5 Great Games for $5.99 or Less

Video gaming is an expensive hobby. Soon after you fork over several hundred dollars to buy a console or computer upgrade, you're asked to cough up an additional $59.99 for that high-profile game that you've been eyeing up since before its release. Buying used is a viable option when you're strapped for cash, but even that can be a bit more than the desired investment at times.

What if I told you that I could direct you to 5 quality games for only $5.99 or less each? They're out there. You just have to know where to look. And don't worry about how old your PC or laptop is. Chances are very good that it can run every one of these titles quite comfortably.

• Serious Sam: The First Encounter - $5.99 [GOG.com]

With Serious Sam 3: BFE right around the corner, now's a good time to see where it all started on the cheap.

The calling card of the Serious Sam series is the relentess, consistent horde of enemies. Play a Serious Sam game and you'll probably feel like you've faced more enemies than you've ever seen in a single game experience.

To deal with these ridiculous numbers, most of the areas in Serious Sam: The First Encounter are very large and wide-open. This way, the game can spew out hundreds of small enemies while leaving more than ample room for some rather large enemies in addition. You'll be attacked from every angle at all times, so an itchy trigger finger will come in handy.

One sound you're not likely to soon forget will be the scream of the approaching "Beheaded Kamikaze" enemies, who each hold their own screaming head in one hand and a bomb in the other. Hearing a large pack of these guys far off in the distance coming closer and closer, their voices getting louder, is pretty iconic to the series. This is the kind of gratuitous ridiculousness in store for you.

It's a lot of game to get for $5.99, and even though it was originally released in 2001, blasting away seemingly endless waves of enemies never grows old in the way that Serious Sam pulls it off.

• Star Wars Battlefront II - $4.99 [Steam]

Here's a steal at $5 for this weekend only on Steam. 

Star Wars Battlefront II could be thought of as a grand-scale team deathmatch game in the Star Wars universe. But it's not just fun because you get to actually play out classic Star Wars battles, it's a great game in its own right.

If you're a fan of the movie series, you might be excited to know that this game allows you to play out huge battles on Dagobah, the halls of the Death Star, and even the space battle above Coruscant from Episode III.

Rebels, Imperials, CIS, the Republic, you can play as any of the 4 factions and choose between several classes each with their own strengths and special abilities.

Even now (and especially this weekend), you'll find an active online community engaging in huge battles consistently. At $4.99, this is a way to get yourself a solid online multiplayer title at a heck of a bargain. Just don't wait too long, because the price goes back up to the usual $9.99 after this weekend.

• Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger - $5.99 [GOG.com]

Old school gamers should not need any introduction to this classic, but newer players might not have been exposed to this one. Let's change that.

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger was one of the first video games to take live acting very seriously. It was actually marketed as the world's first interactive movie. Released back in 1994, it deserves credit for pioneering the use of CGI backgrounds and green screen technology. The same method was eventually employed by George Lucas for Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, but it truly began here.

They didn't skimp on the cast, either. The main character Christopher Blair is played by Mark Hamill, and you'll quickly notice Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, and Tom Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future!). You'll even see Josh Lucas (Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind) before anyone had any idea who he was.

The game is a mix between space combat simulation and managing the personalities of your crew while discovering an unfolding plot concerning the enemy Kilrathi. It was simply ground-breaking for its time both in presentation and pure gameplay.

Wing Commander III might look rather dated some 17 years later, but at only $5.99 from GOG.com, it's a cheap way to get a look at one of the more important games in the industry's history, and catch some big-name actors in an unusual spot as well.

• Civilization III - $4.99 [Steam]

Any strategy game fan who hasn't spent a solid amount of time with Civilization III can scarcely call him/herself a strategy game fan. Sid Meier's iconic series got a lot of things right in this iteration.

Turn-based strategy gaming doesn't always sound very exciting or interesting on the surface. But allow yourself a short time with Civilization III and you might be surprised how quickly a few turns changes to 10, 50, 100 turns. This game has a knack for making you continue to play many hours more than you had intended without noticing. Have a clock handy.

The goal is world conquest. You start as an ancient civilization of your choosing and begin building your empire. Research discoveries from the wheel and electricity all the way to space travel and nuclear fission while defending your cities and settling new lands. Manage the happiness of your population and wage war with rival civilizations while creating peace with others.

It sounds like a lot, but the beauty of Civilization III is how accessible it is. Just a few turns in, you'll have a solid handle on how everything works, and you'll become obsessed with managing it all. The game has a way of handing out awards in small servings all the way through, so the mantra of "one more turn" is one you might become very familiar with when playing.

Civilization III's gameplay certainly holds up very well even today. Busy bees beware: this one can be quite the time vampire, but in a good way.

• Team Fortress 2 - FREE [Steam]

It doesn't get any cheaper than this.

Team Fortress 2 is one of the best multiplayer experiences of both the last and current decades to date. Seriously, the game has a Metacritic rating of 92, and Valve has straight-up removed the price tag. Take advantage of this immediately.

The original Team Fortress was a modification of id Software's hit FPS Quake, and it literally invented the class-based multiplayer shooter that dominates the FPS market today. Valve Software later released the standalone Team Fortress, which took the original mod's mechanic and refined it into a wonderfully addictive classic which has served as the genre archetype since.

Team Fortress 2 developed the mechanic even further and crafted one of the best multiplayer games available today. The new art style lends itself wonderfully to the gameplay, and numerous game modes and maps were added.

Even better, from its 2007 release all the way until today, Valve has continued to release new content for the game. Now there are collectable and tradable hats to make your character unique and discover new abilities.

PC Gamer said that Team Fortress 2 is "The most fun you can have online," and there a lot of gamers who would agree. If you haven't joined in yet, do it now.

Pick up inexpensive games and even retro games at , 545 South Broad St., Lansdale. (215) 368-1955.

Check out these retailers for video games and accessories:

• GameStop, 1551 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale. (215) 631-1230
• , 2333 W. Main St., Lansdale. (215) 855-4280
• GameStop, 801 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales. (215) 412-2900
• GameStop, Montgomery Mall, North Wales. (215) 362-2036