Rezzed, The PC and Indie Games Show. Brighton, 6th-7th July 2012

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The RPS Bargain Bucket: Bundles Of Fun

By Lewie Procter on November 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm.

This week, bargain bucket is ironically delayed because I took an impromptu trip to KFC. Sorry about that. These deals are all good til at least Monday though, so still plenty of time to give them a think over. For more entertainment software savings, follow this hyperlink to SavyGamer.co.uk. Freshen up wipes at the ready.

Trash – £6.19/€6.88/$9.95
This is a multiplayer only strategy game, although it seems a single player campaign is on the way. You have to fight for resources, and it supports up to 32 players. There’s two races, the humans and the mutants. It appears to be a fairly traditional RTS, it’s only a 20mb download, and it looks like it will run on pretty much any PC. Any love for it out there RPSers? Demo here.

The Settlers 2: Gold Edition & Settlers: Heritage of kings – £6.05/6.72/$9.99
I played the very first settlers game on the Amiga 1200. Alright, I played the demo, over and over again, never the full game. It was pretty neat. There was a big castle in the middle of your territory, and you got to place buildings, make paths between everything. Lots of lovely resource management too, and It had a pace that was plenty relaxed for my 6 year old brain. I’ve not played any of the other entries in the series, but I gather they became a bit more combat heavy as time went by. On offer here is the second game in the series, which looks a lot like how I remember the first, and “Heritage of Kings”, the fifth one, which has polygons! You can get both for 50% off, or just one of them at a 30% discount. Kieron did an interview with Thomas Hauser, who worked on the second game, which you can read here.

Crayon Physics Deluxe – £6.50/$9.95
Lots of you might have picked this up in last weeks excellent indie bundle, but if you didn’t like the look of the other games included, then this is a great deal too. As a straight up puzzle game, this has a few flaws. The biggest problem is that it is very easy to fudge your way through the game by just abusing the magic crayon, and essentially use the same solution for every puzzle. Some puzzle have a clever/simple trick to them too, but it’s not instantly obvious which ones do and which don’t. Regardless, it is fun, and pretty to look at and listen to. It’s a great concept, and for the most part it is executed rather well, and it has an adorable world map. RPS coverage here, and demo here.

Crazy Lucasarts Bundles
Should really be the deal of the week, but I am bitter because they are not available outside of the USA. There are three bundles going.

“There’s Action, Adventure & Puzzles” Bundle – £24.95
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Armed and Dangerous
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
LOOM
The Dig
Lucidity

Star Wars Classics Pack – $24.95
Republic Commando
Starfighter
Knights of the Old Republic
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Jedi Knight II : Jedi Outcast
Dark Forces

Then the Lucasarts Premier pack, which is the above two squished together for $39.95

Deal of the week
Frontlines: Fuel of War – £3.74/€2.49/$7.49
A first person shooter that supports dedicated servers. There’s no answer in the RPS database as to whether this is good or not, but this fine gent has you covered:

Folks paying in Euros should buy it on principal alone, since you’re getting a significant discount over the Yanks and the Brits for once.

Also of note:
King’s Bounty The Legend – £9.99/€12.49/$12.49
Torchlight – $14.95 (USA only), apply code “5OFFTORCH” to get the discount.
Luxor games – 70% off (or 50% off complete bundle)
Galactic Civilizations: Ultimate Edition – £0.61/€0.67/$0.99, apply code “GC1ULTIMATE99″ to get this price

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93 Comments »

  1. 21/11/2009 at 19:54 Vinraith says:

    Any consensus about whether the 5th Settler game is worth getting for a fan of the Anno series? How dated is it?

    • 21/11/2009 at 20:38 Heliocentric says:

      The settlers games.
      Settlers- primitive, but charming
      Settlers 2- expanded, graceful and rich in design
      Settlers 3- losing its way
      Settlers 4 (IV)- lost its way
      Settlers 5 (heritage of kings)- c&c with a medieval skin and 30 kinds of dirt to mine
      Settlers 6 (rise of an empire)-a rich fusion of anno and settlers 1/2 with out the naval concept of either game
      Settlers 2 10 anniversary- see settlers 2, also 3d and bug fixes and viable online multiplayer.

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:07 Vinraith says:

      So I’d want either 6 or the 10th anniversary edition of 2, then. Thanks Helio.

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:20 Heliocentric says:

      There is a strong arguement for both the first 2 games as well. If only to experience them, anniversary really is nothing more than a spit and polish on a classic.

      Plus the pixel art is super cute.

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:48 noom says:

      I have fond memories of playing the first Settlers split screen with my brother. We had some epic wars in that game ^^

    • 21/11/2009 at 22:05 Heliocentric says:

      On settlers 6 i need to add, the game isn’t perfect. Try the demo, which is essentially the full game because you do basically the same thing every level. But the multiplayer allows for some interesting escalation.

    • 21/11/2009 at 23:28 ChaosSmurf says:

      I loved the first to fucking death when I was younger. Piece of gaming history etcetera.

  2. 21/11/2009 at 19:55 Shadow Wulf says:

    Thank god there is nothing I want this week, I spend enough money as it is on games.

    • 21/11/2009 at 20:03 Bhazor says:

      Pretty much how I feel now I’ve bought Dragon Age. I’m simply far too busy eating all this humble pie and rebuilding my Bioware shrine. I mean it’s still super generic and inconsistently written but it’s still smashing. It’s also stupidly long especially if you’re me and spend upwards of twenty minutes on a small fight.

    • 21/11/2009 at 20:10 abhishek says:

      Yup, pretty weak deals this time around for me too. With Modern Warfare 2, L4D2 and Dragon Age, I’m set for gaming for quite a while, so any weekend deal/sale that comes around would have to be superlative for me to part with my money.

    • 21/11/2009 at 20:10 TeeJay says:

      I’ve also spent too much on money this week (ie Dragon Age) but the installer won’t work and my email to EA support and my posts on the EA and Bioware forums have been ignored for four days so far. I am very disappointed. :(

    • 23/11/2009 at 06:53 Wulf says:

      But Shadow, Gyromancer is out this week!

  3. 21/11/2009 at 19:59 Bhazor says:

    Sorry but I can’t understand a bally word that Welshman is saying.

  4. 21/11/2009 at 20:10 pkt-zer0 says:

    I read that Torchlight code as “50 foot torch” initially. Thought it was somewhat odd.

  5. 21/11/2009 at 20:17 Onan The Spoilful says:

    That’s Robert Florence from the dearly missed videocast Consolevania. And he’s scottish.
    (actually this is a Videogaiden segment, the BBC-Scotland cast videogame show featuring Mr Florence and the great Ryan Macleod)
    I’ve got my sights on that Frontline-mess meself!

  6. 21/11/2009 at 20:17 Clovis says:

    Yay! I just finished GTAIV today and was looking for something different to play. I had already decided that $15 was exactly what I would pay for torchlight.

    I’m not really a fan of these silly codes though. Why can’t they just tell the real sale price on the front page? Anywho, thanks for providing it, LewieP.

  7. 21/11/2009 at 20:19 sinister agent says:

    It’s a shame that the best version of the settlers, by several country miles, was the first one on the amiga. They’ve just never bettered it, and most of the sequels just missed the point (although the second was merely a new take on it, which is fair enough).

  8. 21/11/2009 at 20:24 Oak says:

    Tropico Reloaded is 50% off at Gamersgate.

    But you all already own it, being intelligent men of good taste, eh?

  9. 21/11/2009 at 20:24 LewieP's Mummy says:

    I loved the Amiga version of Settlers as well!

  10. 21/11/2009 at 20:28 Red Avatar says:

    Settlers is brilliant! The second one (and the remake) is great as well. Real classics!

    About that Lucas Arts bundle; you *could* use a proxy to pretend you’re American while buying? Worked fine for me in the past.

  11. 21/11/2009 at 20:34 BelatedIsAFunnyWord says:

    You missed the midweek AAAAaaaaAAAAAAAAAhhHHHhH! sale for $7.49 on Steam.

    Ha ha!

  12. 21/11/2009 at 20:34 Schmitzkater says:

    Wow, that Frontlines deal is too good to pass up on.
    Finally we mainland Europeans may get something cheap!

  13. 21/11/2009 at 20:35 shalrath says:

    “Should really be the deal of the week, but I am bitter because they are not available outside of the USA”

    I’m trying not to be bitter but Canada is not, in fact, inside the USA.

    So if you’re a Canuck, jump on those Lucasarts bundles!

  14. 21/11/2009 at 20:38 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:

    Eve Online: a free plex if I reactivate = deal of the week, just downloading the client :) I 350m isk, here I come…

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:00 Antsy says:

      Ooooh how’d you get that? I’ve been fighting the urge to resub for a few weeks now. It’d just take a nudge :P

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:31 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:

      I’m one of the selected STEAM gamers.. I re-subbed in the summer after I ran out of the free “please come back” trial, but couldn’t really get myself to play as I hadn’t enough money to insure my ships and getting money was a bit hard as I was afraid to run harder missions after all the months of inacitivity..so this is like a blessing

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:35 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:

      *nudges Antsy*

    • 21/11/2009 at 22:44 Antsy says:

      Ah I don’t have it STEAM gosh darn it. I resubbed last December and spend 8 months training. I’d really need to hook up with a proper Corp if I came back. Last time I was playing it was a two man corp with a mate who turned Kamikaze for pvp ever weekend thanks to the fortifying influence of beer. Not that I against pvp, just not 2 man pvp with a man who’s drunkeness convinces him he can take on anything with a Drake :P

  15. 21/11/2009 at 20:56 Novi says:

    Yes it’s really good. Really good balance between combat from heritage of kings and general economy building from say the first two.

  16. 21/11/2009 at 21:00 Alexander Norris says:

    The Consolevania review of Frontlines just convinced me to get a copy for myself and one for a friend. Hopefully, enough people will get this on the strength of the sale that the MP picks up for a little bit.

  17. 21/11/2009 at 21:01 LewieP says:

    Bonus deal:
    Xbox 360 controller + Crossfire wireless dongle (the thing you need to use it on a PC) £17.99 delivered
    http://savygamer.co.uk/2009/11/21/xbox-360-wireless-controller-crossfire-adapter-17-99/

  18. 21/11/2009 at 21:02 Novi says:

    Agree completely, 5 was a shambles. I think they were trying to appeal to a wider audience with it and kind of alienated their loyal followers of the previous games. Rise of an Empire was fantastic though and Settlers 2 Anniversary Edition was a really nice treat as the graphics were lovely.

  19. 21/11/2009 at 21:12 PHeMoX says:

    “Folks paying in Euros should buy it on principal alone, since you’re getting a significant discount over the Yanks and the Brits for once.”

    I can’t resist either, it’s a sick deal. Only 3 bucks. Wow.

  20. 21/11/2009 at 21:29 Jon says:

    Gal Civ 1, never played it, is it worth getting?

  21. 21/11/2009 at 21:34 radomaj says:

    Also, can someone respond after they get that GalCiv I deal? My UK friend couldn’t buy it for neither of us through his PayPal account, no matter what.

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:57 Klaus says:

      I believe it- the site -says you can’t used paypal whilst using the coupon. It’s either or, I think.

    • 21/11/2009 at 21:59 Klaus says:

      Here we go. From the Check Out screen:

      † You cannot use PayPal to checkout when you have applied coupons to your cart.
      If you wish to checkout using PayPal, please remove your applied coupons.

  22. 21/11/2009 at 21:35 Bob says:

    I want Caesar III on steam! Sort it out who ever owns the rights!!!

    /End random rant

  23. 21/11/2009 at 21:54 Bob says:

    @Vinraith You win :-(

  24. 21/11/2009 at 21:55 Klaus says:

    I have just purchased GalCiv 1. I figured you needed Impulse, but it seems they don’t tell you until the very end of your order. Unless I wasn’t paying attention. Ah, well.

  25. 21/11/2009 at 22:06 Shadowmancer says:

    @ radomaj

    You can’t buy the game with the discount with paypal for some reason and also you can;t use debit cards on impulse either even though mastercard and visa icons say the site supports them, bit of a bummer being the only to buy it is with a credit card.

    • 22/11/2009 at 01:36 malkav11 says:

      Your specific debit card may not work for some reason. I assure you mine works just fine, having purchased games on Impulse with it. And I haven’t got a credit card, so it would suck otherwise.

  26. 21/11/2009 at 22:15 12kill4 says:

    Australians got Frontline: Fuels of War for $3.75 AU (roughly $4 US). Score for us.

  27. 21/11/2009 at 22:24 Klaus says:

    East India Company is free on Impulse. Don’t know it’s about… trading?? But it’s free, so why not.

  28. 21/11/2009 at 22:31 The Settler says:

    The Settlers started going wrong with number two. Already at that point they forgot some of the best features of the first one (such as the wonderful random map generator), and added a bunch of new features that either didn’t make the gameplay better, or was implemented in a dreadfully clumsy way (like the ships).

    So if you’re only going to buy one The Settlers-game, buy the first one. Too bad the only option for that is eBay.

    • 22/11/2009 at 20:24 MajorManiac says:

      I agree that the first was the best. However I do like the latest incarnation and have found it very charming. Shame its not on sale at the moment.

  29. 21/11/2009 at 22:41 Biscotti says:

    Dunno how long this has been a deal for but I picked up Beyond Good And Evil for €4.99 from gamers gate this afternoon and have been feeling quite pleased with myself ever since. Great game.

  30. 21/11/2009 at 22:54 Tei says:

    Frontlines: Fuel of War is IMHO, a very good game. On the lines of Battlefield 2, but much much less luck, and withouth love from the community because some arcane details.

    In other news. Allods is on “closed beta” (read: open beta), and has interesting graphics. I can’t recoment it, cause is boring combat, but I recomend to check it for the wow/cartony graphics. The evil faction is somewhat like “steam punk evil”, and is awesome.

  31. 21/11/2009 at 23:26 D says:

    Thank you Frontlines! Something to help me stick with my MW2 decision!

  32. 22/11/2009 at 00:59 Heliocentric says:

    I own fuel of war on disc and patching it is a bastard. 5gb of region specific patches.

    A good game, not excellent but good. Certainly worth the money.

  33. 22/11/2009 at 01:34 James Allen says:

    Trash was the very first game I reviewed on my current site that I received from a developer, way back in 2005. I’m impressed it’s still around.

  34. 22/11/2009 at 02:25 Redpill says:

    Can anyone confirm if King’s Bounty The Legend on Steam has no SecureROM? I notice the Gamers Gate edition does, despite the highly attractive price. If Steam doesn’t have other DRM, I might take my chances waiting for a Steam sale on KB:TL.

    • 22/11/2009 at 02:45 Vinraith says:

      I think all versions have SecuROM (my physical copy has a SecuROM secured disc check, for example), although it’s not of the “limited install” variety (and even if it were, Gamersgate would guarantee to replace your key should you ever run out).

  35. 22/11/2009 at 02:50 Shadowmancer says:

    @malkav11

    Odd I tried again and it worked horray!

  36. 22/11/2009 at 03:42 UK_John says:

    Why does the UK miss out on so much?! First the plastic box, no map Dragon Age Collector’s Edition in the UK now great software bundles only available in the U.S!!!! Grrrr!

    • 22/11/2009 at 10:29 bookwormat says:

      That’s because UK does not have a single exclamation mark in its name, so noone can take them seriously. U.S!! as you know is written with 2 exclamation marks, so people living there are very important.

  37. 22/11/2009 at 03:46 Phinor says:

    Frontlines was an instant buy for 2.49€. I had already forgotten about the game but I’ll definitely check it out during the Christmas holiday. Also went for that GalCiv 1 with coupon just to have another quality game in my Impulse game list. Mostly waiting for a huge discount deal for GalCiv 2 bundle that includes everything but I can wait :)

    • 22/11/2009 at 08:13 Heliocentric says:

      Gal civ 2 ultimate can be gotten cheaply at retail which will then be added to impulse.

    • 22/11/2009 at 12:03 GreyLord says:

      Can’t seem to buy GalCiv I, I get this error after applying the “GC1ULTIMATE99″ code:

      ‘Sorry, The GC1ULTIMATE99 coupon you entered is either invalid or has expired. Please try again.’

  38. 22/11/2009 at 04:23 Matzerath says:

    Nothing too exciting. More money for beer and Fort Zombie.
    No really, you guys, there’s more to that game than meets the eye!!! It needs some serious patching, but holy crap, that must be the most overly ambitious 10 dollar game I’ve ever seen. Support AI, randomly generated city-scapes, some very bizarre physics, base fortifying, foraging missions, dismemberment, and yes, Playstation 1 graphics (that still hog resources), hideous clipping, bad camera, and suspect game mechanics. But somehow it all adds to the fever-dream quality of the thing. I’m just … fascinated by it. Seems deserving of a write-up, as it holds its own against other RPS loved bugfests of shining originality/madness.

    • 22/11/2009 at 04:52 Vinraith says:

      It really is completely brilliant, despite its numerous flaws. If there’s ever been another survival horror RPG/strategy game I’m certainly not aware of it. It’s certainly worthy of a look by RPS, for the sheer ballsiness and ambition of the project if nothing else. Plus it’s cheap as dirt, and buying it supports Kerberos, so there’s really no down side.

    • 22/11/2009 at 10:33 Heliocentric says:

      The lesson with kerberos is, buy the game 3 years after release in a pack with all the expansions, it will then be one of the best games ever.

    • 22/11/2009 at 10:35 Vinraith says:

      Heh, true, but if someone doesn’t buy them new the poor bastards will go out of business and not be able to support things like they usually do. Maybe the better lesson is “buy new, play a year later.”

  39. 22/11/2009 at 05:44 Nimic says:

    Is Frontlines any good? I can’t be arsed to look it up, so it would be much appreciated if someone could give me the run down on it ;)

    • 22/11/2009 at 08:02 Mac says:

      It’s a good solid game nw it’s been patched up, unfortunately they took so damn long that there is no community worth speaking of left playing it.

    • 22/11/2009 at 11:24 Buckermann says:

      Well honestly, in my opinion it’s not always a bad thing when a online game has only a small player base. Less trash-talking, more “serious” playing.

  40. 22/11/2009 at 06:51 Mr. Sinister says:

    I buy all games on principal–it wouldn’t do to be paying interest on them.

  41. 22/11/2009 at 08:33 Redpill says:

    Thanks Vinraith

  42. 22/11/2009 at 08:34 Krikey! says:

    I tried Trash last time but wasn’t too impressed. Felt it was very generic – wasn’t post apocalyptic enough. Still, it’s decent at it’s price.

  43. 22/11/2009 at 13:07 Vandelay says:

    Nothing really of note for me this week. Probably a good thing, as I’m holding my cash back for a good less then £20 deal for Left 4 Dead 2, Dragon Age or Borderlands. Anyone spotted anything like that in their travels?

  44. 22/11/2009 at 20:16 Malibu Stacey says:

    I can’t read “Luxor” without mentally appending “the Moonprice” to it.

  45. 22/11/2009 at 21:59 KP says:

    That Frontlines review is terrible. It does nothing the change my mind that it’s a crappy un-fun Battlefield clone with bad balancing and game handling.

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