Well maybe they made enough money from their first budget game to make a slightly less crappy sequel. Then that one perhaps afforded them enough to make a moderately less crappy third game. Eventually they might be able to hone their formula down to finally come out with a decent game that manages to do more with less as opposed to some games that can afford to be big but lack in gameplay.

Budget games that I've always been more or less happy with are the Conflict series. Especially Conflict Global Terror and Denied Ops. Steam just another budget-type 3rd person shooter that graphically looks good. Don't remember the name right now though.

I just bough Sniper Ghost Warrior from steam and its actually very good for a budget game. I'd put your ten to twenty dollars to that maybe.

Last year I bought a budget game from Best Buy called "Sniper" something or other set in WW2 and it was absolutely horrible. Played through the first mission and that was enough.