Commemorating an enthusiasm for videogames or a particular franchise by collecting related memorabilia is a temptation few of us can resist. Back in the day we were pretty stoked to find anything game related, and were totally proud to rock rather overt t-shirts with nothing but company logos or pictures of recognizable game characters. Taste and sensibilities mature with age, and ours now favor the subtle side of gaming reverence.
Fortunately for us, the industry is beginning to cater to a broader and in some cases, older demographic. Valve Software has a number of rather beloved franchises in its stable, including the well established Half Life series and the new cult hit Portal. The studio's online store have recently been restocked and packed with some new products, some of which are really quite cool.
For many, the store's big draw is a new supply of plush Weighted Companion Cubes. The iconic inanimate companion from Portal was an interesting story device, and the plush cube is a cool mechanism for fostering some physical attachment of your own. The $29.95 plush is cool enough to get people's attention even if they don't know what it's from, but not so overtly campy as to look inappropriate on a desk or in the living room. We'd take care of it.
Another subtle Portal reference that caught our eye in the Valve store is the Aperture Laboratories Parking Permit. It's sold with a pair of bumper stickers that we aren't really big fans of for $9.95, which makes it kind of a rip. On the other hand, we'd give serious credit to anyone we saw rocking the parking permit on their windshield, and are kinda tempted to do so ourselves.
Valve is also pimping a variety of t-shirts, most of which we're not really crazy about. We do kinda dig The Cake long-sleeved shirt. Portal players know well that the cake is a lie, and the shirt plays on the lore pretty well. It's $24.95, and we're disappointed to see that the pictures in the store are just a drawing of the design, which makes it hard to decide if the shirt is really cool or not. This one might be worth the risk.
source : www.ign.com
