ScrewAttack is awesome for a number of reasons. The fact that it is one of them, but most things about gaming aren't. This is because of the obvious reason that games are expensive. However, over the past few years, with the economy tanking and my extra funds for games going to things like food or rent, I've had to find other ways to game. As such, I thought I'd share some with the g1 community, and hopefully they can share some with me.
1. This is going to be a no brainer, but still it has to be said, used and second run games are cheaper. I used to be at Wal Mart or GameStop or Best Buy at midnight to get new games, but now I can't do that because of things like studying, and even if I could, money becomes an issue. If you can wait nine months to a year to buy a game coming out now, you can usually get the game for twenty to forty cents on the dollar used or on a second run. Take Mass Effect for instance. It came out in December of '07 for sixty dollars and by June of '08, it was down to twenty used with Bringing Down the Sky, an additional ten dollars as DLC.
2. Continuing on from the used/old games, there are retro games, like those featured in VGV's or the Nerd's rants. You can often pick these up for less than five dollars, and there's often more value than the game itself thanks to internet meme's about it. Keep in mind when buying retrogames though, the really infamous ones are going to run you upwards of fifty dollars. One of my all time favorites, Ogre Battle 64 was already a hundred two years after its release due to a small distribution, and now runs anywhere from seventy-five and two hundred.
3. Indie Games are awesome. A blanket statement to be sure, but that doesn't make it any less true. They can range from updates or sequels to classic games or completely new intellectual property, like Gamma Prime's Draw Fire. Included are a list of links to some of my favorites.
-Cave Story
-Trilby: The Art of Theft
-Portal: The Flash Version
4. The mixed bag that is DLC has some great finds amongst it. Amongst these are expansion adding content, like the previously mentioned Bringing Down the Sky for Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto 4's The Lost and The Damned. Also around are great downloadable games. Megaman 9 instantly comes to mind, but it isn't alone. Also in services like Live Arcade or the PSN are games that are free. These games can range from insipid ad machines like the Toyota Yaris game or the Doritos T-Rex Rampage, to moderately inspired, like Undertow or Aegis Wing. Some of these are time exclusive, so be sure to watch out for them on gaming forums.
5. Play before you buy. Demos are wonderful things, and it seems like every game has them. I had been following Too Human since the PS1 simply because of how awesome the idea of it was. The hour and half demo was unbearable and all the reviews claimed it didn't get better than that. On the flipside, I immediately purchased Operation Darkness after playing the demo for it. Scour Live Arcade and PSN for these. Also, don't feel like paying for Guitar Hero or Rock Band but get a cheap thrill of playing it every once in a while? Every single one of the Guitar Hero games since 3 is up there in some form or fashion with two or more songs. As of last count, there are 16 songs available in this fashion, more than enough to sate any music game craving.
6. How many of you younger g1's are familiar with abandonware? Similar to emulators, but entirely legal, these are games which copyright simply ran out due to lack of usage of the liscense or renewal of it. The Secret of Monkey Island, one of the greatest adventure games of all time became abandonware recently, and for those of you uninitated into the adventure game classics, this is a great one to cut your teeth on. There are other abandonware games as well, you can find lists of them on Google.
7. Free MMO's are generally bland, but every once in a while there's a great one. For a while, Runescape can be enjoyable. Also, if you like games like Final Fantasy, you might try Adventure Quest. They may not be your favorites, but you never know until you try.
So that's my first list of cheap or free games. If you have any suggestions or noticed something I missed, please share it with me and everyone else. I'd be glad to hear about it, as I still have another two years of schooling at least.
-Sara
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