My lust for interactive pixel-crafted stories began at an early age.  Sunday mornings – before church of course – were spent preventing alien ships from touching down, no matter how fast they moved as their fleet was destroyed.  My Commodore 128 taught me about text-based games and to always carry some form of light when entering a dark area.  While other children saved their money for a Nintendo, my cash went towards the superior 16-bit graphics of the Sega Genesis.  Beating Sonic the Hedgehog made the investment worthwhile.   My first year of college I spent more time sacking the quarterback in Super Tecmo Bowl than attending class.

While in college I quickly realized the cost of games when they are first released, as my parents no longer subsidized my obsession.  Sure, I enjoyed being the first person to beat Streets of Rage, but I learned that if I waited six months, the price would drop in half.  Being a poor college kid, that was like an extra two months of ramen noodles and a case of Schlitz.

Today I still love video games, and still hate paying release-day prices for them.  A new release for my Xbox 360 costs roughly $60, with pc games running marginally less.  Still, if I wait six months to a year, the same game can be found for $20 on Xbox and occasionally under $10 for PC.  So what’s the rush?

I write this article as a precursor to my impending video game reviews on this site.  As you see titles from 2-3 years ago pop up and start to think, “does he mean the sequel to that game,” you now know why.  These delayed reviews are also due partially to that little thing called graduate school I attended for two years (unlike my early undergrad years, I realize more time spent on video games than studying is NOT a good idea).

The benefit for you is these games are now dirt cheap – probably less than a case of the new Schlitz.  Also, for those unlike me who beat these games eons ago, it is a chance to go down a digital memory lane.  Remember how you defeated that boss in Final Fantasy 12.  Ah yes, it was good.  In the reviews of these games, I will also post how much I paid for the game, if it was worth it, and if it is worth the price when it first came out.

I know there are other cheap bastards out there like me.