Headed to Houston any recommendations?

[blissfulnoise]

I'll be there a week on business. I'd be interested in video game related stops mostly (so I put this in the main forum), but any other recommendatioins on what to see or do would be cool too.

Was in Dallas recently, but I didn't really have time to explore (only there for 3 days) so I'd like to see some of what Texas has to offer during this tour of duty.

Thanks in advance!

[Damaramu]

I can't think of any mom-n-pop type stores here, but there's plenty of Gamestops/EBs to go 'round! LOL

I would, however, recommend BEDROCK CITY COMICS (http://www.bedrockcity.com) if you need a comic book/toy/collectable fix!

[Zadoc]

Reccomendation: Do not go to Houston.

[Bluteg]

You can go to Trader's Village (Houston flea market) and duke it out with the immigrants over Super Mario Bros. 3 carts.

[Rogmeister]

If you bump into Nolan Ryan, tell him Rogmeister says hey! :D

[Fuyukaze]

If your into anime, games, and model kits, I would advise Planet Anime. Its near Rice University (sorry, I dont have their addy, their web page should). Their selection of games can be iffy though and their prices on some things may not be great, but sometimes you can find a rare treat for a steal of a deal. Second shop would be any of the number of Half Priced bookstores. They cary games, movies, music, and yes, even books. Their Store name is Half Priced Books. Their game selection various from store to store. The 2 on 1960 have different selections and price differently as well but sometimes you can find damned sweet deals at them. The third stop would either Nam's comics or I guess Bedrock City. I dont even know if the first is still in buisness and I avoid the second as they sell pirate anime. Something I loath and dispise. There isnt many good used game shops in the area beyond what I named that I am aware of. The best places I know of are pawn shops. There are to many of them to name off any, but generaly the prices are from what I've seen better then any of the nation wide game stores. I find most sell their NES games for 2-4 (sometimes 5), their SNES/GEN for 4-6, their N64/DC/PS1 for 5-12$, and their X-box/PS2/Gamecube for 10-20$. Thing is, a good number of them dont even care if there is a difference between the games. I've gone into countless pawn shops, and walked out with great deals. Picked up games like PTO 4 for the PS2 for 15$ in perfect condition. Also picked up 9 NES games (2 were might and magic) for 20$. Also picked up a copy of 7th Saga for only 3$. The biggest problem is they tend not to sell anything but the most popular stuff. Things like the TG-16, Master System, Saturn, and Virtua Boy rarely make an apearence. Also, the Gameboy ilk is almost always 7-15$ per game. Doesnt realy matter which system, just that its a GB, GBC, or GBA game.


Hope this helps you some. If you have never been to Houston, the first thing I would advise is get used to it. Its humid as hell and even after you take a shower, you will still feel like you need another. Cabs are also very expensive around here. While they are nowheres near as expensive as other cities in the nation, if you plan to do any exploring of the city, learn to enjoy the Metro bus. If not that, then rent a car. Also, depending what airport you are flying into plays a big part. Pray its Bush intercontenintal airport. Hobby is ok, but its a good hours drive to the city. Oh, and make sure to take a trip to a restraunt called the Potato Patch. Very good food, very good prices, and lots of sides. If chinese is your prefrence, there is an arse load of them. I perfer HB Japanese steakhouse and China Bear.

[Mianrtcv]

If you run into Roger Clemens...
1. Seriously, WTF. Retire already. The Astros are not going anywhere. The Jetson's have a better shot!
2. WTF. Tell R. Clemens to have his son lock the doors to the H2 the Yankees gave him.
3. Are you sure you have to go to Houston? (Kidding, I kid. Houston is great... for me to poop on. Sorry, been a while since I got to use that. Houston is o.k.).

[GaijinPunch]

Reccomendation: Do not go to Houston.

Boy, you beat me to that one. :)

[Fuyukaze]

Ya know, some of you people make Houston sound like a horible place to visit much less live. While its true even I hate it here, there are much worse places to visit in the state. Places like Waco. Or El Paso.

[Iron Draggon]

*Wonders how many people dissing my hometown in this thread have ever even actually been here to earn the right to diss it, like those of us who were born and raised here!*

Traders Village is probably your best bet for anything retro, there are a couple of other flea markets, but they're really crappy and really overpriced. Not that Traders Village is a big treasure trove of bargains itself, but it is the nicest one.

Definitely check out Hong Kong City Mall for anime stuff, it's on Bellaire Blvd in "new" Chinatown. Everything on that street from US59 to SH6 is pretty much where it's at for imports, and that includes the real stuff and the knockoffs.

There are some nice anime stores left in some of the malls, but as far as I know, we've lost all the decent used game stores, so all we have is Game Crazy and those other two evil stores that won't even stock anything retro anymore *cough* Game Stop and Electronics Boutique *cough*

I read in the paper not too long ago that there is a retro video game store around here somewhere, but I forget what they said the name of it was, since they so kindly never bothered to print its location or its phone number.

If only we still had Gametronix, now that was the best game store we ever had, especially for imports, but they had a good selection of used domestic stuff for reasonable prices too. Sadly they left town with the 16BIT era though.

Nan's is still in business, but they only sell board games and RPG stuff, so if you wanna look for old D&D treasures, go there, otherwise I don't think you'll find any old video games, but they have been known to have old handhelds.

Dave's World might be a good place to look for some old handhelds too, but they'll be priced to stay on the shelf, not to go home with you, unless you're extremely wealthy.

*Yeah, the 4th largest city in the nation is a treasure trove of old video games, if you happen to be visiting my house!*

[xfactor1984]

ill have to heck out those places since ill be there the 24th and 25th for the NIN concert at verizon wireless theatre.

[The-Bavis]

Recommendation: Double up on the deoderant.