Budget PC Gaming in a Recession

In a time of recession, many of us look to the bargain bin of our local or online gaming stores for a way to save a little cash at the same time as finding something new to play. Some great games have been produced in the past that are still very engaging - here's a few suggested titles that can be found at much less than full price.

Tropico / Tropico 2

As El Presidente of Tropico island, players have to manage not only the economic troubles of an emerging nation, but also the political aspects. That includes pesky rebels blowing stuff up if things get bad enough! The game itself is simple enough: it's just so nicely presented with such an atmosphere that it's hard to resist. Lots of fun. Tropico 2 is the pirate version of the game, with episodic, story-driven play. It's equally amusing and the music really sticks in your head!

Galactic Civilizations

One of the best 4X (read "empire building") games ever produced, GalCiv is remarkably light on the system requirements side and equally heavy in depth of play. It's not graphically astounding, but there's plenty to keep your mind active.

Civilization

Based on a board game that could take days to play, this one's an epic challenge for the strategists. Managing an entire civilization down to tiny details may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there are few titles that can oppose this one on sheer scale, especially at a bargain price. Even the latest version, Civ4, is pretty cheap now.

Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising

A game that didn't get a lot of publicity, this one has a great story with excellent voice actors. Graphically, it's rather dated, but the gameplay holds up very well and it remains a real challenge - especially some of the last missions. First person vehicle control, third-person tactical command or a mix of the two make for a lot of fun.

Settlers 3

A very old title indeed, but in my opinion the best in the Settlers series. This was the last one before the producers started putting in 'hero' characters, so it's all town-building, resource gathering and fighting for land against computer opponents. Quite a challenge, especially until you have your play style worked out, it comes with three mission chains to keep you busy. The workings of the economy alone are lovely.

Chessmaster

Whether it's a really old version or a more recent one, this series still stands among the best and most challenging available on the PC. For chess buffs, it can provide a pretty solid opponent.

Oni

A first person shooter/beat-em-up title from a few years back. It's not perfect but it has a good story, a nice graphical style based on Japanese anime and makes more sense than a lot of FPS titles. For example, the hero can't carry a ton of different weapons, forcing players to make choices as they go along. Very enjoyable and some of the martial arts moves are really cool!

The Sims 2

 Even without the multitude of expansion packs, this is still one of the biggest selling titles of all time. With the next version due out in 2009, The Sims 2 has started hitting the bargain bins and can be the source of an enormous number of hours of play. Graphically pretty and with engaging gameplay, it's a great family title.

SWAT 3/4

The SWAT series has some extremely good tactical titles. SWAT 3 and SWAT 4 both provide difficult challenges and so much atmosphere that they may even have your palms sweating as your team prepared to enter a building full of terrorists. The control system takes a bit of getting used to, but once a player is comfortable with it, both these titles provide a memorable gaming experience.

Homeworld

For the real-time strategy fans, I could have gone the easy route and suggested StarCraft or Command & Conquer, but Homeworld has such an involving story and is graphically so beautiful that it had to be on this list. Great gameplay and a wonderful soundtrack just add to the all-round excellence of this title. There's an expansion pack as well (Cataclysm), which can usually be grabbed from the same bargain bin!

Far Cry

Another FPS title, but a special one. The story gets a bit freaky towards the end, which is a shame, but the scale of the game and the AI was quite remarkable for its time. Any shooter where I can hide in a bush and the bad guys might not actually see me gets extra marks in my book. The follow-up title was apparently rather lacklustre except in the graphics department, but the original is one that's easy to enjoy.