Hi, im getting an Alienware m17x. I've been out of PC gaming for a long time now and am going to buy quite a few games when I get the laptop. These are the games i'm getting :-
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Now I can save quite a lot of money and download time by buying the games on disc instead off Steam. Which of the above games don't require the disco in the drive to play? And which games require a net connection everytime I wish to play?
If you buy the DVD version of the game, it will almost certainly need the disk in the drive. That hasn't changed.
If you buy from steam, you won't.
If you buy from another download service, like Direct2Drive, Impulse, GamersGate, GreenManGaming, GetGames, Gog.com, or EA's own download service, you will need to activate the first time you run the game, but can forget it after that.
Since you have a lot of games on your list, you don't have to buy them all at once. All these sites run frequent sales. Steam is best for this, but they all do it. Keep an eye on them, and pick them up when they are close enough to your retail prices to make it worth it. I have used all of the services above, and would do so again.
Here's a site which shows up-to-date discount information for several sites:
http://www.steamgamesales.com/?cc=uk
(despite the name, it's not just for steam)
Edit to add:
Very few games require a net connection every time you play.
Games that use Games For Windows Live have two options. You have to setup an Offline or Online profile. You can create both, but can't share saves between the two. So if you choose Online, you have to be able to get online everytime you play. If you choose Offline, you can play without a connection, but you don't get to take advantage of online features, like multiplayer, achievements, etc. For some games this doesn't matter. I know the following games on your list use GFWL: Batman AA, Dead Rising 2, Dirt 3, Resident Evil 5. There may be others - if this matters, check your list.
Also, Crysis 2 seems to need a logon each time you play. I haven't tested if the game permits you to play if that logon fails, or if you need to be online while playing.
Some Ubisoft games require a constant online connection, but none of them are in your list (except maybe Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - you'll need to check).
muahahah
Spread the purchases over some sort of realistic timescale and you dont have to worry about download time/bandwidth and can probably still save money by taking advantage of Steam sales when they occur. No discs to worry about then.
