In the collective consciousness of skateboarding games, Tony Hawk has been the only one to hold the throne. There was never a rivalry, like with 2K Sports and EA Games. Challengers came and went, sure, but for the most part, they never got past their debut title. They were swallowed up by the giant wave that Mr. Hawk created.

Thrasher: Skate and Destroy was one of those games, but it was significantly different from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Not in a bad way, like Street Sk8r was, but it offered a fundamentally different experience. It was more realistic, down to earth, and had you running from the cops.

Psychic power in videogames was an idea that had not been fully explored by 2004, and still hasn't been fully whored out, strangely enough. It was a complete and utter shame then, that by some cruel stroke of dastardly coincidence, we ended up with not one, but two games themed around telekinesis, possession and all manner of mind-over-matter shenanigans: Midway's Psi-Ops, and Free Radical's Second Sight.

It wasn't just that they were both psychic-powered games. Both were third person action titles, both featured gunplay along with mental abilities, and they even both had bald-headed protagonists. It was clear that one of the games would slip into obscurity while another became better known. Sadly, the day went to Psi-Ops, while the game I still maintain is superior, Second Sight, is barely remembered.

Well no longer! Bargain Bin Laden is dedicated to finding you the best bang for a meager buck, and Second Sight is one of those titles that deserve an instant buy if discovered, dusty and discarded, in some used game store. It actually deserves more than that, but we take what we can get.

Hit the jump as Bargain Bin Laden showcases the excellent Second Sight. 

With Devil May Cry 4 hitting American shelves this past Tuesday, and leaping proudly into the hands of Europeans tomorrow, I thought it was high time we featured some of Dante's exploits in Bargain Bin Laden. I know, I know, you're all too busy playing DMC4 to care about the past, but when you've slayed  your last demon on the PS3/360 and need somewhere to turn, you'll all come crawling back.

The first Devil May Cry was a revolution in the action genre, a game that played as good as it looked, made even novice button mashers appear as on-screen Gods, and provided a hefty level of challenge. Most people thought the sequel paled in comparison and dented the credibility of the series, but DMC answered the critics with this exaggerated, testosterone-fueled prequel. Dante's Awakening put the devil slaughtering series back in gamers' good graces, and now that it's ripe for the penny penching player to enjoy, those in need of a fix after DMC4 will find it's worth every cent. 

Hit the jump as we take a look at Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening.

Ah, Killzone, how I weep for thee. Killzone is one of hype's most tragic victims, a game so built up as a "Halo killer" and so expected to be the next big thing in first person shooting, that it was never going to be looked upon kindly by history. As developer Guerilla showed off its baby to the world, many people believed that this would be a rich and deep gameplay experience against a new and terrifying enemy, the Helghast.

Sadly, it just couldn't deliver on the hype, and as such, Killzone is regarded by some as a creative failure. Not that it didn't do well, but when the game is thought of these days, one cannot help but regard how far it came to achieving its promise. Even so, the franchise still carries itself an air of perhaps undeserved greatness, so much so, that the same unrealistic hype is starting to build around its sequel, and it's likely that history will repeat itself as the game's developers seem to focus solely on graphics and talk little of gameplay.

All this aside, however, Killzone is actually a pretty good game. No, it's not spectacular, and no, it's not the most satisfying game experience out there, but this is Bargain Bin Laden, where we look for a game that's great for a small amount of money. Killzone, for the price you can nab it for in this day and age, is certainly worth that much.

Hit the jump for more as we discuss cut through the hype and discuss the raw meat that is Killzone.

As the U.S. release of No More Heroes draws nigh, it's only appropriate that this week's Bargain Bin Laden take a look at Killer7, which, for many gamers, served as an introduction to writer/director Suda51.

Killer7 received mixed reviews and enjoyed less-than-stellar sales, quickly becoming the gaming equivalent of Rocky Horror Picture Show: weird, far from perfect, and unlike anything else I've ever experienced. If any of you listened to Podtoid 36, you heard me cream my pants over Killer7. After having a few days to evaluate it and change my pants, my stance hasn't changed that much, but it is infused with the realization that Killer7 is indeed flawed and totally deserving of mixed reviews; which isn't to say that each and every one of you shouldn't drop 10 bucks on it as soon as possible.

Hit the jump to see my take as to how Killer7, despite its narrative and technical flaws, still manages to be one of the most original, compelling, thought-provoking, and enjoyable games I've experienced.

Ask anybody, I'm a massive Metal Gear Solid fan. For me, Hideo Kojima is a God when it comes to developing characters and storylines in games. This series stands next to Konami's other great line of titles, Silent Hill, and of course, Koei's Dynasty Warriors, as one of my favorite game franchises of all time.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was one of the premier titles on Sony's PlayStation 2, and was a prime example of gaming's movement to the next generation. It looked superb, and after the success of the amazing first MGS on the PlayStation, hopes were high indeed.

Then Raiden came along.

After the jump, we introduce the next inductee of the Bargain Bin Laden golden discount shelf of greatness, discussing why it's one of the most awesome cheap titles you can find out there, and why everybody who hated it because of Raiden is very wrong. Stupid, too. 

Welcome to another edition of Bargain Bin Laden, where we bring you the best of the cheap in the world of games. While some of my previous choices have been quite obscure, today's edition is a game you should all be more than aware of. It was, after all, one of 2004's best games and one of the greatest action titles of all time. I am of course talking about Resident Evil 4.

While it was rereleased with a Wii Edition earlier this year, you can pick the original GameCube or PS2 version up for under twenty bucks and be guaranteed an awesome time. If you want to read exactly why this game is so great, and I know you do, then by all means hit that jump, sucker.

The wares of Games Workshop have been a bone of contention throughout much of my life. Drawn in by the wonderful backdrops, the fantastic designs and the lure of an engrossing tabletop game, my only problem so far has been the fact that I'm neither rich nor insane enough to spend the hundreds upon hundreds of dubloons needed in order to field an army of miniature metal warriors.

Save for a few Tyranids and a couple Thousand Sons here and there, I never really got into the Warhammer 40,000 universe as much as I'd have liked. I did, however, snap up Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior as soon as it hit stores. A first person shooter enriched with the dark and brooding Warhammer 40K story was something I couldn't keep away from.

While almost completely forgotten, Fire Warrior was a great little FPS that that provided nothing new, but was a most solid and challenging title that, if found, can now be purchased for a mere pittance. It is for this reason that Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior finds a place as the next treasure uncovered by Bargain Bin Laden. Hit the jump for more.

It's fair to say that Sonic the Hedgehog fell on hard times when the industry moved out of the 16bit era. Despite a few glimmers of hope, the once-beloved mascot never truly coped with the evolution of videogames and has become, for all intents and purposes, one of the industry's saddest jokes.

That said, the progression of handhelds proved to be a different story altogether. While horrible 3D efforts such as Sonic Heroes or the more recent Sonic The Hedgehog on PS3/360 have consistently lowered his stock, Sonic at least found a way to recapture his glory days on Nintendo's portable consoles with the decent-if-not-amazing Sonic Rush and the subject of today's Bargain Bin Laden feature, Sonic Advance.

Sonic Advance was a true return to form for Sonic, bringing him back to his roots on the Gameboy Advance with a 2D platformer that featured everything great about his original run -- simple platforming gameplay, traditional boss fights and awesome music. Able to be bought on the cheap or not-downloaded on not-emulators, Sonic Advance is a true bargain bin classic, so let's get on with it.

The first person shooter genre has, for a long time, not been known for its wealth of engrossing, plot-heavy games. With the exception of Valve's Half-Life series, one would be right to think of FPS games as little more than bullet-riddled, guts-or-glory slaughter fests with storyline being little more than a shallow and unnecessary afterthought.

This year has seen two very important strides made in the field of FPS storytelling, with the appearance of both BioShock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- games that use the immersion of the first person to follow in Half-Life's footsteps and tell a real tale. We would be remiss, however, to forget that one other title took first person shooting and, with unmistakable style, truly ran with it to create an absolute thriller.

That game, was, is and forever will be XIII. Cheapskate gamers, unite! It's time to enter a comic book world of political intrigue in this week's Bargain Bin Laden adventure.

We haven't done this in a while, but you should be pleased (or horrified) to know that I've offered to officially take over Bargain Bin Laden for a while, lest Destructoid fans be without knowledge of the best games currently hiding out in bargain bins across America. This week, we take a look at a game that I actually know as Fahrenheit, but was changed to Indigo Prophecy for the US market, so it wouldn't be confused with Michael Moore. Nobody needs to be confused with Michael Moore.

Indigo Prophecy (which is easier to spell than Fahrenheit) was a game with lofty goals and no small share of ambition. It was a game that endeavored to take storytelling in the medium to a whole new level and provide the depth of character and plot that some gamers have been crying out for. While not 100% successful, Indigo Prophecy did many things right, and took us very close to the edge of truly engaging videogame exposition. 

Hit the jump to re-enter the world of Lucas Kane and its shocking, bloody introduction.

Oh, poor Aaron Linde. He doesn't realize what he's done. By lending the reins of BBL to me this week and approving the rabid horror enthusiast within to venerate Silent Hill 2, you may be stuck with one of the most long winded, overly excitable BBL's ever written. Fear not, however -- I will do my best to remain objective, and when I feel I will weep with joy or dance with delight over the rapture caused by inanimate mannequin rape and bloodied corpses, I'll step away from the blog to breathe before I take you deeper within one of my favorite locales within a video game.

Shall we go to Silent Hill? 

[Hey all, Linde here. I know it's been awhile since I've been regular with the BBL updates, but what with review crew and Podtoid and all, keeping it up to date has been kinda tough. But rather than let the ol' column fizzle and die while I tend to other responsibilities, I thought I'd give it to Destructoid and let the rest of the staff share their favorite bargain bin finds with you as well. Shaking things up is always groovy, yeah? We'll have someone new doing the column every week. Same rules apply, though: the only games we'll be featuring will be the best games at the absolute lowest cost.] 

I’ve probably got some ‘splaining to do. Pictured above you’ll see the hobo I picked up yesterday at the local train tracks. He said he knew a lot about classic arcade games from his younger vagabond days, so I invited him along to help me write this week’s Bargain Bin Laden. Taito Legends Vol. 1 and 2 are both so amazingly cheap that I had some spare change after my purchase. With the extra money I decided to treat “Ringworm Ricky”, as he proudly calls himself, to some vegetarian pizza. Periodically, my altruistic side gets the best of me and I’ll place down the old Dual Shock and try to make the world a better place. "If I can save one life, I’ve saved the world entire." That quote’s from Mahatma Gandhi (I read books by him in public so people will think I'm a good person).

Both Taito Legends collections are jammed with an amazing array of games. We’re talking over 60 full-length, arcade perfect ports spanning two discs. If you do some smart shopping you can pick both of them up together for under $20 brand new! At least half of these games completely rock and stand as loving bookends to an arcade culture that’s already slipped down the memory tube. Come join me and Ringworm Ricky after the jump, where we get down to the brass tacks of why you need to own at least one of these.

You want a realistic game? It doesn't get much more realistic than Bushido Blade. Imagine a fighting game where if you take a solid hit, you're done. It wouldn't be much fun, now would it? That's where you're wrong. It's intense.

Fighting as a warrior, following the code of bushido, you need to take revenge for any number of reasons. Cut down those in your path in order to settle your soul. All it takes is one strike. Bushido Blade provides a unique experience amongst the crowd of other titles in the fighting genre. Settle down awhile and I shall spin you a tale of this game.