TotalGaming.net. You've probably seen it mentioned in passing on various game-related web sites and game portals. Perhaps you've heard it mentioned by a game publisher as a means to buy some of their products or perhaps you're a fan of Galactic Civilizations and heard mention of it on Stardock's web space. No matter what you've heard there's very little mention of how it actually works outside of the network's own website, so we're going to give our readers and inside look at how this online distribution portal really works and what the benefits of it are.

TotalGaming.net, formally known as the Drengin Network, is the creation of Stardock, best known for its ultra popular WindowBlinds and ObjectDesktop software. But the company also is known in gaming circles for creating such wonderful games as The Corporate Machine, The Political Machine and the ultra popular Galactic Civilizations series. The company, looking to handle its own products, launched the distribution channel to give consumers an alternative way to purchase its titles. The company also expanded to include other third-party publisher titles.

Stardock hasn't stayed away from the traditional publisher - developer model either: the company has, in the past, worked with major publishers to get its titles out to retail - but it has also simultaneously sold its game on TotalGaming.net, giving their fans a faster way to get its games.

So now that we have a rough idea of what TotalGaming.net is, here a little more background on how it all works. Consumers can got to the website and buy games directly just like they would at any other online game portal like EbGames.com or Amazon.com. There's not much of an advantage in doing that. But users can do something else that is useful: They can purchase ten "tokens" for around 65.00 USD. Now since the most expensive game is around 5 tokens, this is where you start to see an advantage: that's around 30.00 for a game that is priced at $44 (gibe or take some change). That's 10.00 off what you'd normally pay. Luckily not all games costs that much. Of the 56 titles listed on TotalGaming.net, roughly 30 costs 2 tokens, 18 costs 1 token, 3 costs 3 tokens, and 4 costs 4 or more tokens.

What this breaks down to is that the majority of these games costs right around 15.00 or less using this token system. The only real drawback is that you don't get a physical disc or manual. Of course, comparing Xbox Live Arcade's distribution model, you don't get any of that stuff either and the software resides on the Xbox 360's hard drive.

Once you've made a purchase from the website there are a couple of more steps: you need to download the Stardock Central software, install it and create an account. Once you've accomplished that you simply look under the games list, click on the game you purchased and install it. Stardock Central is a pretty straightforward delivery system that also offers access to other software from Stardock, in addition to discussion groups, company news and free stuff.

The real advantage to TotalGaming.net is that you own the title, there's no restriction on copying it to as many of your machines as you want and you can always retrieve it from TotalGaming.net and make a hard copy whenever you want. These games are also always updated through the system, which is definitely a plus.

Another big advantage is that tokens don't ever expire. That means you spend them when you want to. For example, if you want to wait until Stardock releases Political Machine 2 or the next Galactic Civilizations sequel then you can wait to spend your tokens then. The bottom line is they never expire and you spend the virtual currency when you and how you feel like it.

But it's not all sunshine and roses. One of the biggest hurtles that TotalGaming.net has to overcome at this point is it's actual selection of games. There are a number of titles from Stardock, Take Two, Nival Interactive, Strategy First, Ubisoft, and a myriad of indie developers represented, but there's not very many new products to choose from and a lot of genres aren't represented. One way to solve this problem is to look at the independent development community and developers that own their own IP's to find the best of the best out there. There are hundreds of developers like MDickie and Lost Crayons on the look-out for new ways to distribute their games to the masses, and TotalGaming.net is just one more way to attract new players.

Our final thoughts on TotalGaming.net? We like it and we look forward to its growth in 2006. TotalGaming.net is a pretty straightforward portal without all the complications that many larger portals make you deal with. You buy the game, download it through its Stardock Central software and start playing - and that's really what PC gamers who buy games online are looking for - ease of use. You can learn more about TotalGaming.net by checking out TotalGaming.net .