Review: Shockwave Unlimited

Shockwave.com offers a premium games service called Shockwave Unlimited for a monthly subscription fee. Shockwave Unlimited (formerly known as Gameblast) allows subscribers to download any game on the site and play it as much as they like for the duration of their subscription. An annual subscription costs only $4.95 a month (which comes out to a single yearly payment of $59.40), but they offer two other subscription options: quarterly, which is $6.95 a month ($20.85 billed every three months) or a monthly billing of $9.95 a month. Subscriptions are automatically renewed at the rate initially chosen, although you have the option to change your subscription package at any time.

Shockwave Unlimited does offer a free 10-day trial, although the subscription option you selected on sign-up is automatically billed on the eleventh day if you haven't cancelled.

Pros of a Shockwave Unlimited Subscription

Shockwave Unlimited offers subscribers access to over 400 advertisement-free games. Sure, many of these titles are available to play online, but most of the "full-version" games are available only to Shockwave Unlimited subscribers or for retail purchase. With a Shockwave Unlimited subscription, all games on the site are available at no additional charge to be downloaded and played with no time-limits and no advertisements.

Shockwave Unlimited doesn't restrict the number of games you can have downloaded at a time. If you want to download every available game to your hard drive, you can. Some premium gaming services will restrict the number of titles you can have available for use simultaneously or the number you can download in a given time period. Shockwave Unlimited members are not subject to any such restrictions.