Here's the ground rules. In order to be eligible, the game must have been purchased at a discount from the original MSRP. I'm not including temporary deals, like when Toys R Us offers Buy Two Get One Free. I'm also disqualifying the Old Navy Black Friday deal for a free LEGO Rock Band, because that was a special event. And anyway, getting a brand new release for free is so great that including it in this competition would have thrown off the entire curve.

Entrants will be assessed according to Discount Value, Gameplay, and Presentation, and issued a final number for each category on a ten point scale. There are fifteen names in the running this year. Here's the first five.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, PS3
We were really into LEGO Batman, and Clark missed out on the two older LEGO Star Wars by virtue of not existing at the time. So when I saw that the PS3 compilation was bumped down to $20, I bought it rather than locating the two PS2 originals that have been on my shelf for five years.

DISCOUNT VALUE: $20, compared to an original price of, I believe, $40.
GAMEPLAY: As remembered. Same classic issues on co-op. Nice idea to combine both games (thus making characters playable in either trilogy). Lack of PS3 Trophies is pretty hard to swallow.
PRESENTATION: I'm still not tired of LEGO dude visuals, perhaps unbelievably so. Not as good looking as current LEGO games, since this is just a slightly smartened PS2 game.

Speed Racer: The Videogame, Wii
It's been well-established that we're huge suckers for that Speed Racer movie. So how bad could the Wii game be, right? Pretty bad.

DISCOUNT VALUE: $20, compared to $50. Good sale, but clearly was not ever worth that original price.
GAMEPLAY: Very messy. There's very few tracks, the usual Wii-cursing motion controls, and an almost complete lack of understanding of how to do a kart racer even though Mario Kart Wii is, like, the world's oldest video game.
PRESENTATION: There's actual voice actors from the movie, which is nice. Some good game-specific art of the characters. Box art is lame.

Nerf NStrike, Wii
You've seen this one... the game that comes with a Nerf gun that holsters the Wii Remote. Well, it sucks. It looks like ass. The interface sucks. You wouldn't think people could screw up a shooting gallery game, but these guys did.

DISCOUNT VALUE: $40, was originally $60
GAMEPLAY: There's a bunch of modes that really suck, and everything goes on for way too long.
PRESENTATION: Ugly. Storyline rips off Last Starfighter, despite federal mandate banning such.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, PS3
I was initially not that interested in this title, being more or less burned out on the Tomb Raider concept. The demo was OK. Then the stars aligned and they patched in PS3 Trophies, plus Target put it on clearance. Two very good reasons to get this game.

DISCOUNT VALUE: $30, red-tagged at Target from $60
GAMEPLAY: Pretty darn amazing, although I could do without the super-linear path. Great character animation, but the plot takes a stupid turn at the end.
PRESENTATION: Looks great, nice menus. Loses a point for the off-the-rack font choice in the logo.

Eco-Creatures, DS
I had hoped this would be a cool RTS, but it was nigh-unplayable. I forget exactly why it sucked, but it was so bad I actually traded it in for $2. I can't even be bothered to recall the game's subtitle.

DISCOUNT VALUE: $20, was originally $30
GAMEPLAY: Knowing how I react to frustration in gaming, I must have run into some level that was impossible even after a million tries.
PRESENTATION: Nothing special. Sort of cute.

So far, Uncharted has a sizable lead... but there are ten more challengers to consider! Just as last year, the top three points-getters will head to the judge's table for the final decision.