Buying games online, through legal distributors, then downloading them straight to your hard drive is one of the best ways to go. There are many online game digital distribution services or online portals, for instance, school unblocked games for free out there, but here are three of my favorites, sure to please PC gamers all across the board.
Steam
Steam is the powerhouse of online game retailing. Formed by the gaming company Valve (behind the awesome Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Portal games), Steam allows users to browse hundreds of PC game titles, purchase them from their home, and download them legally onto their computers. Periodically, Steam will offer various games for sale, often in huge bundle packs or for different events (Christmas sale, Summer sale, etc).
These are the best times to try out the Steam service, as you can purchase big-name titles for less than $5! I’ve scored on some highly-rated games by getting them during these sales for as low as $0.99! Much like iTunes, users must download and install the Steam client on their computer to access the various games offered through the service. Obviously, an active internet connection is required for this service.
You can even buy games as gifts and send them to other users through Steam, allowing the recipient to download the game at their leisure. Finally, if you switch computers, don’t worry about losing your games. From my experience, you can just log in to the Steam client again and re-download and install your games, without needing to dig up bothersome CD keys and game serials (it’s all saved to your account).
Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive isn’t quite as large as Steam, but they do offer a great selection of game titles for the PC. Unlike Steam, users aren’t required to download and install a large game manager program for shopping for games through D2D. Instead, users can simply sign up for an account on the D2D website, then browse the online store in their web browser. This is often easier to access for quick searches than signing into Steam and waiting for the client to load. Direct2Drive also has seasonal sales with great bargains on mainstream titles from all kinds of different genres. Sign up for their newsletter, or watch popular PC gaming websites like RockPaperShotgun for updates on upcoming sales.
Good Old Games
Good Old Games, or GoG for short, features a big selection of primarily retro PC gaming titles. It’s really crazy how cheap these titles can be, especially during sale events. Look no farther than the wonderful deals they have on the original Xcom games, a popular RTS game featuring humans fighting off an alien invasion.