflix, on the 8 out plan, for over 4 years and have not had that many discs lost.) The first 2 discs they sent took 2 days to get to me. Since then discs that do get to me take on average of 5 days even though they take only 2 days to get back to them. |
Spongeknob from Port Orford on 2008-03-17 Rates them:
I had a membership for about a half an hour, when loading choices to Queue a pop-up window appeared and said "adding to your Queue", ten minutes later it was still showing the same thing. ??? Attempts to load any game from anywhere led to the same situation. Than it dawned on me, they only have a few games to cycle through to all their customers, thus resulting in abused game disks and shuffling possible delivery times to your home. USPS is not reliable in any way you look at it. If Gamefly had the games the public would be pleased... and Gamefly should review the condition of the game everytime it returns to the distribution center from which it came. Anyway I have bailed on this company because of there lack luster efforts on all fronts aswell as the appalling customer service. |
Jon from Florida on 2008-03-08 Rates them:
We have been using Gamefly for over a year. They reportedly opened up a new distribution center two cities over last month.
At first everything was great. 2 days wait and they shipped the next one as soon as they received our old one.
Now we have had a 2 week wait between games. This last time they said they shipped a game that was #2, and then 2 days later they changed it to something #9 on our Q...with High Availability still listed on our original listing! We STILL haven't received the game. This isn't a first, either. We started having problems a few months ago, including them not reporting games received until we posted them as missing after the week waiting period. So we get maybe 2 games a month for $25.
No one responds to our emails for days, and then it is only automated responses and no one ever addresses our issue. Im going to another company. Gameexpress.com isn't on here (would like to read more about them) but at this point its either that or Blockbuster.
Be warned! Gamefly has just gone to cr*p. |
Christopher from Queens, NY on 2008-01-10 Rates them:
Gamefly's great. They're the best online game rental service out there. I tried a couple of the other guys and was not impressed. Lucky for me, I got a gamefly gift certificate for my birthday (this past November) and have been renting like a fiend ever since. Orange Box, Manhunt, Halo, Bioshock... I've gotten them all. Games come quick (bout 2/3 days) and their selection is awesome. I can't afford to buy everything I want across different consoles every time I wanted to play something new so renting from gamefly is the way to go. That gift certificate was the coolest present I got this year! Thanks mom! Gamefly is the bomb. I don't know what all the negative comments are about here. They're the best. I haven't had any problems at all and their sales on pre-played stuff are the best. Seriously deep discounts. Now I actually can buy stuff I want.
Oh, and Christina from SF... You might want to rethink blaming gamefly for someone logging into your account from your computer that YOU set up passwords for. How is it gamefly's fault that someone you know got ahold of your password and used your account? If you have an account somewhere, anywhere, your information is going to be stored there. It's your responsibility to keep that information secure. That's the reason you have a password. You're lucky it was gamefly they logged into and not your credit card or banking statements. |
Chris from NYC on 2007-12-26 Rates them:
I have had gamefly for over a year now. I currently own all next gen systems and it would be too expensive to even try and buy all the hot games for them. So i rent them all. Gamefly is great. I tell everyone i know about it. There are shipping issues that can be expected. Sometime the turnaround is very slow. But they recently opened a second shipping center and has gotten better. If i send a game to them on monday, i usually get another one before the weekend.
They lost a few games on me but almost everytime they turned up like a week later. Besides they do not charge you for games lost in mail.
If you have issues with their email system call customer support. I had an issue with recieving a game and i called them and they sent me another copy of the game and gave a $5 coupon for my trouble. Plus i get 10% off on game purchases, free shipping, and a $5 coupon every 3 months for being a valued customer.
My biggest complaint about them would be the lack of new releases. I recently tried to rent Call of Duty 4 on PS3 and it was the number 1 game in my que for like over 2 weeks. They had to send me at least 3 other games due to limited availability. If they had need releases immediately it would be the perfect service. If you want a brand new game, go buy it.
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Christina from San Francisco on 2007-12-13 Rates them:
Be aware that once your credit card information is in the GameFly.com system, you can no longer remove it. Anyone who logs into your account can make purchases with literally one click. Their system will not ask you to confirm your order or shipping address or even the credit card you want to use before the order is complete. It will just process the order as soon as you press checkout. When calling the customer service line to ask that my credit card information be removed from the website, all they could say was that their system will not allow the credit card information to be removed nor will they cancel your account. I will never order from this company again and regret I ever did. |
Julie from Arkansas on 2007-12-07 Rates them:
We have been Gamefly customers for 2 1/2 years and until the last 2 months have not had any problems.
In the last 2 months we have only had ONE GAME actually make it to us. The rest have all been lost, their replacements have been "lost". I can only assume that there is a major problem at their new distribution center that is not being addressed. We went so far as to get a PO box in case someone has been stealing from us and still no game. |
Jerry from kingston Ma on 2007-11-30 Rates them:
I have been with gamefly for about 2 years. I have had three lost games. Game fly had no problem just accepting my explainations and moving us on to the next game in the queue. In fact on my most recent lost game, I called the telephone support line and got a human being within about 2 minutes. The girl cleared the matter up over the phone and I am happy. Since they have openned up the east coast warehouse, the turnarround is much better. I also have netflix 3 movie account. Netflix turns arround a movie in a day. I cannot expect gamefly to do the same. So if you understand what to expect, then you wont be dissapointed. |
Regina from Los Angeles on 2007-11-30 Rates them:
I live IN Los Angeles and its been a week they claim they still haven't received my return....I sent a netflix back on the same day and already have my new movie and the letters I sent out on the same day have all been received by my friends...I'll be cancelling and then filing a complaint with my credit card company when they try to charge me. |
Rob from St. Augustine, FL on 2007-11-27 Rates them:
I was a subscriber 2 years ago and had a good experience. Upon returning to the US and A I bought a 360 and decided to try again. Big Mistake. Multiple games were sent from 10 places down in my Q. They looked up my facebook page through my email and posted items on my page without my permission. My last game never arrived and none of my emails to customer service were ever responded to. Now I am fed up and have canceled my service but they have threatened to charge me the full retail price of that last game unless I return it in 7 days. But how can I return something that never arrived! |
Allen from New Jersey on 2007-11-26 Rates them:
I've been satisfied with my gamefly membership. I've been renting games from them on the 2 game at a time plan for six months and never wait more than 3 days for a game in the mail once I've mailed one back. I also rent exclusively for the PSP and have been so happy to avoid buying (and reselling for pennies on the dollar) crappy games that I happily encourage everyone I know who plays games to get an account and avoid getting ripped off buying new games that suck. Try before you buy is the only way to go. It's a huge savings and you can play five times the number of games you would otherwise (unless you have an unlimited income - I don't). If you want the new releases this is the way to go. I got Manhunt within a week of a release.
In six months I have only received one damaged disc and it was a game I purchased using the "keep it" feature. I emailed customer service and my account was refunded in about 48 hours. I sent the game back to them and got a replacement within a week. No hassles, no drama. I cannot understand why anyone would not contact customer service if their game arrived "covered in paint." I mean, my first thought would be to avoid getting blamed for the damage?
I have also never had a game go missing in the mail. I cannot understand why, if you're a paying gamefly customer, you would "google" information about a lost game instead of just contacting customer service. I also cannot understand why you would be so hasty to cancel your account when the game was found within a week. A month and then I can see your point but how you can write an informed review when it's clear you didn't even have the service for a full month is kind of mind boggling. I wouldn't write a restaurant review if I went in for a drink and a salad. I'd hold off and wait until I was able to sit down and have three or four courses.
Anyway, as someone who's actually using the service and has been for six months and counting I'm giving them the thumbs up. I'm giving two gamefly gift certificates to friends this year for Christmas presents and have bought three Wii games from their online store for other people on my list at 20% or more off retail and they've sent along all the original packaging and game manuals so it's just like getting a brand new game off the shelf. I've saved a fortune using this service and personally think they're great. |
rob from alameda, ca on 2007-11-18 Rates them:
Some people are saying Gamefly is getting better as time progresses, so I wanted to write a current review to say that...no..it still has some big problems. I signed up for the 2 out at a time plan, at a special introductory rate, for PSP games only. I received my first 2 games about 3-4 days after account set up. Not bad I thought. About a week later I sent one of the games back, and with Gameflys fastship or whatever it is, it was scanned a day later and a new title was on the way. Not bad again. I received my next game (not the next on my gameQ, it was unavailable, so next on list..)in a decent amount of time, 3 days. I opened the envelope to find that the UMD was splattered in paint (even on the disc/cd part) which I careful scrapped off before putting it in my PSP. It was also coming apart, like the cd had been removed from the UMD casing. It played okay, but was slow at times and froze multiple times. I kept it for about a week again, and then sent back both games I had out. This is where my problem began. I waited a week and they had not received my returns. I googled "gamefly lost game" and found all of this great info, that I should have seen before wasting my money. I then filed a report through gamefly, and like many others, gamefly mysteriously got my games the next day. A week turnaround kills any value this service might have had, and I think I was lucky. A lot of people seem to have games completely lost in transit. Anyways, after going through a line of windows offering me a deal if I stay, I quit. I warn others to review more and talk to someone who has recently used gamefly. Personally, I would rather spend $40 at gamestop to own a couple of used games (which I can resell), then to "rent" 2-3 games a month (maybe more if ship times were better) for $23+. Not a good deal... |
Tyler from Bethlehem, PA on 2007-11-17 Rates them:
The only saving grace to this company is that they honestly try to fix mistakes. However, as they do 'own up' to their mistakes, its is perceived that they don't try to prevent mistakes.
Their 'inspected' certification for each game is a joke, honestly. I've subscribed now for three months, and have gotten only 2 flawlessly working games: Soul Nomad (I got it sent on release day.) and Beautiful Katamari. Now, I can't tell you how many games I have gotten that are in such terrible shape I don't even bring them home to try. I open them up in the post office, see their Brilo-pad marred surfaces, and promptly stick them back in the envelope.
When I went through 3 defective games in a row, I emailed customer support and they gave me a credit of 15.00 GFD. When my 6th game arrived (and was defective) brining my running score to 5 defects, 1 playable, I called and they quickly gave me a free 1 month, but slyly removed my 15.00 GFD without telling me. So I used their "Keep It" service, and it came to my attention that I was charged the full amount for the game, and it did not apply my 15.00 credit. This is wear their service got shady, as the rep told me that to give me the free month, they had to remove the 15.00 GFD certificate. Complaining now that I had no reason to belive that I was missing the 15.00 and that I didn't find out until after I was charged, I didn't want the game, they offered to refund me if I sent back the game, case, and booklet.
Currently, a small chain rental store is going to refurbish its stock to carry a much heavier selection of next-gem games (being one block off a college campus, they realize the demand) and will be done before the end of this month, and I have yet to rent a defect game from this store.
If you don't mind having to do other people's work for them, constantly be in contact with customer support, and generally have to wait for a company to correct the same error over and over again...
Gamefly might not be for you. |
Mark from Atlanta, GA on 2007-10-23 Rates them:
After 2 months of using GameFly for Xbox360 here are my experiences:
- 8+ days shipping time between the when they say the game left their warehouse and when I received them (all of them)
- 1 disc for the wrong console
- 1 disc of a game I didn't order
- 1 broken disc
- 1 scratched/unplayable disc
- 4 days of "No games on my queue available"(including 2 that had been out for more than 2 years, 2 released last year, and 1 new release)
- Customer service that focuses on what you can do to fix their problem ("You received the wrong disc? You should put it back on your queue if you want us to try and send it again.)
- Customer service by email only, with a response time of 4 business days. |
Chris from New York on 2007-10-04 Rates them:
I freakin love Gamefly. I'm a fairly new member (bout 4 mos. now) and I haven't had any issues at all. I'm on the two at a time plan. I put games in my que, Gamefly sends them, I play them, send them back and, just like they're supposed to, they send more. I haven't had any of this "lost in the mail" crap people keep mentioning. I don't know what the deal is with this "lost in the mail" business unless people are stealing games and trying to play it off like they were lost. I know people do that and it just ends up screwing the rest of us. You can't exactly blame Gamefly for charging for these "lost" games. Those are some serious costs to eat. You can thank thieves for that. Damn thieves.
I've only had one encounter with customer service so I'm not an authority on the subject (and that's probably a good thing) but they doing fine. Better than fine. So far the only customer service issue I've had to deal with was about a game I received that was damaged and unplayable and they had a replacement in the mail for me before I even put the damaged one back in the mail to them. I'd say that qualifies as responsive.
The game rental competition out there is a joke. Been there, tried that. Gamefly is the best of the bunch and I speak from experience. Admittedly, I signed up with low expecations having been completely disenchanted with the other services I've used and all in all I've been pleasantly surprised with Gamefly. Their game selection is the best and I've never had to wait more than a few days for games to ship. Even games showing "low availability."
Four months in and counting and they've still got my vote.
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Trish from Los Angeles on 2007-09-28 Rates them:
My husband and I started using GAMEFLY as a trial basis we recieved as a gift. It worked wonderfully, I never waited more than 2 days for a game and I always recieved the top games in my q. However when the trial ran out and we decided to keep the membership I started having the same issues reported here... they claim to have never recieved three seperate games, even though the last two I handed personally to the USPS worker. In addition to the long turn around time, they claim that they can terminate your service at any time if you have "lost" games. I also attempted to close my account before being charged for the next month's subscription, but they did not close it in time. Of course I can not reach any representative by phone, and they never responded to my emails to fix this problem. STAY AWAY |
Carolanne from New Jersey on 2007-09-20 Rates them:
I really wish I had read reviews like this before I tried gamefly. I had it for three months before finally cancelling. It took an average of a week-12 days to get one game, and then they didn't recieve the game until I complained! Twice I mailed back games. TWICE! From two seperate locations, and they never recieved the games. Two weeks later I would send them a nasty e-mail and then they say they've recieved it and will send out the next game immediately. Yea right!! Fve days later I get an e-mail stating they've shipped out the game. Well, it's been ten days and I still don't have it! So I cancelled. It was not worth the money AT ALL. Maybe it would work if you lived in the same town as gamefly, but otherwise don't waste your time or money. |
Nathaniel from Nevada, USA on 2007-09-07 Rates them:
This company has finally broken my patience. Waiting a week to receive a game after it has been shipped. Waiting forever for them to acknowledge they even RECEIVED my games until I have to report it... I can't take it anymore. I will go back to them once they're in more locations and can handle sending/receiving like Netflix. |
Chris from Chicago, IL on 2007-08-28 Rates them:
Many people here will complain here about slow turnaround time and poor acknowledgement of received items. But my beef is with the availability. Sure, they have all the new games to offer, but are they ever in stock? NOPE. I subscribed because I got a PS3 and I wanted to find a cost effective way to try the new games and so far I haven't gotten to play any of the games I wanted because they are never in stock. Not only that, it gives you a game in your queue that you aren't very excited about and by the time you try that and send it back, the one you do want is unavailable again. Complete waste of $20, it IS cheaper to go to blockbuster than wait 1 week for a game or more (depending on the horrible availability). |
Kevin from Los Angeles on 2007-08-10 Rates them:
Been a subscriber for 4 months now. They are a tad slow considering their shipping center is within an hour drive from my house but thats alright. I usually get my games within 2-4 days after I send one back in. I mailed a game back about 5 days ago and it seems they have not received it yet, this is unusual considering how their service has been to me so far. |
Rob from KC on 2007-08-07 Rates them:
Turnaround time is extremely slow. They said they never received the first game I rented, so took forever to get another. They didn't charge me for it like some here say they have.
I finally got another game only to return it and the one they sent me hasn't gotten here yet after 1 week.
There is something fishy with these guys or else people at the Post Office either steal the games or sit and play them for a week before sending them on.
Their service isn't really worth it because I've rented 3 games in 3 months. Do the math, it is crap. |
Jo from missouri on 2007-07-31 Rates them:
Gamefly are thieves!! It took forever to receive games so you end up buying the service because they exceed the "trial period" by their slow shipping. Then when you cancel they insist you didn't return games and charge you for the games. The only contact you have with them is via automated email so you cannot straighten anything out. I will try to contact my credit card company but as far as I am concerned they are thieves! Stay away from Gamefly! |
Jonathan from USA on 2007-07-27 Rates them:
I accidentaly sent back the wrong game to them and never got the game back. For some reason the game I was supposed to send back is still listed as rented even though I sent it back and they sent me a new game (confusing I know). I sent them an email but they never replied! Now the supervisor's kids are probably playing my game and laughing. I think its time to report a game "lost" and recoup my losses. |
Fred from New York on 2007-07-27 Rates them:
Been using for a month now. No problems at all. Receiving games quicker now that they have East coast distribution and USPS fast delivery service. If you are interested in trying GAMEFLY one month for free , e-mail me:
(momoney at ureach dot com)
For the record - I do not work for gamefly. |
Jeremy from Boston on 2007-04-26 Rates them:
I've been a Gamefly member for over 3 years now. I have rented through them over 100 games for my PS2, Game Cube, Xbox, GBA and PSP.
While I have had my share of problems, for the most part I've been very happy with their service. Sure, some times the turnaround time can be a bit slow, but that's why I rent 2 games at a time (I average almost 3 a month.) FastReturn doesn't always work, but I asked at several Post Offices and it is more likely they don't properly scan them vs. GameFly screwing you.
For me, it's economics. 100 games. If I bought them (assume used) that would be ~$2500-4000. For 3 years of 2 games at a time, I've spent $792. I got to play a TON of games I would not have played otherwise, things I took a chance on that I've loved (and some that I oh-so-very-much-loathed.)
Yes, some games have waits on them, and yes that's annoying. Patience is a virtue, try and learn it sometime. Rent an older game for a few weeks, then come back and try the new one. If you NEED to play a game right away, go ahead and buy it (just be sure it's good enough to spend $50 on, which will give you 2 1/2 months on GameFly)
I've even "lost" 6 games in the mail. They don't ask questions, they just send me my next game. Their customer support has always returned my emails w/in 24 hours.
If you want games mailed to you, you have to deal with things like shipping issues and used games. |
Gene from Sunnyvale, CA on 2007-04-23 Rates them:
bought gears of war on 3/27 and still have not received it. sent 2 emails to them with no response. within the same state and it still takes min. 4 days to get the next game. they need alot of improvement. |
mac from MI on 2007-04-20 Rates them:
The gamefly service sucks, whenever I return the games back I ve to wait for 7 days to get the next game and often I have to report a shipping problem because they never receive the game***( I send two games back at the same time they only receive one game and the other game is lost and they say they are ""working"" with the USPS to ensure delivery and if the same thing repeats again I have to pay for the lost game)
Their phone service sucks!! they don't have their coustomer service number mentioned anywhere in the website in the contact us tab they say the timings but never give the number
To close it all GAMEFLY is all B S and it sucks!!! |
Rick Cowman from Iowa on 2007-04-14 Rates them:
Gamefly is horrible. I do not know about other systems. But for the 360. Every single game is on a wait. There is not a SINGLE game that is available now.
My entire game list is filled with games.
So far it's been 2 weeks and not a single game has shipped because NOTHING is available at the moment. It's kind of B.S since I work pretty hard for my cash and I will get no refund even though I am guessing the remainder of the month will go and still not a single game sent. I've tried mixing up what is in my list for other games and etc. Everything is always SHORT WAIT or LONG WAIT...
If you are going to have a service. At the least you should have to supply the demand SOMEWHAT.. I understand not all games will be in stock ALL the time.. but for EVERY SINGLE game to not be in?. that means they are not doing there end of the bargain for us customers.
All correspondance with them have gone ignored. I am frusterated and it's annoying as hell..
NO-ONE USE GAMEFLY.. atleast not if you own a 360. Unless you want to rent nothing but regular Xbox games the entire time.
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Greg from Calif. on 2007-04-08 Rates them:
First time user of Gamefly, Been 6 days since they said they shipped, no games, and I live under 200 miles from their facility. Both games were marked availible. I could have walked there and back. Also no reply to the reported problem or sucess in contacting them about a refund. It pays to read reviews. |
jeff from philly on 2007-04-06 Rates them:
I rented a total of 5 games with this company. Two of the games were so sratched that they were unplayable. On two other rentals I got the wrong game. So basically I rented 5 games and only had one good rental.
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Justin from Wisconsin on 2007-03-30 Rates them:
GAMEFLY IS COMMITTING FRAUD.
The slowness of their service has been beat to death on here, so I'll let that go. We'll just say that the it took over a week between when I sent a game & when they got it.
The thing that really set me off is that I sent back the 2 games I had from them the day I cancelled my account. 2 weeks later I get an e-mail saying they had not received the games & they would be charging me for them if I didn't respond to the e-mail. I responded with the appropriate "games already sent" in the subject line, and they even automatically opened an incident # for the e-mail. Now this morning I get 2 e-mails that say they've charged me for the games that I sent them over 3 weeks ago, and told them as such via e-mail.
To top it all off, they've charged me & I can't even speak with someone there because their customer service is "closed for annual inventory".
A poor service that has a terrible tracking system. Leading to them being able to charge honest customers for games they've already sent back & then claim plausible deniability. Avoid at all costs. |
JOSHUA from austin tx on 2007-03-26 Rates them:
after a ton of problems with my first shipment i finally got ahold of them on the phone and they refunded my monthy charge and said the were going to "rush" the games to me
8 days later still no games
worst service ever i wish i had read this before joining
www.gameznflix.com is the way to go |
Courtney from New York on 2007-03-24 Rates them:
I used to have netflix and they were so fast. They ship a game and I would get it the next day. With gamefly I decided to do the 14 day trial. It too about 4 days for me to get the games. After playing the games I find that wii sports was a lot more entertaining than the two games I rented so after a couple of days I put then back in the return slip and drop them in the mailbox outside of a post office. I was waiting for the games to show up as return before I cancelled my account because I wasn't going to keep the service. On 3/23 after 5 days one of the games showed up as being recieved.. My billing would start on 3/24 so I went ahead and cancelled the account. Don't you know I just checked my credit card and they charged me the monthly fee.
I cancelled the account before today and they still charged me and now I cant find a number to call them. Does anyone have a number for gamefly? I sent an e-mail but I doubt they will respond. I can always go to capital one website and dispute the charge but I would like to speak to someone at gamefly. After this experience I would never do another online retal club again |
robert from calicornia on 2007-03-24 Rates them:
from the day i mail the games to the day i recive a new one aprox. 3 days is that really all that bad? .....
i watch 10 camercials a month and save 5 dallars on my next bill is that bad? ..... i also get 5 dallars every 3 months for buying games. all and all game fly seem prety fair to me. oh and also think about how much you save compared to buying and renting games from walk in stores im saving near $30-$150perm month.
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Josh from Kansas on 2007-03-08 Rates them:
SLOW SLOW SLOW. Netflix sends me my next movie immediately. Believe it or not I have often returned a Netflix movie early one morning, had them ship my next one that day, and recieved it the next. Gamefly wont even acknowledge recieveing my game for around 5 to 6 days, then expect ot wait a week to get your game. Totally ridiculous. Not only that but nothings ever in stock and they charge MORE than Netflix!
Oh and have fun trying to email customer service. They dont even list a customer service number, I had to find one through Google. Thats a fairly good sign that customer service is not a priority when they dont want you to call. Either that or thier are so many complaints that they were getting swamped. Either way bad sign. But you emil them and they take around 5 days to get back to you.
Stay away, if you dont live in California they could not care less about you. They sure will take your money though. |
Brandon from Pennsylvania on 2007-03-03 Rates them:
The service of Gamefly is great and the couple of games that I had receieved worked great and allowed me to play some games that i would have never been able to play before; however, on the bad side of things of which seems to be a big problem is the turnaround. I signed up for the service, received my first two games within 3 days. I played them, and mailed one of them back. It took 7 days (5 business, 2 weekend) for them to even acknowledge that my game was mailed and to send me my next game via their "Fast Track" and then it took another 7 days (5 business, 2 weekend) for them to finally acknowledge that they had the game in their possession. In the mean time I sent my second game back and had beaten the third game and sent that back. I am awaiting to see how long it takes for them to acknowledge that I sent back two games at once how long it takes them to receive those games. If you can stand the wait go for it, otherwise, two weeks to acknowledge that a game was received is a little ridiculous. Going to cancel my account, it will be interesting what will happen given that I sent my one game out a week ago and the second game out 3 days ago without word of any kind of receiving of the games. |
Meat from Arlington, Tx on 2007-03-01 Rates them:
My lord, here's the math on this one; If you order a game, and live in the Central US or East coast then you will have to wait up to 7 business days to recieve your game. That's the fine print, but seemingly the norm. Do not subscribe to this service unless you live within the connecting tri-state area of CA. Gamefly uses the USPS for their delivery backbone, so DO NOT BE SURPRISED to see that it sucks. GF are pretty nice folkes, but they admit that this is a challenge. Last words; ****** DO NOT GET THIS SERVICE IF YOU LIVE IN TEXAS ******* |
Andrew from Tallahassee, FL on 2007-02-15 Rates them:
I have had pretty good experiences with GameFly. I have been a subscriber for a year now and for the first few months it was great. The turn around was kind of slow, but with two games at a time plan I was able to play one and send one back. Overall their speed really hasn't bothered me that much. When they receive my games they always ship a new game by at least the next day, I have never had a problem with delayed shipping. However, after about 5 months without losing a single game, I had to report 3 of my returns missing in about 3 months. I have always received my games and each game as been in really good condition, but losing games has been a problem of late. I never had any problems with my initial address, but I moved about 5 months into the subscription and they lost 3 all from the same locked cluster box. I filed a complaint to Post Office and never got anywhere with that. They haven't canceled my subscription yet even though I have lost 3 games in a year. I have begun shipping from work instead of home and that so far has been better as they have not lost any, in fact my turn around has sped up slightly.
When I first started most of the games they had were in stock and ready to be shipped. I was able to get new Xbox 360 titles without any problem, such as Fight Night Round 3 and Oblivion when they first came out. But as of late, almost every game is on short wait, regardless if it is old or not. If you can get a game in the 1st week it is out, you should be able to get it without a problem, but if you don't you may be waiting 3 months just to get a chance to rent it. About half of my games currently in my queue are all on short wait including old Xbox 360 games such as PGR3. All the Wii games I have been trying to get keep quickly shipping from available to short wait, which is really frustrating because I would rather hold a game I have for a few more days if I know I can get a game I really want.
I like their Keep It feature the most though. I have bought about 4 games using their Keep It feature and I have received the game's case promptly and in good shape. Since I have been a member or a year I get 10% of all Keep It purchases and $5 off every 3 months, so if it is a long RPG that I know will take a long time to beat I usually go ahead and Keep It (IE Oblivion, Rogue Galaxy). Also their customer service has always been relatively quick for me. I would e-mail them and would get a response by the next business day. They worked with me regarding the 3 lost games.
Overall their services have been pretty good for me. But if they don't start getting more games in stock or if they lose another game, I will probably cancel my subscription, pending they don’t do so first.
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Britney from California on 2007-02-06 Rates them:
I'm really upset i paid for the month when i should have just got the trial so i could cancel it. It has been over a week and I haven't recieved either of my two games I would understand this more if I lived farther away but I live about an hour away which is just a waste of my time...so I am calling them at this second to see what they are going to do. |
Takis from New Jersey on 2007-02-03 Rates them:
Really good service. Don't understand all the negative comments. I guess there's always going to be dissatisfied customers no matter what. Have used them for 5 months now with no major problems.
Game selection is awesome. A couple times games were on "short wait" but shipped within a day. It usually takes 3-4 days turn around but if I take it to my post office and get it scanned the next one ships out immediately, so then the turnaround is 2-3 days. In any case, i've bought a couple of games from them (cheap "keep" option) or just send one at a time back, so I always have one to play.
I've actually had more trouble with Netflix than Gamefly. Games have been pristine and turnaround more consistent. Movies lately have been pretty scratched up and have taken much long than normal.
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MIke from Chicago on 2007-01-31 Rates them:
Signed up hoping for the level of service I receive from Netflix with movies and am sorely disappointed.
1) Shipping times are ridiculous. The post office scanning things seems like BS since we have a brand new post office in town and my movies take a good week to be registered at gaemfly. They really need to add more distribution centers.
2) Missing games. I have been a member for 2 months now and have the 2 game at a time plan and have only rented 6 movies, 3 of which the never received and were deemed 'lost'. Funny thing is each time I sent them back they were shipped at the same time I mailed back a netfllx movie. Haven't had one movie lost with netflix in 6 months yet 3 of 6 with gamefly, sounds like bad processing on their part to me.
3) and finally I truly feel the need to reiterate the slow shipping times. I can send back a netflix movie, receive my next one, watch it and send that back and have my next movie shipped before they will even receive a game I would ship back at the same time. Needless to say, once they receive my current returns my service will be cancelled. |
Steven Leewright from New Mexico on 2007-01-27 Rates them:
I've been a member for 3 months now I sent my games back to game fly and they never got there. A week later I sent a complaint on both games will I be changed for them? and if they were stolen or lost what will happen. |
Jean from Middletown on 2007-01-13 Rates them:
It took a full week to return the games, another week and a 1/2 to receive 1 of the 2 games on my que. I have been searching the site for a way to contact them without preset questions and can't find one. I am currently looking at Blockbuster because then I may be able to get more than 2 games in a month! |
Rosalinda from IL on 2007-01-11 Rates them:
I signed up that day i saw this gamefly in net reason was they have a free trial for 10 days, but right after i signed up they charged my account for $16.00 and trying to charged that night again for $25.57..the bad is,i didnt get any email from them after i signed up with them..they didnt provide me any password so how can i login there..then,i emailed them complain about this thing..but they didnt answer any of my questions..so i decided to cancel it the next day because i just wasted my money and they charging me for that,i dont even use their service,not even rent anything from them yet..nothing as in nada..now, i am asking for my money back since i didnt get anything from them..they says, that i will never get any refund from them..how about my $16.00 ...damn it |
Joncrew from Muncie on 2007-01-08 Rates them:
I wonder if Gamefly keeps in mind that your a new customer. My first 2 months were as good as good gets, but after that, it would take 2 weeks or more for them to receive returned games. I was on the 2 games out at any time plan, and there was a point where I had no games for almost a month. Gamefly course were fine with taking thier monthly pay anyway. Apparently, after about the 5th time of telling them that I had returned the games 2 weeks ago, they canceled my account and told me to return all games immediately. They had the gumption a week later to tell me they would be billing me, because they hadn't received the last game, which of course had been put in the mail. They make you think its a good service the first bit, but beware, they end up not caring about ya. Stay away from Gamefly! |
Tom from Salt Lake City on 2007-01-05 Rates them:
I've been a subscriber for 3 months. At first everything looked fine, although turn-around times were ridiculous (up to 10 days, when I had 5 day turnarounds with Netflix on some rare disks they sent me all the way from Florida!). Then they started losing games (to refer to Netflix again, they haven't lost a single movie of mine in over 2 years). The first time they took the lost game right off my account when I complained, but the second time they promised they would and never did... That's where I am, on the verge of canceling. From what I read all game rental companies are about the same, so I guess I'll have to start doing the used game amazon/ebay circuit instead. |
Bar from DC on 2006-12-19 Rates them:
A lot of people on here are talking about the speed of service so I'll jump in and say I've had no problems, four days using the PO scanning thing, which is pretty good for going across the country. A lot of other bennefits to gamefly like discounts if you get your frinds to signup and lots of coupons here and there and gift certificates which is actually what I'm getting my little bro for Xmas. Anyways, the thing works pretty smoothly and I think their problems are in the past. |
Marc from Florida on 2006-12-13 Rates them:
The service works great from CA to FL. No problems after 4 month. They have a FAST RETURN service. I returned a game today and I received an email 10 minutes ago that the new game will be shipped today.
What is FastReturn TM?
Answer
In partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, GameFly has launched our FastReturnTM service to improve turnaround time. This means improved shipping times for GameFly members!
FastReturnTM will start the processing of your next game as soon as we receive confirmation from the U.S. Postal Service that a game has been returned in the mail. You may no longer need to wait until we receive the returned game in our warehouse before we send the next available game in your GameQ!
NOTE: The US Postal Service may not use scanning equipment in all locations. Therefore, not all GameFly members may be able to participate in this service.
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Shit from CT on 2006-12-04 Rates them:
Shit i just read all these comments and im pretty scared at what i got myself into it seems like they really suck unless you live nextdoor to CA. I was under the impression these kind of services were overnight but i guess they send everything via usps media mail to make money. its been three days now still no games. =( |
LB from San Jose, CA on 2006-11-27 Rates them:
So Far, So Good. Signed up Saturday for the Free Trial. They sent the games I wanted the same day. Hopefully, this wonderful service lasts. You guys need read, "How to Complain and Win" ... hahahaha. Enjoy |
Richard from New York on 2006-11-20 Rates them:
I joined Gamefly about 6 months ago and the service was 'okay' in the beginning. I signed up for the 2-games out plan. I recieved both games in about 3 days which I thought was pretty good considering they only have a distribution center on the west coast. The first two months went by smoothly without any hiccups, but then on the third and following months, whenever I returned a game, they never acknowledge recieving them unless I filed a report. Sounds kind of silly to me. This kept happening over and over again. One good thing about this company is that they canceled my account and refunded my money for the previous month since I was having all these problems. That's why I gave it a 3. |
joetbd from arkansas on 2006-11-01 Rates them:
Update: I have been an onoff customer of gamefly, for 2 or 3 years.
In 2004, things were "fine". My turn around time (the time the game spends in the mail) was about 7 days. This seemed like a long time, so I quit.
I joined and quit again later. Things were about the same. I only want to rent about 15 games per year, so I never stay a member for long. I rent the games Im interested in, and quit.
I did this for about 18 months, off and on. Then they started losing discs. In just a couple months, they lost 3 games. Lost discs are a pain, because you have to wait 7-10 days, before you can even report the discs "lost". And then there is a 2 day delay, before they respond to your email (everything is done by email, there is no phone support).
Once I got those missing discs reported, I simply quit. Whether it was the post office or GF losing the discs did not matter. The fact that I was getting bad service, meant I had to quit, again.
I let some time go by, and I tried another service, "gamerang". But gamerang has issues of their own, and I quit their service too.
After a while, there were games I wanted, and my local rental store did not stock them. I had to do something. So I joined gamefly again. And they lost my very first disc. So... I quit again. That was early 2006
By this time, my turn around time was up to 10 days, and there were a total of 4 lost discs.
Keep in mind, gamefly has a policy of cancelling memberships, if you lose too many games (normally 3 per year). So, I take the fact, that they did not cancel my membership as a sign, they knew something was wrong on their end.
I joined again (I have no where else to rent my games). Currently, I am on my 6th game (2nd month) and not one lost game.
Turn around time is worse then ever. Up to eleven days.
And the ammount of "new" games they have in stock is awful. Most games are difficult to rent, for about 2 or 3 months, after they come out. Madden 07 (which came out 3 momths ago, is currently out of stock "short wait").
On the plus side, I had the "fast return" system work (once). There is a bar code that they put on the outside of your return envolope. If your post office has the proper equipment, they will scan it and GF will know you have returned the game. They will then send you your next selection. This is very nice, when it works. But so far, they have only sent me one game, with the special bar code, on the envolope.
I sent them an email asking "why only one game? Why dont all of my discs use this system?". Gamefly customer service never replied to that email.
customer service is as bad as ever.
shipping is longer then ever.
and "game availablity" is worse then ever.
But at least I have not had any discs lost, this time around. Am I lucky? Did they find and fire bad employees? Was their sorting system flawed? Was it the post office. I dont know.
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Alexander Hoskins from Dallas on 2006-10-21 Rates them:
I would only reccomend this service if you fullfill the following:
1. live in California
2. like talking to an automated responsed unti everytime you send your supposrt emails
3. like to wait about 3 days to get said e-mails
4. Have lots, and lots, and lots of money to waste
5. Have the patience of a monk
6. like to be charged for games that you never played, received, or they never recieved
7. enjoy listening to Gamefly bad mouth the USPS and make them their scapegoat
8. ONly like playing 1 or 2 games a month
9. Enjoy seeing random charges on your credit card bill
10. Find excitement in wondering if the package they sent you actually has a game in it this time!
If you fullfil the following requirements, then sing up now!
If not, then come and join the rest of the real world. |
Tyler from St. Paul, MN on 2006-10-11 Rates them:
Once upon a time I actually listened to the people who said GameFly's service was slow. So I ended up going to gamesnflix first, where I learned the meaning of slow, incompetent service. After finally cancelling my gamesnflix account (and settling a bill with them that I thought was totally unjust), I went back to renting from the local video store, where I only got terrible service and damaged games.
I realize now that my big mistake was listening to people's complaints about GameFly. The selection is awesome, look for yourself over at their website and you'll see they've got more available titles than any other online rental. The delivery times are not at all slow since I use the fast return option (again, go check it out for yourself at their site). And if you're smart and time it right, you'll always have a game in your console and a game coming or going in the mail. The flat monthly price saves you so much money over buying a game for like 50 or 60 bucks. Better selection, decent shipping times (to and from Minnesota, btw), plus there's the Keep It option. There's a lot of competition out there to be the "Netflix for video games," and GameFly is definitely coming the closest to that. |
Toby from New York on 2006-09-16 Rates them:
Back and forth. Back and forth. Never seen such extreme reviews. Ping-pong dude. That's what you're all playing. Maybe gaming in the 21st century is a little too much for you all. We are in the 21st century right? I've spent so much time playing Lord of the Rings lately, I can hardly remember. Got it from Gamefly along with Saints Rows. No problemo.
Seriously kids, I can hardly imagine Gamefly would be in business if the negative reviews here were even half truths. Obviously conducting business through the mail has its negatives and positives just like anything else. But as far as I can tell Gamefly has tweaked their model to account for most of those problem.
And don't be scared Famous from Springfield even though your blow by blow by blow by blow review left me a little frightened. Gamefly is for gamers. Real ones and those who aspire to be. They're the best out there. | |
Scott from Colorado Springs on 2006-09-09 Rates them: | | |
