PC Bargains

[cowthief skank]

Hmm I found GTA 4 really boring. Are the missions better and is there more stuff to do?

I much prefer Saints Row 2 over GTA4. For comparison, I have played 25 hours of GTA4 and can't seem to find myself going back to it but have played 28 hours of Saints Row 2 and am just getting into the story. Co-op campaign is good...

[Rinox]

Football Manager 2011 is going for $7.97 over at gametap. I can't vouch for the quality of the retailer, but it looks like it might just be a steam code. This might just be the right price for a FM virgin like myself to give it a try.

I'd tell you to wait for 2012, but at that price...probably not a bad way to start :-)

[SirKicksalot]

Saint Rows 2 $3.75 USD on gamersgate. Opinions???
Isn't that the censored German edition? You don't want that one.

Edit: I bought games from GameTap, they're reliable and one of the few digital stores that uses dollars and fair prices in Europe.

[ComradePenguin]

Isn't that the censored German edition? You don't want that one.


If you download it off Gamersgate then it is the uncensored one. If you register it on Steam then you get the German version for some odd reason. According to GG the key shouldn't work with Steam at all.

[DarkNoghri]

Arma 2 and related games on sale at Bohemia Interactive's store: http://www.sprocketidea.com/joomla/index.php?page=shop.browse&category=&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

I purchased both DLCs from them, as I recall, and had no issues.

[hamster]

If you download it off Gamersgate then it is the uncensored one. If you register it on Steam then you get the German version for some odd reason. According to GG the key shouldn't work with Steam at all.

Just read comments on gamersgate. Apparently only the steam version has the latest patch, which is required for important bug fixing mods, and these mods are incompatible with the censored German version. I guess i'll hold off on the purchase.

[Hensler]

Arma 2 and related games on sale at Bohemia Interactive's store: http://www.sprocketidea.com/joomla/index.php?page=shop.browse&category=&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

I purchased both DLCs from them, as I recall, and had no issues.

Anybody played Shade: Wrath of Angels or Original War? I'm order a bunch of things from this Bohemia sale and might throw those on there. They look... interesting.

[Giaddon]

I just noticed that Grand Ages: Rome is $2/pounds (http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/grand-ages-rome) on GetGames. I picked it up in my current frenzy for historical city-builders, and I quite like it, although I'm playing the Gold version which includes the expansion (that's $10 at GamersGate (http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-GARGE/grand-ages-rome-gold-bundle)). It's pretty standard, you place buildings to get resources which you put toward other buildings, all to reach some mission objective, but the way resources are handled (as inputs and outputs, rather than stockpiles) is nice, and there's an interesting persistent campaign where you develop your character with abilities and estates (resource boosts) as you take missions from famous Romans. If you have an interest in the genre, $2 is a pretty risk-free price, and I encourage you to check it out.

[pierec]

AFAIR Original War is fairly good and has some interesting ideas. The campaign is heavily story-driven and missions often feel very linear. Definitely worth trying, I can't think of any other game like it.

[Mana_Garmr]

Precursors and Xenus 2 are both £6 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-XENUS2/xenus-2-white-gold)/$9 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-PREC/precursors) at GamersGate for this week. Seems a bit mean to anyone who bought them at 50% off during the first week.

[ComradePenguin]

Gamersgate have Civ V for £6.78 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-CIV5/sid-meiers-civilization-v). I know the AI has had a lot of criticism but is it particularly noticeable if you're a casual player who'll be playing it on a lower difficulty?

[Althea]

Gamersgate have Civ V for £6.78 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-CIV5/sid-meiers-civilization-v). I know the AI has had a lot of criticism but is it particularly noticeable if you're a casual player who'll be playing it on a lower difficulty?
Yes. If you play on the easiest setting, you'll be fine. There's a lot of good advice built into the system so whilst you might be challenged, it's not going to be overwhelmingly hard. The second lowest setting adds a bit more challenge too, and so forth.

I've found the map size to have quite the impact on difficulty, to be honest, and the map type. On the game I'm currently playing I got saddled with a tundra region, which doesn't have a lot of resources.

[Kelron]

I can't stand playing the AI, personally. It can be challenging, yes, but it's challenging in a predictable manner. Multiplayer is fun if flawed, I think overall Civ 4 is the better game.

[Giaddon]

My picks from the final week of the GamersGate sale:

Sherlock Holmes v. Jack the Ripper - $10 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SH5/sherlock-holmes-vs-jack-the-ripper)

Precursors - $9 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-PREC/precursors)

Civilization V - $17 (Today only!) (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CIV5/sid-meiers-civilization-v)

[Althea]

I can't stand playing the AI, personally. It can be challenging, yes, but it's challenging in a predictable manner. Multiplayer is fun if flawed, I think overall Civ 4 is the better game.
I would say Civ IV is better for the experienced strategy player who wants/needs a lot of choice and complexity. Civ V is better for the newer or less experienced player.

[MondSemmel]

I didn't want to open a new thread for this, so I'll just post it here:
In GamesCom, I got a tiny promo code for World of Tanks. Please only use it if you actually play the game.

The code is:
Z6T9GUU23VR7G

It can be used by logging in on game.worldoftanks.eu (European account) or game.worldoftanks.com (American account) and click on "Use Promo Code" (or something similar).
It gives you 350 gold, 1 day of premium whatever and a premium tank thingie.


Please tell me when you've used the code so I can remove this post.

[measurements]

Giaddon, I done gorra email about precursors because I've been waiting for it to drop in price. Unfortunately my first install attempt failed with corrupted files and this is my first purchase with gamersgate. Why am I saying this? To see if anyone else is in the same boat, of course! Also because this forum recommended the game to me in the fist place. any good mods to use?

[Colonel J]

Giaddon, I done gorra email about precursors because I've been waiting for it to drop in price. Unfortunately my first install attempt failed with corrupted files and this is my first purchase with gamersgate. Why am I saying this? To see if anyone else is in the same boat, of course! Also because this forum recommended the game to me in the fist place. any good mods to use?

Don't know about the Gamersgate problem, not experienced that with one of their downloads, redownload?

I got my copy from Beamdog and they recommended this 'fan improvement pack' via a link to RPG watch forums
http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12401
Second post down from the top 'the fix all in one place' are the instructions you need, worked fine for me. This fixes the annoying problem with the incomplete (and predictably, entertainingly bad...) English sound pack which had a lot of strange silences for the non-plot related incidental voices that they didn't have the time/money to redub - it adds those back in, in the original Russian.

It's a wonky but intriguing game, I need to give it more attention and get further into it but too many other distractions recently.

[SirKicksalot]

Buy both Precursors and Xenus 2 from GamersGate.

I had an awesome time playing as a cocaine-snorting trigger-happy merc in Xenus 2. I became addicted to the drug so I spent many hours in an eternal high - otherwise I'd barf left and right and shake like a leaf.

[Anthile]

I had an awesome time playing as a cocaine-snorting trigger-happy merc in Xenus 2. I became addicted to the drug so I spent many hours in an eternal high - otherwise I'd barf left and right and shake like a leaf.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15659/1736142-snowflame_super.jpg

[Ignorant Texan]

Men of War Collectors bundle $15.00 on GamersGate today. Contains Men of War, MoW:Red Tide and MoW:Assault Squad.

http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-MOWCP/men-of-war-collector-pack-bundle

[Flint]

Steam's weekend sale is everything Borderlands-related -75%.

Does the GOTY edition include all the DLC? And more importantly, is the DLC any good? I own a retail copy of the game but the game + possibly all DLC for a fiver is tempting nonetheless.

[Tikey]

Steam's weekend sale is everything Borderlands-related -75%.

Does the GOTY edition include all the DLC? And more importantly, is the DLC any good? I own a retail copy of the game but the game + possibly all DLC for a fiver is tempting nonetheless.

Can't comment on quality, but the GOTY edition does include all the DLC
http://store.steampowered.com/app/901566

It even includes access to the Duke Nukem Forever: First Access Club!

[Insidious Rex]

Steam's weekend sale is everything Borderlands-related -75%.

Does the GOTY edition include all the DLC? And more importantly, is the DLC any good? I own a retail copy of the game but the game + possibly all DLC for a fiver is tempting nonetheless.

The GOTY edition comes with all 4 DLC packs, I own them on my console toy of choice. Other than Mad Moxxi they're all great and mostly better than the vanilla game. I'm interested in getting this again for the PC if anyone wants to split a 4-pack with me?

[The JG Man]

Pretty sad that the base game is the same price as the GOTY. Anyhow, in terms of shooting satisfaction, how good is Borderlands? I've had a fleeting interest in it and if it allows me to kill things in an enjoyable may, I might say yes...

Also, while I'm posting, I tried out the daily. Super Laser Racer is a 2D WipeOut that doesn't control too well. Joypad support is limited, but sluggish. As pretty as it looks in a retro sort of way, I would say pass.

[Flint]

The shooting aspect is really fun. It's not a perfect game (quest rewards are basically useless after the beginning, things fizzle out fairly badly by the end and the BILLION ZILLION GUNS thing amounts mainly to ~20 guns with minor differences here and there), but the actual shooting aspect is great fun.

I could tentatively join a four-pack, the even-more-lowered price is even more tempting...

[The JG Man]

I may be tempted with a 4 pack then. If the shooting is good; I'm in a real need where I can just shoot things and they'll die/explode satisfyingly. Space Marine scratched that itch so hard, but until then...

Ohwell, some time to decide. I'll prep PayPal just in case.

[Hensler]

I've had the game and all the DLC for months, but I don't think I've put more than a half hour into. I've played up till you kill the first boss (9 Toes?) a couple of times, lost interest, and found something better to play. I just can't get into the game.

[Althea]

Borderlands made me want to throw up. The FOV is seriously broken in it.

[ColOfNature]

I'd be up for splitting a four-pack - I've had my beady on Borderlands for a while. I'd buy it on spec, but I've still got a copy of Shattered Horizon lurking about from last time I did something like that...

[The JG Man]

From my counts, that makes Insidious Rex, Flint, ColOfNature and myself interested. I would be happy to lay-down the cost for a 4 pack, of course if someone wants to I won't take it away from them. Incidentally, I've just put some more money into PayPal, so at the earliest I wouldn't be able to pay someone back until Sep 2nd. If the payee is happy with that, so am I.

[Flint]

Yeah I'm up for participating in the four-pack, it's about £3.75 per gentleman isn't it? I can paypal my share back to the payer immediately (or the next day, seeing as we're nearing midnight here) as soon as the deal's sorted.

[ColOfNature]

All righty then. Four pack of Borderland Goatee Edition purchased. Insidious Rex, Flint and JG Man have dibs - contact me via Steam or PM to sort out payment.

[Creeping Death]

Deus Ex: HR is currently £21.59 at Getgamesgo.com (http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/deus-ex-human-revolution)

[Alethron]

Death, you are my hero, thanks for pointing this one out.

[Flint]

All righty then. Four pack of Borderland Goatee Edition purchased. Insidious Rex, Flint and JG Man have dibs - contact me via Steam or PM to sort out payment.
PM'd you, good sir.

[Arona Daal]

I am tempted by :
Painkiller for 1,21 Bucks at Beamdog.

[ntw]

All righty then. Four pack of Borderland Goatee Edition purchased. Insidious Rex, Flint and JG Man have dibs - contact me via Steam or PM to sort out payment.

I recommend you guys try to get it going MP - it's a giggle!

[oceanclub]

I have the basic "Borderlands" on Steam (cost €5), the GOTY edition is €7.50. Is it possible to convert one to other, or do I have to buy all the DLC seperately?

P.

[Kelron]

Cheaper to buy the DLC separately than get the GOTY if you already have the game, at least in the UK.

[Hensler]

I am tempted by :
Painkiller for 1,21 Bucks at Beamdog.

The original? Worth it.

[Ravenger]

Deus Ex: HR is currently £21.59 at Getgamesgo.com (http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/deus-ex-human-revolution)

I was going to wait but at that price it's definitely worth a go.

[Eightyseven]

can you buy in pounds on getgamesgo if your not in/from britain?

[ColOfNature]

If you can't, there's always the smugglers (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?73-RPS-Data-Smuggling-Ring-2-Smugglier).

[Arona Daal]

can you buy in pounds on getgamesgo if your not in/from britain?

With Paypal,yes.

Edit: Sorry,I meant gamersgate,not sure about getgamesgo.

[Cheese]

Sci-fi week on impulse (http://impulsedriven.com/explore/games/special), 25th to 31st. Includes SPAZ at £6.90 and various other spacey stuff such as starpoint Gemini and X3

[Donkeyfumbler]

Witcher 2 £13.95 at D2D UK. Get an extra 15% off that with code SAVE15D2D, taking it below £12.

[Hensler]

Sci-fi week on impulse (http://impulsedriven.com/explore/games/special), 25th to 31st. Includes SPAZ at £6.90 and various other spacey stuff such as starpoint Gemini and X3

Is Starpoint Gemini any good? I remember seeing some cool videos before it was released.

[DarkNoghri]

I have the basic "Borderlands" on Steam (cost €5), the GOTY edition is €7.50. Is it possible to convert one to other, or do I have to buy all the DLC seperately?

P.

If memory serves, you can either purchase the GOTY version, which should overwrite your basic version with the game + all DLC. The alternative is just purchasing the DLC separately, which should be the only difference between the two. So do whichever is cheaper.

[Giaddon]

Dragon Age 2 is $12 on Direct2Drive (http://www.direct2drive.com/9950/product/Buy-Dragon-Age-II-Download)

[KillahMate]

I'm also looking for a kind smuggler from the US and some interested RPSers to collaborate on a very cheap 4-pack buy of Borderlands GotY (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?73-RPS-Data-Smuggling-Ring-2-Smugglier&p=30983&viewfull=1#post30983). Info in the above Smuggling post. Thanks!

[Giaddon]

Direct2Drive has 15% off with code RETAIL15 (maybe US only). Dragon Age 2 = 10 bucks with code.

[oceanclub]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/43110/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/43110/)

A stupidly ridiculously cheap price for a very atmospheric corridoresque shooter.

P.

[Jorum]

Is showing as £5 in UK (rather than £2.20) so yeah for regional pricing bollocks.

[Mac]

Spec Ops: The Line - £4.99 pre-order

It looks like a misprice, but worth a shot ... http://www.game.co.uk/en/spec-ops-th...erm=spec%20ops (http://www.game.co.uk/en/spec-ops-the-line-45044?pageSize=20&searchTerm=spec%20ops)

[Jay35]

Some of you probably saw I posted this special in the weekend Bargain Bin thread comments on the website, but figured it's worth a repost here. It's a UK site but also works for the US. I've picked up Red Orchestra 2 and pre-ordered Renegade Ops so I can verify it's legit for Steam purchases.

GMG (http://www.greenmangaming.com/?gmgr=lekuxoye) have Red Orchestra 2 at 15% off plus there's an additional 20% off coupon that stacks. This game activates on Steam.
Deluxe Edition (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad-digital-delux/?gmgr=lekuxoye): $42.45 + 20% off w/ coupon, so ~$34.
Regular Edition (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad/?gmgr=lekuxoye): $33.95 + 20% off w/ coupon, so ~$27.

I bought Deluxe and they sent me the key to activate it on Steam in about 2 minutes. It's already sitting in my Steam games list now, awaiting the pre-load date and the final beta.

And they have 15% off a number of other pre-orders that can stack with the 20% off coupon as well:

Game name : Price with 20% coupon stacked on top of 15% pre-order discount:
HOMM VI Deluxe Edition (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/strategy/might-and-magic-heroes-vi-deluxe-edition/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $40.76
Stronghold 3 (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/strategy/stronghold-3/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $33.96
Tropico 4 (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/strategy/tropico-4/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $27.20
Renegade Ops (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/renegade-ops/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $10.20
Batman: Arkham City (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/batman-arkham-city/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $33.96
Assassin's Creed: Revelations (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/assassins-creed-revelations/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $33.96.

From Dust (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/strategy/from-dust/?gmgr=lekuxoye) $11.95 (no more 15% discount, just 20% coupon)

20% codes - any one of these should work:
20PEC-FACEB-SAVER
20PEC-TWEET-SAVER
HAPPY-PAYDA-YSITE
20SUM-MERSA-VINGS
SUNNY-SAVER-20PEC

The other nice thing is if you sign up through my links above and get any of those items, you'll get an additional $5 credit to your account for your next purchase.

So it's 15% off pre-orders, plus 20% stackable coupon, plus $5 credit on your account after your first order. I can't find a better deal out there than that on these titles.

[MD!]

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 is available to pre-order on Steam for $99.99 USD. Might be an Australia-only offer, I'm not sure.

-.-

[squirrelfanatic]

It's 59,99EUR here. Seems ridiculously much.

[MD!]

I have to be honest, though -- back when I was young and impressionable, and my local games rag insisted that CoD was the greatest game ever (quite literally, if I remember correctly -- it was #1 on their 'greatest PC games of all time' list for that year), I ended up shelling out $100 or so for the 'collectors edition' because it was the only copy my local EB had in stock.

The bonus content was, from memory, a soundtrack CD with some nondescript orchestral music, and a big cardboard box.

The game was fun, but inevitably disappointing after the hype I'd succumbed to, not to mention the money I'd paid (about 15 hours' wages). 'Twas the end of an age of innocence, but it also stops me from being too smug about the absurd prices they're charging 8 years later.

[Hensler]

I have to be honest, though -- back when I was young and impressionable, and my local games rag insisted that CoD was the greatest game ever (quite literally, if I remember correctly -- it was #1 on their 'greatest PC games of all time' list for that year), I ended up shelling out $100 or so for the 'collectors edition' because it was the only copy my local EB had in stock.

The bonus content was, from memory, a soundtrack CD with some nondescript orchestral music, and a big cardboard box.



Are you thinking of Call of Duty 2? I don't remember us working on a CE for Call of Duty 1 at all, but #2 came with a special CD with some special features and the soundtrack.

[MD!]

Are you thinking of Call of Duty 2? I don't remember us working on a CE for Call of Duty 1 at all, but #2 came with a special CD with some special features and the soundtrack.

Nope, definitely the first! I'm not sure exactly what this edition was called, but it was extra expensive and came with a soundtrack CD. Wikipedia tells me there was a Collector's Edition with soundtrack and strategy guide, which is probably the one I'm thinking of -- the strategy guide might have been missing, or just superfluous and forgotten.

edit: I hope I'm not coming across as too much of a dickhead here. I'm still a tiny bit bitter, but not at you personally :p

[Lewie Procter]

This will be gone by Saturday:
£15 off when you preorder any two selected games (http://savygamer.co.uk/2011/08/31/15-off-when-you-preorder-any-two-selected-games/)

Includes the likes of Rage & Skyrim, both for £38.60 delivered.

[Vexing Vision]

This will be gone by Saturday:
£15 off when you preorder any two selected games (http://savygamer.co.uk/2011/08/31/15-off-when-you-preorder-any-two-selected-games/)

Includes the likes of Rage & Skyrim, both for £38.60 delivered.

Uff... UK only. That is one sweet deal.

[field_studies]

For someone who's never played the CoD franchise (and isn't a huge fan of the genre), are there any in there that should be checked out at the current price? ...Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare seems to Metacritic favourite—worth $10?

[Kelron]

The CoD 1+2 pack or 4 are pretty good games as one-offs. CoD 1 was one of my favourite games for a long time because I played it when it was new and it was way ahead of anything else at the time in terms of action and atmosphere. Nowadays with the series getting yearly installments and everyone copying it's lost the appeal. But if you've never played it before it's worth a go.

[Jay35]

GMG added Men of War: Vietnam pre-order (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/strategy/men-of-war-vietnam/?gmgr=lekuxoye) with 15% discount. If 20% coupons are still valid, stack one on top of that to make it $23.76. Haven't used one since we entered September, but I'd imagine the facebook, twitter, or payday ones would be the most likely to still work. Codes are here (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?21-PC-Bargains&p=31409&viewfull=1#post31409).
And, as always, if you're registering there for the first time through one of these links, you'll receive $5 credit towards your next purchase if you spend $5 or more on your first purchase.

[Kelron]

None of the codes work now, Steam is cheaper. And it's polite to tell people when you're posting referral links.

[Heliocentric]

I'm conflicted about posting this because of the vendor.

Fable 3 £8.74 on xbox marketplace, but it is the pc version.
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Fable-III/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8044d53090a

[Giaddon]

Couple good Beamdog sales:

Alpha Polaris (http://www.beamdog.com/products/alpha-polaris), that "oh shit terror in the arctic" adventure game, is 25% off = $15
The Oil Blue (http://www.beamdog.com/products/the-oil-blue), the "managing oil rigs through click click clicking oh god why is is this so compelling and atmospheric" game, is 75% off = $5

Any thoughts on the quality of Fable 3? I'd grab it for that price if it's any good.

[Heliocentric]

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3660/Fable-III-Review.htm
Tom chick was quite impressed, you might not agree with him but that review is full fat.

[Hensler]

Any thoughts on the quality of Fable 3? I'd grab it for that price if it's any good.

I liked it. I think if you approach it as more of an action RPG instead of expecting something with a lot of depth, it's worth that price. Especially if you have a partner for co-op. It's a Microsoft game though, so it probably uses GFWL - not sure if there are any online issues with that. I played it on console.

[Althea]

so it probably uses GFWL
It does use GfWL.

[Giaddon]

Okay, cool, I'll pick Fable 3 up. My GFWL experience has been pretty hassle-free.

More adventure game deals! Big Fish games is having a summer sale wherein basically all games are $5 with the coupon SUMMERTIME.

Here are some good games:
+ Secrets of Da Vinci
+ Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
+ Return to Mysterious Island
+ Drawn: Dark Flight
+ Syberia

[Hensler]

Okay, cool, I'll pick Fable 3 up. My GFWL experience has been pretty hassle-free.

More adventure game deals! Big Fish games is having a summer sale wherein basically all games are $5 with the coupon SUMMERTIME.

Here are some good games:
+ Secrets of Da Vinci
+ Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
+ Return to Mysterious Island
+ Drawn: Dark Flight
+ Syberia

I have a few thousand video games - and I've never played an adventure game besides the Lucas Arts classics and Myst. I should remedy that probably.

[Giaddon]

Well, my grab-bag for people interested in contemporary adventure games would include Syberia (http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/4665/syberia/index.html) for sure. It's not perfect, but it is interesting and beautiful. Return to Mysterious Island (http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/2020/return-to-mysterious-island/index.html) is another good choice, more in the Myst vein.

Note that, coming off the LucasArts games, both are essentially humorless.

[Hensler]

Brink and Hunted: The Demon's Forge, $10 at Amazon this weekend.

http://www.amazon.com/Brink-Pc/dp/B002GDRPYI/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1315002857&sr=1-3
http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Demons-Forge-Pc/dp/B003ICNKB8/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1315002858&sr=1-3

[squareking]

Not a limited-time deal (well, kinda), but Starfarer is $10 for a preorder/alpha access thing. It is handsome and looks not only delicious but also nutritious.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/

[Hensler]

Not a limited-time deal (well, kinda), but Starfarer is $10 for a preorder/alpha access thing. It is handsome and looks not only delicious but also nutritious.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/

Looks like the game I was hoping for when I bought Space Pirates and Zombies :). Pre-ordered.

[vinraith]

Not a limited-time deal (well, kinda), but Starfarer is $10 for a preorder/alpha access thing. It is handsome and looks not only delicious but also nutritious.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/

That's the linear, mission based one right?

[rsherhod]

Looks/sounds a bit like Escape Velocity.

[Heliocentric]

10 U.S. dollars = 6.16941206 British pounds
Right.... THQ sale

Notice, everything in red is not steam activation and is at the mercy of THQ's download service, skip to the bottom for details
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/list&parentCategoryID=&categoryID=57009400&resultsPerPage=45
heres my picks
King’s Bounty: Armored Princess $5.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/King%E2%80%99s-Bounty-Armored-Princess/productID.224737500
Supreme Commander™ Gold Edition $5.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Supreme-Commander-Gold-Edition/productID.150121300
Titan Quest™ Gold Edition $5.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Titan-Quest-Gold-Edition/productID.150121400



Warhammer® 40,000®: Dawn of War® II: Retribution™ $15.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Warhammer-40000-Dawn-of-War-II-Retribution/productID.218558300
Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® - Chaos Rising $10.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Warhammer-40000-Dawn-of-War--Chaos-Rising/productID.164916500

Note that since CoH can join your games by account if you have any other CoH games by any other vendors you can add the key to that account to gain access to the content with no additional downloads lending you a degree of independance from THQ's service

there are 3 Company of heroes titles worth having but you only need 1
Company of Heroes $5.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Company-of-Heroes/productID.108950300
the above is the best single player option with the best campaign (usa)

Company of Heroes® Gold Edition $7.50
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Company-of-Heroes-Gold-Edition/productID.150091300
Cost only a sliver more than the others, contains the best 3 campaigns(use, brit, panzer elite, tales of valour's campaigns are trash) and no access to a few stupid multi player scenarios specific to tales of valour but you also get access to all 4 armies, but you miss out on a few swappable multi player units, its the best choice for someone who likes multi and single player.

Company of Heroes®: Tales of Valor™ $5.00
http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Company-of-Heroes-Tales-of-Valor/productID.120573100
this one is the best multi player containing all of the sides and a few interesting units, and a few slightly meh scenarios you otherwise miss out on.

following are 3 curiosities
World of Zoo $5.00 http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/World-of-Zoo/productID.164227300
Emergency 2012 $5.00 http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/Emergency-2012/productID.223297200
John Deere: Drive Green $2.50 http://store.thq.com/store/thq/en_US/pd/John-Deere-Drive-Green/productID.164409500


WTF is this!

What is the Extended Download Service (EDS)?
EDS essentially allows you to download your purchase again for up to two (2) years, in the event your computer crashes or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt. It can be thought of as an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your computer or the downloaded product. When you have downloadable items in your order, you will see a link to add EDS to your order on the shopping cart page or the checkout page. Upon payment of the specified fee, Digital River, Inc. ("DR") agrees to provide you (the "End User") a service that enables the End User to make multiple downloads of digital computer software products (a "Product" or "Products") purchased in a single order (an "Order") and downloaded from this Web site (the "Site") for a period of two (2) years after the date the End User purchases the Product (the "Service"). Click here for full details about EDS.
To purchase EDS for download products in a completed order, you must look up your order and complete an additional purchase.

I've sent an email to the support team asking for verification.

[lasikbear]

DE:HR is currently 30% off on Amazon digital download, for both regular and augmented editions. Not sure about Amazon.UK

[The JG Man]

Today's Steam daily comes very highly recommended from me.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (http://store.steampowered.com/app/9860/?snr=1_4_4__43) is 67% off (£5, no idea anything else). Whilst it does have MP, it's primarily a SP game. So much so, it's actually two games. The first is a remastered "Escape from Butcher Bay" followed by its chronologically immediate sequel, "Assault on Dark Athena". It's one of the few IPs that goes amazingly from the film to game, probably because it's not actually based on the films.

The combat feels satisfying and the voice acting is so pitch perfect, the atmosphere ends up being excellent. I'm basing this on my 360 play-through, but considering it should only be better on the PC, if you like the universe, or the character of Riddick, or just want a seriously grim and exciting SP sci-fi game, this is really up your street.

[sabrage]

I don't know why, but I really got tired of the Butcher Bay remake. It starts out with a lot of promise, breaking out of prison and talking to your fellow inmates, and quickly descends into a corridor shooter... In the dark. Didn't help that the gun mechanics are nowhere near the level of the melee; I ended up putting it down and never going back to it.

[Heliocentric]

from the bargain bucket comments

Bobtree says: 09/ 03/2011 at 19:13
Reply
CAG has a discount code for Din ’s
Curse on D 2 D , making it $4 through
Monday:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302824
Dead Island has had the street date
broken for consoles , so there ’s now
gameplay footage on youtube, for
anyone on the fence about pre -
ordering .

[Kelron]

I don't know why, but I really got tired of the Butcher Bay remake. It starts out with a lot of promise, breaking out of prison and talking to your fellow inmates, and quickly descends into a corridor shooter... In the dark. Didn't help that the gun mechanics are nowhere near the level of the melee; I ended up putting it down and never going back to it.

Temporary descent, honestly. EFBB is a great game with a couple of not so great sections. Dark Athena has a lot more shooting and is worse for it, still a fairly good game though.

[Baka]

Following up a comment in the most recent Bargain Bucket I tried to check out the pricing for Dead Island at GreenManGaming. Currently the site is "404" for me, and I wonder if it's because of my location (Germany) or if it's an international problem. In their forums it sounded like they won't sell it to german IPs.

So, could anyone please head to http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/dead-island/
and then add READY-UPDEA-ISLAN at the checkout and try additional vouchers like
20PEC-FACEB-SAVER
20PEC-TWEET-SAVER
HAPPY-PAYDA-YSITE
20SUM-MERSA-VINGS
SUNNY-SAVER-20PEC
to see what all those deals amount to? Would be much appreciated, after that I would know if it's worth to bother a friendly person in the smuggling thread.
Thanks!

[Kelron]

None of those vouchers still work, as far as I know.

[squareking]

That's the linear, mission based one right?

Currently, there are a handful of missions to play. They want to eventually do a persistent sandboxy mode. From the site:

Customize your ship’s loadout before battle
Play your own character who gains experiences and upgrades skills
Hire officers to give skill bonuses, pilot auxiliary ships, and oversee your operations
Explore the sector for knowledge and profit
Trade goods, run mining operations, build industries — and defend your interests
Become involved in the factional politics which will determine the fate of the sector

Saying it's a SP Eve might be going too far, but it sounds promising.

[Bustagroove]

Just so everyone knows the Dead Island coupon READY-UPDEA-ISLAN still works on Green Man.

I just purchased it myself for $33 and change.

Also if you buy it don't download the capsule thingy, just using the activation code directly in steam, then it will be activated and you can finish the install over steam instead.

Finally if you want to get $5 credit for your next purchase then feel free to use my referral code, I'd appreciate it, of course I get $5 as well, and it is a referral, but ya, game on; http://www.greenmangaming.com/?gmgr=hakavawa

[Creeping Death]

Just so everyone knows the Dead Island coupon READY-UPDEA-ISLAN still works on Green Man.

]

Doesnt work here (UK). EATIN-BRAIN-ZZZZZ will knock off £5 though

[Heliocentric]

Hitman: Blood Money £2.04 on steam, buy it or I will dress like a clown to bypass you secret service security profile and kill you with hedge clippers.

[SirKicksalot]

Kane and Lynch 2 is again on sale on Steam. I really like it, it's incredibly violent and very beautiful and moody.

[vinraith]

Hitman: Blood Money £2.04 on steam, buy it or I will dress like a clown to bypass you secret service security profile and kill you with hedge clippers.

He will, too. He's crazy.

I've owned that one for awhile myself, but have yet to actually dig it out of the backlog and play it.

[The JG Man]

I'll happily endorse Blood Money. Good fun, although I found it hard. That being said, I think that's mostly because I just sucked at it.

[Heliocentric]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5APWEZ26bY&feature=related

[Heliocentric]

The Tiny Bang Story
$1.99
http://www.direct2drive.com/552/10864/product/Buy-The-Tiny-Bang-Story-Download+
Its got an hour free trial, so download that and come back...

Okay look, its a hidden object game, but its actually really pretty and clever... And you've already downloaded the demo now, you might as well try it.

[Oak]

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has some issues with USB devices that made it unplayable for me and a significant number of other people. That in mind, I'll still recommend the IO pack to anyone and everyone. Even the K&L2 DLC is worthwhile for what it adds to the very neat arcade mode.

[Ravenger]

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has some issues with USB devices that made it unplayable for me and a significant number of other people. That in mind, I'll still recommend the IO pack to anyone and everyone. Even the K&L2 DLC is worthwhile for what it adds to the very neat arcade mode.

K&L didn't like my Saitek Eclipse keyboard, but I managed to fix the problem by disabling the HID driver for its multimedia functions in the system devices control panel.

[cluongo]

Street Fighter IV is $10 at Best Buy. It says $19.99 on the price tag, but when you go ring that beotch up it will go down to $9.99

[DrBee]

Gamersgate has an ArmA sale right now. I'm tempted to buy ArmA II Operation Arrowhead. Which one would you recommend?

http://www.gamersgate.com/offers

[Heliocentric]

The main reason to buy arma is multiplayer and mods, so get the complete or to shave off a few pennies just buy arrowhead.

[Monty]

Thoroughly excellent spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Gettysburg - Scourge of War: Gettysburg - is only £12.60 (down from £20) on Impulse. (http://www.impulsedriven.com/sowgb)

If you buy it, be sure to join our Steam Group. (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/RPSSOW)

[Giaddon]

Impulse is having an unusually good strategy sale. Highlights!

Sword of the Stars Complete - $4 (http://impulsedriven.com/sotscomcol)
Crusader Kings Complete - $5 (http://impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W2099)
Dawn of Discovery Gold - $10 (http://impulsedriven.com/dodgold)
RUSE - $15 (http://impulsedriven.com/ruse)
Settlers 7 Deluxe - $20 (http://impulsedriven.com/settlers7deluxe)

[Tikey]

Do yourself a favour and buy Sword of the Stars

[Gnoupi]

Dawn of Discovery Gold - $10 (http://impulsedriven.com/dodgold)
RUSE - $15 (http://impulsedriven.com/ruse)
Settlers 7 Deluxe - $20 (http://impulsedriven.com/settlers7deluxe)


Worth noting though that all EA and Ubisoft releases on Impulse are restricted to North America

[Creeping Death]

Gamersgate is having a 50% off (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/games?prio=relevance&q=armaweekend) everything Arma weekend

[Heliocentric]

Do yourself a favour and buy Sword of the Stars

This, but limit your first game to 16 planets and max tech speed, you'll lose but you'll get the measure of the game faster.

[cluongo]

Anyone know if I can still get Red Orchestra 2 Delux for under $36 anywhere? Coupons seemed to not work on GMG and I literally have $35 flat in Paypal

Edit: The old original 20% of GMG coupons expired, here is the new one for 20% off works as of right now (expires 9/12)

GREEN-MANGA-MING1

[vinraith]

Gamersgate is having a 50% off (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/games?prio=relevance&q=armaweekend) everything Arma weekend

From the perspective of someone whose interests are single player, co-op campaigns (if available), and co-op comp stomps, are these worth getting? Are some better than others?

[Kelron]

From the perspective of someone whose interests are single player, co-op campaigns (if available), and co-op comp stomps, are these worth getting? Are some better than others?

The RPS Arma group mostly do co-op missions, it's great for that. Details if you're interested. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?28-ArmA-2-Combined-Operations-We-have-our-own-server) Should scale down well enough for smaller player numbers depending on the mission, although single player is a bit hit-and-miss as trying to shepherd AI allies around isn't fun.

There's 1 included campaign per expansion (so 4 total + a free mini one), and a load of standalone missions that can all be played single player or co-op. There's a powerful mission editor included and tons of fan-made missions for both single and multiplayer at www.armaholic.com. You'd probably want Arma 2 + OA as a minimum for mod compatibility, BAF and PMC are optional.

I'm not sure what's included in Arma 2 Free but it might be worth checking that out first to see what it's like.

[vinraith]

Yup, I've actually owned ArmA2 and OA for some time, just haven't gotten around to them, I'm just trying to determine whether to pick up some sale-priced DLC. Thanks for the info!

[Kelron]

PMC is probably the most functional for single player, but it's also the least interesting. It sticks to tightly scripted and fairly silly missions without much of the open-ended missions some of the others have.

[Oak]

Thoroughly excellent spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Gettysburg - Scourge of War: Gettysburg - is only £12.60 (down from £20) on Impulse. (http://www.impulsedriven.com/sowgb)

If you buy it, be sure to join our Steam Group. (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/RPSSOW)

Good catch! I was waiting for a drop on that. Yet another game to learn how to play...

[field_studies]

So lots of big titles in the Steam weekend sale. None of the recent NFS titles seemed to have floated peoples boats around here, but what about Civ V? I recall it getting a lukewarm response at first release. Has it aged well or been patched well?

[Gnoupi]

So lots of big titles in the Steam weekend sale. None of the recent NFS titles seemed to have floated peoples boats around here, but what about Civ V? I recall it getting a lukewarm response at first release. Has it aged well or been patched well?

It has been patched a lot, and while improved, the main issues I had are still here.
The AI civs are still behaving quite illogically on the diplomacy level, and it's not rare to be declared war by another civ from another continent, and make a peace treaty before his units will ever reach you (if they even do).
If you play on anything bigger than "small", in multiplayer, the end game will make you discover the point of having a smartphone to play something while you wait 1-2 minutes for the next turn to compute (I wouldn't know if the issue is present in single player, I experienced that mostly in multiplayer (and it's making the waiting time even longer, then, if you have nothing to do while other players have).

Automated units (workers and explorers, if you were using them) are quite silly. More often than not workers be blocked, or try to swim away from your continent without a reason. Explorers on the other hand, will stop moving as soon as they have seen the continent they are on at least once (so no "updating", or trying to swim to check the oceans and other continents). Though for explorers it's not much different from Civ4.

Other than that, it looks good, and it's pleasant to have cities able to defend themselves. War is more interesting with the fact they got rid of stacking units, and changed the grid to hexagons.

[The JG Man]

Hmmm, I'd disagree regarding NFS. Although I played it on the 360 (I'm sure there's pad control in the PC version...?) Hot Pursuit was a fantastic arcade racer. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Never even took it online, just the fun of annihilating friends' times held enough satisfaction. If you're a fan of arcade racers, I'd heartily recommend it.

I never played Shift 2, but didn't that get good reviews across the board?

[icupnimpn2]

Hmmm, I'd disagree regarding NFS. Although I played it on the 360 (I'm sure there's pad control in the PC version...?) Hot Pursuit was a fantastic arcade racer. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Never even took it online, just the fun of annihilating friends' times held enough satisfaction. If you're a fan of arcade racers, I'd heartily recommend it.

I never played Shift 2, but didn't that get good reviews across the board?

I will probably pick up Hot Pursuit for the $10 they're asking. Burnout Paradise was tons of fun for me and this game is by the same developers.

Shift 2 has had mostly positive reviews but it still too pricey for me. IGN makes it sound quite visceral (http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1158182p1.html):


During the all-new night races tracks such as Spa Francorchamps are as packed full of scares as Dead Space's Ishimura; Pouhon, a fast left kink that can be taken flat by the very brave, is as frightening as the most savage of necromorphs when it leaps out of the dark at the last possible moment.

Such thrills are aided by the added layer of immersion lent by the addition of the helmet cam, a small but welcome revolution within the racing genre. It's a first-person perspective that does more than put you in the driving seat; it provides a genuine driver's eye view. Here the screen's lined by the helmet's lining, and the camera will actively tilt towards corner apexes.

[rikdaly]

Dungeon Siege 3 is £7.99 from Gameplay (http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/pc/dungeon-siege-3-limited-edition/_/RM10183/productpage.html)

I'm still not sure if this is more than I want to pay for it?

[Colonel J]

Dungeon Siege 3 is £7.99 from Gameplay (http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/pc/dungeon-siege-3-limited-edition/_/RM10183/productpage.html)

I'm still not sure if this is more than I want to pay for it?

Yes exactly how I feel about this one too.
Which leads me to the conclusion that I shouldn't buy it and should play other things. Until inevitably it turns up in a Steam mega sale at sub-£6 and then I buy it without thinking about it at all.

[Ignorant Texan]

Eleven Legacy(1.66USD) and Elven Legacy Collection(EL+the three expansions 5.10USD) today's Steam Daily deal. Any thoughts?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/25850/

[Giaddon]

I like Elven Legacy. It's a straight-up turn-based fantasy wargame. If you like solving tactical puzzles, get it. If you really like solving tactical puzzles, get the collection.

There's a demo, as well.

[Matzerath]

The Elven Legacy games look great, but the inexplicably timed (complete in X turns) missions and the weird spawning of enemy units kinda kills the fun.

[Heliocentric]

Turn limits meet random damage to create massive frustration.

Only played the demo but my advice is steer clear.

[sabrage]

Wow, just grabbed Sword of the Stars Complete for $4 (http://www.impulsedriven.com/sotscomcol) (as seen on the bargain bucket) I don't really know anything about this game but every time someone mentions it I go drool over the ship designs.

[rsherhod]

Best 4X space game so far.

[squirrelfanatic]

So, can anyone enlighten me concerning the intrusiveness of Impulses' DRM scheme? I am interested in SOTS but don't think that I'd want to live with another client on my system.

[Heliocentric]

Impulse downloads and installs the game (have triple the games drive spare because compressed, uncompressed and installed will all coexist at one moment.) after that you need not launch impulse ever again except if you want any patches which will offer themselves up as they become available, but you'll need to use impulse to patch. Like with steam browser downloaded patches won't work properly.

Impulse can be uninstalled leaving the games behind, just remember the patching situation.

[Janek]

Very lightweight by modern standards - the client is just for downloading and patching, there's no need to ever run it once the game's installed.

[squirrelfanatic]

So, abit like GOG then. Thanks for claryfying.

[Tikey]

Wow, just grabbed Sword of the Stars Complete for $4 (http://www.impulsedriven.com/sotscomcol) (as seen on the bargain bucket) I don't really know anything about this game but every time someone mentions it I go drool over the ship designs.

Also maybe you're interested (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?1313-Sword-of-the-Stars-Multiplayer-game-%28for-inexperienced-players%29)

[Heliocentric]

Eh... Gog is utterly DRM free, impulse still needs the internet to install but gog installers can be flew over on a disk or usb pen. But impulse is friendlier than steam for offlininess. One thing I need to note is with steams new patching methodology (edit rather than replace in full) steam can parched much less painfully). Gamersgate and D2D can often win that outright with regular patches, but to be fair, sometimes they fail abysmally and you need to use their own patches which will be slow to arrive.

[Oak]

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is today's Steam deal; everything about this game is good, and some things about it are great. The old-timey guns crack satisfyingly, the cover system is subtle and intuitive, the settings are dramatic and gorgeous, the music sounds like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S99CnseOy2Q), the quick-draw duels are a hoot, the story is...colorful, and the multiplayer is wildly fun when no one's playing as a sniper. It's also probably populated thanks to the sale.

I want you to buy it.

[Phinor]

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is today's Steam deal; everything about this game is good, and some things about it are great. The old-timey guns crack satisfyingly, the cover system is subtle and intuitive, the settings are dramatic and gorgeous, the music sounds like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S99CnseOy2Q), the quick-draw duels are a hoot, the story is...colorful, and the multiplayer is wildly fun when no one's playing as a sniper. It's also probably populated thanks to the sale.

I want you to buy it.

Not everything is good. The FOV is absolutely terrible and not changeable so just a warning to those allergic to low FOV, this one has it and you can't do anything about it. I'd love to play this game along with Singularity but I simply can't with the FOV both these games have. I even bought both of them :/

[Cable]

I've never really understood problems with field of view, to be honest i actually don't even notice it when it's different, I suppose that just makes me one of the lucky (or unobservant) ones.

I also really enjoyed call of juarez: BIB and would recommend it, nice environments a decent story and interesting characters which is better than a lot of games out there. Oh and the actual game was pretty good too.

[Althea]

I've never really understood problems with field of view, to be honest i actually don't even notice it when it's different, I suppose that just makes me one of the lucky (or unobservant) ones.
The problem with FoV is that for some people, if the value is too low (Or too high) it can make them feel physically sick. Borderlands was one game with that problem, and I honestly cannot play it as it makes me want to throw up. It's not a common problem, but it seems to be becoming more and more frequent.

[Wolfenswan]

Nordic Games off 70%/50% (http://www.gog.com/en/promo/nordic_games) at GOG.

Includes both Aquanox titles, Gothic 2, Painkiller, Spellforce

[icupnimpn2]

Amazon is having some deep discounts on Strategy First games (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000716161), US only purchasers tho.

Disciples II Gold - $1.99 (tho there's a scathing user review saying Amazon didn't include enough data to make it playable?)

Jagged Alliance 2 & Unfinished Business - $3.99

A War Games bundle with misc stuff for ~$15
688I Hunter Killer, Combat Mission Beyond Overlord, Dangerous Waters, Death to Spies, Razor 2 Hidden Skies, Ubersoldier 2)

Sacred Gold - $2.99 (worth it, I think. Always felt more like Divine Divinity to me than Diablo. The little quests and fighting from horseback are fun)

Or a bunch together as Amazon's Choice Bundle - $27.99
(DWARFS, Dark Fall Lights Out, Gods Lands of Infinity, Ninja Blade, ORB, Port Royale 2, Puzzle Kingdoms, Robin Hood The Legend of Sherwood, Warrior Kings Battles)

Robin Hood TLS - $2.99 (cheaper than Steam, I think)

Other games sold individually but the prices aren't fantastic.

Thanks pcdddeals and LostSoviet! (http://pcdddeals.com)

[Casimir Effect]

I highly endorse the Spellforce games; probably the sequel over the original as it's easier to get into, more polished and better balances the RPG and RTS. There's also loads of game for your money especially with Spellforce Platinum where you get the game and both expansions which would take over 100 hours to fully complete, but Spellforce 2 has at least 50 hours of gameplay while the standalone expansion has probably 30-odd.

Disciples 2 Gold is also a brilliant game which will eat hundreds of hours of your life. If it works, that is.

[Capt. Eduardo del Mango]

'Ello!

New here. Possibly not ideal fodder for this thread, but I was trawling through the <£10 PC games on Amazon and found Another World 15th Anniversary Edition (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-World-15th-Anniversary-PC/dp/B000MMUVFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315949461&sr=8-1) for £2.72 through them or £0.89 through one of the sellers. It's ancient and short, but it runs straight off the bat on Win7 at 1920x1080, and for a couple of quid or less it's lovely to have such a stone-cold classic sat on your shelf.

Makes me feel better 'cos I had a pirated version back in the day. Karma - it's still bitch hard, even if you can remember where you're going.

[Heliocentric]

Spellforce 1 is diseased horror, grindy rpg-rts with bad balance, broken difficulty scaling (unless you read guides) fact, the game is easier on hard because you level faster.

[ColOfNature]

On the other hand, Spellforce 2 - which came free with my now-defunct NVidia 7950GT - was a great game, and I was thoroughly disappointed that I could never get it to run after I ditched Windows XP.

[Casimir Effect]

Spellforce 1 is diseased horror, grindy rpg-rts with bad balance, broken difficulty scaling (unless you read guides) fact, the game is easier on hard because you level faster.

Really? I never had great problems with the game except for it's habit of blacking out all the map whenever you reload a game (incredibly fucking annoying this habit is). In my mind the sequel is a lot better and fixes most of the obvious problems but I never had an issue with the balance. Difficulty scaling maybe, although the main thing to know is not to 'activate' your base (race monument) until you've explored the area as much as possible and wiped out as many enemy bases/spawners as you can with only your avatar (and rune warriors if monument is present). Then you don't have to screw around with chasing down scouts of repelling massive attacks while trying to build your base up, at least not to the same extent.

And this is coming from a guy who doesn't like hard games and has very little time for anything which demands lots of replaying.

@ColOfNature
I have Spellforce 2 + Dragon Storm on Steam and they run perfectly under Windows 7. My disc copy didn't work however, and almost killed my entire Windows install in the process thanks to Starforce DRM being a dickbiscuit.

[ColOfNature]

That's probably the problem then. Maybe I'll buy it on Steam, unless the GoG version is known to work on Vista. Anyone?

[Heliocentric]

GoG tends to have the best support and compatibility. I got 2 in the universe pack with #1, but never played 2 after suffering through the base game of #1, clearly I should try it st least.

[TailSwallower]

Borderlands was one game with that problem, and I honestly cannot play it as it makes me want to throw up. It's not a common problem, but it seems to be becoming more and more frequent.

By messing around in the ini files you can fix the FOV. I've only figured out how to make it a toggle, which is less than ideal - every time you enter a vehicle or a vending machine you have to toggle it again as it turns itself off. But, it's still better than nothing and makes the game playable.

If you feel so inclined, just Google 'Borderlands FOV fix' and you'll find descriptions on which ini to edit and how.

[Althea]

By messing around in the ini files you can fix the FOV. I've only figured out how to make it a toggle, which is less than ideal - every time you enter a vehicle or a vending machine you have to toggle it again as it turns itself off. But, it's still better than nothing and makes the game playable.

If you feel so inclined, just Google 'Borderlands FOV fix' and you'll find descriptions on which ini to edit and how.
That's not a fix. Never has been, never will be. It's a temporary workaround. My Borderlands disc is also currently in a landfill site, so I'm unlikely to be trying it again.

[Giaddon]

Supreme Commander Gold is $7 today on Impulse (http://impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W115).

[Smashbox]

Cities in Motion is a Steam Deal today (http://store.steampowered.com/app/73010/). Has anyone played it? I am a huge SimCity 4 fan, and my favorite part of the game is transportation networks, but how is this set up? Is it a series of scenarios in which I must find semi-predetermined solutions, or can I have FREEDOM?

[vinraith]

Cities in Motion is a Steam Deal today (http://store.steampowered.com/app/73010/). Has anyone played it? I am a huge SimCity 4 fan, and my favorite part of the game is transportation networks, but how is this set up? Is it a series of scenarios in which I must find semi-predetermined solutions, or can I have FREEDOM?

The only thing I know about the game is that the devs have a history of putting out sequels in lieu of patching broken code. For that reason alone, I've stayed away from the series.

[CMaster]

Cities in Motion is a Steam Deal today (http://store.steampowered.com/app/73010/). Has anyone played it? I am a huge SimCity 4 fan, and my favorite part of the game is transportation networks, but how is this set up? Is it a series of scenarios in which I must find semi-predetermined solutions, or can I have FREEDOM?

You can sandbox all the maps, in any of the supported time periods. Or you can do the prescribed (and so easily gameable) scenarios.
It's good in a lot of ways (especially in that it simulates a couple of thousand citizens daily motions - including evenings out, shopping etc), but suffers from no way of making your vehicles space out properly, poor performance (on a C2D E6400 anyway) and the fact that all the vehicles are too damn small to move enough people about, although there are mods to adjust all of this.

[Smashbox]

Thanks for the feedback... sounds like I should just play SC4 for now. Also - note that paradox is having a blowout sale on Steam now, discounts each day, but it looks like almost everything is 50% off now!

[Oak]

Reconsider. It's a lot of fun despite the little problems, and it's not like you've already got a deluge of transportion-network-management sims to choose from.

[CMaster]

Yeah, my general view on it is positive, and it is moddable (to some degree). Plus they just pushed out a whole load of new free and paid content. For the price it is a good buy.

[Citruspunch]

Steam's deal of the day is a dozen Star Wars games for $50.
some of them are individually discounted, such as the fun Republic Commando.

[Nova]

Steam seems to go crazy even without a special occasion now. They have the Paradox sale the weekend deal, and still the daily deal (Bit.Trip Beat) going at the moment.

[Citruspunch]

$20. Brink - from NCIX (canada)

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=61104&vpn=BRINKPC&manufacture=Bethesda&promoid=1373

[TailSwallower]

Steam's deal of the day is a dozen Star Wars games for $50.
some of them are individually discounted, such as the fun Republic Commando.

Anyone got some thoughts on Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Pack?
Is it any good? How complex is it on a scale of Warcraft 2 to those in-depth strategy games that people around here seem to love but make my simple mind hurt?
I've got next week off work, so I could do with a new game to kill some time while I wait for my copy of New Vegas to arrive in the mail.

[ntw]

Portal for £0?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/

[Heliocentric]

Portal for £0?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/

//Forum auto-responder Ver. 9.652
var: type(sale), name (Portal for),platform(personal computer windows), metacritic(www.metacritic.com/game/pc/portal-2), metacriticparse(95,Universal acclaim), randomnumbers (5:2),
discount (100) //%
//randomised initial
[5:Glad to to see] [Portal for] is on sale.
//Draw from meta
This game truely deserves its [Universal acclaim], any game that scores [95]% on metacritic is //number assessment
[essential to anyone's collection].

But asside from the score I think this game is [2: really rather poor and that a discount of] [100]% [2:is not enough to buy it, it will get discounted for more eventually anyway].
//end post
[triggerpost]

[squareking]

DotEmu's having a decent scifi sale at the mo'. UFO series, Ground Controls, AvP, Hardwar, Space Empires, etc.

http://www.dotemu.com/en/discount-sale

[The JG Man]

The Paradox daily sale on Steam today is 75% off The King Arthur Collection (and each title within it).

But, the one I came to say is that the main daily sale on Steam is 75% off Darksiders, for £5. Darksiders is a fantastic action/adventure in a very similar vein to Zelda, with great combat, some decent dungeons, a fantastic art style and a generally enjoyable plot. The game is simply very fun to play, especially if you love action/adventure titles and I cannot recommend it enough if you're into that genre. (Recommended best played with a controller)

[sopabuena]

So is Replubic Commando any good? I'm a big fan of the Jedi Knight series, but the game does look a bit dated. There is also daily sale for Darksiders, which gets constantly compared to Zelda OOT, reason enough for me to consider it. Both at $5. Which should I get?

[Giaddon]

Get Republic Commando. Darksiders is tedious, juvenile trash.

[Anthile]

Get Republic Commando. Darksiders is tedious, juvenile trash.

Ehh... no u?

[The JG Man]

Republic Commando is an FPS with a decent story and is generally enjoyable. There's some light squad mechanics and is fun to play. If you like the franchise, I would recommend it if you like FPS'.

If you like Zelda, but with better combat, not as good dungeons or puzzles (a Zelda veteran should have little to no problem for the majority of the game on this front, apart from perhaps the final dungeon) and a mostly throw-away plot, I'd get this instead. It's also longer, but your mileage may vary if that's an important factor.

[Giaddon]

Ehh... no u?

I don't know what this means :(

The Tex Murphy FMV future-noir adventure games are 50% off on Good Old Games (http://www.gog.com/en/promo/tex_murphy_series) this weekend.

[sabrage]

Darksiders gets a hard rap for no apparent reason. I thought it was an excellent game, of a dying breed no less, and it's well worth your $5

[KillahMate]

Yes, about Darksiders - any Yank here willing to smuggle it for me? I've got PayPal, and I'm available here, via PM and on Steam (also KillahMate). Your assistance would be appreciated :-)

Edit: I've been assisted! Thanks again kind sir!

[Wooly Wugga Wugga]

Anyone got some thoughts on Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Pack?
Is it any good? How complex is it on a scale of Warcraft 2 to those in-depth strategy games that people around here seem to love but make my simple mind hurt?
I've got next week off work, so I could do with a new game to kill some time while I wait for my copy of New Vegas to arrive in the mail.

It's like a light/lite Total War game so I think you might enjoy it if you are into Star Wars. It's definitely an enjoyable way to while away a few hours. I'd most certainly recommend it to someone who wants to give the genre a try but who doesn't have months to devote to it.

[Arona Daal]

Beamdog has a lot of Sales too atm, i got me UFO Aftershock, and UFO Afterlight for 1,87 euro each.

Steam has the complete Mount and Blade(s) Pack for 10 Bucks.

And something i cannot repost/recommend too many times :
http://isthereanydeal.com/?by=price:asc

[The JG Man]

Arona Daal, I am disappointed! You post that Mount and Blade is on Steam's daily sale but not Mirror's Edge?! Pah!

So, yeah. Somehow the god's of Steam have arranged two great games back to back as the daily sale. Mirror's Edge is 75% off at £3.25. It's a unique game, with the closest feeling being the free running from Assassin's Creed and even then, it's a more relaxed example. The game is a 1st person platformer/racer (yes, racing) that has linear objectives that can often be approached through various routes, depending on your skill/risk levels. The main game can be completed in about 9 hours ish, but if ever there was a game designed for replayability, it's this. Each time, you'll get quicker, noticing routes you didn't think possible before, whilst combining your refined skill in playing the game better.

The movement isn't for everyone and the combat, easily the worst segment of the game, really slows down an otherwise brilliant flow and pacing. Most of the combat can be avoided, but there are a couple of sections that are not. For these, grin and bare it. They slow you down, but they're all very doable, even if frustrating for a short amount of time. The plot is largely throw-away and is presented with in-level dialogue and inter-level anime inspired cut-scenes. Your mileage may vary if these are good or not, but I find them largely inoffensive.

ME is a unique, highly interesting and for many people, incredibly exciting and fun game. I strongly recommended it, despite its faults.

(Apparently you can't get some Time Trails DLC, I believe that's limited to Origin. If you want to experience the game, the DLC probably isn't necessary, but if you intend to put serious time into it, I'd maybe hold off. Might wanna look on YouTube for some of the DLC to see if you'd want it. For most though, the main game and time trails will be enough.)

[ColOfNature]

What he said.

[Althea]

The time trial DLC is alright because it gives some abstract maps without a lot of the physical clutter of the main game, although they often confuse your eyes or seem deceptively hard/simple at times. I only really did a few of them, but they're fun for an afternoon or so.

As for the main game itself, I can't recommend it enough. It's not perfect, it's not the best game ever, but when people say EA are "t3h sux", it's the perfect game to throw in people's faces. It's pretty damned unique, it's well crafted, it's got a great soundtrack (Solar Fields FTW) and some good voice acting, as well as being written by Sir Pratchett's lovely daughter, Rhianna. It is fairly short, but I would say it's actually about average length these days. It took me, the day before release, about six hours to get from start to finish. The controls feel a bit funny at first but as you go on they become second nature, although they do cause a problem at a certain point in the game with an unavoidable combat scene (Anyone who has completed it will know the one I mean).

Word of advice: Don't do it in one sitting. Your sense of balance will just collapse the next day. I spent the day after completion with a slightly spinning head.

Word of advice 2: If you've got an nVidia card, you might want to turn PhysX off. A patch did fix a PhysX bug, but it seems to have resurfaced - at least for me - in later nVidia drivers.

[goatmonkey]

You can activate mirrors edge on origin anyway I believe for the steam version the activation code is just hidden somewhere

[The JG Man]

it's got a great soundtrack (Solar Fields FTW) and some good voice acting

Oh god, the soundtrack. Completely forgot about that. And the art direction is, for me, perfectly fit. The whole environment of the game is sublime and DICE really proved what the hell they can do. Also, I too dislike burning rope. Raaaaaaaaaaaghhhhh. Also, 6 hours on first run through? Damn.


You can activate mirrors edge on origin anyway I believe for the steam version the activation code is just hidden somewhere

I forgot about that, that's very true. You should get an activation code with the game, so if you put it on Origin, you get a second back-up through it AND access to the DLC, if you should choose.

Man, really considering double dipping for the shiny graphics (I played it on my 360 first).

[Casimir Effect]

You can activate mirrors edge on origin anyway I believe for the steam version the activation code is just hidden somewhere

Can someone explain exactly how to do this? I have the game through Steam and really want to play the Time Trials DLC just because it looks incredible. But I have no idea where to find any sort of CD-Key or Activation Code for the game.

And I'll be another person who recommends buying it. There's no other experience quite like it.

[The JG Man]

If you find the game in your library, there should be an option (either through right-clicking or on the right hand-side of the tab) to get the CD-key. Once you get that, go into Origin, and click the cog/wheel just right of centre at the top. Select 'Redeem Product Code' then input the code and you should be clear from then on. Not every game will activate on it, but I think Mirror's Edge should.

[Casimir Effect]

That's the thing: right clicking doesn't give the option to View game CD key like it does with, eg. Alpha Protocol.

[redspielened]

The main incentive to play Mirror's Edge is its beauty. Very enjoyable game.

[The JG Man]

That's the thing: right clicking doesn't give the option to View game CD key like it does with, eg. Alpha Protocol.

Right, yeah, seem's to have been corroborated looking around the net. Guess ME came out just before the period where keys were excepted on EADM/Origin. Sorry, no dice on this one.

[Kadayi]

EA have got a £4.99 price on some older titles until the 20th:-

C&C3 + expansions
C&C4
RA3 + Expansions
NFS assorted stuff
A bunch of Sims 2 expansions
Spore & expansions (got spore myself)
Also Mercenaries 2 so you too can pretend to be techno viking: -


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VudJpH-ytH4&feature=fvwrel

http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/cat/offers/categoryID.14365500

[ComradePenguin]

EA have got a £4.99 price on some older titles until the 20th:-


You can also apply the code "heaz4zhw7" to get a further 25% off those.

[Megagun]

Mirror's Edge is quite an amazing game. It reminds me a bit of Trackmania, in that it's an amazingly fast-paced (movement-wise) game where you almost instinctively know where to go. The art is great. It's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, especially near the start with all the watery-bits, and near the very end. I was very impressed by the lighting. The music is also pretty neat, with the main theme being excellent yet not heard many times throughout the game (if ever?).

Unfortunately, the combat (especially combat with firearms) and dialogues are horrible. You also run through the game (heh heh) pretty quickly, but there are a few bits and bobs where there's a really significant difficulty spike which may take you a few dozen tries to get through.

As far as the music goes, there's some stuff by Solar Fields available for free over at Kahvi.org (http://kahvi.org/artists2.php?artist=Solar+Fields) (which is a great resource for free, similar music)

[goatmonkey]

Right, yeah, seem's to have been corroborated looking around the net. Guess ME came out just before the period where keys were excepted on EADM/Origin. Sorry, no dice on this one.

I was able to activate my retail Mirrors Edge key, but looking at google I might have confused which ea steam games you could activate by finding the key in the registry

[Oak]

Still can't buy the original Sims as a digital download. Why don't they want my money?

[vinraith]

Still can't buy the original Sims as a digital download. Why don't they want my money?

Similarly, they've still never released a sensibly priced compilation pack of Sims 2 stuff, despite 3 having been out for ages.

[sopabuena]

Ok so I had to buy both SW: Republic Commando and Darksiders, and then Mirror's Edge. Great games.
Also for adventure gamers, steam is having a daily on The Whispered World for $5. It's a great game, I really enjoyed it, but it's not perfect (some bad voice acting, 4:3 aspect ratio, abrupt ending). But at $5 it's really worth it.

The Whispered World (http://store.steampowered.com/app/18490/)

[Gnoupi]

Closing the -75% Paradox days, Magicka is for insanely cheap today (2.5 euros): http://store.steampowered.com/app/42910/
You can also get the complete edition with all DLC (besides the new one from today) for little more than 6 euros: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/8556/

(On a side note, they also added two new robes, inspired from TRON and W40K, for free. They look quite nice)

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/311486_10150321702688766_271888548765_8020609_1006 290309_n.jpg

[Althea]

Have they corrected that flipping ridiculous bug with Microsoft Sidewinder mice yet?

[trjp]

Are there any 4-pack group buys for Renegade Ops (Steam) going - or anyone fancy creating one?

Half price game, basically, £5 instead of £10 - so...

p.s. I'm in the UK (I think they have to be from the same 'store') - SteamId is johnpeat

[Shake]

trjp, I'd be up for splitting a Renegade Ops 4-pack, and may have a friend who would be interested too.

(UK here too, but I think actually it doesn't matter about where giftees are based - I have gifted to mainland Europe before with no problems).

[tengblad]

Yeah, I'd be up for chipping in for a Renegade Ops 4-pack. The game seems pretty cool and for £5 it's worth taking a chance on. I'm in Sweden, but I don't think that should be any problem. I've received gifted games bought in the US Steam store, and the UK store shouldn't operate any differently.

[Keb]

Hey, I'm a friend of Shake, and i'm in.

[trjp]

That's 4 people - how do we want to do this??

I'm happy to buy it and pass on keys for a PayPal £5UKP if that works for you lot - if Shake wants to do that, I'll be happy to PayPal the money (It will be have to be UKP for either of us??)

[Shake]

Check your PMs Renegade Ops guys :)

[Heliocentric]

Pissed off by a pirate day sale, SPAZ is $3.75 so.. like £2.50 but in the UK its £6.60

bollocks

[Smashbox]

Er... where?

[Althea]

Er... where?
Direct2Drive, which I found out by checking the main sites I buy from. And, of course, before I could even see the price, Direct2Drive decided to crash Firefox again.

[Giaddon]

SPAZ is $10 @ D2D for me (in Boston).

[squareking]

SPAZ is $10 @ D2D for me (in Boston).

$10 in Techsas as well.

[Heliocentric]

$10 in Techsas as well.

My bad, i must have misunderstood.

[Giaddon]

GamersGate has some interesting deals this week, including

Spellforce Universe (all the games) for $5 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-SFU/spellforce-universe-bundle)
The Guild 2 Platinum for $10 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-GUILD2P/the-guild-2-platinum)
Painkiller Black for $5 (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-PKBLACK/painkiller-black-edition)

[Smashbox]

SPAZ is $10 @ D2D for me (in Boston).

Clap clap clap *Applause* Hoot

[somini]

GamersGate have this little gem of an adventure game called The Experiment for 5€/whatever £.
In which you control the main character with the power of security cameras and lights! Also, there is some conspiracies.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-112/the-experiment-112

[Bobtree]

Red Orchestra 2 is $24 on GetGamesGo, and supposedly you get a Steam key although the product page doesn't say so (source: cheapassgamer forum thread). I think I still have to pass based on what I've read thus far, but it is a nice price.
http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad

[TheRed]

Is that applicable in the UK?

[TheRed]

Hm, £19.99 on the UK site. Is that legit? Never heard of that site.

[JamesG]

Getgamesgo? Yep, I've used them before. They have some kind of tie to Eurogamer, although I'm not sure how deep those ties are.

[TheRed]

Might have to have a go at that. I really don't know if I can run it. My processor is a bit old now, I've not updated in a while. I think (haha, I forget) I've got 8GB RAM with a Geforce 8800GT, and that has been amazing value frankly. it still runs most of what I throw at it - not at top setting usually, but it really has been a while. I thought it would have died or become entirely obselete ages ago. What's the score with the gfx issues? Is it one video card maker only or what? I fancy a look at it, even if it isn't finished yet!

[sabrage]

Steam is having 2 decent indie bundles (http://store.steampowered.com/sale/indiemidweek/) for $10 each right now.

Indie 2D Bundle:
Bit.Trip Runner
NightSky
NyxQuest
Swords and Soldiers
World of Goo

Indie Strategy Bundle:
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Revenge of the Titans
Sanctum
Sol Survivor

If I didn't already own two games from each pack (Revenge of the Titans+Sanctum and World of Goo+Swords and Soldiers, respectively) I'd be all over these.

[PeteC]

Steam is having 2 decent indie bundles (http://store.steampowered.com/sale/indiemidweek/) for $10 each right now.

Indie Strategy Bundle:
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Revenge of the Titans
Sanctum
Sol Survivor

If I didn't already own two games from each pack (Revenge of the Titans+Sanctum and World of Goo+Swords and Soldiers, respectively) I'd be all over these.

Defense Grid is worth that price on its own.

What are the others like? Worth getting the strategy pack even if you own Defense Grid?

Edit. Will it be possible to gift / trade the ones we already own?

[sabrage]

Edit. Will it be possible to gift / trade the ones we already own?

From what I gather, no.

[Shake]

The Indie Strategy bundle is excellent value if you like Tower Defence games (even if you already have Defense Grid). I already own all the games separately and would recommend the lot without hesitation apart from Revenge of the Titans (which I didn't get along with personally but some seem to like).

[Oak]

Brink is twenty bucks on Steam now. They should probably be promoting this more vigorously.

[MD!]

The 2D bundle would be easy to recommend, except that I wonder how many people in the target market don't already own at least one or two of those games.

For what it's worth though, Runner is worth $10 on its own, I don't think I need to say anything about World of Goo (I actually wasn't nearly as charmed by it as everyone else, but the love it receives speaks for itself), and I haven't played the full version of NightSky yet but it's a Nifflas game so you can safely assume that it's awesome. no idea about the other two.

[Giaddon]

Impulse (which has now completely morphed into the GameStop brand) is selling Drakensang and Drakensang: River of Time together as a bundle for $7.50 (http://impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W2236).

Direct2Drive is selling Two Worlds Two for $12.50 (http://www.direct2drive.com/9569/product/Buy-Two-Worlds-II-Download)

[Anthile]

Since Impulse has effectively give up on selling stuff to non-Americans, it's only available in Canada and the USA.

[Althea]

Since Impulse has effectively give up on selling stuff to non-Americans, it's only available in Canada and the USA.
It's the major publisher titles that generally get blocked, although sometimes something will slip through. For indies and lower budget games, it's not that bad for region locking.

But Impulse is shit. ;)

[Heliocentric]

I was such a fan of impulse early on, I feel ashamed to have encouraged people to try it so much.

[elephant god]

yeah, that can be the terrible side of a DD service, if it goes down the drain, you still have your games there. good thing about Impulse is that it is very unintrusive. I have the stalker games on there, because as a german i can't buy Shadow of Chernobyl on steam, and i love the games but they're definitely on the wrong DD service ^^

[Mana_Garmr]

For some reason it's only River of Time that has an issue too. I can, and did a while back, buy the original from there no problem.

[Casimir Effect]

Good Old Games has finally done it. Go there and spend money on the classic D&D games of the Infinite Engine times (+ a couple more).
http://www.gog.com/en/page/dnd_promo

Their new method of having a Sale is clever too. Or evil. Probably evil

[Janek]

Man that is a lot of game for your thirty dollars.

[Kodeen]

Steam is also having a Sega sale. Alpha Protocol is 90% off, so $2 here. I'm going to get it anyway at that price, but what's the general consensus for that game? Obsidian usually does pretty good work.

[Janek]

Obsidian's best game, without question. Reminded me a lot of VTM: Bloodlines, except generally more polished and without going to shit for the final third. At that price it's the bargain of the year I'd say.

(I quite liked it)

[Heliocentric]

Oh my god, steam is on fire today. http://store.steampowered.com/sale/COHWeekendDeal/
80% off all company of heroes titles, making the original £1.39. That's NOTHING!

[sabrage]

How is CoH's multiplayer in terms of user-friendliness and custom maps/modes? I've never been able to play "normal" games in SC2 or WC3 (or any other strategy game) because the disparity between my own skill and just about anyone else's resulted in me losing every game.

[Heliocentric]

I won't lie, play against a pro and just as you deploy your first amoured car the entire 4th company of the panzer leer division will pour onto the map and artillery fire will blot out the sun.

But isn't that always the way? The game has great, skirmish will teach you a lot about playing the game for real.

[ford]

Are the expansions for CoH worth picking up? I know they're cheap... but so am I.

[squareking]

Are the expansions for CoH worth picking up? I know they're cheap... but so am I.

Seconding this question before I pull any triggers.

[Heliocentric]

The opposing fronts expandalone is good for sp, the tales of valo(u)r is the best for mp, the original and opposing together is probably the best overall.

[Giaddon]

The opposing fronts expandalone is good for sp, the tales of valo(u)r is the best for mp, the original and opposing together is probably the best overall.

Do you have that backward...? Opp Fronts has whole new factions, Tales of valor is just scenarios.

Also: Napoleon Total War is the best total war, probably. If you were intrigued by the gunpowder of Empire but scared away by the bugs and huge scope, Napoleon is taut, polished, and excellent. DLC is 50% off, too.

[LowKey]

yeah opposing fronts is worth it just so you can play panzer elite who are awesome

[Doesn'tmeananything]

Help me decide what I need most! I can either buy Total War Megapack (neat, as I already have Shogun 2, but never palyed previous games) or Dawn of War II for the same price. I can't make a choice myself!

[Janek]

DoW2 is pretty neat, but it's certain to be on sale again for Thanksgiving or Christmas or whenever. Whereas the Total War megapack is hilariously good value - out of the games included, only Empire is a duffer, and there's some jolly good mods out there too. So that's what'd get my vote.

[LowKey]

so Napoleon is the on to go for? I have all of the total wars except for empire and Napoleon, is it worth just getting the double pack with the dlc for the extra three quid?

[Giaddon]

Help me decide what I need most! I can either buy Total War Megapack (neat, as I already have Shogun 2, but never palyed previous games) or Dawn of War II for the same price. I can't make a choice myself! I'd actually say that the Total Wars are so similar (and so time-consuming!) that picking your favorite era and buying that one game (Rome, Medieval 2, or Napoleon), and getting the DOW2 would be the best option, if financially possible. (Note that Impulse will be selling DOW 2 Complete for $30 this Saturday, if you're in the US. They're all Steamworks, so you can plug them right in).


so Napoleon is the on to go for? I have all of the total wars except for empire and Napoleon, is it worth just getting the double pack with the dlc for the extra three quid?

If you have the time and enthusiasm for exploring Empire and the DLC, then yes (i.e., the 2 pack is more expensive in terms of time and energy than money). Empire is janky, but it's also huge, ambitious, and kind of awe-inspiring. Before it all crashes on your face.

[Smashbox]

Big ups to Empire. I don't think I'm alone in really liking that game. Many launch issues are solved, other solvable with mods. It's really impressive to me, partially because I'm enamored with that era in history. It's a very weird time for warfare, many new tactics and weapons were developed. The scope is incredible. Highly recommended by me.

[Doesn'tmeananything]

I'd actually say that the Total Wars are so similar (and so time-consuming!) that picking your favorite era and buying that one game (Rome, Medieval 2, or Napoleon), and getting the DOW2 would be the best option, if financially possible. (Note that Impulse will be selling DOW 2 Complete for $30 this Saturday, if you're in the US. They're all Steamworks, so you can plug them right in).

Yeah, that's exactly why I'm not all over that pack as I'm typing this post. I'm especially intimidated by the amount of time the games require, as you accurately mentioned, since e.g. in Shogun 2 in takes me 2-3 hours to achieve anything significant, like winning a battle, and it's not like I'm bored in the process! Still, when I have free time, I feel reluctant to play a total war game. It's quite a different beast, compared to other strategy games, and very demanding at that.

That's where DoW2 enters the scene. Very quick-paced, immediate fun type of game. The caveat is that I'm not planning on spending much time in multiplayer (and as it happens, I don't live in the US, so can't take advantage of that otherwise great deal). I can wait for the game (and add-ons) to go on sale. Probably won't, however. I initially planned to pick up games one by one, they don't cost much here.

But that Total War pack completely threw me off!

I'm thinking about following your advice, though. Thanks for that!

[KarpaDyem]

Brink is twenty bucks on Steam now. They should probably be promoting this more vigorously.

I really wanted this game when I saw one of the early trailers, with the parkour elements. The movement scheme looked awesome. But I couldn't get it when it first came out, and subsequent reviews scared me off. This price drop has renewed my interest. Is it worth a pick-up? People online still playing, or is it worth it for SP/bots?

[Cable]

I think that price on alpha protocol will be enough to convince me to just try it at least.
With the dnd games on gog, i'm a supremely uneducated rpg player, i've got planescape torment and working my way through that but apart from that one are the baldurs gate games the pick of the bunch or are they similar so i should just play 2?

[Heliocentric]

Do you have that backward...? Opp Fronts has whole new factions, Tales of valor is just scenarios.

All 3 titles are stand alone. Original gives you the usa campaign, for multiplayer you get usa and werchmark (sp?). opposing forces gets you the Britain and panzer elite campaigns for sp, for multiplayer you get Brits and panzer elite but not the original sides.

tales gets you 3 crap campaigns, but all 4 sides for mp and a few switchable units.

[Althea]

With CoH, it's cheaper to buy Gold Edition and that second expansion than it is the complete pack. Just thought I'd point that out for people interested in all three.

[Smashbox]

With CoH, it's cheaper to buy Gold Edition and that second expansion than it is the complete pack. Just thought I'd point that out for people interested in all three.

Mathematical!
http://mimg.ugo.com/201003/38278/cuts/sg18-300_288x288.jpg

[Giaddon]

Tales gets you 3 crap campaigns, but all 4 sides for mp and a few switchable units.

Ah, this I didn't know. Cool.

[sabrage]

I won't lie, play against a pro and just as you deploy your first amoured car the entire 4th company of the panzer leer division will pour onto the map and artillery fire will blot out the sun.


I just only have so much patience for the type of game that REQUIRES you watch replays to stay competitive, and right now all of that is dedicated to Street Fighter. I bought it anyways though.

[TailSwallower]

I really wanted this game when I saw one of the early trailers, with the parkour elements. The movement scheme looked awesome. But I couldn't get it when it first came out, and subsequent reviews scared me off. This price drop has renewed my interest. Is it worth a pick-up? People online still playing, or is it worth it for SP/bots?

I don't know if people are still playing online on PC, 'cause I played it on 360, but it would be worth finding out first because the game really isn't that great with just bots. The bots are pretty smart, but they're still just bots. The game gets more fun the more people you're playing with, so even if you only end up playing co-op with a friend or two you're still going to be having more fun that playing with bots only.

I don't really know much about the Company of Heroes games, but I'm very tempted to pick them up at that price because when I've heard people chatting about them it's always been in a positive way.
Are they worth it for SP only?

[sabrage]

With CoH, it's cheaper to buy Gold Edition and that second expansion than it is the complete pack. Just thought I'd point that out for people interested in all three.

It's a $.01 difference...

[Anthile]

The SEGA Mega Drive Classics Pack 4 is amazing value for money. Not only does it contain the turn-based RPGs Shining Force I and II but also the amazing gun'n'run games Alien Soldier and Gunstar Heroes (both by legendary developer Treasure). Also, the first two Streets of Rage games. On top of that, Light Crusader, Landstalker and Wonder Boy III... which I have never played but appear to be RPGs, of sorts.

All that for for only 1.87€/$ and most likely even less in your British currency I don't have a symbol for on my keyboard.