Bundling service allows for affordable fun

By Jen Weddle

The word “broke” is often associated with college students.

It’s probably because of all the late-night pizza we order or the money we spend at bars. Still, I know I always have a few dollars left in my bank account for the humble bundle.

What is this magnificent thing?

It’s a website (HumbleBundle.com) with bundles of video games, music albums or eBooks. They’re offered on a semi-regular basis for two weeks at a time.

The really great part is that instead of setting bundles at a price, customers can choose how much to pay. The average price other people have paid is listed next to the bundle for reference, but it’s not necessarily the minimum price that must be paid. There’s an incentive to paying more than the average price because, when you do, you often get bonus games or other media.

In order to take advantage of Humble Bundle, an application called Steam must be downloaded onto your computer. Steam can be downloaded for Mac and Windows, and there is limited functionality on PlayStation 3, IOS and Android. Steam can be downloaded at Store.SteamPowered.com.

Another amazing feature of Humble Bundle is that you can give all or some of the money you pay to charity. There is an option at checkout that lets customers divide the money they spend between two different charities and the developer of the games.

The latest bundle offers six games (some come with soundtracks) and two bonus games if the customer pays more than average. These games include Red Faction: Armageddon, Darksiders, Metro 2033, Company of Heroes, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor. The two bonus games are Saints Row the Third and Titan Quest. The average money spent on all of these games is $5.63, and the name-your-own-price deal starts out with a minimum of $1. The games offered in this bundle are only available for Windows.

Why not treat yourself to an awesome bundle of games and soundtracks for winter break? Or you could gift the bundle to one of your friends and share the fun after finals.

This bundle will only be on sale for two more days. Don’t worry if you miss this one or if none of these games sound appealing. There are always other Humble Bundles to snatch up.