Save a trip to the store. How and where to download full PC games from the internet

Some of you may be interested in being able to download full retail PC games straight from the internet. The idea is certainly charming. No need to leave the house only to find out that the game you want is not at the store. No having to wait days till Amazon delivers (no delivery charge either) it to your doorstep. No need to worry about scratching delicate CDs. In a matter of hours you can have your favourite games on your hard drive and ready to play.

Many sites offer a ‘Pre-load’ service where by you can download upcoming games to your PC and then play them the minute the game is officially released.

You will however, need to have a pretty decent broadband connection or it may take an unbearably long time to download a full game with several gigabytes worth of data. Here we present some of the best sites which offer full version PC games for download.

Steam

Download full version games with Steam

This is a very cool and popular online service. Steam has hundreds of PC games from classics to the newest releases across all genres (first person shooter, RPG, strategy, sports etc.) available for download. No having to wait in line for the hottest new game. Download full PC games you’ve been waiting months for the minute they’re released. Don’t expect to find every title you search for though. There are several notable games missing from Steam’s collection but this is true with all competing sites.

Once you’ve bought a game off steam you can play it from whatever PC you’re on. Say you’re at your parents house for a long weekend. Just log into your steam account online and download you’re purchased game onto whatever PC you’re using and you can pick up where you left off. Another cool feature is that the games you buy will always be up to date with the latest patches and fixes as Steam automatically updates your games. Having a huge online community of members to setup multiplayer games with and to brag about you’re latest high score to is the icing on the cake.

PayPal and major credit cards are accepted for purchases. Look out for limited time discounts and offers Steam may be offering. They’re usually listed on the right hand side of the home page.

Click here to Visit Steam

Direct2Drive

Download full version games with Direct2Drive

Direct2Drive also offers a very good collection of PC games to download from classics to the latest. As with Steam though, don’t expect to find every title. Many games that Steam doesn’t feature are available here though. This site may be unhelpful to many people as a lot of the games are only available for download in a few limited countries, namely the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK. If you are residing in one of these countries lucky you! Games can be downloaded an unlimited amount of times but there are licensing restrictions. Every time you download the game, the previous game’s activation code becomes void.

Check out the Bundle deals to see what games are being sold at a discount. PayPal and major credit cards are accepted here. The games all have the latest patches installed and after you purchase new patch releases are available on the patches web page of the site.

Click here to visit Direct2Drive

GameStop

Download full version games with GameStop

Good collection of new and old games available for full download. Depending on the game you purchase you may be able to install it on up to three computers or only on one. There are also free trials available on the site for you to decide if a game is worth your moolah. Only Credit cards are accepted for payment currently.

Click here to visit GameStop

GamersGate

Download full version games with GamersGate

Another serious contender in the digital downloads arena. Good collection of full version PC games available for download, unlimited amount of downloads per game and payment is accepted by credit card and PayPal. Certain games are only available in limited countries.

Click here to Visit GamersGate

Metaboli

Subscribe to full version game downloads with Metaboli

This online service is different from the ones mentioned so far. Instead of selling individual PC games, Metaboli offers a subscription service where for a fixed monthly fee you get unlimited access to a collection of hundreds of games. You can download any game in the collection an unlimited number of times, switch from game to game, and store them on your hard drive. You can also start playing the game before it downloads completely thanks to progressive download technology available with the service. Currently credit cards and debit cards are acceptable for monthly payments. PayPal is not available yet.

If you cancel the subscription however you cannot play you’re stored games anymore, they become inaccessible until you renew subscription again. There are two collections; Essential Collection (£6.95/month) which has over two hundred games and growing and the Ultimate Collection (£12.95/month) which has over three hundred games and growing. The Ultimate collection gets all the newest releases and they only become available to the Essential collection after a few months. A dirt cheap way to play hundreds of great games.

Click here to visit metaboli

If you can’t find your desired game on one site, there are many others to choose from. There are some disadvantages to downloading full version PC games off the internet which you should be aware of. New patches that are released for CD versions of a game may not work for the downloaded version. Usually separate patches are released for digital downloads and they may only be available a few months after ones for CDs. Another thing is that expansion packs you may buy in downloaded format may not be compatible with your original download. Check with the individual site’s support before you commit to a download. Other than that digital downloads are a great alternative to old fashioned CDs.