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Or 2nd hand purchase for that matter :)
(let's restrict it to physical copies though to keep it simple)

Best : Dead Space
It cost the equivalent of a large Colonel Burger Meal at KFC, and after sorting out a weird mouse lag issue (by turning off vsync) it turned into one pretty damn long game session. I ended up finishing it 3 times in quick succession (normal->hard->impossible) because it was just so good! Force Gun all the way >:D

Worst : Wargames
In the days before I had internet I only had a short magazine article to go on, and the 3/4 screenshots included looked amazing. The problem with the game is that, I guess, it isn't very well balanced for an RTS. It was way too difficult for me. A level's resources (from hacking banks or something) were usually depleted very quickly, long before I could build up a strong enough force to beat the level. Also, there was this incredibly annoying bug which caused your infantry to merge into each other, so that a group of 30 infantry turned into about 5 guys after moving around on the map for a while. To date it's the only rts I have ever given up on.
Post edited January 03, 2016 by Matewis
Best:

- Summoner (3€)
A local video games store was closing in 2002 or 2003 and it was one of the games I bought from them, without actually knowing what I was buying. Turned out to be good!

Worst:

- Alone in the Dark 4 Limited Box Edition (9 or 10€, 2009-2010)
The game looked good, the box with the extras (a great artbook, soundtrack cd, a ~15cm tall Carnby figurine) looked great, the price was very nice for a limited edition with so many extras but ultimately the whole game sucked. Sucked as in f***-you-dear-customer-DRM. In the end, I gave away the game to a friend and the extras to another friend. It was after that purchase that I started to be more cautious with DRM.
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Matewis: Best : Dead Space
I should get around to playing that one, got that on Origin but I haven't even tried it.
On topic

Best: Trine 1
Pretty much the first game I ever purchased, I got it for a dollar in humble store and I really enjoyed that one. I keep trying to complete the new enhanced edition but somehow it hurts my eyes a bit. (feels like too many effects)

Worst: ???
I can't recall anything being that bad though, will update it once I recall something. I'm a bit tempted to say Life is Strange though, I still regret buying into all that hype about it. My main disappointment was that there was a severe lack of likeable characters in that game and story wasn't good as well.
Post edited January 03, 2016 by Hunter65536
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Matewis: Best : Dead Space
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Hunter65536: I should get around to playing that one, got that on Origin but I haven't even tried it.
On topic

...
It's really good, and I'm sure still holds up very well. Strongly consider watching the absolutely brilliantly made animated comic to get yourself even more in the mood for the game. Oh, and of course, watch it at night :)
Hmm, tough question to answer. What do you define as "bargain bin" specifically? The original actual bargain bin, or today's modern digital equivalent such as... bundle site games, super deep discount games, etc?

For physical actual bargain bin games it would have to probably be Battle Realms years ago. It was bundled in shrink wrap with "Planet of the Apes". I just finished a mega Planet of the Apes binge including the new remake of the timeframe (10+ years ago) and found the Planet of the Apes game in HMV in Toronto so I bought it. I ended up playing it only briefly but played Battle Realms quite a lot and found it to be a cool game.

If I include digital games from bundles and such it's hard to just pick one because I've bought countless bundles that had tonnes of good games in them. But then, I've only bought maybe 4 games that cost more than $5 in the last 3 years too. All my other games were $3 or less, probably an average of $1.75-2 if I factored it all out so they're probably all considered bargain bin in terms of price. hehehe

Definitely a super difficult thing to answer without posting a huge list I think. :)
If you're not talking about literal bargain bins, the list is gonna be pretty huge for most people thanks to the popularity of Humble Bundle and similar websites, where you can usually pick up around 3 games for just a dollar.
Post edited January 03, 2016 by zeogold
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skeletonbow: Hmm, tough question to answer. What do you define as "bargain bin" specifically? The original actual bargain bin, or today's modern digital equivalent such as... bundle site games, super deep discount games, etc?

For physical actual bargain bin games it would have to probably be Battle Realms years ago. It was bundled in shrink wrap with "Planet of the Apes". I just finished a mega Planet of the Apes binge including the new remake of the timeframe (10+ years ago) and found the Planet of the Apes game in HMV in Toronto so I bought it. I ended up playing it only briefly but played Battle Realms quite a lot and found it to be a cool game.

If I include digital games from bundles and such it's hard to just pick one because I've bought countless bundles that had tonnes of good games in them. But then, I've only bought maybe 4 games that cost more than $5 in the last 3 years too. All my other games were $3 or less, probably an average of $1.75-2 if I factored it all out so they're probably all considered bargain bin in terms of price. hehehe

Definitely a super difficult thing to answer without posting a huge list I think. :)
Yeah, I think it's better to restrict it to actual physical copies. I think I'll add that disclaimer to the original post :)
I haven't really bought games from a bargain bin in a long time. But did pick up a blu ray/dvd combo of the original mad max today from one.
Well this is a tough question...

I'm gonna break the "Best" category into "bargain bin" and "free", if you don't mind.

Bargain Bin: ESPN NFL 2K5. Even on its release it was cheap (I think it debuted at $19.99), I bought mine used for just a few bucks. For my money it's the best football game ever, FAR better than any of the Maddens I've played.

Free: MDickie's Wrestling MPire. Deeply customizable wrestling game, with the by far the best career mode that I've found yet.

Worst: Hydrophobia: Prophecy. Well technically it was part of a cheap bundle, but I bought the bundle just for it. I was excited to play it, but the only enjoyable thing about it was the water physics engine, everything else about it was either dull or outright annoying.
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NoNewTaleToTell: Well this is a tough question...

I'm gonna break the "Best" category into "bargain bin" and "free", if you don't mind.

Bargain Bin: ESPN NFL 2K5. Even on its release it was cheap (I think it debuted at $19.99), I bought mine used for just a few bucks. For my money it's the best football game ever, FAR better than any of the Maddens I've played.

Free: MDickie's Wrestling MPire. Deeply customizable wrestling game, with the by far the best career mode that I've found yet.

Worst: Hydrophobia: Prophecy. Well technically it was part of a cheap bundle, but I bought the bundle just for it. I was excited to play it, but the only enjoyable thing about it was the water physics engine, everything else about it was either dull or outright annoying.
Not free, well, to have all the features it isn't. But wrestling revolution on android is probably mdickie's best wrestling game yet.
If we're talking literall bargain bin in a store:

Best: Deponia or Fantasy Wars. I got each for about 2$ and I enjoyed both greatly. I guess Fantasy Wars I enjoyed even more, but Deponia introduced me to it's fantastic sequels, and other Daedalic adventure games.

Worst: I guess Legendary, but while it is a terrible game, I actually enjoyed it in a "so bad it's good way", which is really rare for a video game for me.

I like bargain bins, whether it's movies or games. Not just because of the price, but because you're never sure what you'll find there, often something that you've never heard of, unlike the "big" titles from "proper" shelves. And since they are cheap, you can buy whatever you find, just because it looks interesting, or odd, or whatever. It's much more fun than just getting the newest AAA release. At least for me. It's the same thing I love about used book stores.
Post edited January 03, 2016 by Breja
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pimpmonkey2382.313: Not free, well, to have all the features it isn't. But wrestling revolution on android is probably mdickie's best wrestling game yet.
Yeah, I just miss being able to make your own matches, some of the backstage interactions that were cut, not to mention the injury options.
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pimpmonkey2382.313: Not free, well, to have all the features it isn't. But wrestling revolution on android is probably mdickie's best wrestling game yet.
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NoNewTaleToTell: Yeah, I just miss being able to make your own matches, some of the backstage interactions that were cut, not to mention the injury options.
It has the booker mode. Injury options? Which ones? I had the bobby eaton rip off guy die in my game. :/
I got all kinds of neat games through bargain bins back in the day, including Scan Command: Jurassic Park.
I miss those days, just going to check out stuff during school breaks.
Hmm, I got Kid Iccarus and Duck Tales dirt cheap for my gameboy. Played the crap out of that. I got Terraria here for next to nothing, super fun game.

Worst? Fable 2. I just couldn't play it. I tried so hard since I loved the first one when it came out. I paid two dollars, and I still feel cheated :(

but seriously, almost all the games i buy are bargin bin. I'm too cheap to pay full price most of the time.
Post edited January 03, 2016 by Crewdroog