Gamefly is the biggest video game rental service out there. They've been doing business sine 2002! You pay a monthly fee, the price depending on which plan you choose, for an unlimited amount of rentals. Choose which video games you want to play, and they will mail it to you with no shipping charges (both ways) using FedEx or USPS. You can then mail it back to them when you are finished, which can be any time you want as there are no late fees, in a pre-paid envolope that they provide for free.
Features
Gamefly's site offers some great features. Each invidual game has a page that offers videos, instructions, cheats, reviews, and screenshots, which are great for enhancing your game experience or deciding wether or not to rent a game.
If you enjoy a game so much you want to own it, you can easily buy the game at a discounted price; on your account management screen, click the 'Keep' button. You can also purchase brand new games if you want.
Another feature which can be useful for parents allows you to block your account from renting games above a certain ESRB rating, restricting content that may be inappropiate. You can set a password to protect these settings.
Game & Console Range
Gamefly has over 7,000 game titles (including classics and new releases) on all the major consoles... PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, Xbox, PSP, DS, and Gameboy Advanced. Nothing to complain about there! Whenever I've wanted a game it has always been available for me on Gamefly.
Price
Renting at Gamefly can get you games at a fraction of the price as buying them, with the same entertainment value. You can start with a Free Trial or at 8.95$ a month, which raises to 15.95$ afterwards. For the purpose of this review, let's say you play 4 games a month - 48 games total - for about $185. At retail prices, this could have cost about $2000! You save over 90%!
Shipping
As mentioned earlier, shipping is free both ways. In general it takes about 2-3 days to receive your game. In my opinion this is a decent time frame... if you want a constant supply of games just make sure to order new a few days before mailing your old ones back.
Plans
There are four different payment plans (paid monthly):
- $15.95 for one game at a time, starting at $8.95 for the first month
- $22.95 for two games at a time
- $22.95 for three games at a time
- $36.95 for four games at a time
Note that you can cancel your membership at any time at no charge. Gamefly also offers a 10 day free trial where you get 2 games to try.
Try the free trial
Review Summary
Overall, I'd have to say Gamefly is the best video game rental service there is. As you can see in this review, they offer a great price, a good shipping speed, and a great selection of games. Any gamer looking to save some money should try it out.