2. Try Free-to-Play Games
EA, Crytek, and Epic Games have all outlined their intentions to start producing their games based on the freemium model free games with premium additions. As gamers, we can use this to our advantage. There are already a whole host of options: to name just a few, theres Team Fortress 2, TrackMania Nations Forever, Planetside 2, League of Legends, and Gunz. All of these games would be justifiable retail releases in themselves, and have more replay value than many of their console competitors. If PC gaming doesnt tickle your fancy, some consoles also have free indie games. On the 360, there is the adorable Happy Wars, the entertaining Doritos Crash Course, and the addictive Harms Way all with online play. On the PS3, there is DC Universe, an MMO.
1. Try Before You Buy
The advent of services such as
LOVEFiLM has been a revelation for gamers. On the aforementioned service, you can pay £11.22 per month and rent any two games at a time, or £14.99 for three games. Thats on top of unlimited film streaming, DVDs, and blu-rays useful for the PS3ers.
Blockbuster offers £9.99/month for two discs, without movie streaming, while
Boomerang Rentals offers a plethora of options at similar prices to match your needs. Usefully, there are no late fees. The best thing about these rental services is that you can rent games for as long as you like, even until you've completed them. Then, you can return it and get your next one. This way, you don't have to fork out a small fortune on a game which, although enjoyable while it lasted, has no value to you anymore. It also means that you can choose to buy games which you really enjoy, and want to play to death. Again, however, there are a few words of warning. Online passes can also be an issue here just because its rented, doesnt mean that youll get one. Also, if youre taking advantage of the free trials on all these websites, make sure you cancel your subscription before the first month or youll end up paying. Finally, it can take a fair bit of time for games to get through; indeed, LOVEFiLM asks you to make a list of ten games so that it can send you three of them as soon as possible.