Boomerang have developed into one of the best games rental companies around, so we bumped them up to our number two ranking in May 2008; we highly recommend them for their unusually long free trial period of three weeks, and their excellent, personal customer service. Boomerang's founder and Managing Director, Nick Palczynski, is an avid gamer himself, and takes pride in delivering excellent customer service. You can even email him direct on the site!
Boomerang currently offers an impressive 4,000+ titles; 290+ titles for XBox, 640+ for PS2, 350+ PSP titles, 540+ for Xbox 360, 640+ for Wii, 410+ for PS3, and 800+ for Nintendo DS.
A new website design was unveiled in November 2008. There are many innovations, starting with the fact that it's wider than before and so can fit more info and makes navigation easier. There are now quick select categories to improve browsing, like Top Games, Most Rented, Latest Reviewed, etc. There is also more title information, including release dates for upcoming games. You can arrange your game queue (or pipeline as it's called) simply by dragging and dropping titles in your chosen priority order, a simple yet novel approach we haven't seen with other companies.
In 2009, Boomerang followed up with a new customisation feature (a UK and indeed the world first to our knowledge) that allows you to set your preference for receiving games from your queue. For instance, you can select "Top 3" or "Top 5" options, and you'll always get a game from near the top of your queue, though turnaround may be slower if all the copies are rented out. You can also click the Balanced option which aims for regular top choices with as quick a turnaround as possible--basically this is their regular service. Or you can choose Fast, which will get your next game out as quickly as possible, when you're more concerned about having a game ASAP even though it may be from lower down your queue.
Boomerang still feature a strong search engine that allows selection by console, title, and age range. All game titles include reviews and most now have screenshots too.Game instructions are now available on the site, one of the few companies which does this (you need to be logged in to view).
Boomerang are also the only company to offer a 'priority service' where, for a small additional fee, you will be guaranteed to be at the front of the queue for new releases -- not to be underestimated if you've experienced waiting weeks of playing older games when you really only want that top new release. Availability of titles is also now more transparent as indicated by green/yellow/red 'rent now' buttons to give an indication of whether you are likely to have to wait a while for your desired game to be dispatched.
Boomerang continue to respond to customer feedback and gladly evolve their service in response to comments. We expect to see this company go from strength to strength. In July they added two options for purchasing games: "Buy It" which lets you purchase ex-rental games at a discounts, often over 50% off retail, and "Keep It" which lets you purchase a game you're currently renting, and they'll dispatch the manual and box. All purchases are covered by their 30 Day No Quibble Guarantee and shipping is free.
Prices: Again, their free trial is a long 21 days at the one game rental at a time level, to a total of up to three game swaps. Boomerang offer an impressive range of eight tariffs including a new budget package (limited to 1 rental only per month for £3.49 ranging all the way up to a four games out unlimited plan for £25.99 (the only site we know of to offer so many games out at once, and for a reasonable price).
See the sidebar for their many other plans--there should be an option to suit everyone's gaming habits.
Rental Basics