Although supposedly an avid gamesplayer, I’m pretty bad at actually getting through games. I do like buying them though – especially if they’re cheap – so that they can sit on my shelves for weeks and months while I get around to playing them.

I decided to steel myself and stop reckless purchasing of budget games (online or otherwise) so that I could actually work my way through some of the ones I already had. It was such a good idea it actually worked for a while – and until recently, I’d been making serene progress through my dusty old CD caddy without even a thought of going into GAME and seeing what was in the ‘3 for £10’ section.

Besides, those things are con anyway. Shops are so badly stocked these days that it doesn’t seem possible to indulge in a multibuy offer without coming away with at least one copy of Tomb Raider.

At least that’s what I thought until I discovered that you can buy direct from the publisher and get the same deals you get in the shops – only with a choice of the full range available to you. To cut a pretty boring story short – I just broke my embargo and bought a handful (plus one) of games for myself from the $old Out website.

Truth be told, while there was quite a good selection available (and I could have bought even more) it was still a little bit thin and some titles have clearly been cut from the range. You can get Deus Ex: Invisible War, for example, but the original (and best) is nowhere to be found. Clearly, it (and others) aren’t selling enough to be worth keeping on the range.

Thinking about it, I guess it’s a bit unreasonable to expect the publishers to keep our beloved favourites on their label forever – so all the more reason to snap these things up while they’re available. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need abandonware or to joust for copies of Planescape Torment and Fate of Atlantis on eBay – but by grabbing hold of a few games on budget when you see them, you’ll be saving yourself all of this hassle a few years down the line. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

And the games? I’d love to say I’d bought some highbrow strategy titles, but let’s have a look at what I’ve been playing recently, shall we?