I'm in quite the bind, methinks. I require sound effects for my games -- I am a hobbyist game developer -- and I just can't afford to put out the kind of money that they are asking for good quality sound kits. Getting free sounds off the internet is legally risky at best, too. Aside from crummy homemade sounds, I'm at a loss of where to go. Where 'o where do I turn? :/

I've always created my own sound effects. For my last game (Hands to Quarters) I used a standard cheap mic and a simple wave editor to fix up the recordings and that sounded OK. For my new game, SPACE, however, I have a digital video recorder which I can plug into my USB port to actually record various sounds with (anything I can get my hands on). Then I use Nero Wave Editor to filter out any noise (which is rare since the mic on the camera is very good), clip the sounds (so they start exactly when they should), edit them, etc.

I would look at www.sounddogs.com they provide royalty free sounds at very cheap prices. You just browse what you want, listen to the mp3, then if you like it then you can buy it as a wav file and you have license to use it.

You can always just use the mp3s in your game to start of with, to make sure they fit, but then make sure you pay for them.

There are a few like that too:
http://www.loopsound.com
http://www.soundrangers.com

Also you can post on the board for a sound designer to help you, as long as you make sure they sign a contract that the sounds are original and you have a license to use them.