I’ve been using Blockbuster’s online game rental service since it was released in 2010. I was already a subscriber to their online dvd rental program and when they added game rentals I was automatically opted in to the program. Below is my review of the game rental service so far.

First, the plan I subscribe to is blockbuster total access premium. This account runs at $19.99 per month and I can rent any 3 dvd’s or games at a time. So, I can have 3 games, 3 dvds out, or a mix of games and dvds with a max of 3 at a time. This suits me just fine. I don’t see a need for any more than 3.

I’ll just come out and say it right now that I think this is a great program and I would definitely recommend it. The reason why is that you get to rent games and dvds at the same time with no additional costs. And you can hold on to the games as long as you want. Believe me, I have tested this. I had Assassin’s Creed II out for at least 3 months. I held on to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for around the same amount of time. They never called me or asked to have the game returned. Over the past few years that I have been using the Blockbuster rentals online for dvds I held on to quite a few movies for months as well. So, when they say you can keep it as long as you like they seem to mean it. At least in my experiences they have.

I have to say that I really hate the Blockbuster website. Maybe it is just me but when you hold your mouse over any image of a game or movie a bubble pops up giving you information about the title. This can be great, but only when you want it to happen. I find these pop ups happening all the time when I don’t want them to and it can be quite annoying. Especially if you have a slow computer since the pop ups will take time to load and time to close. Quite annoying.

On to one of the best parts of the service. When you use the Blockbuster game rental online service you can return games or movies at their retail stores. So, there is no delay from the mail. They register that you returned the title right away and send out the next game or movie in your queue. I never return my games or movies by the mail. I always return them directly to the store for quick return of my next titles.

Another nice feature of the blockbuster game renal online service is that you can go to your closest blockbuster and exchange any dvds or movies you have received by mail for anything they have in the store. That means if you have 3 movies you received by mail then you can go to a blockbuster retail store and exchange them for 3 games on the spot. So, there is no waiting for games to be delivered by mail. Just exchange them in the store. The only catch to this is that you can’t exchange the games or movies they rented you from the store for more titles. You can only take the games/movies you received by mail for in store exchanges. But, it’s still a pretty good deal.

Ok, so one of the most important aspects for most people when renting video games online is delivery time. As I noted above there is none if you exchange in the store. But, if you select your games online it usually takes around 2 business days to deliver. I have had a few times when it took longer. But, generally it’s 2-3 days. I live close to several blockbuster stores so it could be that I have a quicker deliver time than someone who lives far away. If you do happen to live far from a blockbuster store, you may want to contact them and ask about how long it takes for your games to be delivered to your door from their online game rental service.

The last thing I want to point out regarding blockbuster games rentals online is that new releases aren’t available for some time. If you want to rent games that have just been released you will have to wait a few months before you can rent them through blockbuster. I haven’t found this to be much of a problem since there are usually plenty of good games I haven’t played to keep me busy until the ones I want become available. However, if you really need the most current games then this could be an issue.