Holiday Sale Survival Guide

I have no idea where this originated, but it's hilariously accurate.

It's not officially Christmas until I've been saddled with feelings of shame and guilt after adding a dozen games to my already gigantic backlog. Amazon, Valve - why must you tempt me so?

If you're at all concerned about being able to afford food in January, you might want to take a look at the following tips.

1. Use resources like /r/GameDeals and IsThereAnyDeal.com to find the best deals.

While Steam might be the "Granddaddy of Them All" when it comes to offering games at stupid prices during the holidays, there's a lot of other stuff going on elsewhere on the Internet. Sites like Amazon and Green Man Gaming have been offering deals on par with - and occasionally better than - those of Valve's service. Plus, with Origin and Uplay on the prowl, it's increasingly common (albeit somewhat annoying) to find games that simply aren't offered on Steam.

Bottom line - it pays to look around, and using some kind of deal aggregator makes everything super easy. Sites like the aforementioned IsThereAnyDeal.com and Cheapshark.com can also give you an idea of the pricing trends for a given game and whether or not it's been cheaper in the past.

Deal Alert: Metro 2033 for $3

Green Man Gaming has Metro 2033 on sale for $3.98 right now. This is a solid deal in and of itself, but to make it even better you can apply promo code GMG25-1BW0K-K1A3G for an extra 25% off, bringing things to $2.99.

Metro 2033 is an entertaining survival/semi-horror FPS set in the Moscow subway system. A nuclear war forces everyone to abandon the post-apocalyptic landscape above ground and retreat into the metro. The game is immersive and it's a demanding DX11 title, so for $3 this should be a no-brainer. The key that GMG sends you is immediately redeemable on Steam.

The aforementioned promo code expires Monday morning, so grab the deal tonight or tomorrow if you're interested.