Lets face it, gaming is an expensive hobby. During the glory days of student loans and university living, every time a new game came out. I would go to the Manchester Arndale and hot-foot it to GAME with my reward card in hand and cash in the other.
But since leaving education and entering full time employment, Full Price Games and new releases are not finding a way into my monthly budget as much as they used too. Portal 2, Battlefield 3 and the Devil May Cry/Metal Gear Solid HD collections have been pre-ordered and not bought as planned. I feel like I have been left out of the loop for a while Video Game wise, even though I have been reading my preferred Video Game site, Destructoid and listening to podcasts whenever I can (on a side note, I recommend Podtoid, TheGameoverCast and Digital Gonzo to name a few).
Over the last few months though, I have had two saviours which have been satisfying my gaming needs. First is the all-mighty Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) for loads of games, Fez has been finally released for a measly 800 MSP and I was having an awesome time until I encountered a game killing bug which the developers ensured would be fixed in the next patch. Also I have been enjoying the weekly/monthly sales they have been having, the most recent includes the always epic and highly reccomended Beyond Good and Evil HD for a measly 400 points. (Footnote: Download this game, especially for this price. Don't buy the DLC for the crap game your currently playing and download this epic classic.)
But an unexpected place where I have been finding some great games for little cash is the second hand media stores like CEX and Cash Generator. I always pop into these stores because in the case of Cash Generator; you can always find a DVD you would like to watch for £1 and in the case of CEX, can find some classic and rare games without the need of going on Ebay. But recently, I have found some epic bargains in both the Stockport and Manchester branchs of Cash Generator.
Bargain Number 1: Batman: Arkham Asylum (X360) Price - £3.49
I was blown away when I saw this game for this price, immaculate box and the disk does not have a scratch on it. I originally played the first Batman game when it came out, but only put about an hour into it. I got stuck trying to sneak past Harley Quinn when she is holding Commissioner Gordon hostage. That and a combination of not finding a specific Ridder Trophy which put me off. How wrong I was, I have not put this game down since I have bought it and loving every second. Also was served by a Girl called Penny Lane in the store so this made the purchase more awesome.
Bargain Number 2 : Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (X360) Price - £1.49
This is an unbelievable purchase from the same branch of Cash Generator, in all fairness though. I do not like the Call of Duty games, I find them highly overrated and even though they have a high level of polish and production which can be seen. This type of game does not appeal to me. Also my only time playing Call of Duty online was an onslaught of abuse and uses of the word 'noob'so this put me off. I have not yet played the game but for this price, its on the "to-play" pile at the moment. It was this price though because the disk did have a lot of laser burn and scratches on it, but a £1 ride on a disk re-surfacer at my local branch of Grainger Games has sorted this out fine.
Bargain Number 3 : Fallout 3 - Game of the Year Edition (X360) Price - £7.49
This was a bargain and a half, the full Fallout 3 which must be a 40 hour game easy, with all the expansion packs included make this a bargain for the price. Especially as each individual expansion pack for this game are priced at 800 MSP a pop.
So for £12.50, I have acquired three awesome games, each providing at a minimum 20 hours of gameplay and all for a third of the price of a full retail game. In conclusion, if you find yourself with nothing to play and only a 10 pound note in your wallet, check where your local branches of Cash Generator and CEX are because you can grab yourselves some great deals and even better deals of you like a bit of retro gaming.
Get out their and find yourselves a bargain, you never know what your going to find on them shelves.
