Weekend killer computer game?

December 29, 2006 3:33 PM

Recommendations for a <$25 computer game to kill the long weekend?

The s.o. is out off the continent, most of my friends are out of town, I don't have to work until Tuesday, and I've got the roomie's fairly new computer with a fancy display. I've played most of the popular abandonware out there, but am hoping for something cheap and flashy. Any suggestions would be appreciated, else I'll return to Morrowind for the Nth time...

posted by anotherbrick to sports, hobbies, & recreation (39 comments total)

For free and tons of fun (but not that flashy), try Mission In Snowdriftland.
posted by raf at 3:39 PM on December 29, 2006

There's a bunch of free games here.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 3:46 PM on December 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

There's plenty for free to keep you busy here.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:51 PM on December 29, 2006

By the way, I'm not sure that Dipsomaniac's link is quite what it stacks up to be. Since when is "Grand Theft Auto" freeware?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:53 PM on December 29, 2006

If you have a decently fast internet connection, you could always just download a few game demos. They're free and you get to see the latest and greatest in graphics. Here's a few to get started with.
posted by good in a vacuum at 3:56 PM on December 29, 2006

"Grand Theft Auto" is freeware ever since Rockstar released it as freeware.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 3:58 PM on December 29, 2006

Those are the eary GTA games. The first one is definitely freeware and has been for years.
posted by fire&wings at 3:58 PM on December 29, 2006

If you have an affinity for old-school stuff, Gametap is awesome - especially the one-month free trial. There's new stuff there as well, including a new MMO Myst thingie that looks pretty stellar, graphically.
posted by jbickers at 4:09 PM on December 29, 2006

I'll bet you can pick up Diablo II for under $25 at your local Best Buy, although I haven't ventured into the PC game section in a long while. That'll kill the long weekend for sure!
posted by pazazygeek at 4:10 PM on December 29, 2006

If you like arcadey racing games, you might try any of the various Need For Speed games that are in the cheapo bins. Me, I like PorscheUnleashed better than the various HotPursuits.

FPS's:

How much is half-life 2 down to?
FarCry might be down to $20 or so. It's fun, and there's more sneaking than running around shooting everything.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein is fun, except for the levels with burning skellington things and the various bosses.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:12 PM on December 29, 2006

Try Sourceforge. Lots of freeware there. I like The Ur-Quan Masters(has an adventure-game portion and a melee portion, that are separate) but I'm not sure if you'd call it "flashy".
posted by sleeplessunderwater at 4:31 PM on December 29, 2006

I just bought Half-Life 2 at Best Buy for about $22 with tax. It's totally worth it, too.
posted by invitapriore at 4:40 PM on December 29, 2006

If you haven't played it, you need to play Relentless!
posted by bshort at 4:58 PM on December 29, 2006

2nd Diablo II. Its part of my end-of-semester-mindless-entertainment ritual.
posted by jtfowl0 at 5:11 PM on December 29, 2006

You could start up a 10-day free trial of World of Warcraft - it's not tricky about letting you cancel (it doesn't need a credit card # or anything), it just quietly stops your access after the 10th day. The only drawback is that you have to download the game and then the updates, which took a long-ass time for me even on a broadband connection.
posted by sarahsynonymous at 5:19 PM on December 29, 2006

Another vote for Half-Life 2. Every bit as good as it's made out to be. (I tried playing Far Cry afterwards, and... no.)
posted by squidlarkin at 6:05 PM on December 29, 2006

I recently killed a long weekend with Half-Life 2 (and the Episode I sequel). If you have the hardware to make it beautiful, it's very worth it. I can name maybe 5 sci-fi movies that can compare to it's realization of future dystopia.

It was like a religious experience for me.

Make sure to get a plush headcrab later!
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:19 PM on December 29, 2006

Half-Life 2 is $29.95 on Steam, by the way. Close enough?
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:22 PM on December 29, 2006

Snood. Yes. It will eat you alive. You can't resist! Ok maybe you can. It's still pretty damn fun.
posted by @homer at 7:07 PM on December 29, 2006

How bout some NES emulators? I can spend hours playing Paperboy!
posted by radioamy at 7:33 PM on December 29, 2006

Check out Darwinia. It's not too 'flashy', but it has a very unique retro look to it. Download the demo or get the real thing via Steam for $30. Kept me hooked for days.
posted by Diskeater at 7:49 PM on December 29, 2006

Also from the makers of Darwinia, check out Defcon. You won't be sorry. Pick to be whomever you like -- the alliance of Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy or the WOPR.
posted by incessant at 8:06 PM on December 29, 2006

Be careful, New Moon tonight.
posted by eriko at 8:08 PM on December 29, 2006

If you like football, Front Office Football will occupy you for 72 hours at a stretch.
posted by commander_cool at 8:41 PM on December 29, 2006

DEFCON seconded. It will get you hooked.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:44 PM on December 29, 2006

He wants to kill the weekend eriko not the next two months.
posted by Mitheral at 11:42 PM on December 29, 2006

HAve you played the Monkey Island games? You can probably get all 4 for less than $20, and they're fantastic adventure games.
posted by cosmicbandito at 12:10 AM on December 30, 2006

14 day trial of World of Warcraft = $1
posted by blue_beetle at 12:55 AM on December 30, 2006

Purchase half life 2: death match and play the new goldeneye: source mod.

HL2:DM is the cheapest game that qualifies you to run the mod. Counter Strike: Source, Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1 and Day of Defeat: Source also qualify. Get one on Steam.
posted by utsutsu at 12:57 AM on December 30, 2006

I just checked out Gametap today, and it is really fun- 800 games for $10 a month. Some old stuff, some new-ish stuff, some retro stuff, even Dreamcast games- and it all works great. Pretty good for wasting time, since even if you hate one game you can discard it and have 700-something more.
posted by thethirdman at 1:34 AM on December 30, 2006

I've been playing Tron 2.0 the last little while and loving it -- extremely cool, very stylish, beautiful FPS that didn't make any splash at all for some reason. If you like FPS's, you should find it in the bargain bins at under $25 no problem.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:41 AM on December 30, 2006

nethack will not only kill the weekend but any grades you are aiming at, your social life and your sleep pattern...
posted by hardcode at 3:31 AM on December 30, 2006

The empire-building pc games are the ones that have always drawn me in the most. Civilization III is the epitome of this genre and if you haven't played it you are truly missing out. It can be had for $10 at places like Target and Best Buy in the bargain games section.

Another game in this genre is Rise of Nations. I've only ever played the demo of this game but I plan to pick it up from Circuit City when it goes on sale for $10 this Sunday.
posted by meditative_zebra at 9:56 AM on December 30, 2006

If you can find a copy of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, you will kill a long weekend. Easy.
posted by plinth at 10:20 AM on December 30, 2006

Tron 2.0 is excellent if you can find it. I really, really enjoyed that game. Neat atmosphere and flavor... it never really 'took' in the gaming community for some reason.

Puzzle Pirates is another free-to-download, free-to-trial MMO game. You're playing a pirate, and you join with other pirates to sail the high seas and get plunder. Each ship has five or six different 'jobs', and how well you do in your job affects the overall ship's performance. Each job is done with a puzzle... if you do well the ship will sail faster or fire more often or recover faster from battle damage.

The graphics are cartoony and simple, but the game is surprisingly deep.
posted by Malor at 11:10 AM on December 30, 2006

Cave Story is a modern computer game designed in the style of the 16 bit platformers/shoot em' ups of old. It killed about exactly one weekend for me, and was one of the best games I have ever played. It has the best platformer action I've ever played and a surprisingly great plot, and it has enough secrets for you to find to make it worth a re-play. Plus it's free.

Fun and Flashy? Most definitely.
posted by shanevsevil at 12:37 PM on December 30, 2006

If you like ASCII games, Dwarf Fortress is free and is the most engrossing, addictive game I've played in ages. Very steep learning curve though.

Dwarf Fortress: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Dwarf Fortress WIKI: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Main_Page

There is a collection of the Sierra city building games that is quite amusing and cheap (if you can find it). Comes with Caesar III, Pharaoh + expansion and Zues + expansion.

The gold edition of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War (the original game + the first expansion but not the second) should run about $25 or less nowadays. Very fast paced and visually appealing RTS.
posted by Riemann at 12:42 PM on December 30, 2006

Fifteen-zillionth the rec for Half-Life 2. It's like being inside the coolest dystopian-sci-fi-horror movie ever.

If first-person shooters aren't really your thing, I'd also recommend Psychonauts.
posted by neckro23 at 1:55 PM on December 30, 2006

beyond good and evil...

and half-life 2...
posted by MonkNoiz at 2:20 PM on December 30, 2006