Because it truly is one of those almost-unique games that last generations...

I do take it you mean Settlers2, here, right?
You can count on 1 hand the number of games that still play well after 15 years.....

It really is worth the full $9.99.

BUY IT!

Yeh I've played it and purchased it many times over in the past, but i'll not be paying $9.99 this time around... will wait till it's 5.99

The traditional $5 and $10 scale has recently been redone and I too have noticed a bunch of games being more expensive. Settlers is a good game but it's also from '96 and should not be that high. You would be within your right to wait it out for a sale. After all, you've spent 16 years not playing it, a few more months won't hurt.

If it's too expensive, you could always try widelands. It's still in development, but has the same basic gameplay and is free.