PC Bargains

[Althea]

But he could easily spend that £5 on something that will give him more fun.
More fun than Civilization? I think not.

[Ravelle]

That's a legitimate idea, my only issues with it are crap diplomacy and crap tactical AI. But the game itself seems great.

Independent states being a key feature.

This game would have more fun, as great as it is if it had funny random events like Tropico 4 instead of Hello, I want to build on your land. ;p

[Kelron]

The single player would be fun if the AI wasn't dull and predictable.

The multiplayer would be fun if wars didn't take forever to conduct and didn't break as soon as someone lags a little bit.

[vinraith]

More fun than Civilization? I think not.

More fun than a Civ game with braindead AI? Not hard to do.

I've been keeping an eye on Civ 5, but can't see the point of buying a strategy game that can't put up a fight. Strategy games require an investment of time to learn and master, if there's ultimately no challenge to be found they aren't worth that, regardless of the monetary price.

[Hensler]

There is a fantastic AI mod for Civ 5 (more than one actually) that makes the game worth way more than $5. That, plus the fact that this game has the best mechanics of any Civ game makes it a must-purchase on my list.

[Smashbox]

Definitely worth 5 smackers. No question about it for me.

[vinraith]

What does "its worth $5" mean, really? As I've said on these forums quite a few times lately, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that a game that's only worth $5 isn't worth the time it would take to play it, not with everything else that's out there.

[Althea]

What does "its worth $5" mean, really? As I've said on these forums quite a few times lately, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that a game that's only worth $5 isn't worth the time it would take to play it, not with everything else that's out there.
I don't think anyone is saying "I wouldn't pay more than $5" for it, but they're saying that the product you get is easily worth $5, as in you'll not feel as if you wasted your money.

[Juan Carlo]

What does "its worth $5" mean, really? As I've said on these forums quite a few times lately, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that a game that's only worth $5 isn't worth the time it would take to play it, not with everything else that's out there.

Exactly. 5 dollars is nothing, really.

I have such a backlog of games that usually when I ask "Is it worth it?" I really mean "Is it worth the time it will take to play it?" rather than "Is it worth the money it costs?"

[vinraith]

I have such a backlog of games that usually when I ask "Is it worth it?" I really mean "Is it worth the time it will take to play it?" rather than "Is it worth the money it costs?"

Yup. In Civ 5's case the answer appears to be strongly dependent on the quality of the aforementioned AI mods, which I'd like to hear more about.

Personally, I'm trying to keep myself to one new game per month. What it costs is immaterial, it's all I've got time for (hell, its seriously questionable whether I even have time for that with my backlog).

[The Pink Ninja]

So, steam wishlist top ten:

Skyrim
Arkham City
LA Noire
Witcher 2
Sengoku
Rage
AssCreed Rev
Fable 3
Bulletstorm
Dead island

The Modern Warefare games were on there because their prices never go down but then I realised I just want the ones on my list more

I have 29 other things on my wishlist BTW


Play it with friends/family, it's what I do.

I don't have any friends and no family that plays games

Let me put it this way:

What makes it better than SMAC which I love and CIV 4 which put me to sleep?

[sopabuena]

So Brink is really cheap this week: $4.99 for the game or $6.25 for the Complete pack. I still don't get what the game is about, is it an online shooter only? Does it have proper singleplayer? It's not a question of $5 bucks either, is it worth my time?

[Juan Carlo]

So Brink is really cheap this week: $4.99 for the game or $6.25 for the Complete pack. I still don't get what the game is about, is it an online shooter only? Does it have proper singleplayer? It's not a question of $5 bucks either, is it worth my time?

I only played it in the last free weekend, but it didn't seem to have a proper single player. It does kind of have a storyline, but the single player is basically just multiplayer maps with bots.

I actually thought it an OK game. I did like its look and art design, anyway. The problem is that it doesn't really do much to distinguish itself in a world where equal or better games can be had for free. When it comes to maintaining a MP community it seems that "OK" isn't enough any more.

[Serenegoose]

Kings bounty platinum on gamersgate for £7:50 - query though: I've never played a game LIKE what I've seen of Kings bounty. At all. Is it really difficult to pick up? Is it a good introduction to the genre?

[Janek]

It's pretty easy to grasp the basics, but it can be quite difficult in general, and you definitely need to pick your fights. Utterly charming game though, and can easily gobble the hours if you get into it.

There's not really much else like it these days, although the closest comparisons would be the likes of Age of Wonders and Heroes of Might & Magic. I personally prefer KB to both.

[Althea]

Kings bounty platinum on gamersgate for £7:50 - query though: I've never played a game LIKE what I've seen of Kings bounty. At all. Is it really difficult to pick up? Is it a good introduction to the genre?
It's a good introduction to the genre, but it's not the same. Its contemporaries - Might & Magic Heroes, Disciples and the now seemingly defunct Age of Wonders - have similar combat but the world mechanics are different.

It's... good, yeah. Definitely. You might want to look up a demo first, though, if you're really not sure. It's a game that's easy to grasp the basics of, but it's very hard to master. The balance is also really wobbly at times, but it is doable.

[The Mechanical Aggressor]

Has anyone used Gamesplanet.com before? They have Arkham City for cheap but I don't know if they're any good.

[Arona Daal]

Kings bounty?

Thats 2 Euro since half a year on http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/kings-bounty-the-legend

Edit: Oops, thats not the PLatinum Version.Careful.

[Juan Carlo]

Alien Vs Predator is 3 dollars:

http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/aliens-vs-predator

It's steamworks as well.

I love me some Aliens and Predators, and I think this is the cheapest it's ever been, but I've always heard such awful things about the game. Does it have an OK single player? Is it alieny enough, and predatory enough, and shooty enough? Or does it suck all the way through?

[SirKicksalot]

The human campaign is Doom 3 with aliens and predators, but the weapons aren't that great and the NPCs... well... It's competent and challenging at times.
Both monster campaigns are shorter but they're awesome. The xenomorph campaign rips off Alien 3 and 4 like a boss. The predator one lets you play with awesome overpowered toys. Controlling both of them is a joy.
The game looks great, runs very well on DX11 and has plenty of ultraviolence and fan service.

[agentorange]

How rampant are the quick time events in AvP3? I remember playing the demo, which was multi-player only, and it seemed like every combat action devolved into pressing E at the right time. From what I hear even crawling through vents involves pressing E? Instead of just being able to crouch and crawl in? Any truth to that.

[SirKicksalot]

You target the vent and press E to jump in. I had no problem with that, in fact you can jump straight into a vent from a distance. It helps that the alien's body awareness is awesome, you can feel the creature squeezing through the hole.
The fancier executions are indeed triggered by pressing a button. In MP this helped because many players just loved doing it but then they were locked into an animation and were easy prey for others.
There are a couple of instances where you must bash left mouse. Or maybe just one in the marine campaign? Can't remember. I hate QTEs but in AvP they're absolutely harmless.

[Matzerath]

Gee whiz, SirKicksalot, that's the nicest I've heard anyone speak about the new AvP. I haven't played it myself, so I can't truly judge -- but what's kept me from getting it (beside hearing it wasn't great, and I'm sure the multiplayer is super-dead at this point) is that it's, for some reason, a 16 GIGABYTE download.

[TailSwallower]

Dungeon Siege III is today's steam daily deal. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/901638/)

$20, $4 for the DLC, or $24 for Dungeon Sieges I, II, III and the DLC for III.

I'm tempted, but I've got plenty to play without adding them to my list. As for DSIII I played it on the Xbox and it is technically sound, co-op has design issues (share the one screen, only Player 1's character is persistent), and the whole package lacked a little something - but that little something may have been fixed with the addition of extra content and a crafting system in the DLC.

[Heliocentric]

Boarderlands for £5 on steam, does anyone care?

[Althea]

Boarderlands for £5 on steam, does anyone care?
Not really. It's been that price many times, and it has FoV issues that cannot be fixed (before anyone else says otherwise) which may make some people ill.

[Heliocentric]

Hi, I am from the future, I can't tell you anything big, but if you want to invest in cold fusion I won't stop you.
http://pcdddeals.com/2011/12/01/daily-d2d-deal-8/#more-5680
Some future direct 2 drive discounts.

[MD!]

Not really. It's been that price many times, and it has FoV issues that cannot be fixed (before anyone else says otherwise) which may make some people ill.

Was it one of those situations where you could change the FOV, but it would reset itself at frequent intervals? (Every time you sprinted, or entered a new area or something? But you could bind a key to change it back?) My memories are a bit vague, but I do remember that the FOV wasn't absolutely unchangeable. Definitely a pain in the bum though, whatever the exact situation was.

Luckily the underlying game didn't seem like my kind of thing anyway, so I didn't feel I was missing much. And I think I got it for free (nothing dodgy, maybe a gifted copy when it was on sale or something). So yeah, not recommended, but unless the method I used was broken in an update, the FOV isn't entirely unalterable. Someone who is really keen to play the game might be able to put up with manually resetting it all the time.

[Althea]

The FoV problem has a workaround (I think you have to practically bind it to every key), but you cannot actually fix it.

[sabrage]

UnravThreads also refuses to play VTM:B because it's really kind of shit without the unofficial patch, but installing that would be too much effort or something. (Not trying to call you out, but take what they say with a grain of salt)

[Althea]

UnravThreads also refuses to play VTM:B because it's really kind of shit without the unofficial patch, but installing that would be too much effort or something. (Not trying to call you out, but take what they say with a grain of salt)
Sigh. That's got fuck all to do with me warning people that a game will make some people ill or give them headaches.

I also refuse to play VtM:B because I'm not going to dick around with an in-progress fanpatch as I am currently prioritising other games. I said - if you cared to follow the discussion - that I will consider going back to it once the patch hits its final release.

[sabrage]

I just recall you saying something to the effect that the game wasn't worth playing if you had to mod it. The fan patch is in a perfectly serviceable state; the subsequent releases have been (from what I've seen) minor fixes and additional content. You aren't really missing out on anything by playing now, and conversely there isn't a lot to gain by waiting.

I can't say I've ever had any dizziness from a game so it doesn't really apply to me, but from what I understand there is a fix for Borderland's FOV, it just requires that extra step of fiddling that I consider intrinsic to the PC gaming experience anyways.

[Althea]

I just recall you saying something to the effect that the game wasn't worth playing if you had to mod it. The fan patch is in a perfectly serviceable state; the subsequent releases have been (from what I've seen) minor fixes and additional content. You aren't really missing out on anything by playing now, and conversely there isn't a lot to gain by waiting.
If a game has to be fanpatched to be playable, there's a problem. A big problem.


I can't say I've ever had any dizziness from a game so it doesn't really apply to me, but from what I understand there is a fix for Borderland's FOV, it just requires that extra step of fiddling that I consider intrinsic to the PC gaming experience anyways.
Nope. It's a workaround. I researched it myself, and others here have as well, and there is no permanent fix. It can only be worked around. That's supported by the official forums, too.

[MD!]

What exactly do you mean by 'workaround' as distinct from 'fix'? I can't speak for anyone else, but for me the only really significant question is the end result, rather than the means by which it's achieved.

I'd include 'repeatedly having the FoV reset, and having to press a button to change it back' as part of the end result, of course. But if there's some sort of workaround that leaves the player with a hassle-free experience, I don't think it matters much if that workaround is technically a bit inelegant and requires some fiddling with .ini or .cfg files.

So if it is something like adding "; fov 100" at the end of every keybind, and that means you never really notice the FoV changing, I would consider that as good as a fix. If it leaves you with a view that keeps flashing back and forth between different FoV values, then yeah, it's a dodgy workaround.

[Althea]

A fix is something that corrects the problem, a workaround does not correct it but alleviates it. That's the crux of it. If you have to bind the FoV change to every key, you're not fixing the problem, you're using a workaround to alleviate that problem. The FoV is never actually fixed.

It's like... I don't know, adjusting your driving to the left if your car has a balance problem that shifts it to the right. You've not fixed that wheel balance problem, but you're working around it.

[sabrage]

That's different. You are constantly and consciously adjusting your steering to compensate for the alignment problem. You need to set the FOV fix every time you start the game, but from there on out it's autonomous. Semantics aside, the problem is solved without any more input on your part.

[Althea]

Well, clearly it's not solved if you need to set it every time you start up.

[sabrage]

Not if you're lazy and/or forgetful.

[Althea]

Exactly, so it's a workaround. Alright, a better analogy. If you have a TV that you need to hit just right to get a clear picture, you're not fixing what's wrong with the wire or the TV, you're using a temporary fix that might need to be done once a day, once an hour, once a week - however frequently it may be.

That's what the Borderlands issue is. You cannot and are not addressing the actual fault, you're using what you can to create a workaround that alleviates the issue temporarily.

[MD!]

I think this is getting bogged down in personal-opinion-back-and-forth now.

Personally, performing one action on startup is trivial enough that I'd consider the problem fixed, with the caveat that the fix isn't entirely hassle-free. (Assuming it does correct the problem entirely for that session.)

That's not enough for you to consider it a fix, and perhaps not even an adequate workaround. But I think the best way of handling this sort of disagreement is just to spell out exactly what the workaround does and doesn't do, and let people make up their own minds. Otherwise, calling the problem 'unfixable', even though that's entirely correct according to your definition of 'fix', could easily mislead people.

You both seem more familiar with the Borderlands FoV fix/workaround than me, so would one of you mind spelling out how it's done and what the end result is? For instance, does the FoV visibly flash back and forth at all?

[sabrage]

Everything I know is from this page. (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/PC_Tweaks#Camera_tweaks) I think the past page of posts should be enough for anyone to figure out if the FOV is manageable or not in the game. Discussing the the differences between a "fix" and a "workaround" is ultimately an exercise in futility.

[jp0249107]

Has anyone given Crysis and its expansions a go? The Maximum Edition is on sale at Gamersgate and I'm thinking about getting it for the dry summer months or when I'm in the mood for some manshootin' that isn't BF3. I watched the Freelance Astronauts give the game a go and it looked like $15 worth of fun.

[Heliocentric]

Has anyone given Crysis and its expansions a go? The Maximum Edition is on sale at Gamersgate and I'm thinking about getting it for the dry summer months or when I'm in the mood for some manshootin' that isn't BF3. I watched the Freelance Astronauts give the game a go and it looked like $15 worth of fun.

The first half of Crysis, which means just after you *SPOILERS BUT NOT REALLY START HERE* punch the Korean commander to death*SPOILERS BUT NOT REALLY END HERE* is a genuinely excellent lovingly crafted game, then you float about a bit which is interesting for a while, but it they gets a little hateful, and then you stop floating and the game gets dreadful except 2 tiny scenes.

Warhead I've get to play, I've heads its much the same but the multiplayer is worth it for Mechwarrior: Living Legends which is the best Mechwarrior game ever.

[Heliocentric]

Well, clearly it's not solved if you need to set it every time you start up.
Couldn't you launch the game using a .bat?

Battlefield 3 for £25.65
You'll need to buy lots of blue coins first on the .co.uk to avoid card rejection and then buy it on the .com site but $40 usd at gamersgate is a good price.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BF3/battlefield-3
Origin activation mandatory

Also Bionic Commando Rearmed, hard as nails but incredibly good 2d retro but not dumb coopable game.
$2.99 = £1.92 saving you 47p on the .co,uk price
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BCR/bionic-commando-rearmed

Also the apparently meh Dark Void
$2.99 = £1.92
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-DVOID/dark-void

Battlefield bad company 2 and mirrors edge for $5.99= £3.85 each
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-MIEDUS/mirrors-edge
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BFBC2LE/battlefield-bad-company-2


More at the http://www.gamersgate.com/giftguide

[SirKicksalot]

I like Dark Void. It's a cute pulp adventure. Reptilians from outer space start World War 2 and Nathan Drake plays The Rocketeer. It's one of the few games that gets flying right when you're using mouse and keyboard. Has an awesome soundtrack and a bunch of really cool levels built around that vertical cover gimmick. For that price it's a steal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgfdARh6nI4

[Nova]

@jp0249107
With all the hype about the graphics the game got a bit lost. Sadly cause it is a great shooter. Not as much freedom as the first FarCry, but still much more than the average shooter. It' also pretty atmospheric.
That said I'm one of the few who thinks that Crysis improved quite a lot once the alien part kicks in. It's very well staged and the aliens aren't your typical two legged humanoid to which they backtracked in Crysis 2.

Warhead was okay, but not as good as Crysis.

[Althea]

Nathan Drake plays The Rocketeer
I think you mean Nolan North :p

[KillahMate]

Well personally I'd be willing to tolerate a slightly annoying workaround for a good game that costs $5. But probably not for a game that costs 5€, which is what I'm stuck with. Any fine US gentlemen willing to lend me a hand with buying Borderlands?

Edit: almost forgot, I'm KillahMate on Steam as well.

[squirrelfanatic]

The Data Smuggling Thread is where you want to look. The difference between 5EUR and 5$ is so small that it probably won't make any difference if you factor in the paypal costs.

[KillahMate]

The Data Smuggling Thread is where you want to look. The difference between 5EUR and 5$ is so small that it probably won't make any difference if you factor in the paypal costs.
Meh, that's true, but it's more a matter of principle. Stupid price equalization! Plus I figure it's a small enough sum to not be a problem for anyone. That being said, time to continue this on the Data Smuggling Thread...

[Althea]

More Zavvi bargains:
Space Marine (http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/warhammer-40-000-space-marine/10456922.html) - £13
Might & Magic Heroes VI (http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/might-magic-heroes-vi-6/10293181.html) - £15
Deus Orange: Orange Orange (http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/deus-ex-3-human-revolution/10201859.html) - £13

[Miker]

Dungeon Defenders is 75% off on Steam as part of its daily deal. I played the demo and couldn't get into it at all due to the floatiness/strange camera/wonky controls, but from what I hear, it's a rather excellent game.

[jp0249107]

It's very good! I definitely rate it up there with my top 5 games of the year. Try out the demo first to see if you like the coop atmosphere. But I picked it up for the pre-order and haven't regretted my purchase at all. You can play split-screen on your PC, which was a big deal for me as I've gotten a lot of play out of it playing with my wife on our PC. We just hook it up to the TV, grab the wireless M&KB and a Logitech controller and have fun!

[TigerMike74]

Is Dungeon Defenders playable in single-player mode? Or is it aimed solely at multiplayer?

[jp0249107]

I haven't tried it out myself but I've read it doesn't scale based on the number of players so single-player isn't a good idea.

[Corpekata]

It does scale depending on players.

However, it's largely kinda boring SP. I still play a SP map from time to time generally when I have specific goals and friends aren't online (pugging a super hard achievement is not an enjoyable experience).

[Althea]

GamersGate has some very, very interesting items on sale right now.

Drakensang: Phileasson's Secret (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-DSPS/drakensang-phileassons-secret) is now finally available to those of us in the UK, and is just £2.50 on sale! Yay!
Drakensang (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-DRAK/drakensang-the-dark-eye), the first game, is also down to £2.50
The Witcher 1: EE - DC (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-WITCHEREEDC/the-witcher-enhanced-edition-directors-cut) (the Director's Cut bit isn't relevant to anywhere but the US) is a massive £1.75.
Tropico 3 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-TROPICO3/tropico-3) is £2.50, but you may wish to hold out for the Gold edition.
Atom Zombie Smasher is £4 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DDB-AZS/atom-zombie-smasher-bundle)
BioShock 2 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-BIO2US/bioshock-2) is down to £3.50 which isn't bad, but it is GfWL and a slightly poor port, which may put some people off.
Talking of poor ports, Mass Effect (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-MASSUK/mass-effect-uk) is just £5, which isn't much of a bargain for those in England.

[Corpekata]

Worth noting that Witcher price is a daily deal so will be higher soon.

[oceanclub]

I also refuse to play VtM:B because I'm not going to dick around with an in-progress fanpatch as I am currently prioritising other games. I said - if you cared to follow the discussion - that I will consider going back to it once the patch hits its final release.

There's no real "dicking around" involved; it's a one-click install. And considering the patch is in its 7th year, I can't see a final release anytime soon. Just replayed the game myself with the patch and it's as great as I remembered; you really are missing out by not taking a chance.

Elsewhere:


BioShock 2 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-BIO2US/bioshock-2) is down to £3.50 which isn't bad, but it is GfWL and a slightly poor port, which may put some people off.


The plot isn't as original (it could never be) as no. 1, but the combat is more satisfying. I even loved the DLC, Minerva's Den. (not sure has that ever gone on sale though.)

P.

[Althea]

There's no real "dicking around" involved; it's a one-click install. And considering the patch is in its 7th year, I can't see a final release anytime soon. Just replayed the game myself with the patch and it's as great as I remembered; you really are missing out by not taking a chance.
V:tM-B will still be around in however many years. I will play it when I wish to, and right now I don't.

[Vexing Vision]

I just wish to highly recommend both Drakensang games. While Phileasson's Secret really doesn't add anything to Drakensang 2, both games are very, very nice - while I may commit unspeakable heresy with this, I'd describe them as a good mixture of Baldur's Gate and Eye of the Beholder.

Drakensang 2 is also incredibly immersive. It's a genuinely enjoyable world to live in and explore.

[Mana_Garmr]

Phileasson's Secret requires Drakensang 2 to play, but when I click on the link to that there's no option to buy the game. Is that just me?

[Althea]

Phileasson's Secret requires Drakensang 2 to play, but when I click on the link to that there's no option to buy the game. Is that just me?
Where do you live? River of Time is only available on .com, I think. If you're in the UK, you can't buy River of Time - it doesn't even appear on their site - you have to get it imported or use a proxy (my copy is an English-language EU copy).

[Mana_Garmr]

Ah, I'm in Ireland so that could be it. They seem to think I'm an American when I go to the site through my PC for some reason, on laptop now, so hopefully I can get it that way.

Edit: Damn, they've fixed whatever it was that treated me as being american.

[Sūduruncis]

Can I use gamersgate.co.uk instead of gamersgate.com for cheaper prices if I live in EU? I am sorry if this has been asked before, I am just kind of confused with their system.

[Mac]

Is Drakensang any good?

[Creeping Death]

Is Drakensang any good?

http://www.gamershell.com/download_36990.shtml Demo there. I tried it out earlier and, while the demo has some annoying limitations, it seemed to be a really enjoyable RPG. Was enough to confirm a purchase from me

[Althea]

Is Drakensang any good?
Depends what you're after. It's closer to Baldur's Gate and the such in that it's based on an actual in-use rule set (Das Schwarze Auge, known as The Dark Eye in English territories), which is rather odd to get to grips with.

If you want something like Dragon Age, you won't get that. The game will steamroll you, and I mean steamroll you. Even on easy, a lot of the game offers some sort of challenge and you are sort of limited in the viable builds for the game due to a fairly fixed party. Combat isn't the main focus, but it is necessary to progress, so you can't really avoid it.

I think you really have to try the demo to get what I mean. It's a rather obtuse game at the best of times, but it is absolutely stunning to look at and hear (Dynamedion did amazing work on the soundtrack).

[SirKicksalot]

R.U.S.E. is 67% off on Steam. Please buy it, especially if you like World in Conflict.
A review bashed it for having smart AI...

[Heliocentric]

A review bashed it for having smart AI...

Link or it didn't happen.

[Althea]

R.U.S.E. is 67% off on Steam. Please buy it, especially if you like World in Conflict.
A review bashed it for having smart AI...
I'm sure it's been cheaper though.

[vinraith]

A review bashed it for having smart AI...

I doubt that. Every review I've seen has said the AI is dumb as a post.

[Janek]

It is, in fact, cheaper right now on Gamersgate (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-RUSE/ruse-the-art-of-deception) (at least for the UK, £6 as opposed to £10)

Edit: Ruse, that is. Forum ate my quote ¬_¬

[SirKicksalot]

Also, the AI is somewhat unbalanced, so half the time, your ruses don't even work. The enemy either sees right through you and forces you to retreat, or you'll find yourself fooled by their fiendish ways. That's where the game's multiplayer proves useful, as you'll be able to test out your tactics against others on a similar intelligence level. Rather than Deep Blue, anyway.

Its creative "evil mastermind" plans are undone by dull pacing, too smart AI and enormous maps. Don't be fooled. R.U.S.E. has some good ideas under its hood, but it's overrun by smart AI and bad battle pacing.

http://ps3.gamezone.com/reviews/ruse_review_playstation_3_xbox_360

No shit it sees through your ruses sometimes... Where's the fun if it doesn't and your plans are ruined? Where's the fun if it doesn't fool you?


Every review I've seen has said the AI is dumb as a post.
Spoiler: it's not.
Edit: the campaign AI is entirely scripted, but playing the "operations" is surprisingly fun and challenging.

[vinraith]

Spoiler: it's not.

Hmm, I wonder if it's been improved. I remember around the time it was released the 3MA crew were big fans, but constantly reiterated that the game was only worth playing in MP because the AI was incompetent. The game looks cool, I've always been kind of annoyed that it's single player wasn't supposed to be worth my while. If that's changed, it's worth knowing.

[Wengart]

Green Man Gaming (http://www.greenmangaming.com/?gmgr=rinasawe)

Has Rage international edition for 41% off (35$). It comes with the Wasteland Sewers Mission DLC.

Referral Link

[gwathdring]

If you want something like Dragon Age, you won't get that. The game will steamroll you, and I mean steamroll you. Even on easy, a lot of the game offers some sort of challenge and you are sort of limited in the viable builds for the game due to a fairly fixed party. Combat isn't the main focus, but it is necessary to progress, so you can't really avoid it.

Interesting. In what particular way is the combat difficult?

I had an issue of Dragon Age wherein it felt relatively easy to find the best possible combo moves with a given party composition ... but even on lower difficulties many enemies I came across simply didn't work well with whatever party combination I happened have when I wandered into the dungeon. Which, instead of making for an interesting challenge, usually boiled down to consuming more healing potions. I have found relatively few battles that are difficult in a tactical sense but many that are difficult in terms of health bars. Perhaps I was doing something wrong, but since I got the same impression with higher difficulty levels in Mass Effect 2 and such is an explicitly stated difference between various difficulty levels in Dragon Age, I figured "bigger numbers" is Bioware's default difficulty assessment. To their credit, it's not exactly an unusual metric ... but I find it especially annoying in RPGs like Dragon Age. I like potion making in my RPGs and I quite enjoy chugging potions of this or that at tactically advantageous moments. But I feel quite strongly opposed to mid-combat health potions. I find them obnoxious and boring. To a lesser extent, all mid-combat potion tinkering lacks a certain elegance, but health potions are especially crass to me, allowing game designers and players alike to skirt around balancing issues and pad out combat length. I'd rather have shorter fights, stronger heroes, or weaker enemies than an abundance of health potions.

Sorry ... that segued quickly from a question into a rant. That sort of sentiment in mind, though, should I take a look at Drakensang? I love tactical gameplay in RPGs, just not potion or health-bar grinding.

[SirKicksalot]

Rage is a very good game but I bet it's going to be a lot cheaper during the Steam winter sale which starts on December 19 (http://twitter.com/#%21/geoffkeene).

Re: Ruse AI - you can choose multiple AI personalities (as in focusing on prototypes, aerial warfare etc) and difficulties and I'm pretty sure you can play 1v7 against them. Even if you don't find the AI that challenging all these options and the huge number of factions and toys should keep you entertained. Plus, it's a game from the future - so elegant, well designed and sooooo beautiful with great performance. I remember Quinns was a big fan too. The campaign is basically a huge tutorial, but I like it because it's relaxing and, well, watching gigantic battles across areas the size of a small country is incredible.
I really should play more Ruse.

[vinraith]

@SirKicksalot

I read something about co-op operations, what's the deal there? A good two-player co-op RTS would be a valuable thing.

[SirKicksalot]

There are 3 co-op operations maps (one of them added by DLC). I never played them. Operations are missions with specific starting and victory conditions and challenges.
The MP maps can be played in teams, including asymmetrical set-ups. There is a specific "championship" for 2v2 games, with separate leagues and leaderboards. These are regular matches, but the ruse system and limited resources makes co-op fun as you concern more about the overall strategy and coordination than combat tactics. Yes, you can have 2 humans vs 4 AIs with different personalities and nations.

[vinraith]

There are 3 co-op operations maps (one of them added by DLC). I never played them. Operations are missions with specific starting and victory conditions and challenges.
The MP maps can be played in teams, including asymmetrical set-ups. There is a specific "championship" for 2v2 games, with separate leagues and leaderboards. These are regular matches, but the ruse system and limited resources makes co-op fun as you concern more about the overall strategy and coordination than combat tactics. Yes, you can have 2 humans vs 4 AIs with different personalities and nations.

Thanks for the info, I'll give the demo another spin.

[sabrage]

If anyone ends up buying Ruse, please endeavor to make a social club of it! SirKicksalot is great at selling me on games I don't need. I love RTS games but usually I find that the single player is too boring and the multiplayer is too brutal, so I'd love to get into the game with some fellow RPSers. I'm really not interested in it just to play the single player, though.,



I will play it when I wish to, and right now I don't.
Now that I can relate to.

[Althea]

Interesting. In what particular way is the combat difficult?

I had an issue of Dragon Age wherein it felt relatively easy to find the best possible combo moves with a given party composition ... but even on lower difficulties many enemies I came across simply didn't work well with whatever party combination I happened have when I wandered into the dungeon. Which, instead of making for an interesting challenge, usually boiled down to consuming more healing potions. I have found relatively few battles that are difficult in a tactical sense but many that are difficult in terms of health bars. Perhaps I was doing something wrong, but since I got the same impression with higher difficulty levels in Mass Effect 2 and such is an explicitly stated difference between various difficulty levels in Dragon Age, I figured "bigger numbers" is Bioware's default difficulty assessment. To their credit, it's not exactly an unusual metric ... but I find it especially annoying in RPGs like Dragon Age. I like potion making in my RPGs and I quite enjoy chugging potions of this or that at tactically advantageous moments. But I feel quite strongly opposed to mid-combat health potions. I find them obnoxious and boring. To a lesser extent, all mid-combat potion tinkering lacks a certain elegance, but health potions are especially crass to me, allowing game designers and players alike to skirt around balancing issues and pad out combat length. I'd rather have shorter fights, stronger heroes, or weaker enemies than an abundance of health potions.

Sorry ... that segued quickly from a question into a rant. That sort of sentiment in mind, though, should I take a look at Drakensang? I love tactical gameplay in RPGs, just not potion or health-bar grinding.
I was talking about Drakensang's combat, not Dragon Age's.

[Vexing Vision]

Sorry ... that segued quickly from a question into a rant. That sort of sentiment in mind, though, should I take a look at Drakensang? I love tactical gameplay in RPGs, just not potion or health-bar grinding.

The first Drakensang is a lot more grindy than the second one. Combat does require a bit more skill than mere number pushing though, but it flows quite naturally after a while, depending on your play-style. (Mages are really, really hard to play, by the way. The way it should be.)

[Gnoupi]

One more to the "pay what you want for indies and charity" wave: http://www.indiegala.com/

Particularly notable in this one, inMomentum.

[gwathdring]

I was talking about Drakensang's combat, not Dragon Age's.

Hence me asking about Drakensang. Sorry if I obfuscated it a bit. For clarity: you made a wry comment "So if you're expecting Dragon Age, you won't like Drakensang," or something to that effect. Which inspired me to make Angry Internet Man comments about Dragon Age's combat as well as ask for more info about the combat system of Drakensang.


The first Drakensang is a lot more grindy than the second one. Combat does require a bit more skill than mere number pushing though, but it flows quite naturally after a while, depending on your play-style. (Mages are really, really hard to play, by the way. The way it should be.) I'll look into it, thanks. :)

[Althea]

Hence me asking about Drakensang. Sorry if I obfuscated it a bit. For clarity: you made a wry comment "So if you're expecting Dragon Age, you won't like Drakensang," or something to that effect. Which inspired me to make Angry Internet Man comments about Dragon Age's combat as well as ask for more info about the combat system of Drakensang.
Yes, I did. Basically, Dragon Age's combat is fairly simple. Get yourself a little rotation going, it's responsive and so forth.

Drakensang is... not like that. If you go in expecting Dragon Age, or if you go in to play it in a similar manner, the game will absolutely walk all over you and call you Mary in the process. You have to control the special attacks of all of your party members, because the AI will only really auto-attack. Even on Easy, the smaller enemies (rats in particular) can be a real headache, and the game makes no attempt to avoid throwing you - rather literally - to the wolves.

Actually, now I think about it, there isn't even really much of a tutorial...

[Juan Carlo]

One more to the "pay what you want for indies and charity" wave: http://www.indiegala.com/

Particularly notable in this one, inMomentum.

lol

They really are kind of overdoing it now. I don't think there's going to even be any indie games left to include after a few more months of this.

[Corpekata]

GoG.com is having a sale in about a week.

They've said that pretty much the vast majority of their stuff will be half off. They're also going to be giving away Empire Earth for free for 48 hours once the sale starts (the 12th).

[Vexing Vision]

GoG.com is having a sale in about a week.

They've said that pretty much the vast majority of their stuff will be half off. They're also going to be giving away Empire Earth for free for 48 hours once the sale starts (the 12th).

Oh, yes. And Witcher 1 + 2 will be bundled for 15 of ye British Pounds. My goodness. DRM-free no less, so there's really no excuse. I may just buy both games again for the awesome.

/edit: All RIGHT, RPS, I get it. You're faster than I am. *grumbles*

[Fredie007]

Skyrim for £19.99 (http://www.gamestation.co.uk/gs/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-88094), and since I'm still waiting on my pre-order to be sent to me (can you believe that?), this one's too nice to pass up.

[Gnoupi]

One more to the "pay what you want for indies and charity" wave: http://www.indiegala.com/

Particularly notable in this one, inMomentum.

After half an hour of frustration, I'll correct: Particularly notable in this one, Hacker Evolution Duality.
inMomentum annoyed me with a tutorial forcing me to stay still (ironical, I guess) until the voice finishes talking, and a general gameplay which makes me feel more like a sweepy stone than a gracious flying object.

I understand that this is a matter of skill, but the repeated level design annoyances are getting to me and preventing my fun.

Typically, the checkpoints. Apparently there was an agreement to place most of them just before the edge. You know, so you can fall directly after respawning. Or so that you have to come back to an earlier place, just to gain enough momentum to pass the area after the checkpoint.
Checkpoint design 101: place them where I can come back to the action directly, starting from them. (Same issue with most Trackmania custom tracks, people make checkpoints just before a jump needing a full speed momentum, meaning that you're stuck if you fail and have to respawn there...)

So after 20 minutes of falling repeatedly (most of the time right after checkpoints), I gave up, frustrated. I guess it's not a game for me.

Hacker Evolution is a nice surprise. It's a lot on the cliche side of "hackers", but feels nice to play so far.

[Giaddon]

Add me to the RUSE is good crowd. But then again, I am easily amused, and can happily sit for hours zooming into the trees and then zooming out so it's a map in a bunker. Zoom in, zoom out, zoom in, zoom out he he he...

(And the GamersGate price is the cheapest I've seen it. I believe it registers to Steam)

[Heliocentric]

lol

They really are kind of overdoing it now. I don't think there's going to even be any indie games left to include after a few more months of this.

Quickly, send more orphans down the indie game mine.

[Creeping Death]

One more to the "pay what you want for indies and charity" wave: http://www.indiegala.com/

Particularly notable in this one, inMomentum.


Has anyone here purchased this? I did earlier and none of the Steam keys work :/

Lets see how good their support is!

Edit: Tried to contact their support and apparently the email address isn't real...

[Gnoupi]

Has anyone here purchased this? I did earlier and none of the Steam keys work :/

Lets see how good their support is!

Edit: Tried to contact their support and apparently the email address isn't real...

I did, and activated 4 keys from the bundle, so far, without issues. Have you tried both addresses from the contact page (http://www.indiegala.com/contact)?

[Creeping Death]

Ah Thanks Gnoupi. I'd sent it to their contact one (the one that they included with my order as the email to go to for problems). Their support one hasn't bounced back (yet) so hopefully it's reached them.

[Heliocentric]

Conspiracy or good timing?
Today's RPS advent calendar game Orcs must Die is today's steam sale. £2. 99

I need to inspect the dlc more closely.

[Creeping Death]

Steam's also got the King Arthur games as their midweek madness. 75% off again, so if you missed it in the thanksgiving sale now you've a second chance.

I personally really liked the first game. It was a weird hybrid of a few different genres but I thought it worked well.

[Heliocentric]

OMD dlc:
The artifacts of power dlc is a bit rubbish but only 49p
The lost advdntures/whatever looks genuinely interesting adding new enemies and the best extra trap, but most importantly a bunch of new levels, hopefully interesting ones.

[The Pink Ninja]

Want to try King Arthur but I am trying not to spend anymore before X-mas and £8 is just a little too much when I already have a good dozen games waiting for me to play them when I get home next Wednesday.

[Mac]

Buy PC Gamer (UK) - you get a Steam Key for King Arthur with the mag. Digital copy is £2.99

[Mac]

Which King Arthur DLC is worth getting ?

[SirKicksalot]

The Saxons and The Druids. Each include a new campaign and a lot of new units, items etc. The Saxons comes with the other two smaller DLCs, so that's the best value.
The base game has a lot of content anyway, new people can safely ignore the DLCs until Christmas. Make sure you try the base game before buying the other stuff, the performance is rather eccentric if you know what I mean...

[Maurish]

Skyrim for £19.99 (http://www.gamestation.co.uk/gs/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-88094), and since I'm still waiting on my pre-order to be sent to me (can you believe that?), this one's too nice to pass up. Actually I can believe that! Since the digital version is not available here I decided to go all retail on Skyrim. It's been almost a month now and still nothing. Then they wonder why people pirate their games... Luckily I've managed to keep myself occupied and hopefully get it before Christmas.

[Mac]

The Saxons and The Druids. Each include a new campaign and a lot of new units, items etc. The Saxons comes with the other two smaller DLCs, so that's the best value.
The base game has a lot of content anyway, new people can safely ignore the DLCs until Christmas. Make sure you try the base game before buying the other stuff, the performance is rather eccentric if you know what I mean...

cheers ...

[Christian]

Skyrim for £19.99 (http://www.gamestation.co.uk/gs/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-88094), and since I'm still waiting on my pre-order to be sent to me (can you believe that?), this one's too nice to pass up.

Sounds like a good deal, but delivery to mainland Europe costs another 3,-..which makes this around € 27,-. Still a good deal I guess..but somehow I'm still hoping it'll be part of one of the pre-Christmas Steam-sales.. :)
Does anyone know how long they take for delivery to Germany? Play and TheHut take quite long (anything from a week to 3 weeks)..

[oceanclub]

Skyrim for £19.99 (http://www.gamestation.co.uk/gs/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-88094), and since I'm still waiting on my pre-order to be sent to me (can you believe that?), this one's too nice to pass up.

I can well believe it; Zavvi lost mine, and now I can't even get someone from customer service to email me. Absolutely crap service.

P.

[Gnoupi]

Play and TheHut take quite long (anything from a week to 3 weeks)..

TheHut (and Zavvi, same firm), take quite long. From 3 weeks to never, from my experience. And the customer service is crappy. Still waiting for my refund for a not delivered item, for which I filled two forms they sent me. 2 years ago.

[Scumbag]

Bastion is steam's daily deal: £3.83

[Heliocentric]

Bastion is steam's daily deal: £3.83

What is the word on the street dawg?

[sabrage]

What is the word on the street dawg?

It's good, but it's highly linear and the combat lacks depth (though it is fun.) Just don't buy it and then complain about the narrator or I will find you and follow you around, narrating your every move. It should be immediately obvious from even one trailer whether or not you like that style.

Don't you hate it when you get quoted before you can fix your grammatical errors?

[ComradePenguin]

Just don't buy it and then complain about the narrator or I will find you and follow you around, narrating your every move. It should be immediately obvious from even one trailer whether or not you like that style or not.

I actually had my doubts after the trailers but having played the demo I was much more convinced by the narrator so I'd say give that a go even if you have some worries.

[vinraith]

What is the word on the street dawg?

My read was "all style, no substance." There's a demo.

[Teddy Leach]

Yeah, all style, no substance. The narrator and art style's about the only thing it's got going for it.

[Kodeen]

So how does buying a soundtrack through Steam work? Are you given DRM free MP3's, or do you have to listen through the Steam client or something equally silly?

[sabrage]

So how does buying a soundtrack through Steam work? Are you given DRM free MP3's, or do you have to listen through the Steam client or something equally silly?

The Binding of Isaac soundtrack is just a folder in the game's subdirectory with the game's soundtrack in .mp3 format. I don't think I have any other soundtracks or I'd check, but I assume that all of the soundtracks follow this format.

[Althea]

So how does buying a soundtrack through Steam work? Are you given DRM free MP3's, or do you have to listen through the Steam client or something equally silly?
They're all in the respective game's folder, but the actual directory depends on the game. Often it's under something like "bonus" or even just "soundtrack". They're DRM free as far as I know - had no problems getting them onto iTunes and my iPod Touch. The quality will depend on the developer/publisher, though, but I've never had a poor quality one.

[squirrelfanatic]

The MP3s are downloaded and saved in your Steam folder, no DRM.

[Kodeen]

Cool, thanks guys.

[Anthile]

Cryostasis (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CRYO/cryostasis-sleep-of-reason) is off 80% today on Gamersgate, which makes it only 1.99€/£. It's one of my all-time favorite games with a fantastic ending. Gameplay-wise I'd say it's basically Amnesia with guns. It also still looks fantastic.

[Scumbag]

Cryostasis (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CRYO/cryostasis-sleep-of-reason) is off 80% today on Gamersgate, which makes it only 1.99€/£. It's one of my all-time favorite games with a fantastic ending. Gameplay-wise I'd say it's basically Amnesia with guns. It also still looks fantastic.

Sort of agree. Its fantastic in what it does, plus it never patronizes the player.
If you can get it to run smoothly is another matter. As far as I can tell this was never recived a patch and the optimization is "If you dont have an Nvidia card, sod off!"

[ComradePenguin]

Bit of a weird, not really PC related one this but the company from a possible future Onlive are offering a free copy of Lego Batman if you sign in with one of their mobile applications to play on what ever device you wish. It's out on Android (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.onlive.client) and an iOS version will be available shortly. You have to wait a few hours for them to add Batman to your account. Had a quick go and there was some joy in seeing Tropico 4 load up on my phone even if playing it on a 3.7" screen was silly.

[sabrage]

Christmas Season is really trying my willpower... J&R is having a 2 for $7 sale (http://www.jr.com/promotions/2-for--7-pc-games/?JRSource=chemail.2for7Games.12072011&JRSource=linkshare&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-IeOIk%2F0OJW5u8M8JU71KKw)on (physical!) PC games. Shipping is free if you sign up for their "Friends With Benefits" program, which is free and you can cancel at any time.
There's a lot of shovelware, but here's some highlights:
-Assassins Creed 1+2
-Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
-Tom Clancy's Endwar + World in Conflict
- Torchlight
- Star Wars: Republic Commando
- Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
-Heroes of Might and Magic 5

These deals are good in US and Canada only. Note that a lot of these games are out of stock, but I believe that you can back-order them and they will ship when they have more.

(According to their testimonials page (http://www.jr.com/information/testimonials.jsp): "Easy to order, easy to pay, good shipping. My item was out of stock, but I still got it within 2 weeks. I would shop there again.")

Edit: *Sigh* this deal was just too good for me to pass up. I'm a sucker for physical media.

[Kodeen]

Pageant Princess is out of stock! J&R can kiss my ass.

http://www.jr.com/cosmi/pe/CBP_CDRS133/

[sabrage]

Kodeen actually raises a good point: Pageant Princess is "Sold Out," which means that they will no longer be carrying the item, whereas Torchlight (http://www.jr.com/encore/pe/ENI_26280/)is "Out of Stock" which means you can order it now and it will be shipped as soon as they get new inventory.

[DrBee]

Steam is offering Homefront for a fiver. I''m tempted. Is the game any good? When I remember right the reception wasnt very good.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/55100/

[Heliocentric]

I see £7.50

[DrBee]

4,99 euros in mainland europe. That's the first time Steam did not screw us. :-)

[Heliocentric]

4,99 euros in mainland europe. That's the first time Steam did not screw us. :-)

Enjoy it while it lasts.

[Scumbag]

For those who have not seen, its free weekend to play and 75% off Killing Floor on Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/1250/ DOSH!

Hightly immature and very teenager crass in its character, but IMO the best co-op zombie FPS game around. Bit old, but the support it still gets is fantastic.
Has DLC, but you can safely ignore that if you want as its just character skins.

[Subatomic]

Todays daily deal on Steam is Oblivion for €4,99 (€6,24 for the 'Deluxe Edition'). Having never played any of the Elder Scrolls games (and as I can't afford Skyrim at the moment), is Oblivion a good place to start? Also, the whole business with mods to fix Bethesda's shortcomings... are there any 'must-have' mods for the game or some sort of unofficial patch / fix-pack?

[Wizardry]

Todays daily deal on Steam is Oblivion for €4,99 (€6,24 for the 'Deluxe Edition'). Having never played any of the Elder Scrolls games (and as I can't afford Skyrim at the moment), is Oblivion a good place to start? Also, the whole business with mods to fix Bethesda's shortcomings... are there any 'must-have' mods for the game or some sort of unofficial patch / fix-pack?
Well, it's the worst game in the series so it's probably the best place to start.

[Heliocentric]

Wizardry recommend Oblivion.
*Chokes back laughter*
It's not as freeing as Morrowind but the combat is less likely to make you grind your teeth, but the series character leveling and the baddies scaling to you level was at its most inane for Oblivion.

We are talking rats tougher than demons.

[Wizardry]

Oblivion has far worse combat than Morrowind.

[SirKicksalot]

Oblivion modding chart. (http://i.imgur.com/Evdqp.jpg)

[Anthile]

Oblivion has far worse combat than Morrowind.

That's physically impossible.

[Heliocentric]

Oblivion has far worse combat than Morrowind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TKSL9wENUE
I concede, you are right.

[Wizardry]

Not my fault his character has a shitty chance to hit. Blame the player, not the game.

[Heliocentric]

All novice gamers should just "man up" right?

[Wizardry]

All novice gamers should just "man up" right?
Exactly...

[Serenegoose]

All novice gamers should just "man up" right?

I'd likely not choose those words, but to a large extent, yes. There's nothing wrong with a reasonable tutorial or an easy mode, but games are generally a bit too easy on their 'default' difficulty settings. Challenge pacing is something that needs quite delicately honed, and just bulldozing it into a constant low stream of fairly easy encounters is silly.

[Heliocentric]

...
Did you actually watch that video?

[sabrage]

Ok, this is getting a bit off topic, but if you're craving Skyrim have you considered that Morrowind has better graphics? And it's $40 cheaper. There's a bargain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xDti5RCtJ80

[Serenegoose]

Did you actually watch that video?

No, I'm afraid it didn't load (nor even acknowledge its presence, I have to quote your post to see that there's some youtube formatting there at all.) I admit Wizardry's first comment did confuse me somewhat as I couldn't see what he was referring to. If it was the cue to some joke then I missed it entirely, and my answer is naively earnest :P

[SirKicksalot]

That fucking water... How come water got worse with every TES since Morrowind? I mean the rivers look awesome in Skyrim, but everything else looks mehtastic compared to Oblivion which looked mehtastic compared to Morrowind.
I'm not sure if that's supposed to happen for everyone, but when I got off that ship at the start of Morrowind it was raining and my mind was blown when I looked at the water.

[Heliocentric]

If it was the cue to some joke then I missed it entirely, and my answer is naively earnest :P

Try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6TKSL9wENUE
Its pretty bad, essentially a guy eternally swinging a sword at a beasty to no effect because he lacks the right skills.

[Wizardry]

Try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6TKSL9wENUE
Its pretty bad, essentially a guy eternally swinging a sword at a beasty to no effect because he lacks the right skills.
No. His/her character is swinging a sword at a beasty to no effect because they are really bad at swinging a sword.

[Heliocentric]

No. His/her character is swinging a sword at a beasty to no effect because they are really bad at swinging a sword.
You are completely right, I was personifying the character as the player because it was an real time game where you control 1 character. Like "I totally mixed some poison put it on my sword and killed that guard."

Loose lip sink ships?

[Serenegoose]

Well it's certainly graphically weak, since there's no sign of the blow being parried or otherwise avoided/deflected - but that strikes me as a limitation of technology. Just because he can swing a sword doesn't mean it should do anything. I'm sure I can swing one also but I wouldn't put me in the ring against a fencer and expect me to walk away with anything more than a pity point. That said the melee combat in the four TES games I've played (Arena, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim) have mostly been the same. Get in range, stab, maybe something happens?!

[Heliocentric]

Well it's certainly graphically weak, since there's no sign of the blow being parried or otherwise avoided/deflected - but that strikes me as a limitation of technology. Just because he can swing a sword doesn't mean it should do anything. I'm sure I can swing one also but I wouldn't put me in the ring against a fencer and expect me to walk away with anything more than a pity point. That said the melee combat in the four TES games I've played (Arena, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim) have mostly been the same. Get in range, stab, maybe something happens?!
If the animation plays that the sword hit the enemy in oblivion, it actually hits, more skilled fighters might have more knockback or damage but every apparent hit is an actual hit, blocking is manual too.

I'm not suggesting these changes were strictly improvements, but for a novice Morrowind was so opaque as to what was happening a player might fail to understand why he was failing until long after he gave up.

[Althea]

Yep, Morrowind had absolutely stupid combat. It was a good idea in theory, but it didn't work in practice and I'm still fairly shocked that Bethesda released it in the state that they did. It might have sold well, sure, but I wonder how many people tried it and gave up permanently after any amount of combat experience.

Roll-to-hit combat really only works on a 3rd Person view with less interactive combat system. It doesn't work in 1st with an interactive one (i.e. real-time where you swing the sword and block) as the feedback to the player is contradictory. If you see your sword go into an enemy, then you should have hit it. If you didn't, something is wrong with the combat system - not the player.

[Janek]

Fundamentally it's not really any different to a character hacking away to no effect in Baldur's Gate or whatever, but by modern standards it certainly looks jarring in a first-person game (though I don't recall having an issue with it at the time)

Definitely much better in Oblivion/Skyrim though.

[lasikbear]

So how about those video games for the personal computer at prices lower than they are normally offered for from most retailers?

[Wizardry]

Why couldn't Bethesda just implement dodge animations? That way they could have kept Morrowind's character skill based hitting while getting rid of its aesthetic issues.

[Serenegoose]

So how about those video games for the personal computer at prices lower than they are normally offered for from most retailers?

Wrong thread - this is the PC bargains thread where we talk about the UI of first person games that rely to a greater or lesser extent on statistics over player skill and their potential confusion or opacity they present to newer gamers.

Cheap PC games talk is over in the 'Skyrim combat discussion' thread.

[Matzerath]

Limbo is currently 2.49 USD over at GamersGate right now, and has slightly better combat than Morrowind, though unfortunately no dodge animations and your companion can't ride a horse and you can't fight on a horse but you can scale vertical cliff-sides with a horse.

[Casimir Effect]

Why couldn't Bethesda just implement dodge animations? That way they could have kept Morrowind's character skill based hitting while getting rid of its aesthetic issues.
Tricky motion capture for all weapons types so you don't get a dodge animation playing when a giant axe clearly goes through a head. And also seeing an attack dodged constantly can be just as annoying as seeing it hit but not register.

I feel the best way is to show the attacks as hitting but doing very little damage. Then at least you know it isn't a weird bug of some sort or hitbox problems. It can be justified as the defended either having armour heavy enough to absorb most of the blow, or the defended being agile enough to turn with the blow, ie. it just glances off their armour like a parry does a weapon (contrast to a weapon block, which corresponds to heavy armour)

[Wizardry]

Tricky motion capture for all weapons types so you don't get a dodge animation playing when a giant axe clearly goes through a head. And also seeing an attack dodged constantly can be just as annoying as seeing it hit but not register.

I feel the best way is to show the attacks as hitting but doing very little damage. Then at least you know it isn't a weird bug of some sort or hitbox problems. It can be justified as the defended either having armour heavy enough to absorb most of the blow, or the defended being agile enough to turn with the blow, ie. it just glances off their armour like a parry does a weapon (contrast to a weapon block, which corresponds to heavy armour)
That could work, but you'd need to give some sort of feedback to the player so that they know whether to increase their character's chance to hit or not. The player needs to know their character's strengths and weaknesses so that they can advance them in an appropriate way.

[Casimir Effect]

That could work, but you'd need to give some sort of feedback to the player so that they know whether to increase their character's chance to hit or not. The player needs to know their character's strengths and weaknesses so that they can advance them in an appropriate way.
True, I imagine specific sound effects or visual cues (spark effects) would be the best way to show this and differentiate from the times when you are actually hitting an opponent but causing little damage due to a strength stat or weapon choice.

The ultimate problem is that this keeps adding layers of complexity onto everything for the user. So the Oblivion system of 'always hitting something' shows its advantage through simplicity of design. Personally I would love a game which requires me recognising subtle sounds or visuals to know how effective my gameplay technique is, but I fear this would not go down well with many people.

[Heliocentric]

Limbo is currently 2.49 USD over at GamersGate right now, and has slightly better combat than Morrowind, though unfortunately no dodge animations and your companion can't ride a horse and you can't fight on a horse but you can scale vertical cliff-sides with a horse.

No cliff racers, but you do have to deal with a great giant spider in maybe the most satisfying way a giant spider was even dealt with.

It's short and ending made me frown, but the game itself is magnificent.

[Heliocentric]

DEATH TO SPIES (caps belong to get games) is $2 on get games how much in pounds sterling? No idea. Stupid site.

[Creeping Death]

DEATH TO SPIES (caps belong to get games) is $2 on get games how much in pounds sterling? No idea. Stupid site.

£2 (http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/death-to-spies). Conversion rates at their best

[Anthile]

The GOG sale is starting soon:


Finally, we’re starting our winter sale with a huge bang--we’re giving anyone a free copy of Empire Earth Gold Edition for 48 hours. Starting on Monday 12 December at 11.00 GMT and running until Wednesday 14 December at 10.59 GMT, anyone can add Empire Earth: Gold Edition to his or her shopping cart for free as a holiday gift from us to you!

Also, starting on Monday at 11.00 GMT, GOG.com is adding virtually every single game in our catalog for 50% off from now until 2 January 2012. Pick up games from fantastic publishers and developers like EA, Interplay, Atari, Activision, Sierra, and many more for half off this holiday season!

[elephant god]

Also, GOG.com are giving away literally hundreds of keys. I jist won a 10$ game gift code via the twitters. Now that i have it, I'm terribly torn on what to get. Suggestions?

[Matzerath]

With Gog, the choices are so varied! If you're flying blind, find something in a genre that interests you, and read the comments on the game page. Look for a few reviews that don't have the nostalgia blinders turned to full. Then go the game's community page and see how many people are having trouble getting it to run, or whether it needs a community patch or some such outside fix to work acceptably. Decide if you want to make that commitment.
That said, I like Freespace 2, the Descent series, Total Annihilation, and the first two Strongholds.

[Juan Carlo]

Also, GOG.com are giving away literally hundreds of keys. I jist won a 10$ game gift code via the twitters. Now that i have it, I'm terribly torn on what to get. Suggestions?

Ultima 7 (it's only 6 dollars, though)

[Corpekata]

Well, at least wait 2 days, since their sale starts pretty soon.

[Revisor]

Alpha Protocol, for those who missed the last few sales, goes for 4 Euro / 3 pounds on Gamersgate
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ALP/alpha-protocol

[Corpekata]

Alpha Protocol, for those who missed the last few sales, goes for 4 Euro / 3 pounds on Gamersgate
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ALP/alpha-protocol

You posted this like 30 mins before the sale ended :-p.

New Daily is the X Superbox.

[sabrage]

I hate the X games. The screenshots always try to convince me that I'll love it, but then the interface (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb6Phui44g&feature=related) barges in like a shitty roommate and ruins everything.

[Revisor]

You posted this like 30 mins before the sale ended
Oh, sorry, I didn't know that. I still saw the sale and thought it would last the whole weekend.
Next time I'll be quicker.

A to stay on topic
Two deals look pretty good at Shopto.net
Dead Island for £16.85
http://www.shopto.net/PC/VIDEO%20GAMES/PCDE18-Dead%20Island.html

AssBro for £9.85
http://www.shopto.net/PC/VIDEO%20GAMES/PCAS08-Assassins%20Creed%20Brotherhood.html

[Vague-rant]

AssBro is actually cheaper on Amazon right now 7.99, for the UK peeps

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood-PC-DVD/dp/B003L0OVO2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1323616711&sr=8-5

Huh. I could've sworn it was a fiver when I bought it from there a few weeks ago.

[Hensler]

I hate the X games. The screenshots always try to convince me that I'll love it, but then the interface (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb6Phui44g&feature=related) barges in like a shitty roommate and ruins everything.

Same here. I've tried a bunch of times, but they just can't grab my attention.

[Heliocentric]

When I was younger X series would have eaten me whole, but if games are like a job now I need at least multiplayer to distract me, no matter how epic they are.

[The Pink Ninja]

Modern Warfare 2 down to the reasonable price of £10?

To MW2 or not to MW2, that is the question...

EDIT: I only played 9 hours of MW1 so I guess it's probably not worth it.

[Scumbag]

Modern Warfare 2 down to the reasonable price of £10?

To MW2 or not to MW2, that is the question...

EDIT: I only played 9 hours of MW1 so I guess it's probably not worth it.

OPINION: Stick with the first one for both multiplayer and single player. Never bother with the second unless you REALLY want to see the story to it, and that is such a pile of stinking shit it hurts to watch. I spent £15 on it and felt utterly ripped off, not because of the price paid, just because what it did badly was REALLY bad.

[sabrage]

The second one has an excellent co-op mode.

[Rauten]

Modern Warfare 2 down to the reasonable price of £10?

To MW2 or not to MW2, that is the question...

EDIT: I only played 9 hours of MW1 so I guess it's probably not worth it.

MW2 multiplayer is faulty, very faulty; some good ideas to build from MW1's multiplayer that could have worked marvelously well, if not for a thousand million trillion unbalancing issues. Oh, and no dedicated servers, it all works using P2P. Yay.

MW2 single player campaign is a heresy to MW1's delicious campaign. I still can't imagine what kind of arsehole they pulled half of the crap in MW2's story from.

MW2 Spec Ops can be a good laugh and challengue if you can play with a friend with some voice comms going on, it's the best part of the game by far.

[Creeping Death]

Waves is half price from the devs at the minute. £3.49 (https://sites.fastspring.com/squidinabox/instant/waves) and that includes a Steam code.

I played the demo and it seems like a really fun game. I may have to pick this up.

[sabrage]

Amazon download deals:
Dungeon Defenders (http://www.amazon.com/Trendy-Entertainment-40829n-Defenders1-Defenders/dp/B005VFHOOE?t=slicinc-20&tag=slicinc-20) $3, requires Steam
Dungeon Siege 3 (http://www.amazon.com/Square-Enix-40701eon-Siege-31-Download/dp/B0054SFKUS?t=slicinc-20&tag=slicinc-20) $5, requires Steam
Drakensang: River of Time (Drakensang: The River of Time) $4
Dead Island (http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Silver-40781Dead-Island1-Download/dp/B005JF4J58/ref=br_lf_m_1000746611_1_6_img?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1339584162&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000746611&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KZZ48DD6465AYC0RZ93) and Human Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/Deus-Ex-Revolution-Standard-Download/dp/B005HRZ29K/ref=br_lf_m_1000746611_1_2_img?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1339584162&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000746611&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KZZ48DD6465AYC0RZ93): $20 each, both require Steam
Magicka Collection (http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Interactive-40865-Collection1-Collection/dp/B0069TK0VU/ref=br_lf_m_1000746611_1_10_img?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1339584162&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000746611&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KZZ48DD6465AYC0RZ93) $4

[Heliocentric]

The gog sale has 50% all of our childhoods. But GamersGate land grab on that is Neverwinter Nights diamond for £2.36.

[Wolfenswan]

Empire Earth Gold is available for free at gog.com till the 14th of December.

Just add it to your cart.

[Althea]

Empire Earth Gold is available for free at gog.com till the 14th of December.

Just add it to your cart.
You don't even need to do that. Log in, go to the product page and it says "Download Now" instead of "Add to Cart". That's all you need to do, it'll automatically be added to your account.

[squareking]

GOG is currently Atlas Shrugged-ing. It's adorably sad.

[sopabuena]

Oh, The Force Unleashed II is on Steam's daily deal for $5. Tempting. I know it got poor reviews but it should be at least fun for a while.
Too bad I already bought Bastion, Orcs Must Die and Indie Royale's X-mas bundle in the last couple of weeks

[Juan Carlo]

I've never played SW:FU2, but I was underwhelmed enough with FU1 that I have no interest in FU2. I got FU1 hoping for something like Jedi Knight, but it's more of an oversimplified console platformer (it has no lightsaber dueling system like the Jedi Knight games had, which was disappointing, and while the force powers look cooler, they are more limited in their deployment and you can't do as creative or cool things with them). Plus it's a terrible port. It's like 26 gigs, yet the graphics are awful, and it has no graphics options, a 30fps limit, and not even mouse support for menus (which is the surest sign of a lazy port).

So, given how mediocre FU1 was, I imagine FU2 (which got terrible reviews) is even worse.

[Giaddon]

Force Unleashed 2 sucks. As long as you know that going in, you'll be fine.

It can be nice to spend money on something shitty. It reinforces your own ability to waste money. It's a kind of luxury.

[Rauten]

But GamersGate land grab on that is Neverwinter Nights diamond for £2.36.

I love you.

[Patrick Swayze]

Anno 2070 is a mere £19.95 on Zavvi.com already.

[cosmicolor]

Speaking of NWN1, was there ever a workaround to that bizarre bug it has on Windows 7 where it misrecognises a display driver or something and the game thus runs like shit? I ask because I have one of the retail versions (Deluxe edition) and I'd love to play it more but just can't. I'm half tempted to buy it from GoG to see if it runs better.

[Rauten]

I'm DLing it now, but with my crappy line it won't be done till tomorrow; I'll report with anything. (I've bought it on GamersGate though, dunno if it's a different version than the GoG one).

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot, I'm using W7 myself too (64bit professional).

[Ignorant Texan]

I can report that GOG's version of NWN1 runs fine for me on both XP and Win7(64bit Home) at 1920x1080. With the exception of the resolution for the opening videos on both OSs at that resolution. I believe the right click 'Run As Administrator' is necessary to get it to run on Win7.

[Revisor]

Two Worlds 2 today for 5 pounds or 7.50 euro on Gamersgate
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-TW2/two-worlds-2
http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-TW2/two-worlds-2

[cosmicolor]

So GoG's NWN1 works alright? Tempting... I'll try these instructions I've found in Bioware's boards that purport to get retail copies working properly, and if no dice I might have to think about getting the GoG ver at some point. Thanks.

[Arona Daal]

Red Orchestra dropped to three bucks again.

http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/red-orchestra

Update:

They still do not accept Paypal for this game.

Well, 3 bucks saved is 3 bucks earned.

[SMiD]

Regarding GoG games and Windows 7, I find that your best bet is to always install somewhere other than Program Files (or Program Files (x86) for 64-bit users). Windows requires admin access for everything done in this folder, and it can definitely cause issues with older titles. You'll avoid a lot of headaches if you switch the install to something simple like C:\GoG.

Just my 2 cents.

Edit: Oh, and should you install to the default folder, Windows 7 will often make a virtual Program Files stored under %APPDATA%. So if you're trying to mod an .ini under C:\Program Files, you may find that nothing is affected. The copy you would have to mod is stored in the virtual Program Files folder.

[Ignorant Texan]

SMiD,

Thank you, that's even better than the way I suggested.

[Flint]

King's Bounty: Armored Princess is today's spotlight deal on Steam, but do take note that the sale seems to be in place for all of the other King's Bounty games as well.

Just got myself The Legend for about £2,50, not bad.

[Anthile]

King's Bounty: Armored Princess is today's spotlight deal on Steam, but do take note that the sale seems to be in place for all of the other King's Bounty games as well.

Just got myself The Legend for about £2,50, not bad.

It's a trap! King's Bounty: Crossworlds includes an improved version of Armored Princess as well as some other, short bonus campaigns.

[vinraith]

Regarding GoG games and Windows 7, I find that your best bet is to always install somewhere other than Program Files (or Program Files (x86) for 64-bit users). Windows requires admin access for everything done in this folder, and it can definitely cause issues with older titles. You'll avoid a lot of headaches if you switch the install to something simple like C:\GoG.

Just my 2 cents.

Edit: Oh, and should you install to the default folder, Windows 7 will often make a virtual Program Files stored under %APPDATA%. So if you're trying to mod an .ini under C:\Program Files, you may find that nothing is affected. The copy you would have to mod is stored in the virtual Program Files folder.

Personally I just install all my games to C:\games or equivalent to avoid these kinds of issues. Quite a few mods play very badly with Win 7 security, for example.

[Althea]

It's a trap! King's Bounty: Crossworlds includes an improved version of Armored Princess as well as some other, short bonus campaigns.
Nope, that's not exactly true. Crossworlds is not an expandalone, you need Armored Princess to play it.

[Anthile]

Nope, that's not exactly true. Crossworlds is not an expandalone, you need Armored Princess to play it.

Well, that's not a problem because Steam doesn't sell Crossworlds without Armored Princess.

[Vexing Vision]

Well, that's not a problem because Steam doesn't sell Crossworlds without Armored Princess.

Which incidentally means I now own the game twice.

This is okay. It's a great game.

[Rauten]

Well, that's not a problem because Steam doesn't sell Crossworlds without Armored Princess.

Uhm... http://store.steampowered.com/app/63910/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

[Althea]

Uhm... http://store.steampowered.com/app/63910/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1
You can't buy expansions/DLC on Steam if you don't have the pre-requisite game, and that includes Crossworlds.

They sell it without Armored Princess, yes, but you still need Armored Princess on Steam to even buy it.

[Rauten]

You can't buy expansions/DLC on Steam if you don't have the pre-requisite game, and that includes Crossworlds.

They sell it without Armored Princess, yes, but you still need Armored Princess on Steam to even buy it.

Oh. I see. Makes sense.

[JamesG]

Gamers Gate have the Witcher 2 for £12.98 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-W2/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-digital-premium?caff=1330211)

Also: C&C 4 for £7.48 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-CC4TTUKPRE/command-and-conquer-4-tiberian-twilight-uk?caff=1330211) and SupCom Gold for £6 (http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DDB-SCG/supreme-commander-gold-edition-bundle?caff=1330211)

edit: Disclosure, the above links are affiliate links and will earn me store points.

[SMiD]

C&C 4 sucks. I just saved you 7.48.

[Hensler]

C&C 4 is worth $7.48. Not the best game in the series, but it's still got Joe Kucan in the cut scenes, and it gets crazy enough to warrant a purchase. It's not a clone of other C&C like a lot of people wanted, but I certainly wouldn't say it "sucks."

[Christian]

Ok, as nobody posted it yet, the daily Steam-deal is LIMBO (caps seem to be the way to spell it) for € 2,50 (and knowing Steam, 2,50 in any other currency).

I just bought it and played half an hour, and man is this game scary (no problem with slaying zombies by the hundreds in L4D..but this is just..wow..).
The sounds, the visuals, everything. But fun and pretty in a special kind of way. You should buy it I guess.

[Creeping Death]

Ok, as nobody posted it yet, the daily Steam-deal is LIMBO (caps seem to be the way to spell it) for € 2,50 (and knowing Steam, 2,50 in any other currency).


£1.75 in the UK

[somini]

Ok, as nobody posted it yet, the daily Steam-deal is LIMBO (caps seem to be the way to spell it) for € 2,50 (and knowing Steam, 2,50 in any other currency).

I just bought it and played half an hour, and man is this game scary (no problem with slaying zombies by the hundreds in L4D..but this is just..wow..).
The sounds, the visuals, everything. But fun and pretty in a special kind of way. You should buy it I guess.
I second this feeling. Creepy as hell(limbo?). Dark in all the meanings of that word

[Miker]

Limbo is well worth $2.50, but I feel compelled to say that the game kind of gets worse as it goes along. The first third is great, middle third is okay, and last third is filled with somewhat poorly-signposted puzzles and more trial and error and platforming.

[Heliocentric]

Eh. While the quality of the environmental art suffers in the more industrial levels I smoothly finished the whole game never failing any area that much, except the first time the game asks you to flip gravity in mid air, I died 50 times before I noticed that.

The ending is just a yellow smiley face scrawled on the Mona Lisa though.

[Matzerath]

If you're a veteran of Limbo's inspirations, Another World or Heart of Darkness, in comparison Limbo will make you feel like a deductive genius, with its vaguer puzzles likely only hanging you up for an hour or a night of sleep. I finished it in two casual days and quite liked it.

[gwathdring]

I almost got it. But something about the theme just doesn't ring with me. I tried the demo, and I was impressed by how unsettling it managed to be. It just wasn't quite interesting enough to pull me through the unsettling atmosphere as more than a student of atmospheric game design.

[Scumbag]

Today's steaming pile of... Steam is Magica for £1.99 or £4.99 for the game an all the DLC (and considering its £5.51 atm for the DLC alone, thats not bad) despite most of it you may never use.
Bring a friend, and expect bugs.

NOTE: Not trying to start one of 'those' flamewars, but despite the asthetic this game has, it is not an RPG in any way shape or form.

[Heliocentric]

Bring a friend, and expect bugs.Also friendly fire, Magicka has the best friendly fire since alien swarm.

[vinraith]

Bring a friend, and expect bugs.

Agree with the first part, not with the second. It was a mess at release, but I haven't had any problems with the game since April or so.

[Scumbag]

Agree with the first part, not with the second. It was a mess at release, but I haven't had any problems with the game since April or so.

It still has some very weird gamebreakeing bugs here and there, but they are rare. Tried multiplayer with a friend a week ago for the first time and we had some really annoying problems on the first level for some reason, then everything smoothed out.

[Vague-rant]

Anyone got used to Magicka on a controller? I tried playing local co-op with a friend and 360 controllers and that immediacy of action just doesn't feel the same.

Also, no bug issues with Magicka on my end when I booted it up a few months ago. Seems to have been cleaned up.

[sabrage]

All the soundtracks got added to the newest Humble Indie Bundle! Jamestown, Cave Story and Super Meat Boy are 3 of my favorite game soundtracks of all time.

[Heliocentric]

The pad controls are extremely poorly thought out. Some people have tried hacking better methods in but they are all insanely difficult to apply or break one system coop.

[gwathdring]

Is The Stars are Left worth $2? I'm not holding out high hopes for the singleplayer experience, but does it add enough to multiplayer?

[Heliocentric]

The new DLC is on sale? Whoop!

[Heliocentric]

Heard this off the savygamer twitter.
http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/10263/product/Buy-Crysis-2-Download
Crysis 2 £3.75

[Nova]

Tempting.
I've never bought something there. D2D is not a steam-like system, but more like GetGames or GoG where you get the game files, no?

[Heliocentric]

Tempting.
I've never bought something there. D2D is not a steam-like system, but more like GetGames or GoG where you get the game files, no?

You could always add your key to origin, Oh right that's mandatory.

[Althea]

Tempting.
I've never bought something there. D2D is not a steam-like system, but more like GetGames or GoG where you get the game files, no?
Steam and Impulse are really the only ones like they are. D2D, GamersGate, GOG - they all host files on their sites. You can use the GameSpy Comrade tool to download your games, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[CrinnyCow]

Should I buy Baldur's Gate 1 from GoG? I'm trying to make use of the GoG sale and I already own BGII... I haven't gotten a chance to put any real time into it but I thought maybe if I start with the first one I'll be able to invest myself in the story and understand the game rules a bit better (I'm familiar with table top games.. just not AD&D). How does the difficulty scale? Is the story worth it? Will it improve the BGII experience?

And if not, what games do you guys think would be good to get from GoG? I already own PST, Alpha Centauri, Empire Earth Gold, HoMM and Fallout 1 and 2.

[Mac]

Should I buy Baldur's Gate 1 from GoG? I'm trying to make use of the GoG sale and I already own BGII... I haven't gotten a chance to put any real time into it but I thought maybe if I start with the first one I'll be able to invest myself in the story and understand the game rules a bit better (I'm familiar with table top games.. just not AD&D). How does the difficulty scale? Is the story worth it? Will it improve the BGII experience?

And if not, what games do you guys think would be good to get from GoG? I already own PST, Alpha Centauri, Empire Earth Gold, HoMM and Fallout 1 and 2.

Just grab Planescape ... > all

[sabrage]

Just grab Planescape ... > all


I already own PST

I've never played anything in the BG series, but here's (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?2328-Tips-for-the-GOG-sale)a thread on GoG recommendations.

Personally, I had a wishlist that I emptied out on the sale; the RPGs I considered worthy of my moneys were Arcanum and Ultima VII

[Janek]

Should I buy Baldur's Gate 1 from GoG? I'm trying to make use of the GoG sale and I already own BGII... I haven't gotten a chance to put any real time into it but I thought maybe if I start with the first one I'll be able to invest myself in the story and understand the game rules a bit better (I'm familiar with table top games.. just not AD&D). How does the difficulty scale? Is the story worth it? Will it improve the BGII experience?

And if not, what games do you guys think would be good to get from GoG? I already own PST, Alpha Centauri, Empire Earth Gold, HoMM and Fallout 1 and 2.
I would say that BG2 is the better overall experience of the pair, but not by much - BG1 is definitely worth playing, and arguably has a slightly more coherent plot. Difficulty-wise, BG1 is significantly harder, particularly at lower levels.

Also worth noting the Tutu mod (http://www.usoutpost31.com/easytutu/) which lets you play BG1 in the BG2 engine (if you own both, obviously)

So yeah, worth it.

[Colonel J]

Tempting.
I've never bought something there. D2D is not a steam-like system, but more like GetGames or GoG where you get the game files, no?


You could always add your key to origin, Oh right that's mandatory.

Yes just activated my Crysis 2 license key straight into Origin. You can download the game files from D2D but might as well just cut out the middle man and do it all from the Origin client.

[Wizardry]

Just grab Planescape ... > all
Baldur's Gate II > Baldur's Gate > Icewind Dale > Icewind Dale II >>>>>>>>>>> Planescape: Torment.

[vinraith]

Baldur's Gate II > Baldur's Gate > Icewind Dale > Icewind Dale II >>>>>>>>>>> Planescape: Torment.

Interesting, why is IWD 2 ranked lower than 1, out of curiosity?

[Wizardry]

Interesting, why is IWD 2 ranked lower than 1, out of curiosity?
Because it's more repetitive and boring. And if you want to play a 3/3.5E game then Temple of Elemental Evil is better. Unfortunate, really. It's not a bad game at all.

[Casimir Effect]

Interesting, why is IWD 2 ranked lower than 1, out of curiosity?
ID2 has a lot of issues, especially pathfinding ones. In terms of gameplay I'd say Wizardry I correct except I'd rate ID1 above BG1 and PS:T above that. Basically, BG2 wins on gameplay, but PS:T wins on story, characters, etc.

[Wizardry]

Basically, BG2 wins on gameplay, but PS:T wins on story, characters, etc.
Which, incidentally, explains why I put it last.

[vinraith]

ID2 has a lot of issues, especially pathfinding ones. In terms of gameplay I'd say Wizardry I correct except I'd rate ID1 above BG1 and PS:T above that. Basically, BG2 wins on gameplay, but PS:T wins on story, characters, etc.

I'd put PS:T right where Wizardry has it, but then I've never been able to drag myself beyond the first few hours.

[Serenegoose]

I'd put PS:T right where Wizardry has it, but then I've never been able to drag myself beyond the first few hours.

I've never actually understood the 'first few hours' complaint - I know it's so pervasive as to label me the exception but I enjoyed the worldbuilding right from the start, even if it is quite (very) slow.

[vinraith]

I've never actually understood the 'first few hours' complaint - I know it's so pervasive as to label me the exception but I enjoyed the worldbuilding right from the start, even if it is quite (very) slow.

I suspect that having run several outer planes campaigns in the pen and paper game somewhat alters my perception of these things. I was fairly disappointed by the world building, to be honest. Somehow they managed to make Concordant Opposition dreadfully boring.

[Arona Daal]

Dotemu has a lot of Deals at the Moment , has anyone ever used it?

Especially can i redeem the games on steam or do i have to use a separate client?

[vinraith]

Dotemu has a lot of Deals at the Moment , has anyone ever used it?

Especially can i redeem the games on steam or do i have to use a separate client?

I haven't used it, but my understanding is that DotEmu uses the GOG model: 100% DRM-free.

[Serenegoose]

I suspect that having run several outer planes campaigns in the pen and paper game somewhat alters my perception of these things. I was fairly disappointed by the world building, to be honest. Somehow they managed to make Concordant Opposition dreadfully boring.

That certainly makes sense. It's my only experience of the setting.

[vinraith]

That certainly makes sense. It's my only experience of the setting.

I'm sure it was hugely novel for most people that played it, and I suspect that has a lot to do with many people's affection for it (and my lack thereof).

[Revisor]

Found A Vampyre Story at DotEmu for 2.25€, which looks very appealing.
http://www.dotemu.com/en/download-game/786/a-vampyre-story

Has anyone played it?

[Heliocentric]

Anomaly warzone earth is £2. 10 on GamersGate www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-AWE/anomaly-warzone-earth
But I'm posting because of Shift 2 is £9. 98, should I as racing driver with a short attention span but a love for non looping track races be interested? I've still not finished Grid, Dirt (1&2) and I still play outrun coast 2 coast more than my "favourite racer" bumout paradise.

[vinraith]

Anomaly warzone earth is £2. 10 on GamersGate www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-AWE/anomaly-warzone-earth
But I'm posting because of Shift 2 is £9. 98, should I as racing driver with a short attention span but a love for non looping track races be interested? I've still not finished Grid, Dirt (1&2) and I still play outrun coast 2 coast more than my "favourite racer" bumout paradise.

I'm wondering about this too. I've heard some nice things about Shift 2 (mostly via Flash of Steel, oddly enough) but like Helio haven't really properly finished Grid or the 2 "good" Dirt games. Advice welcome.