This is a thread for bargin bin gems.

You can post feedback on games you overlooked and now "bargin" games and, after further review, are quite good in your opinion. Links to deals are also welcome in this thread.

Battlefield Bad Company $20 new (Best Buy)

I picked this up Saturday night for $20 from Best Buy -- this was a steal. The single player is only ok -- it looks like they planned 4 player coop but never implimented the coop part!! AI is so-so and the sandbox gameplay, while a nice change, could have used a lot more refinement (AI, design, variety, etc). Scripted sequences so far are really boring, building variety is pretty sparse, etc. Story telling is painful ... something to keep in mind. The AI team mates are dumb and you cannot set way points for them or anything. So far SP is so far a story of malcontent dunces with one liners. It can be funny--and relaxing for a shooter--but overall nothing worth writing home about.

The plus side is the game mechanics are solid and the destructible environments are very cool. Not 100% destroyable (although they could have if they wished as the structural shells are really just place holders) but the ability to wipe out a wall or whatnot adds a new dimension to the gameplay. My biggest gripe is probably the lack of a basic cover system (KZ2s lean and peak would have been perfect) and the auto injector is a pretty poor Halo rip off IMO.

This really carries over into MP. The gunplay is pretty tight (lethal even) and the classes, while inferior to the BF2 / 42 / DC ones, still is a nice change of pace and work well. The big difference is the maps are HUGE for MP, the games are NOT laggy (dedicated servers FTW!!!!!!!), the team/objective/class/vehicle MP is also different from your standard TDM console fair and very well done overall. Sure some things suck (squad implimentation is weak for example) and some things, like Helos, are cruel with a gamepad. But the experience is unique and, more importantly, well crafted & fun. If you like team based MP and are looking for something more open ended I don't think there is anything like Bad Company on the consoles. So while things like vehicle balance will irritate and some of the obvious console-itis concessions (Many unecessary at that) the overall package stands out.

The graphics are overall great. Some of the short comings are annoying--sometimes shadows totally flip out. The framerate obviously drops below 30fps and turning turrets can be quite jerky at times. LOD, especially in tree detail can be spotted and the lack of filtering is ugly when grass isn't there to pretty it up. I am nonplused by Haggard and companies faces look so washed out in-game when US military troops look good, even great when you meet up with them. Death animation is pretty weak and you will encouter a fair number of glitches. The fact buildings don't fully collapse, damage is precomputed (in dynamic grids; bigger ammo will take out more grids and angular damage can make for unique grid shapes), and trees and signs have set break points will bring you down to earth. As mentioned befoe building variety is weak s well.

But with all those gripes aside the fact the game has a fully dynamic shadowing system, almost everything can be broken, and the maps are huge and detailed really stands out. The game looks very good when sitting still and evn better when things start going BOOM. When the scope is factored in (huge maps, a fair number of vehciles, 24 players, no lag) and the detail on the map, the graphics become quite impressive. It isn't Crysis, but functionally it offers a large dynamic world that looks good and is fun to play in. In its own way BFBC is as visually pleasing as any game on the 360.

I will revisit my notes later with pros and cons, but those are my initial thoughts.

Deal or Dud?

For $20, a steal of a deal for MP alone.

The second hand market is full of incredible bargains at this point for the Xbox 360 especially. Browse Half.com--you can spend $60 and come away with several good-to-great games instead of one. I was planning on picking up a bunch of older 360 releases that I have missed very soon.

Ninja Gaiden 2 was $10 at Best Buy last week too, but I'm not sure what the status of that deal is. It's probably over.

For all the Europeans on the forums I suggest looking at www.play.com
They've got amazing bargains every week.

Most games I've ordered on there are half the price of the store "versions".

(New) Games for 30/40 euro's are common. I for example got the Fallout 3 collectors edition for 35 euro's (special sale) while the normal version is 39 euro's on the site. In most stores the game is still sold at the 59/65 euro's price.

*Edit*;

Even the platinum PS3 games and the classic X360 games are cheaper

Yeah That's the only thing that's bugging me.. Delivery outside the UK (don't know about inside) is really slow. But I can't complain for half priced games

I just ordered Midnight club for the ps3 for 25 Euro's

Missed a few. *sips gin at the bar*

Microcenter has Madden 2010 for $35 new. Walk in only. Buy.com has 360 controllers for $31, charge and play for $40.

Some Best Buy's are apparently testing a program where they will price match new games with used titles from Gamestop and Game Crazy. I hope that plan goes nation wide, cause it's a pretty awesome deal.

@KornDOG: if you really want to stick it to Activision just buy it second hand, they'll only see one sale after all.