Which games are the best bang for the buck?

I'm sure most of us have regretted spending the $40 or $50 dollars on a new game to find it failing expectations. The hot chicks on the cover turn out to be pixelated blocks, and the multiplayer action is nothing but a glorified version of pong.

But that isn't the purpose of this thread. We want to discuss the opposite.

Focus: Which video games, in your opinion, are the best bang for the buck and why?

Recommended List:

Th1nkpad - CounterStrike: Source
chipmonkey - Black & White 2
Madell - Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source
lozanogo - S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Dawn of War Platinum Ed.
Thund3rball - Orange Box, Bioshock, CoD 4, UT3 CE, Tomb Raider Legend, Far Cry, Doom 3, Quake 4, Track Mania (Free)
yuio - Supreme Commander
Howie - Company of Heroes Gold Ed.
zephyrus17 - Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction
htwingnut - Battlefield 2 (Complete Collection)
Waldo Wainthrop - Civilization Chronicles
kvasefi - C&C First Decade

 

I'll start off by recommending CounterStrike. The multiplayer aspect is amazing, and custom maps and mods make the game fun to play even after a couple years. CS:Source is available only for $19.99, which, in my opinion, is a bargain.

 

I was able to pick up black and white 2 for $10 at eb games. I would recommend it.

 

Team Fortress 2 at 19,99 it's amazing
and
Day Of Defeat Source at 9,99 this game is amazing as well!

 

I got S.T.A.L.K.E.R for about $13 from a third vendor by amazon. On strategy games Dawn of War Platinum Edition (DOW + 1st two expansions) IMO is a very good bang for the buck: $30.00.

 

Some I bought, some I have seen on sale recently.

Orange Box $50 (HL2, Ep1, Ep2, Portal, TF2)
Bioshock $30 (I paid full price but it's $30 now. Worth every penny!)
CoD 4 $30
UT3 CE $30
Tomb Raider Legend $20
Far Cry $8
Doom 3 $7
Quake 4 $5

Track Mania FREE on Steam

 

supreme commander!!!!!!!!! 40 bucks!!!

 

Company of Heroes Gold. $40.

Comes with original Company of Heroes, and Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts(expansion pack)

 

I still think D2:LOD is the best game I've played. Sure, it's old, but hella fun.

 

Battlefield 2, "Complete Collection" is $30, 385 hours and counting so far:

http://bf2s.com/player/41007624/

 

http://www.amazon.com/2K-Games-7104..._6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1210292717&sr=8-6

Civilization Chronicles

$27 for something that should cost $70, and captures over 15 years of great gaming. I just played Civ II and it was as great as I remembered it. For fans only of course, but if you want a history book, a card game, tech tree maps and every Civ game released (except for the two Civ IV expansions), this is the best value around.

 

I'm gonna say C&C First Decade - all the C&C games + expansions up to Zero Hour all on one DVD
<$30
For fans only of course. I started gaming exclusively on the original C&C and it's still fun to do a minigunner spam against those Nod buildings

 

any game that you play for years.........

for me aoe2, ee, patrician 3, pharaoh, MOHAA, CoD, CoD4, medieval total war, M2 total war, HoI, HoI doosday/armageddon.

 

Whoa, can you spell out some of those acronyms? Thanks

 

haha.

age of empires 2, empire earth, Medal of honour allied assault, call of duty, call of duty 4, medieval 2 total war, hearts of iron........i think that covers everything.

 

The Orange Box

You get 5 games, every one if them amazing. The replay value is endless and TF2 is constantly uploaded, Valve is planning on actively releasing new patches and unlocks/achievements for the next year at minimum. They're planning on being in for the long haul.

 

There is a pretty awesome collection for the Total War series. You can get the Sim City games with bundled expansions for pretty decent prices. If you are willing to pay for subscription, Stardock's service is a pretty damn good value (and you can keep playing the games after the sub expires... at least you could when I had the service). As mentioned, definitely the Orange Box... basically, look for games that people like from 6+ months ago, then look for Deluxe/Gold editions that include expansion packs, and look for anthologies of game series (like Civ, a number of the tycoon games).

 

StarCraft still going big 10 years later.

 

Steam usually has a sale every weekend. Just buy whatever is on sale.

 

Jade Empire. I got ~28 hours out of it, and it's on Amazon for 10 Bucks brand new. 5 used.

http://www.amazon.com/2K-Games-Empi..._1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1210305490&sr=8-1

 

only 28 hours out of a game???????

i have got several hundred hours on aoe2 and cod. and aoe2 (gold) cost me $50 and CoD cost me $20 (aussie dollars) so rather better value than jade empire.

 

I thought we were making recommendations here, not competing against one another. Sorry.

...

Besides, there's more to what makes a good game than just its length.

 

haha well i don't think we are really competing as it is a personal preference as to what game a person likes..............and i like rts so i play them for longest..............

 

ORANGE BOX hands down for value purposes. you can get SO much fun outta TF2 online, while puzzling your mind with portal and engaging in the ENTIRE HL2 series... (Yes, Hl2, hl2:Ep1 and Ep2 of course) thats pretty damn good value. as far as other games worth their price in general:
Old school starcraft baby!
any of the Counterstrikes
Call of Duty 4.
crysis ONLY if you can handle it. otherwize its a pretty box
and as others have been saying, its really about what you'll get the most amount of hours for your money, and that depends on what you like.

 

I got my copy on clearance at target for only $7.48 last month.

 

I agree, at least get Team Fortress 2 if you can't get the whole Orange Box package. Counter-strike is good, but I haven't really gotten back into it for a few years now. It just feels bland now; I remember playing the beta for the first Half-Life.

 

Neverwinter Nights Diamond edition. I bought the Platinum edition and that alone was a good 100+ playing hours.

 

Back in 2000 I paid $39.99 for the first Deus Ex and I got more hours and enjoyment from that than any other game I've played. I must have played through it four or five times and the CD is still in my games wallet.

 

Back in 2000 I paid $39.99 for the first Deus Ex and I got more hours and enjoyment from that than any other game I've played. I must have played through it four or five times and the CD is still in my games wallet.

 

Sins of a Solar Empire.
Grand Theft Auto games, San Andreas has at least 100 hours of content.
Audiosurf
Peggle
Darwinia
Dawn of War
Titan Quest + Expansion (Immortal Throne)

 

Unreal Tournament 3 offers a lot of bang for the buck, with tons of multiplayer maps and modes. Also, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, which offers Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, plus Portal and Team Fortress 2 for $40.

 

obviously the orange box is a winner. i think its $39 now. its easily worth it. the entire half life 2 series to date, plus portal and tf2. rock on.

also seconding gta san andreas. sort of a random pick, but its good fun, and they just released Multi Theft Auto for san andreas.

doesn't really prevent me from wanting GTA IV really really badly, but its just enough to hang on to while GTA IV makes its way over to the PC.

 

Same reason I've been playing San Andreas, we have to wait for months, if not at least a year, before we get to try out GTA IV.

 

Guess I'll throw in my .02...

Diablo 2 w/ exp pack
System Shock 1/2
Titan Quest w/ exp pack
Resident Evil 4 (I can't tell you how often I've played this... I mean... alot)
Civilization 4
Oblivion... I mean... come on! You can make your own content! And it's got an open play style.
KOTOR 1/2 Not sure how they are on the PC... great on the xbox though
Alpha Centauri ... Hands down better than Civ 4 (from same company) and great if you want a sci-fi version of Civ. though probably not easy to get to run in Vista (has issues under XP).

I'll have to say Orange Box is a good value. Though I have yet to play Ep2 as I hated ep1 and the last 3/4 of hl2... but it is a great value, and still a graphically pleasing game.

If they had it on the PC (it is on the 360) I'd say Castlevania Symphony of the Night....

Forgot!!!

PENUMBRA! It's free! And so far pretty freaky... I think there is a set of the games, and one of them may not be free...

 

You want "bang for buck" ? Then you obviously want Orange Box !