Games download

Download Games online and legally

In the age of the internet any kind of digital content can be downloaded easily from home. Whether it is music, films or games, everything can be found on the internet sooner or later. It is more convenient and costs less than physical copies, especially for games, because of the size some games have. There are games that have up to 50 gigabytes or even more. Saving one file on a file server and distributing it over the internet is way easier than manufacturing single physical copies of the game with every single one of them containing the whole size of the game. But keep in mind that a stable and high download speed is needed to ensure a successful and fast download. With the current internet standards in the homes and weak servers you may wait up to several hours for one game to download and after that you still need to install it in most cases. The Usenet is one of the distributors offering free content with up to 100Mbit/s, which may save you one or two hours or even more. Technically speaking Usenet is not a digital game distribution platform. It offers thousands of terabytes of every kind of content legally and for free, but its fast servers hold many popular games. Let us take a look at some game distributors and where their strengths and weaknesses are.

01. Digital Game and Media Distribution Platforms
02. Free-2-Play and Browser Games
03. Illegal Game Downloads and P2P networks
04. Usenet – thousands of terabytes of legal and free downloads
05. Conclusion

01.Digital Game and Media Distribution Platforms

There are several ways how games are distributed, but in most case you will find a game client which lets you download your games from its digital shop system and lets you organize them in an individual library. The process is similar to when you purchase music from e.g. iTunes or the Google Play Store. The game client is either provided by the game publisher itself or by a third party that offers a vast collection of games from different publishers and game producers. In most cases the client can be downloaded for free and the games may be purchased or downloaded via the client. While many digital media distribution platforms specialize in one kind of content, services like Usenet make it possible to use one single client for all your content, but let us take a look what kinds of platforms and services are available before deciding on the ideal distributor.

Steam

Steam is a game client offered by the game distributor and producer “Valve”. After registering a Steam account and downloading and installing the software on your PC, Mac or even Linux device you are able to access all games that are distributed through Steam. And that is a lot! Steam offers an easy way for game producers (whether it is a major game producer or a single unknown Gmw programmer / designer) to distribute their work with the whole world. It is a major advantage that Steam does not only function as a client for the games made by Valve, but rather as a huge platform to distribute as many games as possible to as much people as possible.

But there is a little bit more behind the game client than you would think. Steam does also work as kind of a social network for games and gamers. Everyone has a profile, a wall where friends and yourself can post stuff, like sharing screenshots from games or recommending good games and you can see what your friends are playing right now and even watch their broadcast if they enabled this option. So it is almost like a Facebook for gamers. But it may be too much for those who are just simply looking to download and play games. Keep in mind that the games are connected to your Steam account / profile. That means that you can only access them through your Steam credentials. To ensure that the users don’t distribute illegal copies, Steam restricts the downloads of the games (no matter if they cost something or not) to a single PC of your choice. Meaning you can’t play a game from one account on two devices at the same time. Another nice feature is that updates, DLCs (extensions that some game producers offer for their actual games) and mods can also be found on Steam. You use the search bar to look for whatever you want, download it and that’s it.

Maybe not exactly… Steam itself is for free and some games from Valve are also great and available for free, but that is not the case for most of the other stuff that you can download from there. In the end it is only a way of distributing your beloved games, but if the producers decide to take money, you have to pay to play them. The prices are in a huge range, because they are set by the producers and not client. In some cases you might even pay more than with purchasing through other sources. In some cases we found games for a rather small price that actually were free mobile games.

Once in a while Steam has a sale, meaning that it sells many chosen products for a lot smaller price. Sometimes you will find awesome games for sale and you may also be able to save a lot of money, but you will swiftly realize that the sales are just another marketing strategy to get people to buy stuff from there. These sales may be awesome, but they often tempt people to buy games they usually would not buy or even play. That way Steam can sell some games that are too old or too bad to be actually sold and make money at the same time. It is not a bad deal for the users either.

Many people like the fact that Steam is not only restricted to PC, but is also available for Mac and Linux users. It actually is a nice feature, but Mac and Linux users are going to be disappointed anyways. Steam being cross-platform friendly does not mean that you can play every game on your Mac or Linux computer. This is not something that Steam decides, but rather the programmers who are making the games. To be fair there are several games for the two other operating systems and even some big games too, but all in all PC has the greater library and you have to get used to not being able to find every game for your Mac or Linux, although that has not to do with Steam. We just think it would be nice if they upped the support for those a little more, especially when they are already mentioning them.

Moreover there is an inconspicuous, little feature called “Save Password” (the same goes for the username and it is mandatory if you want to save your password). It lets your computer save your password and remind it, so you do not have to type it in every time you want to log into your Steam client or the website. For security reasons most people left this box unchecked (even if there are no actual security concerns in this case) and if you do that, you will not be able to play your games without an internet connection, even if the games themselves are actually designed and produced for offline use. I remember how frustrating it was to find that out. Apparently there is a workaround for that, but it is quite annoying if you have to meddle with files and folders every time you want to play a game.

All in all steam is a feature-rich and full-fledged client for game downloads. If you are looking for the features mentioned above than there is no better competitor. But if you do not care about them, Steam may be too much. And you should keep in mind that you can only download the games to one device. If you want to use more, you could use the Family Sharing option, but that has the restriction that more than two people can’t play the same game at the same time. And in the end you will just be purchasing the games anyways.

UPlay

Another distributor of games of all kind is UPlay offered by the French game publisher Ubisoft. Ubisoft is one of the most known game publishers and easily competes with other major publishers like EA and Sony Computer Entertainment. Assassins Creed, Far Cry, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Might & Magic and Anno Online are only some of the globally known games coming from the French game producer. All of its games can be digitally purchased and downloaded only through the UPlay client. Moreover the client is only restricted to Ubisoft games. If you would like to purchase a game from another producer you would have to look for another way or digital distribution platform. No matter whether you purchased the game as a physical copy or digitally (even through another client) you will be asked to install UPlay first and guided through the installation step by step. It is mandatory because the activation (via product key) is running on the client.

UPlay follows a similar concept as other digital games distribution platforms. Upon installing Uplay and following through the registration steps you will be able to access the rather vast library, although it is kind of inconvenient that the library is almost exclusively for Ubisoft games. It has also integrated a social networking part and lets users add friends, send them messages and more importantly invite them to participate in online and co-op games. It does not have all the other extensive social media features that e.g. Steam offers, but it has everything that a gamer needs to play his games. Additionally to the adding-friends and inviting-to-games UPlay offers rewards for winning in a game. Due to its rewarding system the player can unlock new content for his games or reach certain levels.

Despite the fact that UPlay had a rather unpopular start Ubisoft was able to turn its genuinely disliked child to a pretty useful and appealing client. The most important information are displayed and highlighted and are wrapped in a comfortable and friendly interface. The fact that some of the most popular games are only available over UPlay makes it a must-have for some games, but these games come for a price. And even the organized and friendly interface that was improved a lot since its first release can’t make up for some of the prices. Speaking of prices UPlay has implemented its own digital currency to the client, but it does not really matter and it certainly does not have to be used.

If you want to buy certain games by Ubisoft and can’t find a way to buy them cheaper somewhere else you should just use the UPlay client, because you are going to be driven to install it anyway during the verification of your game. But if you are just looking for a game client that has some awesome games to offer you should absolutely take a look at other digital distribution platforms like Usenet. Thousands of terabytes of free and legal content can be really tempting, especially in an industry in where a product can cost up to 60 $ and even more during its release. In the end you should try out some free alternatives like the Usenet before resorting to UPlay.

Origin

Origin is the digital distribution platform by Electronic Arts (EA), the turnover-wise biggest company in the gaming industry. Despite the success of EA its digital distribution platform suffers from a great weakness: it only supports EA games. That may not sound like a big disadvantage, especially because all the other distribution platforms by other game publisher do the same. But EA’s Origin does not only sell its own games for retail prices, it does not even offer any community service except a friend list which can be used to participate to online games with friends. No regular sales, no reward system and no other social media-kind features.

There is a little bit more to Origin then one would think. EA has added an incomparable feature to its digital distributor. Like other platforms Origin downloads the games to the users’ hard drive and installs is there. Similar to what a physical copy does. Additionally to installing the game on your local machine, Origin offers PlayStation Now (PS Now). PlayStation Now is a cloud gaming service that basically streams the game output to the user and the user input to the game which is running on the cloud. Meaning the user does not have to install or download the game to play the game. With PS Now you are able to access PlayStation 3 games on your PlayStation 3 or 4 or on your PC. A DualShock 3 or 4 controllers are highly recommended if you are using the service on a non-PlayStation device. The whole service is based on GaiKai. GaiKai is the software, the idea and the team that stands behind Sony’s cloud gaming project. While all EA games can also be accessed through PS Now all the other non-PlayStation games are accessible through GaiKai’s native service. At first it was mostly used for demos only. You could try out the first half of a game before purchasing it, but nowadays it is not limited to that anymore. Sony recommends an internet connection of at least 5mbit/s for the optimal gaming experience with PlayStation Now. It can be either used subscription-based or for single games.

All in all Origin is a full-fledged and accessible digital distributor, but its limited library and the lack of community services hold its real potential back. In the end it is just another middleware between your game and yourself. It offers a simple yet useful library, but if you have to switch between all the publisher-based digital distribution software, they kind of fail their purpose. Especially when there is not much to offer except of downloading and organizing your games.

BattleNet (Blizzard)

BattleNet is a game client by the game producer Blizzard. Blizzard is known for its exclusivity and for games like World of Warcraft, Heartstone and many more. As you can imagine, the game client exclusively offers Blizzard games. It almost seems like every big game producer has its own digital game distribution platform exclusively for its own games. As already mentioned, this can get pretty annoying pretty fast. Switching from one client to the other to play all the games that come from different producers can be tiring. Even the fact that Blizzard has some awesome games to offer and a nice and easy to use client do not change that. Blizzard can’t compete with other major producers when it comes to the number of games it offers (right now BattleNet supports up to 11 games). Its big advantage is the fact that its games (exclusively online games) are capable of attracting and keeping huge communities, e.g. World of Warcraft (WoW). World of WarCraft is probably the world’s most popular and played MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game).

BattleNet is the most exclusive of all digital distribution platforms. It may be common that a game publisher offers its own client with its own games, but in most cases they offer an additional way to purchase their games (for example through services like Steam) while Blizzard distributes its games only and only over BattleNet. It is kind of like the Apple of the digital distribution services. There are no other additional features, community services or content offered, but the fact that the client and all the games are from Blizzard is enough for people to make a compromise and download BattleNet, even if they already have one or even more platforms to purchase their games. If you want to play a game published by Blizzard you will not have any other option then downloading BattleNet. Thus we would recommend looking for alternative games that may be available for free. E.g. the Usenet is one of the most popular digital distribution networks that have tons of free content to offer.

G2A

G2A.com (known as G2A) is also a popular digital game distributor, but slightly differs from all the other services we have introduced until now. G2A mainly sells game keys and not the games as downloads. After the purchase these keys can be used to activate the games at Steam or other digital distribution platforms that offer whole games. And the reason why some people prefer G2A (or any other similar provider) is simply the fact that they cost less. G2A buys the keys from the game producers in huge numbers and thus are able to sell them for less than other providers. The only downside would be that you have to download the game itself from somewhere else and have to activate it with the acquired key.

Summary

There are many different distribution platforms and services out there and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. There are all-rounders like Steam that offer every service that you could possibly think of when it comes to games and game clients that exclusively distribute the games of a specific producer or company and do not do much more. In the end the decision on which one you should choose depends on what you expect from the platform or service you are going to use and on the games you want to play. Our recommendation is to try out the free and legal alternatives like Usenet before you resort to the more expensive alternatives.

02.Free-2-Play and Browser Games

There are many different ways to play games. Some of them do not even require downloading or installing them. Others are purposely offered for free, while the producers finance them with community-service, in-game shops and other financial strategies. Two of the most known concepts or digital game distribution are Free-to-play games (also: Free-2-play or F2P) games and browser games. How do these concepts of distribution work and do they cost something? Let’s take a look.

F2P games are, as the name already implies, playable for free. That means that you can download, install and play the game without paying anything. There are many popular games out there that are F2P, e.g. League of Legends, Blade & Soul, Warframe and Dota2. You may ask yourself how it is possible that a game producer would offer a game for free. It may have taken decades for some of these games to be developed, so how did they get funded? There are several financial strategies on how to fund a F2P game. One of them is an in-game shop. In most cases the in-game shop offers the player additional weapons, items and other useful stuff for real money. Sometimes these in-game purchases can give the player an advantage over others. In most cases the client can be downloaded for free and the games may be purchased or downloaded via the client. When these purchasable advantages are not limited in some ways, this can escalate in turning the game to a pay-to-win (also pay-2-win or P2W) game. That mean that those who are investing money are the ones who win and skill does not matter anymore. Others offer skins or other accessory that does not have an effect on the player’s skills and the game play. Another way would be through community services like Riot does with League of Legends with the world cubs they organize, the merchandizes they sell and much more. All in all Free-2-Play games do not cost anything, but if they are really playable without paying money afterwards is for you to find out. Here is a list of some well-known F2P games that every gamer should have played:

Game	Genre	Link
World of Tanks	Third-Person-Tactical-Shooter MMOG	http://worldoftanks.com/
League of Legends	Multiplayer Battle Arena (MOBA)	http://na.leagueoflegends.com/
The Lord of the Rings Online	Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game (MMORPG)	http://www.lotro.com/en
Dota 2	Multiplayer Battle Arena (MOBA)	http://en.dota2.com/
Hearthstone	Online Collectible Card Video Game	http://eu.battle.net/hearthstone/en/
Star Trek Online	Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)	http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online

Browser games are basically another way of digitally distributing games. As the names imply these games are not only accessible but also playable through a browser. Usually you have to download a game from the web page or the digital distribution platform of the producer and then install it, before you can play it. With the help of different technologies and web-server game producers were able to create browser-based games. You usually have to visit the link were the game is hosted, create and account and you are ready to go. No huge downloads or patches and no exhausting installation sequences. Usually the browser games can’t compete with similar not-browser based games. But there are some great games out there that are worth a visit. As any other kind of games, browser games can either be F2P, subscription based or accessible as a single purchase, whereby the latter is no seen often. Because of the native environment of browser games, most of them are also online games. Which means you can play them with other players all over the world through the internet. Sometimes there are sites that collect many rather small Browser games and offer them as a digital playground. In most cases these are Flash-based. You should keep in mind that Flash is an outdated technology, because of numerous security issues. Some of the most played Browser games are listed below:

Game	Genre	Link
The Settler Online	Strategy / building game	http://www.thesettlersonline.net/en/homepage
Drakensang Online	Action MMORPG	http://www.drakensang.com/
Forge of Empires	Strategy MMO	Available through different distributors
My Free Farm	Online Farm Simulator	http://www.myfreefarm.com/
Goodgame Empire	Online Build-up and strategy game	http://empire.goodgamestudios.com/
Goalunited	Online Soccer Simulator	http://www.global.goalunited.org/

Both F2P games and Browser games show that there are many different ways to distribute games through various channels. While F2P and browser games are usually available for free, the producers are able to break even with selling additional content, in-game content and advertisement. In some cases some browser games may be subscription based or playable after you buy an account, but these are generally exceptions. They do not survive for long, because most of their competitors that do not take money are being favored.

03.Illegal Game Downloads and P2P networks

Games are no exception when it comes to illegal distribution and downloads. As any other content almost any game can be found on shady websites or P2P networks. But there is a small difference between games and any other content (e.g. films and music files). In most cases an illegally distributed game is called “Crack” and consists of multiple files. There is a simple reason behind this naming. A game is actually a computer program (or code) that connects all the assets, like textures, music and game physics and because of the fact that a programing language is used, a certain level of security is assured. In most cases the programmers even implement own security measures to ensure no copyright infringements. So to be able to distribute the game without the consent of the game producer, one has to “crack” the code. To use these cracks a certain amount of knowledge about the file system of your computer is required.
We all know that pirating is illegal and should be avoided at all cost. Therefore we will take a look at how to identify and avoid illegal content. The easiest step to ensure that the game that you are downloading is not being illegally distributed is to research whether the game actually costs something on the website of the game producer and just download it from there. Or you choose one of the popular game clients (like Steam) or download platforms (like Usenet). While clients like Steam distribute the games for the producers and therefore sell them anyways, Usenet has thousands of terabytes of free and legal content to offer. A little research through Google and Google News will show you whether the company behind a distributor or client was or is still involved in illegal activities. Another thing about games is the fact that viruses can be hidden easily in between that many files or even between the thousands and thousands of lines of code.

As most of other type of content, games are mostly distributed through P2P (peer-to-peer) networks, because they can be easily set up by small parties without much resources. P2P networks make their users upload and distribute a file at the same time while they are downloading it. This is not only highly risky for the users, but also uses and loads their internet connection. The usage of such networks is not illegal itself, but the fact that illegal and malicious content can be easily distributed through them (due to the lack of a centered administration, different sources for the content and missing security measures) makes them a very dangerous place. You might even end up downloading illegal stuff without the intention to do so. The easiest way to avoid getting caught downloading a game (or virus) from a P2P network that you are not allowed to download is to avoid using them. There are plenty alternatives that exclusively offer free content and the Usenet is one of them.

04.Usenet – thousands of terabytes of legal and free downloads

The Usenet is a service that offers thousands of terabytes of content – legally and all for free. It can be compared bulletin board where everybody can post request or a file and share them with everyone else using it. Similar to an internet provider Usenet only offers the access to the content thus is not liable for the kind of content its users share and upload. In the meantime the user’s anonymity is protected by high-end encryption and does not have to worry that his or her private information are going to be used for malicious intents. It is as simple as it is safe and fast. You need an account at a Usenet provider, a Newsreader and a search engine (Google).

There are many different Usenet providers available. Some of them offer their services for free and others don’t. There is no continuous financial plan used by all providers. Some are subscription based, others are not and some are solely using advertisements. We would recommend a subscription based provider like usenet.nl. Games can surely strain the download medium, thus a fast and stable provider is worth a small monthly fee. Usenet.nl has decades of experience and offers a 14 days trial. You can use the service to your heart’s content for free during the trial period. Afterwards you can decide whether you want to subscribe or choose another provider.

Without Registration

1 GB Download Volume
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300 GB Download Volume
14 days free trial
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05.Conclusion

As you can see it is pretty easy to acquire and download games from the comfort of your home. But there are so many different ways that it can be rather confusing to choose the right service or platform. If you want a specific game from a game producer that only uses his own digital distribution platform you do not have much of a choice. But if you value community service and a vast selection of games (that are not necessarily free) you should try out Steam. And if you want to get access to many games legally, safe and for free and download them with up to 100Mbit/s you may be looking for a similar service like the Usenet. In the end it will not even cost anything to try the Usenet out. When it comes to the so-called Darknet or Peer-to-Peer networks, we would recommend being on the safe side. We all know the saying: “Better safe than sorry”. Especially when there are services like the Usenet that offers at least as much content as the Peer-to-Peer networks in a similar but definitively legal way.