Gaming on a budget..

Ok so here's the deal. I do not have what some would call.. a steady job. But I do get money from odd jobs helping out offices. So this holiday season is looking pretty grim for me. Between Left 4 dead, Halo 3 (no I haven't gotten it yet), Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and the Orange Box, I'm going to have to choose which to get.

So I already have Mass Effect preordered and fully payed for. But between now and christmas I'll only have enough for 1 other. The rest I'll have to get probably spring next year, or summer, or just borrow from a friend. So which do you guys think I should get? I was thinking Assassin's Creed, but then I remembered Orange Box comes out soon. That also made me think of Halo 3 I have yet to get (yea I'm one that loves the series, I play with my friends all the time). So what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

orange box. 5 games for the price of 1, how can u argue with that?kbubba92

Exactly. 1 of the best single-player experiences to come out in the last decade spread across 3 of the 5. Then, possibly the best MP experience to come along to match, if not beat, Halo 3. Last, one of the most fun and challenging puzzle games to land on a console ever. You can't go wrong with the orange box.

orange box. 5 games for the price of 1, how can u argue with that?kbubba92

I agree - Orange Box is a great choice....quality gaming, tons of content and the best value for your dollar.

Another suggestion if you haven't played it already is Oblivion, game of the year edition. This will have tons of hours of gameplay because it includes the original PLUS Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. This is a fantastic choice if you love fantasy style rpgs.

Assassin's Creed, to me, is probably the most overhyped game this holiday season. It's getting so much attention because of the "coolness" of the character and it's getting by on that charisma alone. The gameplay doesn't look that great and it's bound to be a game that can be finished in less than ten hours of play. It's going to be a good game, just not great.

When gaming on a budget I've found that the most important thing is game balance. Don't flood yourself with too many games in one genre.

For example, though they are different genres, getting only Mass Effect and Assassins Creed is probably not the way to go. Why? Well they are both single player games with no multiplayer. Both will be great I'm sure, but if you're set on Mass Effect then a safe buy would be something like Halo 3 (you said you were a fan) or The Orange Box.

Halo and the Orange Box offer up good single player games with great online multiplayer, and in the case of Halo, 4 player online co-op.

Unless money is flowing freely at the time, you should always try and buy games that compliment each other. If I were you, I would go ahead and get Mass Effect like you already planned on, and if you are a big fan of Halo I would suggest Halo 3.

Obviously this changes based on what you like to do, such as are you a single player gamer....a mix.... or do you lean towards multiplayer? If online isn't your thing, then I would replace Halo with Assassins Creed. Try and take these things into consideration when choosing.

Enjoy.:)

Halo 3 FTW!

-Campaign replay value is very high between getting all the skulls, playing coop with friends and then the skull activation feature that means plenty of hours.

-Online Multiplayer is amongst the best ever, the fun doesn't seems to stop, is ridiculous how fun and addictive this game is.

-Forge+theater+sharing+customizable armor

-Downloadable content, someday in the near future i hope (please bring back Sidewinder,Coagulation etc) :D

halo 3 and orange box for........padampadampadam THE PCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

fps is for PC if you dont like it buy Assasins creed and mass effect

Get a job and contribute something to society.jstarzyk

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

how do you have a house if your this badly set?

just spend less time gaming and you wont want all them so bad

how do you have a house if your this badly set?

just spend less time gaming and you wont want all them so bad

shroom76

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.x-2tha-z

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

Did you say thast on a game website? What's your name? Tack Johnson?[QUOTE="shroom76"]

how do you have a house if your this badly set?

just spend less time gaming and you wont want all them so bad

VGLeo34

[QUOTE="x-2tha-z"]

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.luc11044

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

It's a fact that he was complaining about not having enough money. My friendly advice was get a full time job. I didn't insult anyone or give any "lame" comments.

[QUOTE="luc11044"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"]

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.x-2tha-z

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

It's a fact that he was complaining about not having enough money. My friendly advice was get a full time job. I didn't insult anyone or give any "lame" comments.

He said he helps out at offices the odd time probably because most of his time is spent at school, getting an education. He asked what game he should get, not a counsellor.

[QUOTE="x-2tha-z"][QUOTE="luc11044"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"]

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.Lanezy

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

It's a fact that he was complaining about not having enough money. My friendly advice was get a full time job. I didn't insult anyone or give any "lame" comments.

He said he helps out at offices the odd time probably because most of his time is spent at school, getting an education. He asked what game he should get, not a counsellor.

You don't know anything about his personal life so STFU. The best solution would be to get a job. If he can or can't I don't really care. I don't care if he's in school or not and I don't care about what game he gets.

orange box. 5 games for the price of 1, how can u argue with that?kbubba92

Agreed. Halo 3 is a fantastic game, and if you liked Halo 2 you'll like Halo 3, as it's more or less the same game with perks and a fresh coat of paint. Flamers take note: that's what I like about Halo, not downing it here.

But Orange Box is a better value... you get Half Life 2, which very well may be the best single player mode in an FPS ever. Then you get two mini-sequels (Episodes 1 and 2). Then you get Team Fortress 2 for some crazy MP action (not sure if they're including MP for Half Life 2, no one seems to be addressing it, but Team Fortress 2 will obviously be MP). THEN you get Portal -- being that I really like puzzle games, it seems obvious to me that Orange Box is the better value. If you like the achievements aspect of things, Orange Box has 99 of them according to a leaked list, and some of them look pretty tricky.

Between Orange Box and Halo 3, I'd take Orange Box first in your position, but I'd also likely make Halo 3 my next purchase. I'm no Halo fanboy, so it holds all the more weight when I say that it's really a great game.

[QUOTE="Lanezy"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"][QUOTE="luc11044"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"]

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.x-2tha-z

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

It's a fact that he was complaining about not having enough money. My friendly advice was get a full time job. I didn't insult anyone or give any "lame" comments.

He said he helps out at offices the odd time probably because most of his time is spent at school, getting an education. He asked what game he should get, not a counsellor.

You don't know anything about his personal life so STFU. The best solution would be to get a job. If he can or can't I don't really care. I don't care if he's in school or not and I don't care about what game he gets.

You know, I don't really want to get involved in this, but all the same, NO one knows about the TC's personal life. Their situation may not allow a full time job... or maybe they ARE just lazy. Nonetheless, it's irrellevant. The TC didn't ask for any of our opinions on how to best handle their general economic situation. They asked for our opinions regarding which of the dozens of great titles are of the highest priority to us. If you don't care about answering his question, then don't post and go to a thread where you care about the content of the thread. I don't really see the point in starting arguments with people over it. If you don't care at all, why waste your time with it?

[QUOTE="Lanezy"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"][QUOTE="luc11044"][QUOTE="x-2tha-z"]

[QUOTE="jstarzyk"]Get a job and contribute something to society.x-2tha-z

I was thinking the same thing. How can he complain about money and admit he doesn't have a full time job? Doesn't take a genius to work out a solution.

How can you read his email and think he was complaining? He's stating a fact...and asking for friendly advice. Not for your unsollicitated insults and lame comments from both of you.

It's a fact that he was complaining about not having enough money. My friendly advice was get a full time job. I didn't insult anyone or give any "lame" comments.

He said he helps out at offices the odd time probably because most of his time is spent at school, getting an education. He asked what game he should get, not a counsellor.

You don't know anything about his personal life so STFU. The best solution would be to get a job. If he can or can't I don't really care. I don't care if he's in school or not and I don't care about what game he gets.

Neither do you, buddy. He simply asked us what game he should get, not what he should do with his personal life. If you don't care, don't post....

Anyways, to the TC, I recommend you get Halo 3. You'll have a blast with the campaign and online modes.

Good point Generic. I see hundreds of these "What should I buy" topics and I mostly ignore them. I checked this one out though and straight away I could see the obvious solution. I aired my opinion and was attacked by people who my comment wasn't even directed to. I don't know why they felt like I "insulted" someone and felt the need to defend him.

Anyway, as I said before. Get a job.

Orange Box hands down, 5 games for the price of 1.