I was so happy to discover this gem in Madison. Thank god there is a place where you can still…read morerent DVDs and talk so people who love movies and give you a personal recommendation. This place has a far better selection than the streamers. Love it!!!!

Netflix better watch out. This video rental store has been around since 1985, and it's not leaving…read moreanytime soon! I've been wanting to watch the new Star Trek Picard show, but I didn't want to pay for an entirely new streaming subscription. Four Star Video Rental had it and just about every other video ever created! I spent almost an hour browsing through their selection of brand new releases, westerns, foreign films, silent films, and childrens' movies! The young man at the front desk was incredibly helpful. He gave me plenty of room to simply browse, but he was able to happily find a specific movie for me when asked. Individual rentals can be a bit pricey (around $4.50 I think), so I went with the $22 monthly option--allowing me to rent as much as I want for a month. It's certainly cheaper than getting a couple new streaming subscriptions, and I loved supporting a local treasure!

Nice clean bathrooms, good selection, wide aisles for customers to pass each other by. Typical…read moretourist selections. It was nice to see a local brewery beer on display. Supporting local businesses is always a plus!

Awful store. Went…read moreinto the store the other day and the employee's made me feel like I was inconveniencing them every time I had a question. Asked about video games that they were selling and was told to search through a database on a computer on their counter. I spent time going through the database to find games that I was interested in. After finding the games that I wanted, I asked about purchasing them. The employee at the counter then game me the actual prices of the games which were more than double the prices that were listed in their database. The employee then admitted that they were different because they were basing their prices off current Ebay prices! This is completely unacceptable. The store also contains tons of posters that are either inappropriate ("Girls Gone Wild") or unnecessary (Political views). Stay far, far away!

My roommate and I ventured to a game store we have never been to before in Reedsburg, WI. We parked…read moreon a side street, and we walked to the front door. Before entering, I could see massive amounts of records and DVDs through the windows, and I said "This place looks interesting." Upon entering, the place was quite clean, but the shelves were very barren. We walked toward the front of the store, and all we saw were a couple Gamecube, PS3, Xbox 360, DS, and a row of PS2 games (mostly junk). Nothing had prices on it though. We quickly asked the man at the counter if they had anything retro. He asked, "What do you want?". We said, "We're mostly interested in NES and SNES games and maybe some PS1 stuff." He didn't say a word, and he directed us to a computer on the far end of their counter and said, "Look through this database. This is a reference guide with a list of games and prices. It hasn't been updated in about 6 months though, so some of the things on here we might not have anymore." Already weird not being able to physically look at the games, but whatever. While doing this, I spot a Hori Slime controller sealed on the shelf marked at $50, and I show my interest in it. The owner says, "Yeah, I don't know why these are marked at $50. They're more than that." I'm already confused at this point. We scroll through the list for about 45 minutes, and we compile a list of things we might be interested in, but we want to see the conditions because there is no indication of condition listed. No info if manuals and cases come with disc-based games, and no information about labels of cart-based games. There is another employee in the store, and we SLOWLY, and I mean SLOWLY read the list of games to him. He is looking through another sort of database, and then tells us if they have them in stock or not. Then he goes and pulls the 12 games they did have in stock from the back shelves. This entire time, the store owner is yelling at his employee telling him he does everything wrong, and my roommate and I look at each other with disbelief. About 20 minutes later, he managed to gather the 12 games from the back, and he showed them to us. Most were in unacceptable collecting condition, and we say that we aren't interested in 5 of the games. The employee sighs at us, and then he says he will look up prices for the items. During this time, I am looking around the store, and I notice one wall is covered in anti-Obama ads, and the other wall is full of Girls Gone Wild DVDs and posters. Not quite the decor for a media store usually... Thirty minutes later, I ask what our total is on the 7 games we have left in the pile, and the employee is busy pricing some random bin of DVDs. He says he'll be with us shortly... wait... what?! I make mention that we need to get going soon and have been in the store for about 2 hours now. Less than 10 minutes later, he starts listing prices to me that are between 2 and 5 times higher than the prices we looked at in the original database! I asked where he got those prices, and he said that they are the lowest BIN prices currently on eBay. Hold the phone. You have a database of games with prices next to them, but when a customer has interest in things, you raise the prices before purchase?! We walked out, and the owner said some pretty negative things to me on my way out of the store. After leaving, I immediately left them a poor review on their Facebook page. They were rated 4.2 stars, so I thought it odd that we got the treatment we got from the owner. Turns out a majority of that 4.2 rating was the owner, employees, and their friends rating the business 5.0 with no critical feedback whatsoever. The owner responded in less than an hour when we were on the road back home. I have never seen such an unprofessional response to criticism in my life. After my review got about 50 responses from my friends, other gamers, and other unhappy former customers, the store removed reviews all together from their page. I did get a screenshot of the initial unprofessional response though, and I'm trying to get it around the web to make people aware of how unprofessional this store owner his. He's pretty much a disgrace to the gaming community. Best of luck game hunting. Hope none of your local shops are anything like this.

My first time here the staff was amazing very knowledgeable, kind, helpful and nonjudgmental. The…read morefacility is very clean, organized and open couldn't ask for a better experience while picking up something for my girlfriend beware there are lots of potholes in the parking lot though.

From the owner: Shockwave Adult Superstore and Smoke shop specializes in everything adult. Shockwave offers a…read morelarge selection of intimate goods and Large Dispensary.

Love this game store! It's always clean, staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Although inventory…read moremay be a little smaller than others, you can usually find what you are looking for and if not, they can direct you on where or how to find it. Honestly, Todd and his crew are great. They have always been honest and have been great helping us troubleshoot though things unlike some other game related places in the area. * I also just wanted to add.. just so people are aware; the employees are NOT the ones responsible for items selling out and not immediately updating online OR the prices set for trade ins and what not... That is all corporates doing. So instead of taking it out on good employees... Call up and have a word with corporate instead of leaving a bad review on the store and those employees.

Website said they had something in stock, drove from Madison and said item was not in stock.read more

The place is very dark, dirty, and smelly. As far as customer service, I definitely don't feel an…read moreexciting vibe in the place.

Most Gamestops will be similarly run, and each local staff will vary year to year based on…read moreturnover. Here's my personal take on the 173 store with the corporate piece in mind. Pros: -As with any Gamestop you're going to have access to all cutting edge or up and coming material. Reserve policies are the best way to ensure you have a near guaranteed crack at anything up and coming. -Stores are generally well organized. -Used material will often be a good value. - Most Gamestop employees have a decent set of knowledge as the generally maintain an interest in their products. Cons: -You're better off selling games through eBay. Don't say you were not warned - INSPECT any used material before you finalize the purchase. Most employees will not have a problem with that - Not a good idea to send your kid into Gamestop solo if they are gullible and easily parted with money. Store employees are trained to press for add on sales - Beware of deals advertised online. Many are notoriously unavailable at the the local stores Bottom Line: -In general a good honest place for any gaming console needs. May not be the cheapest, but it gets the job done