There's oodles of sales this weekend, and we've cherry picked some of the noteworthy ones, but there's tons more out there. I figure this is as good of a time as any to post a little guide on how to find good deals on the App Store.

First off, you could stop by our Price Drops, Must-Have Freebies, and Deals Forum where we've got an army of dudes combing the App Store to find cool games on the cheap (or free). If you want to get a little more proactive, you can go scoping for deals yourself. How we do this when we post about sales is by utilizing our sister site, AppShopper.

Here are some handy links:

• All games with price drops.
• Popular games with price drops.
• All previously paid games that have been made free.
• Popular games that were previously paid that are now free

Watching the previous two freebie links can yield some particularly great results, as you can often find games that go free before whatever freebie promotions those particular games might be doing even technically start. Similarly, I've heard tales of some people being able to snag great games that were accidentally marked to free.

As far as the differences between "all" games and "popular" games, that all has to do with a top secret algorithm that attempts to determine what kind of games people are interested in. Personally, I tend to lean towards just wading through all games as sometimes you find some really crazy stuff in there.

Alternatively, you could just download the AppShopper App [Free] which also is pretty great for finding deals.

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In the interest of keeping our Labor Day sales coverage coherent, we've split it into as many studio-centric categories as possible. With any bargain big, though, you're going to come up with titles that don't quite sync up to each other. That's what this post is all about � it's the catch-all for the various independent studios out there with a notable game on sale. As you'll see, some of these might not be celebrating Labor Day specifically, so it's in your own interests to move double time and gobble these up.

In no specific order outside of alphabetical, here's another list of hot deals:

• Destructopus: Total Rampage � $.99 ? Free
• Geared � $.99 ? Free
• Geared 2 � $.99 ? Free [Universal]
• Geared for iPad � $2.99 ? Free
• iDaTank � $1.99 ? Free [Universal]
• Reckless Getaway � $2.99 ? $.99 [Universal]
• TITUS � politics is not a game � $1.99 ? $.99 [Universal]
• The Secret of Chateau de Moreau � $4.99 ? $.99
• Polar Coaster � $.99 ? Free
• Papercut � $.99 ? Free
• Zombie Highway � $.99 ? Free [Universal]

A notable mention here goes to Big Fish Games, which is having a ridiculously HUGE sale. All of its catalogue is being offered up at $.99. We're talking well over 40 games for pennies on the dollar, so feel free to browse that listing here.

Undoubtedly, there are more sales out there, so we highly advise you bargain hunters of the world to check out our deals forum. Otherwise, go grab the entire Geared franchise for the generous price of $0. These are amazing games that you shouldn't miss.

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Capcom is in the middle of throwing a wave-based sale. Did you know that? I didn't either until I took a gander at our deals message board earlier this afternoon. With that thread's help I discovered that the second wave, which ends this September and starts this Friday alongside everyone else's sales, boasts a stunning total of two games. The catch is that both of which demand your attention if you're a Resident Evil freak:

• Resident Evil Mercenaries VS � $4.99 ? $.99
• Resident Evil 4: Platinum � $4.99 ? $.99

Straight-up, Mercenaries VS isn't that great of a multiplayer shooter. The touch controls are pretty good, but the visual quality and the franchise's meat turret controls don't bode well for a competitive romp. With that said, I can see fans of the series really getting into the action, the same as they probably would with the iOS version of Resident Evil 4, which in my opinion, is a'ight � especially at a buck.

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Hey, more sales! We're not too sure if SEGA is celebrating Labor Day with its Sonic the Hedgehog sale or just cutting the price because it can, but it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, the games are a hair or two cheaper for a limited time, which means you can walk away with a heavier wallet if this is the first time you've bothered looking at the games. And, really, at these prices you should.

Here's the short list, and just in case anything else comes up, we'll update accordingly:

• Sonic the Hedgehog � $4.99 ? $3.99
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 � $4.99 ? $3.99
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I � $6.99 ? $4.99

Sonic fans give Sonic the Hedgehog 4 a lot of grief � if you've ever read the Internet or Googled the game's name, you probably already know this. This is why I feel like I need to add that we loved it and think it feels exactly how Sonic should on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check it out.

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