Most of the indie (and some of the older games) reviewed here are available on Steam. It's often worthwhile to put games you are interested in on your wishlist and waiting until they are on sale. Steam does two big sales a year, one in winter and one in summer, where big deals can be found. It's not uncommon to get 90% off a game like this! Even if a big sale is still some time away, some games and developers are included in midweek or weekend sales throughout the year, and by having them on your wishlist, Steam will automatically email you about any sales or discounts.
I also recommend signing up for notifications about Humble Bundle offers. They are generally on a pay what you want basis, and can mean that you get a ton of free games for the price that you would pay for the one you really want. Even if you really don't want a game that's included, you can always give that game away to a friend or family member, and you're supporting a range of charities! It's also worth checking the Humble Bundle store page before you buy on Steam - they often have discounts that are better than Steam's discounts.
For physical copies of games, especially older and more obscure games, it can become a lot more difficult. Knowing your local game shops (if you have access to any) is useful, but you might need to search a lot to find the games you want. In the UK, the large chain shops of Game/Gamestation will not sell games older than the last console generation and are increasingly geared towards digital downloads and merchandise. I've heard similar things about Gamestop in the USA. Independently run shops are often far better in terms of stock and price, but they aren't always easy to find. Cex (at least in the UK) is a good idea for older games, but be prepared to do a lot of hunting!
Online, Amazon will often have games through third party retailers. Just be careful and check their reviews before buying - Amazon's marketplace is known to have a fair few fraudsters who may take your money and run.
Got any other good tips for finding old games? Leave them in the comments below!
Ways to Play Older Games
A lot of the older games reviewed here are for consoles that are difficult to find and/or keep running. Luckily, some consoles have backwards compatibility, and some games have been rereleased for newer formats. On each review, I will note the original console release and any rereleases, but here is a handy cheat sheet for backwards compatibility of consoles.
Note: Gameboy, Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance games can also be played on a Gamecube, via the Gameboy Player.
*: Some Playstation 3 consoles can play Playstation 2 games, some can't. The 'fat' consoles can, whereas the later slim and super slim models cannot.
**: Xbox backwards compatibility depends on both the game and the region, as these were software patches added in by updates, instead of true compatibility. Doublecheck the list of compatible games for your region to avoid disappointment!
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