[Multiplatform] Quality in the Bargain Bin

Budget game. To most, those words bring to mind some of the horrors found in Infernal Monkey's journal, but not all budget games are bad. Maybe that game in the bargain bin is from an indie developer, selling at a lower price to attract your attention, or perhaps it's game that wasn't worth full price, but at half off is a fun time waster. In this thread, we discuss quality cheap games that might otherwise be overlooked thanks to the stigma of the discount pile.

Some ground rules: 1) Games must be significantly discounted ($19.99 or lower for portable, $30 or lower for console). 2) The price must be permanent (no sales of the week). 3) The price must be widely available (no posts about how you got Brawl for $15 thanks to a coupon/price mistake).

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My picks:

Patapon

With a $19.99 price at launch, this PSP game is a no-brainer. The art design is reminiscent of Loco Roco, and the gameplay is simple but fun. Customize and control dozens of little eyeball warriors as they traverse 2-D sidescrolling stages, hunting and engaging in battle. The control scheme is what makes this really unique; instead of direct control, you give commands through drum beats. Maintaining a constant rhythm is the key to victory.

WordJong

Most DS budget titles that originated as flash games aren't worth the money, but WordJong is different. The game takes Scrabble tiles and arranges them in stacks a la Mahjong. Sure, the gameplay is simple, but it's a word game, so you don't expect all that much. It's surprisingly addictive, and the game seems to be fair in the distribution of tiles. For $19.99, you get several single player modes, plus the ability to play other folks via wifi. The only drawback can be finding other people online (though it's not as hard as I thought it would be).

WarTech: Senko no Ronde
At its launch price of $59.99, this 360 game was grossly overpriced. Now that it's dropped to $9.99 at places like Best Buy and Gamestop, it's on par with an XBLA title. It's a fun anime/mech fighter that's good for a few minutes of mindless combat (a bit like Virtual On).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the original Katamari. Namco has gotten progressively worse about about pricing with the sequels. The sad 12 levels at $40 on the Xbox 360 version is just ridiculous.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

K-Mart is a really great store to find video game bargains, if you know what to look for ahead of times. Especially at the stores in bad neighborhoods where the employees just don't care, they don't bother to mark clearance prices on games, so no one knows its on sale until you bring it up to the register.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by LeHah

This is going to sound a little weird but Target has The Simpsons Game on sale for $25 around these parts. (Its a clearance sale; I guess they're not carrying that title anymore?)

Unfortunately Target clearances sometimes vary from store to store. My local Target had it for $35 last weekend, which is still tempting. Especially since this coupon works on video games (used it on Lost Odyssey last weekend).



I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It's been floating around Cheapassgamer for a month or so, and most people haven't had any problems using it. As long as folks don't abuse it, it's $5 off games for the next 6 months.

I was speaking idiomatically.