Gaming is more than just a hobby for many of us and for some it’s even a lifestyle. Unfortunately, it is also extremely expensive. While it was easy to keep up with the latest games while living with mom and dad, once your away at college things like books, food and rent can get in the way. Here are a few tips for great gaming on the cheap.
Rent It
Almost any gamer can tell you stories of shelling out $60 for a new game only to beat it the next day. Some games just don’t offer enough replay value to justify the full price and while it was annoying before, now that your gaming resources are limited this can be a big problem. Renting games is an old school answer to your new school problems; no pun intended. Whether it’s by visiting a local chain like Blockbuster, or using an online service like Gamefly, renting before you buy is a great way to stretch your gaming dollar.
Free MMOs
Love to get lost in games like WoW but can no longer afford the monthly fee? You may want to try out the ever growing free to play MMO market. What started as a strange Korean gaming trend has turned into a common gaming business model in the US. You can now even find games that once charged a monthly fee available free of charge. For example, both Lord of the Rings: Online and Star Trek: Online used to require a monthly fee, but are now free for you to download and play. It might not be on par with some of the paid MMO’s but at the low price of free it’s hard to complain.
Indie Games
Whether you’re on a PC, or a Mac, there are dozens of games out there developed by independent game designers. Many of these games are surprisingly good and available for free or extremely cheap. For example, every year there is something called the humble indie bundle, where you choose what you want to pay for 3 or 4 of the years best indie games. Another example on both PC and Mac is a game called Cave Story. If you have never heard of it give it a quick Google search, you’ll be glad you did.
Mobile Gaming
If you have a smartphone, you can find a huge number of free games on its application store. Most of these are “casual games,” but after your 100th hour playing Angry Birds you won’t care. On Android, there is a free tab in the gaming section of the Android Market. On the IPhone, you can filter results by price, including free. Either way, you are sure to find some pretty fun and addictive games for free or super cheap.
Author Bio:
Asuran Vist is a geek enthusiast and fan of all things gadget and tech. You can currently read his most recent articles on todayingeeknews.com. Whether its video games, movies, tv, anime or even IOS or Android and mobile infrastructure development, chances are he has either written or is writing something about it.