Cheap Games

After originally being released at the beginning of 2009, it looked as though gamers in the West would miss out on the latest installment in the Yakuza series – but thankfully we now have it available, albeit in a slightly edited form (a Japanese history quiz, hostess clubs and a Shogi chess mini-game have all been removed).

This special pack contains not only a copy of the game, but a soundtrack CD as well. The even better news is that four pieces of downloadable content are also included – "Battle For Survival", "All-Star Tournament", "All-Star Tag Tournament" and "Haruka's Request".

Click here to buy this PlayStation 3 title for £17.99 from Zavvi.

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Ever since Microsoft did away with the middle option console (the Premium with a 20GB or 60GB hard drive, depending on when you bought it), everyone's been left with two options – the Arcade or the Elite. Whilst the price difference is quite big, at least you now get 120GB of storage space to play with!

It also comes in a black finish, which although similar in looks to the PlayStation 3, actually looks a wee bit better. I probably shouldn't have said that, as I have no doubt fanboys might get a little upset…

Anyway, Amazon currently have a deal whereby you can get the system, plus a game from a choice of six (Forza Motorsport 3, Gears of War 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Lost Odyssey or Mass Effect) for £179.99 – which can also be upgraded, for an extra £10, to include either a Wireless Entertainment Pack or one of a choice of six (Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction being just three from the list).

For more information on this very worthwhile offer, click here.

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Too Human is a science-fictional futuristic retelling of Norse Mythology, where the Norse Gods are cybernetic-enhanced humans who are protecting mankind from the onslaught of an army of machines. You take on the role of the Norse God Baldur, who is less cybernetic than the others (thus being "too human").

After sitting in development hell for around ten years, this is something of a disappointment. Whilst both the storyline and audio are brilliant, it's badly let down by repetitive level design, an annoying death sequence, and is far too short.

Play.com are selling this XBox 360 game for £3.99 – click here for more details.

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Lips: Party Classics is the second follow-up to the original Lips singing game, with a total of 40 different tracks to sing along with from artists including New Order, Kiss, The Spice Girls and Black Eyed Peas – in much the same fashion as SingStar on the Sony consoles.

In an interesting addition, this is the first in the series to be compatible with regular USB microphones. This means that you don't necessarily have to buy the more expensive Microsoft accessories (a rarity from that company, believe me).

Amazon have this XBox 360 title available for £12.98 – for more information, click here. Definitely one of those cheap games that are great fun when you have friends over…

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Although it's entering quite a crowded market, Japanese role-playing game Resonance of Fate has been very well received by reviewers – at least one going as far to say that it's one of the best of its kind to appear within the last decade.

You play as Zephr, a 17 year old boy who has the wonderful luck to be in a position to save Earth after a purifier, which has been protecting the planet from poisonous gases, begins to malfunction…

Click here to get the XBox 360 version for £23.95 from Zavvi, or click here to get the PlayStation 3 release for the same price from the same retailer. Using one of the Zavvi April discount codes will also give you up to £4 off until the end of the month.

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Rock Band: Unplugged is a PSP expansion of the series of music video games available on other consoles. Although this obviously won't allow the same kind of thrill that you get from playing plastic instruments, it's still a very enjoyable experience.

41 tracks are included with the game, all of which are master recordings, and further songs can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store via the PS3 or on a PC. Sadly there is no cross-compatibility between this and other games in the Rock Band family.

Amazon are selling this title for £7.99 – click here for more details.

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is the sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks, and has also been turned into a video game on both the DS and Wii consoles – be aware though that it is aimed at kids, so older gamers might not get too much enjoyment from it.

The only real differences between the two is that you use the stylus to control actions on the DS, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuk (as you'd expect). Like I said though, this is quite easy so don't expect too much…

To get the Wii version for £8.97 from Tesco, simply click here. DS owners can click here to get their release for £9.99 from CoolShop.

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Until the end of this very month there are a couple of Zavvi April discount codes that are well worth taking full advantage of.

Enter APRIL2 at the checkout when spending £20 or more to get £2 off, or input APRIL4 for a £4 saving when you spend a total of £40 or more.

Click here to see what they have on offer.

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After a princesses' coming-of-age banquet is raided by the evil organisation Magi, a boy called Leonard leads her to safety in the castle's cellars – where he finds a strange suit of armour which transforms him into the White Knight, an ancient warrior with the strength to defeat Magi's forces.

Like most role-playing games, White Knight Chronicles sees your characters gain experience points and level up, becoming stronger as you progress – unlike many others though, this promises over 100 hours of gameplay!

Click here to buy this PlayStation 3 title for £19.89 from Simply Games.

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Guitar Hero: On Tour is different from the other titles in the series for a couple of reasons. First, it's a DS exclusive. Secondly, there's no guitar for this one – you use a "Guitar Grip" (contained in the box) and the stylus to play along to the songs.

The game itself is very good, as you'd expect, but sadly the "Guitar Grip" is quite to difficult to hold and can cause cramp if used for an extended period of time. Best in short bursts then, I think.

To get this game for £5 from The Hut, click here. Please also take note that this won't work on the DSi, as the grip thing doesn't fit – which is both stupid and annoying.

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