Times are tough, especially in the midst of this economic recession. That’s why we here at powet are proud to help bail gamers out of the hell of playing the same things over and over again. For the past 5 years, we have helped gamers like yourself find cheap ways to increase your gaming library. TO celebrate, we have formed this special stimulus package featuring 10 games that are available for $20 or less. Some of them are even available for free. So click after the jump, and check out some cheap gaming.
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Bad News: Major Nelson announced this morning that subscription costs for Xbox Live for One, Three, and Twelve month terms are going up. Major Nelson, for the uninformed, is the alias of Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live Director of Programming. You can read the details of the pricing here. Basically a one year subscription was $50, will now be $60.

The $50 annual cost has been in effect since 2002 when the service launched

Here is the good news: Price change doesn’t go effective until November 1, 2010. You have plenty of time to renew or go buy a subscription card at the current rate. As a matter of fact, as of the time of this writing, a one year card is a little less than $40 on Amazon. Heck, if you’re already an active subscriber, Microsoft themselves will renew you for $39.99 via a Price Lock Loyalty program.

Before we all go nuts, some things to keep in perspective: The price increase is $0.83 a month, which is far less than inflation. This price change comes into effect 5 years after this generation’s game systems jumped from $50 to $60 priced new games. Nintendo and Sony may offer free alternatives with online play, but it would be hard to argue that Microsoft hasn’t set the standard and has a far more robust service.

Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Now I love the mainstream as much as anyone. Like most other gamers worth their salt, I get a rise out of blowing someone away in Halo, running a touchdown in Madden, and carjacking and gunning my way to 6 stars while playing Grand Theft Auto. The current state of video gaming is great, and with new advances in gameplay and graphical technology, it’s only going to get better. However, if you look closely, there is a movement going on beneath the surface. Not only is the mainstream taking strides forward, but so is the independent scene. In the past few years alone, many independently developed releases have become just as critically acclaimed as the biggest mainstream releases, and with indie titles being released on outlets such as Steam and Xbox Live, there is greater incentive than ever. Far from being simple mods, independently developed games often feature innovative gameplay mechanics and presentation. Lets look at some aspects of the independent scene, and hopefully some of you more creative poweteers will get some inspiration.
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Halo 3 had a pretty great ad campaign, including a short film by District 9 director Neil Blomkamp showing the “Landfall” of Master Chief after the events of Halo 2. Halo 3 ODST followed suit last fall. Then this spring there was a Halo Reach beta test commerical. Yes, an ad for the beta.

But this one takes the cake. Not as deep on story, but its full of action. Its not hard to imagine a Halo movie now after all this.

You can see more abstract shorts on Remember Reach.

Preordr HALO REACH on Amazon to get a $20 store credit on your next game!

War For Cybertron Optimus Prime is a hotly anticipated figure. A classic character from a great new video game?

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Ok, so this didn’t turn out as good as we hoped. They can’t all be great can they?
Just so you don’t feel ripped off, here is a REAL video about a REALLY GOOD toy: DCUC Plastic Man!

Okay, so this isn’t so much a game as it is a peripheral which for a time at least, changed the way we played Game Boy games. Back in the mid 90s, the Nintendo Game Boy was tearing up the handheld competition, even though it had a monochrome black-and-greenish screen. Of course, everyone wondered what it would be like if the system were in color. That answer would come in 1998, but this little device for Super Nintendo could help gamers get halfway. Plug it into the top of the SNES, then stick a game cart in the slot on the top, and you could play your Game Boy games in 4-color goodness. You could even adjust the color palette, and it would generate a code which you could share with your friends or enter to instantly recall your palette. I created a palette for Castlevania II: Blemont’s Revenge that turned the crystal castle level into a night time skylight paradise. You can even design the border around the screen as well. After the release of the Super Game Boy, several games were produced that made use of Super Game Boy enhancements when played on the system. These enhancements include special borders, SNES effects, two-player modes using SNES controllers, and the Game Boy version of Space Invaders even unlocked the full SNES version (sans 2-player mode) when used with the Super Game Boy. Of course, the popularity of the unit saw an instant drop when the Game Boy Color was released. At the time however, the Super Game Boy did a good job of breathing new life into your old Game Boy games.

If you believe Capcom’s ‘history’ of this downloadable title, then the company discovered this secret cartridge of a game that was in development for the NES. Supposedly, Capcom began work on the title only to cancel it due to the emergence of the Super Nintendo, only to rediscover it in a vault 2 decades later. Late Night talk show host Jimmy Fallon’s name is in the game as part of a supposed ‘contest’ that he won as a kid. Of course after seeing this game in action, I’m sure that most of you briefly forgot that this game was released in 2010 and not 1989. I know I sure did.
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

In the short time they had been around, manufacturers took steps to make video games available in as many formats as possible. After their arcade origins, games were made available on home computers, and consoles. After making consoles which allowed interchangeable cartridges, the next logical step would be to make games that you could take with you on the go. From the tabletop electronic games of the 60s and 70s to the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and everything else in between, there has been no better way to pass the time.
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