Discounted Doom, Pac-Man CE top Amazon XBLA Store

The benefits of Amazon.com's new Xbox Live Arcade Store continue to reveal themselves, as the two bestselling titles are Doom ($2.97) and Pac-Man C.E. ($4.97), both currently featured with discounted prices -- and both no-brainers for anyone who has previously passed on these two gems. Clearly, the Amazon option provides the possibility of more of these sweet discounts, in addition to perks like offering exact purchasing of games (instead of buying Microsoft Points in bulk), bonus money through participating credit cards, and potential sales tax dodging. But, a word to the wise: Check Amazon's prices against those listed on Xbox.com (80 Points = $1.00) before you buy, because some stated "discounts" are simply misleading.

Currently, at #6 on Amazon's XBLA bestseller list is the original Geometry Wars, which claims to be priced at a 50 percent discount -- wrong! Five dollars is the actual price of the game on Xbox Marketplace, and the presumed "broader" demographic now shopping for XBLA games on Amazon should be careful, as one would be better served to double down and purchase the superior sequel (#16 on the list) for ten. Alas, we're preaching to the choir here -- you, dear reader, already know this. (Whaddya gonna do, ya know?) Just take note of the real discounts, as they're good ones, and forget about those "others" being misled by the fake ones.

[Thanks, Chad]