Worthwhile games under $20

Wii U:

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Currently $20 on Amazon via third-party seller) - A solid action game with good online play.

Scribblenauts Unlimited ($17 on Amazon via third-party retailer, inc. shipping) and Unmasked ($18 on Amazon) - A fun little creative toy where you solve puzzles by creating... well, just about anything.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Currently $15 on Amazon) - A superb FPS, and the Wii U version is arguably the definitive console version of the game.

Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition ($11 on BestBuy.com) - The definitive version of one of the best superhero games of all time.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ($19 on Amazon) - A good fighting game.

Injustice: Gods Among Us ($14 on BestBuy.com) - A surprisingly good fighting game

Lego Marvel (Currently $20 on Amazon) - One of the better of the LEGO games, and the Wii U gamepad means that co-op play can be done with each player getting their own screen.

Assassin's Creed III (Currently $12 on Amazon via third-party seller, inc. shipping) and Black Flag ($19 on Amazon via third-party retailer, inc. shipping) - They're not really all that much better on the Wii U than other platforms, but if you don't have them yet these are decent entries in the series.

Resident Evil Revelations ($17 on BestBuy.com) - A decent entry in the series.

Wii:

Super Mario Galaxy ($20 on Amazon) - One of the best Mario games ever made, and generally considered to be one of the best videogames of all time.

Resident Evil 4 ($15 on Amazon) - One of the best survival horror games ever made.

Okami ($20 on Amazon) - A Zelda-style game with a beautiful calligraphy style.

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor ($18 on Amazon) - An action-packed shooter

Kirby's Epic Yarn ($14 on Amazon via third-party seller, inc. shipping) - It's so saccharine-cute it'll make your teeth rot, but if you can put up with that, it's an extremely inventive and fun platformer.

No More Heroes ($19 on Amazon) - A fun, very silly, violent action game.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion ($18 on Amazon) - Part surgery sim, part wicked hard arcade game.

De Blob ($18 on Amazon via third-party, inc. shipping) - A fun, inventive platformer where you bounce around to paint the scenery.

MadWorld ($11 on Amazon via third-party, inc. shipping) - A good, hyper-violent action game.

Wii U Nintendo eShop:

Shovel Knight - Old-school platformer goodness, designed like someone took the best parts of your favorite NES games and mashed them all together.

Art of Balance - A puzzle game that has you stacking blocks. It's really well-made.

Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition - A truly excellent Metroidvania-style game with a killer fighting engine and a fun, silly luchador theme. If you don't already have this on another platform, you need to get it.

Trine 2: Director's Cut - An excellent platform/puzzle game, and the Wii U version is arguably the best because the touchscreen is integrated very well.

WiiWare:

World of Goo - A superb puzzle game where you must construct various structures to get your goo to the exit.

Lost Winds 1 & 2 - Very good platformers that make good use of the Wii remote to make the gameplay interesting.

Bomberman Blast - 8-player online Bomberman. Aww yisssss.

Wii U Virtual Console - Too many good old-school games to list.

Wii Virtual Console - Tons and tons of good old-school games. It's not quite as convenient as the Wii U virtual console, because you have to go into Wii mode to play them and you can't play them with the Wii U gamepad, but the selection on the Wii's Virtual Console is far, far better than on the Wii U, and at the rate Nintendo is adding games to the Wii U Virtual Console, it looks like it'll probably stay that way for a long time. Keep in mind that if Nintendo adds a game to the Wii U Virtual Console that you already have on the Wii Virtual Console, they'll give you a discount on it to entice you to upgrade, so don't hold off just because you're hoping the game you want will come to the Wii U Virtual Console if it's already on the Wii Virtual Console.

Edit: Well, damn. Today Nintendo announced what is kinda' a game-changer - they're releasing Wii games directly for download on the Wii U's eShop for $20 each ($10 each on the week they're first released). The first game, Super Mario Galaxy 2, is out now, and the next two games will be Metroid Prime Trilogy and Punch-Out!!

All three of those games are extremely good, and have been selling for far more than the asking price (Metroid Prime Trilogy was $60-100 used before this news). If you're looking for cheap Wii U games and never got these titles on the Wii, Nintendo has just dropped the gauntlet with a deal you can't refuse.

My average sessions is spent flying in space doing whatever I feel like that day. I especially love smuggling (very profitable and dangerous), bounty hunting and just exploring. I use a H.O.T.A.S. as a controller (but KB/M or game controller work too), plus a head-tracker. It is amazingly immersive.

There is no story line and you will never see any people. Only other ships and space stations.
You spend all your time in the cockpit of a spaceship (except with the Horizons expansion, which lets
you use a planetary SRV's, as well), first person perspective. You start out in a "bubble" of inhabited
space that includes about 10,000 space stations. From there, you can travel anywhere in the Milky Way galaxy.
Space is huge.

You can choose activities like exploration, bounty hunting, trade, mining, combat or smuggling. You can select missions
which are available on bulletin boards at all space stations, join in community goals which change weekly,
or do whatever you want to do on your own. Also you can play in Close Quarters Combat (CQC) which is an arcade-style PVP arena,
seperate from the main game, but included in the price.

You can play alone against NPCs in "Solo", with other players and NPCs in "Open" or join a private group. The game is limited to
32 players in one instance, and even that is rare. You will mostly be alone or with NPCs, except in popular star systems, unless
you join in a community goal or wing up with friends. Space is huge.

The most common complaint about Elite is that it is wide as an ocean and shallow as a puddle. This is true if you are expecting COD
or Skyrim in space. It is a sandbox with toy spaceships, and the player must add the adventure. Here are a couple of players that do
a good job of that: Isinona roleplays really well. ObsidianAnt is good at showing the beauty of exploration.

/EliteDangerous can be helpful in learning about the game, as well as lots of Youtube videos.
I hope that helps.

Stick with it! And don't lose motivation on the Citadel. Everyone I know who started the game got discouraged by all the running back-and-forth on the Citadel. It will get better after that and you will get the chance to do more exploration. Stick with it!

And, personally I like to read, and I found that the codex added a ton of depth in the game. I was devouring every article in it. And unfortunately they butchered the Codex interface in ME2 and 3 as you could no longer tell which article you read and which one you didn't after you had to scroll).

If you wait too long with the codex it might become a bit daunting to read through everything.

In ME1 it was easy to keep up with the added entries. Just every so often in the game take your time to read the few articles that have been added and it will never be too much to read.

I especially liked the articles about the races as it really fleshed out the universe much more in depth. I really liked the article on the Elcor. It was a fun read. The Hanar were quite fun too to read.

If you want to go the extra-mile in reading I also highly recommend the books (Revelation, Ascension and Retribution). They add depth to some key characters like Saren and Anderson (in Revelation) or the Illusive Man (in Retribution) and in Ascension you get some nice insights into the Asari and all that is "biotics". Anderson is present in pretty much all books.

Personally I would suggest going in this order:

• ME1
  
• Revelation (although that might also be good a good read before ME1)
  
• ME2
  
• Ascension
  
• Retribution
  
• ME3
  
  The nice thing about the books is that they don't directly interact with the in-game story. They just give the characters you meet in game much more depth. The Shepard story-line is not touched in the books so you can really read the books in any order you like. They don't form a trilogy that must be read in order.
  
  After having read the books you are bound to come across areas in the game where you think: "Oh this must be that research station from the book" (or thoughts along those lines). Or it might explain why certain characters interact with others in a specific way. For example the interactions between Saren and Anderson right in the beginning of the game. All the things they hint at (things that happened in the past) are from the book "Revelation" and will never be explained in detail in the game.

This thread is a minefield for me since I just got ME3 tonight, so forgive me if I repeat what others have said. I'm not reading the other comments for obvious reasons.

That being said, the Mass Effect series has some great games, especially if you like stories. If you are the type of person that hates cutscenes and dialog and just plays games for the action, then you'd probably be better off with something like Battlefield 3, MW3, or even TF2.

As cliché as it sounds, these games are truly interactive stories. Certainly, there is a competent shooter element involved as well, but the beauty of this game truly lies in the writing.

The Mass Effect series tries very hard to bring a sense of realism to the story too. Sure, it takes place in the far future, but there is great detail paid attention to how we got there from today's technology.

Example: Mass Effect Relays were built to get around Einstein's theory of relativity, enabling Faster than Light Travel. Pluto's moon is actually a mass effect relay.

My recommendation would be to read Mass Effect Revelation (a well done prequel to ME1) (http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Revelation-Drew-Karpyshyn/dp/034549816X/) first, then Play Mass Effect (1). You can then jump into the second book and/ Mass Effect 2. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES THOUGH, DO NOT READ MASS EFFECT DECEPTION! (People tell me that it breaks the Mass Effect Storyline)


So, long story short, YES, Mass Effect 1,2,(and I hope 3) are great games.

Well, never thought I'd be recommending philosophy or religion for someone on Patient Gamers but here goes.

Difficulty enjoying the present is something I've struggled with and hope I'm getting better at.

I'm no expert but Buddhism seems like a great system for more emotionally driven people to get over this problem.

For more analytic types, and as for myself, studying what the ancient Stoics wrote has been super helpful (like, SUPER). Here's a really good starter: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/1522632735

Metal Gear Solid has six mainline canon installments (technically eight but I'm disregarding the NES games since I don't think they're worth playing and they're both covered in Metal Gear Solid) that spans fifty years and covers the arcs of many characters.

Most the games have some sort of deep narrative that run throughout the entire game but the stories for the most part are very good, albeit a bit convoluted on your first play through. The games sort of flop between very serious story telling and self parody, meaning they never taken themselves too seriously and they're full of little quirks and complete fiction.

The gameplay is fantastic too, the only one I'd say that has aged noticeably is the first one but the second Solid game made massive improvements to gameplay that stayed with the series and was added onto.

It's one of my favorite franchises and Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater are two of my all time favorite games, definitely worth a shot if you haven't already played them. If you have a PS3 then you can get the Legacy Collection which contains all the canon entries except for Phantom Pain but it's on PS3 as well.

I recommend buying a Wii from a used games retailer instead (one of the earlier models, with the gamecube controller and memory card ports). They're very easy to soft hack and can play GC games region-free once hacked (note: requires a homebrew GameCube loader; I recommend Devolution). I got my wii for $40 (appx. £30) a few months ago from a local GameStop and it has been extremely useful for GameCube games (plus the Wii itself has a few awesome gems if you're willing to wade through the crap). Devolution even mimics the gamecube broadband adapter, which lets me play Phantasy Star Online on a private server (I prefer the Sylverant server, but SchtServ has a lot more players). Speaking of which, that game should definitely be on my list of recommended games. It's like a third-person over-the-shoulder Diablo mixed with some Zelda-style combat/timing, but in a futuristic setting. One of my all-time favorite games. I hadn't considered it because the US release is a bit expensive, but I didn't realize it was so cheap in the UK... ;)

Beautiful Katamari is a really simple but fun and challenging game where you roll around and gain mass to grow bigger. eventually you're picking up mountains and volcanos and all kinds of stuff in between.

Colorful, fun music and kid friendly.

As already suggested, that stick is perfect with all the classics arcade space sims: all the title from the X-Wing series, Freespace series, Wing Commander series and also more recent games even if, with the more complex ones, you'll need to be a little more creative with the mapping software/extra input peripherals, since that stick is a bit light on available buttons

If you can expand the budget a bit, this model is more recent, has better sensors and way more control options... better choice IMO, especially since you are considering ED

Absolute must play for me are TIE Fighter (but i've always had a sweet spot for the first X-Wing) and Freespace 1+2 with the FreespaceOpen engine port

Syndicate was pretty fun, although short. You can get it for about $5-$10 on amazon.

I'll throw Enslaved: Odyssey to the West out there. I definitely would not classify it as cyberpunk, more like the setting is what would happen 150 years after a cyperpunk world.

As a fan of cyberpunk fiction, I really enjoyed it. You might as well.

I picked up MGS:V at a pawn shop for 20 bucks recently and instead of playing it I shelved it for now because I have never completed a MGS game before (had a brief experience with MGS3 when someone sold it to me with my first PS2 many many years ago) So I picked up the MGS Legacy collection on amazon for 23 bucks (Link) and played the very first Metal Gear! It was extremely frustrating but surprisingly addicting and fun! I never want to hear the soundtrack again but now I'm on to Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and excited to start Metal Gear Solid finally and be able to play the first one on the Vita!

(if someone decides to pick this up because of this post let me save you some frustration, the two MSX Metal Gear games are inside Metal Gear 3 on Disc 2 of the legacy edition)

Did you have an original DS/have you played any of those yet? The DS has a ton of great titles that you can play on your 3DS if didn't start there (or even if you did!)

Here's a long list of random games that you might enjoy:

• Fire Emblem: Awakening
  
• A Link Between Worlds
  
• Radiant Historia
  
• Chrono Trigger
  
• Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
  
• Tales of the Abyss
  
• Dragon Quest IX (This is one of my favorites, but you HAVE to love puns to be able to handle this game)
  
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2
  
• Shin Megami Tensei IV
  
• The World Ends With You (I didn't actually enjoy this one, but it seems like everyone else in the world did.)
  
• Okamiden
  
• Persona Q
  
• Etrian Odyssey IV (Or any of the earlier Etrian Odyssey games)
  
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
  
• 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors
  
• Dragon Quest V
  
• Bowser's Inside Story was surprisingly good
  
• Final Fantasy IV
  

Just get the Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection and you will be pretty good to go.

Play them in order of release. Meaning:

Metal Gear Solid 1

Metal Gear Solid 2

Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (This you will have to get separately)

Nintendo isn't the platform to go with if you want to get games on sale. There are exceptions, but generally their games only bump down $10-$20 over time, it's hard to find any good old Nintendo game for under 20 bucks like you often can with other console/PC games. Just for an example, this Fire Emblem DS game came out in 2012 and is still $40 from any retailer.

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Emblem-Awakening-nintendo-3ds/dp/B00AKIPBNS

Your only real hope for buying cheap Nintendo games is eBay or getting lucky at the right pre-owned store.

Cheapest:
https://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-T-Flight-Hotas-Flight-Stick-pc/dp/B001CXYMFS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Next cheapest:
https://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-T-16000M-FCS-HOTAS-Controller/dp/B01KCHPRXA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I'd recommend the second one, since the joystick sensor is much better, and you have more buttons. But the first one gets good reviews too, so it's not a bad choice. I have the second one and I'm very happy with it.

Ratchet and Clank. The entire series. I love these games, they're completely awesome. Definitely check them out, you won't regret it.

Start with the Ratchet & Clank Collection for the first 3 games and just go from there.

Then check out Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper after that.

today amazon has enslaved: odyssey to the west for $10.28. free shipping with super saver shipping with order $25 or more on eligible items or free shipping with amazon prime. I heard it's one of the looked over gems of 2010. regular price is $19.99

Start with Fallout 1, of course! The actions of the Vault Dweller are really important to the overall plot of the later games. Do make sure you play through Fallout 2 as well though, because gameplay-wise it improves on everything started by the first. New Vegas has SO MANY references to Fallout 1 and 2 that are really easy to miss if you haven't played them.

I also am running Windows 7 64 bit, and had no problems that a quick google search wasn't able to solve. I think there were a couple problems here and there with color conversion, but there are easy-to-use mods available to fix it.

This is the version I bought, and it runs fine on my machine.

If I'm not mistaken, I think gog.com has them for cheap as well, and they're probably optimized even more for a modern OS.

Super Bunnyhop just put out an excellent retro review of this game! He also included a recommendation on an affordable joystick.

If anyone is interested in buying it, you can get it on GOG

One of the most realistic games that i played would be this game. I spent 2-3 hours on it before dropping it.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Flashpoint-Dragon-Rising-Playstation-3/dp/B001OAKV4K

​

About the product

• Multiplayer options that include co-op gameplay as well as 16-player mutiplayer online via PlayStation Network.
  
• Play as Infantry soldier, tank commander, helicopter pilot and Special Forces in battles featuring unparalleled levels of realism and variety of military forces, equipment, weapons and tactics.
  
• Open world gameplay that is true to life and filled with environments that you are free to enter and explore, vehicles to commandeer and weapons and ammunition to scavenge.
  
• AI tactics developed out of actual US training manuals ensuring intelligent responses to tactics in changing circumstances and a sense of self-preservation.
  
• Utilize more than 70 real-life weapons supporting realistic ballistic system and more than 50 land, air and sea vehicles.

You can buy it for $40 right here, but of course that NA Amazon so your mileage might vary.

Also I bought it off a friend for $20, so eBay/friends are definitely cheaper than buying from a merchant.

There's a new T.16000M HOTAS set now: http://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-T-16000M-FCS-HOTAS-Controller/dp/B01KCHPRXA

Not exactly a bargain, sadly, but I'll be keeping my eye out for sales.

For the cheapy Thrustmaster HOTAS, apparently the hardware in the PS4 remake is higher quality (it's not just different-colored plastic on top of the same electronics), and it gives a superior deadzone to the old PS3-compatible stick. It costs a bit more, though (can see it for $70 versus the original at $50).

A joystick will be very handy for space sims in that era. During that time little consideration was given to keyboard mouse control. In the 90s space sims were very popular and therefore assumed you would play with a joystick. Here is an inexpensive recommendation: Logitech 963290-0403 Extreme 3D Pro Joystick for Windows https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009OY9U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7P7dzbC2PSRYS

I'm using a wired 360 controller, which you can get for $27 at Amazon. I'd definitely recommend getting one for PC gaming since it's what all PC games with controller support are going to support with no hassle.

Yeah they're pretty sweet. I bought one and didn't know it was till I opened it. This is the one I bought.

I was going to say Final Fantasy 10 or 12, but it's hilarious how much MGS takes the cake.

Hey, OP. Get the Legacy Collection for
PS3 so you can play most of the series for cheap!

The Mayfair sensor bar is the absolute easiest way to use Dolphin. It works as both a lightbar and as a bluetooth connection for your Wii remotes. It makes it very easy and straightforward to set up.

As far as Gamecube games on the Wii, they play exactly the same regardless of which console you use. I really don't notice any difference.

I ended up getting a ps2-to-GameCube controller adaptor and use either wired Sony controllers or Logitech wireless ones. You can usually find them as DDR pad adaptors. The downside is remembering the layout. Bonus: it works for the original Wii that has GameCube ports, too.

Edit: This is the specific one that I use (though it looks out of stock at amazon, liked it so much I bought a second one for player 2) https://www.amazon.com/Wii-GameCube-Converter-PS2-Dance-Support/dp/B000F7B516

Yeah, it's pretty good

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000P297JI/ref=sr_1_1_twi_gam_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1465482253&sr=8-1&keywords=beautiful+katamari

I got both, with Tactics all together for fairly cheap. The "Fallout Trilogy". I already owned 2, too. :) Best way to do it IMO.

As that WheelChair said it depends on your tastes. I love JRPGs and Jap games so I have a PS3 and a PC. Two of my favorite franchises are on PS3 which are Metal Gear Solid and Kingdom Hearts. Both of them had a remaster come out recently so you should totally check them out if you're into that sort of thing.

If you have look around there are adapters which allow you to use the PlayStation dualshock controllers such as this one

Otherwise this controller which is made to a similar style but made specifically for the gamecube ports has fairly positive reviews right here

For sheer game compatibility, the Windows Xbox 360 controller. If a game supports a controller, that is usually the one. You do have to make sure to get the Windows one, not the Xbox one, because if you got the xbox one, you need to purchase an add'l adapter.

Wired: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wired-Controller-Windows-Console/dp/B004QRKWLA

Wireless: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wireless-Controller-Windows-Console/dp/B004QRKWKQ

Steam has its own controller now, as well. I have been seeing mixed reviews on that.
http://store.steampowered.com/universe/controller/

Just to clear up any confusion (because when I went to buy these games 6 months ago I got it messed and up wasted $10.) The Legacy Collection includes The HD Collection, MGS IV, and a PSN code for MGS1 (note this ISN'T the Twin Snakes version, which is Gamecube exclusive and is much better in almost every way. So much so, that IMO you should just watch a long play on youtube instead of playing the original PS1 version.)

So if you DON'T have MGSIV and want to play/experience the whole series, absolutely get the more complete Legacy Collection. Only buy the stand alone HD Collection if you already have a copy of MGSIV and are going to watch Twin Snakes (MGS1)on youtube (which I recommend either way.)

Amazon has Fire Emblem new for $30, with Free Super Shipping right now.

Currently flipping through Amazon, Brawl is $29, Mario Kart Wii is $39, Galaxy is $44, Skyward Sword is $40, Wii Sports Resort is $34... where are you buying your games? I mean, yeah, they aren't a hard $60 anymore, but these games are old. All of these should be well under $20 by now.

...or it's not hard to find used for cheap, even if you're picky about quality. :]

Super low money option:

Monoprice cheap and amazing earbuds and zalman clip mic.

Medium Money:

Koss portapro and zalman clip mic

More money option:

Sennheiser 558 and Zalman clip mic

While they are still available, you should really grab the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection ($23.99 USD) which includes Metal Gear 1 and 2, as well as Metal Gear Solid, MGS2 HD, MGS3 HD, MGS: Peace Walker HD, and MGS4. If you want to go digital, you could get the HD collection and you would only be losing out on MGS4, which fine since it's easily the worst Metal Gear game.

You get a dolphin bar and you are set to go with a Wiimote :]

I'd recommend the Legacy Collection if you can find it for fairly cheap. It keeps going in and out of print it seems.

LINK

I would recommend This clip mic paired with your choice of headphones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTKHXFO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Get this and just play them all. My wife and I are doing this XD.

For your Metal Gear Solid needs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CTKHXFO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1372197960&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

• Japan: amazon.co.jp
  
• Canada: amazon.ca
  
  
  This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).