Paul Russell dumps Lovefilm, but is Boomerang Games just a rebound affair?
With LoveFilm stopping game rentals many of us at CalmDownTom thought it was an end to renting games via post. I set out to try both of the main sites claiming to be the best replacements: boomerangrentals.co.uk and blockbuster.co.uk. I took a free trial of both 21 days for Boomerang and 12 days for Blockbuster. I created the same list of 15 games on each and set them against each other. Lets see how they both stack up:
Blockbuster
Having been a Blockbuster customer for years before my local shop shut a while back I was hoping to get a good service from the former champ. How wrong I was. It’s not all bad, as the site is easy to navigate and the price is good, at £9.99 for two games at a time for as long as you want. But here’s the first of a list of negative points: you need ten games/DVDs in your list to maximize your chance of getting anything. This is just not acceptable if you play a lot of games and just want particular titles you’ve missed. When I did finally set up my list of fifteen games and settle down to wait on my first title, boy did I wait! Fourteen days later, and not one single game has arrived.
My trial period has ended and as you might have guessed I canceled my subscription. My advice is you may want to try them to see how you get on, but only for the low cost but. Two weeks with no games makes me want to stay away.
Boomerang Rentals
I had never heard of this service before I went looking for a Lovefilm replacement. This UK site is simple enough to navigate, but I’m not a fan of the look of it. This is a minor personal thing and does not affect the experience.
Boomerang have a 21 day free trial with a lot of options. The price you pay after this depending on how fast you want new releases. The top tier priority service for 2 games at a time costs £15.99, and this is more expensive than 3 games cost on Lovefilm, But it does get you games first, before any of the lower priced tiers.
I chose top tier ( I want my games fast) and again settled down for a wait on my first game. It arrived within two days. The games come very nicely packed in a cute little hard case and a soft bottom to protect the games. This impressed me no end. Now for the true test, how fast is the turn around? I popped the games in the post and it took a day to register as “returned”. That’s a little slower than Lovefilm, but still not bad. It took a further 2 days for me to get a new game sent out, but here is the plus point: Boomerang give you points for every day you go without a game. For every 1000 points you build up you can claim a free month of rental back. How’s that for dealing with downtime?! Overall, if you are looking for a Lovefilm alternative I would highly recommend giving Boomerang a go. The selection is top-notch, every game released should be there and with a range of price points based on how fast you want new releases, they can be cheaper than others as well. The biggest plus points are the payback point system and the lovely way the games are sent to you.