Best buys from the bargain bins

It's a good thing that most of the gaming industry opted to delay their big releases for fear of getting trounced by Modern Warfare 2 in the Christmas sales rush. Besides Assassin's Creed 2 sneaking up on us all stealthy like, few other major releases have seen the light of day in recent weeks.

Don't get me wrong. It's not as if I don't want to get my grubby mitts on some blockbuster hits - in fact, I've found this year pretty dismal for new games and would welcome it... but the fact is, I'm a little brassic right now. The pockets are empty, the wallet is bare - and I'm sat in front of my console twiddling my thumbs. B-O-R-E-D.

Microsoft's Games on Demand service could have been the answer had it not been for the exorbitant prices. I was expecting big things when it appeared on the Xbox dashboard - full games available to buy from the comfort of your own living room - brilliant, I thought. Hell, I even considered splurging some cash on a big old hard disk to store all my future purchases. But the gaming giant's decision to go and slap a hefty £20 price tag on all the downloads, no matter how ancient they are, left me cold.

But then I discovered bargain bins! Get yourself down to your local shops and take your pick from hundreds of classic titles. You can acquire the majority of the titles Microsoft offers online for a quarter of the price - and some of them are absolute gems.

Here are a few I've found in the past few weeks that have consigned my boredom to a distant memory... Each of these are available for a mere £5 if you look hard enough.

• Kameo - similar to Fable - multiplayer options
  
• The Darkness - great storyline, innovative idea
  
• Crackdown - an all-time great solo and co-op - sequel imminent
  
• Project Gotham Racing 4 - king of the arcade racers
  
• Just Cause - vast sandbox game - a bit last gen but fun nonetheless
  
• Tomb Raider: Underworld - Lara's greatest outing?
  
• The Club - online shooter - unique idea
• Mirrors Edge - the Marmite of games - freerunning
  
• Army of Two - good for a laugh alone or with a mate. Poor man's Gears of War
  
• Endwar - huge multiplayer options
  
• Prince of Persia - good-looking and imaginative
  
• Gears of War - one of the Xbox's major brands and still a great shooter online and off
  
• Civilisation Revolution - strategy fest transfers really well to console
  
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - for those who want a break from Call of Duty Modern Warfare
  
• Forza 2 Motorsport - Gran Turismo for the Xbox - lovely looking and engrossing