The Steam 2012 Summer Sale anticipation thread - Because it is Inevitable

[KauhuK]

Those euro prices make me sad. Max Payne 3 24,99€ and Anno 2070 24,99€ too. The only two games from daily deals I'd might have wanted are too expensive even with discounts.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

One thing that's been scrambling my plans this year on this Steam sale is Amazon. If a game is Steam-activatable and for the same price on Amazon (like for CoD:MW3 yesterday), it's actually less for me since I save 3% using an Amazon Visa card. So I need to figure out if Amazon is going to match or beat (like that news about Saint's Row 3). Ugh, too confusing to keep track.

[elephant god]

From the latest news for steam sale group (http://steamcommunity.com/games/summercamp) looks like there will be some 'summer camp' activities...:

'Steam Scouts, we also have some fun activities scheduled - don't forget to earn

your badges
(steam://openurl/http://steamcommunity.com/my/badges)
(and check out your existing ones).

P.S. What frightens ants the most - the ant eater or the steamroller? WRONG. Hidden option C, Cyl harnessing the power of the summer sun via magnifying glass.'


That's good new. I was kind of disappointed by the lack of fun shenanigans to keep me busy during each waiting period between flash sales. Not even these fun little Summer Camp cartoons.

Does that sound crazy? Yeah, I broke my foot...

[Leopig]

Thats nuts cause in the UK MP3 is £15 with is like 17 euro

[mnemnoch]

Sales cycles that are shorter than healthy human sleep cycles are a bad idea.

On an unrelated note, has anyone got a copy of, or link to, the indie bundle leak list?

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/w6gxt/steam_summer_sale_preview_indie_bundlesmore/


Base on the second batch of daily deals, I guess my CC is safe today. (unless something awesome came up in flash sales)

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

Thats nuts cause in the UK MP3 is £15 with is like 17 euro
MP3 is $30 here in the States

[Leopig]

MP3 is $30 here in the States

Think that is about equal in dollars to GBP

[neema_t]

oooo MAx Payne 3 £15. Very very tempting or do I chance it going down to 75% later on?

I'd be really surprised if it does, but I'm in the same boat kind of. I've played through what I think is most of the story on the PS3 already, so is it worth £15 to me to play through it ALL again? Is it? IS IT?

So far, my trolley (yes, TROLLEY) looks like this:
DCS: Black Shark
Myst
Riven
Max Payne 3
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Payday: The Heist

All for £30.20. I think I'll get a copy of Payday for a friend but I'm really struggling on Max Payne 3... I think I'll leave it. Will I? Well if I can't make up my mind that suggests I don't really want it after all.

[Leopig]

My only question is what is the MP3 multiplayer like?

[jnx]

My only question is what is the MP3 multiplayer like?

Casual fun. Somewhat grindy unlocks, somewhat unbalanced. Suffers from lag due to p2p hosting. Pretty much what you'd expect. Fun in small amounts if you're capable of not taking it seriously.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

Think that is about equal in dollars to GBP
Wait, isn't $30 something like 19gbp? I thought someone said it was 15gbp for you guys?

[apricotsoup]

On the tribes starter pack: many people have said to treat the game as a $10 purchase due to the vip xp (50% extra earnings boost forever) and the extra stuff in this pack is just great.

Now for £3.75 I'd say it's worth it for anyone who hasn't yet and enjoys the game.

Now I'm pondering over the sonic and anno deals, anno didn't look too good at first but an extra £2 nets you all of the dlc it seems which is tempting.

[Leopig]

Wait, isn't $30 something like 19gbp? I thought someone said it was 15gbp for you guys?

Yes it is. I was under the impression the current transfer rate is £1 to $2. Maybe I was slightly out.

[Tritagonist]

Wait, isn't $30 something like 19gbp? I thought someone said it was 15gbp for you guys?

Roughly, yes. One British pound is about 1,55 US Dollars.

[Kodeen]

I still haven't bought anything from the daily or flash sales, yay. I do plan to get at least DA:O and Ys regardless, otherwise it looks like I might get away from this much better than last year.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

Roughly, yes. One British pound is about 1,55 US Dollars.

Ha, this is a classic example of a sale not feeling good enough, because someone somewhere (specifically across the ocean people) is getting it for less. Cue petulant whine from me.

[vinraith]

I'm disappointed in that Anno 2070 discount, but then again it's probably best not to layer Steam atop Uplay anyway.

[Subatomic]

Yes it is. I was under the impression the current transfer rate is £1 to $2. Maybe I was slightly out.

1$ = 0,82€ = 0,65£ (or 1£ = 1,27€ = 1,55$)

Edit: Damn this thread moves fast. ;)

[Track]

I'm thinking of grabbing Botanicula. I wasn't a fan of Machinarium, but this one looks like it could be fun. Also, if Sonic Generations is as good as some have made it out to be, I might have to consider it...

[Anthile]

Looks like there won't be any new games for me today. I'm really interested in Anno 2070 but the whole pricing of that thing is quite frankly scandalous.

[PeteC]

I'm disappointed in that Anno 2070 discount, but then again it's probably best not to layer Steam atop Uplay anyway.
Yeah, with the tages attached it's not quite enough to tempt me. Was hoping for a bigger discount than that.

[Giaddon]

scandalous.

That word... I don't think it means what you think it means.

[neema_t]

Are there any Tomb Raider games worth picking up? I haven't played any since Tomb Raider 3 I think.

[PeteC]

I paid £7.50 for that Tribes starter pack when it was 50% off only last week. Don't really regret it though as the game is great fun.

[PeteC]

What's Space Marine like? Worth a fiver? Kind of ignored the game til now.

[vinraith]

What's Space Marine like? Worth a fiver? Kind of ignored the game til now.

There's a demo that pretty much shows you everything the game has to offer (which isn't much, IMO).

[The JG Man]

Also, if Sonic Generations is as good as some have made it out to be, I might have to consider it...

I would say it is. I also strongly, strongly recommend that you have a controller for it. I have no idea about how well the KB/M is like, but I'm also aware of the fact that the interface solely uses the 360 controller inputs.

EDIT: I'm surprised at the lack of a Sonic franchise sale. Maybe they'll do one later on sans Generations, but I still think it's weird.

[Subatomic]

The only Space Marine DLCs that add "real" content are the Dreadnought and Chaos Unleashed packs, correct?

[Giaddon]

Yes, and those are multiplayer-only.

[alms]

Sales cycles that are shorter than healthy human sleep cycles are a bad idea.

On the plus side their android app will alert you (=wake you up) whenever a new sale starts.

But it looks like the new flash deals run for 12h (edit: at least some)


On an unrelated note, has anyone got a copy of, or link to, the indie bundle leak list?

Here you are:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?3511-The-onward-march-of-the-bundles-of-March&p=154558&viewfull=1#post154558

[Anthile]

The Anno 2070 default version was priced 54.99€. That's about 43£ or 67$.

[Giaddon]

Oh!

Fair enough, then!

It's normal old $50 here in the States.

[Robert]

I want the Witcher 2. Must. Wait. On. Sale.

[Track]

There's a ton of currently bundled games that i'm waiting to (hopefully) go on daily deals/flash sales/community choice. That being said, I really doubt that any of the PopCap bundle games will go down any more, or that the first two Deus Ex titles will go back down to $2.50 now that they've gone back up to $5.

[PeteC]

There's a demo that pretty much shows you everything the game has to offer (which isn't much, IMO).
Off to work in a bit so don't have time to try the demo. I think I'll give it a miss. I'll only be falling onto the same trap I always do in these sales and be buying for the sake of it.

[Subatomic]

What's Space Marine like? Worth a fiver? Kind of ignored the game til now.

I'd say it's largely depends on how much you like the WH40k setting. If you're not a WH40K fan, it's just a decent but ultimately forgettable 3rd person shooter / orc slicer (it has a rather healthy dosage of melee combat). But if you've more than a passing interest in the WH40k universe, I'd suggest you buy it for that price.

[RobF]

I'd say it's largely depends on how much you like the WH40k setting. If you're not a WH40K fan, it's just a decent but ultimately forgettable 3rd person shooter / orc slicer (it has a rather healthy dosage of melee combat). But if you've more than a passing interest in the WH40k universe, I'd suggest you buy it for that price.

Or if you just like hitting things. I don't give a toss about WH40K but I like hitting things. Space Marine has a lot of hitting things.

[TechnoJellyfish]

Or if you just like hitting things. I don't give a toss about WH40K but I like hitting things. Space Marine has a lot of hitting things.

That.

(As has been suggested before, you may want to play it in smaller doses, though ...)

[Tritagonist]

I've been browsing through the lower depths of Steam among the older, and less-well known Indie, games in the €2 range - and there's a lot of stuff there that's actually pretty interesting if admittedly a lot more limited in its appeal than most big titles. It's therefore hard to give any specific recommendations, though it's worth browsing through if you have an hour or so.

Sadly a lot of the older games seem to have compatibility issues that Valve hasn't bothered to address (so you might be better off on GOG.com).

Somebody posted this earlier, but this is a nice website to check for those kinds of games without having to work through the (currently slow) Steam site: http://www.steamgamesales.com/

[magnus1969]

Bollocks, the sales got to me and I just bought From Dust. I hope it's at least better than (cough) Horrible Henry was.

[alms]

I've been browsing through the lower depths of Steam among the older, and less-well known Indie, games in the €2 range

Yes, another way to dig em up is to use this address:

http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Metascore&sort_order=DESC&price=0%2C2 (http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Metascore&sort_order=DESC&price=0%2C3)

This one returns every single game under 3 (change that last number to set the upper end of the range), sorted by their metacritic score.

Some of the best are: Nimbus, Dredmor, Solar 2, Nightsky, Cthulhu saves the World, Zeno Clash, Blocks that matter, Tobe's Vertical Adventure, Bob Came in Pieces, The Tiny Bang Story.

Many come with a demo.

[apricotsoup]

So I nearly picked up anno, but realised they bumped the version with all dlc from £17 to £20 and somehow this and looking at how inconsequential all the dlc is anyway has persuaded me not to buy it at all for this price, even without the dlc :/

Still, will grab sonic and tobes vertical adventure.

[Sketch]

Anno 2070 with everything has always been 20 quid, the Deluxe edition which comes with a few bits is 17 pounds still.

Also, not Steam related, but sale related, is Syndicate worth £9.99? Figured more people would see it in here.

[johnki]

Also, not Steam related, but sale related, is Syndicate worth £9.99? Figured more people would see it in here.
How dare you. If we make exceptions for you, we'll just have to make exceptions for everyone. And then it'll be chaos. And you wouldn't want the anarchists to have control would you?

Anyways, I only played the Syndicate demo but here's what I inferred from it:

- I felt a huge disconnection from the game. I was running around and shooting and such, but it didn't really feel like I was actually doing anything worth doing.

- Not only that, but I just had a hard time connecting with the view that was presented. I suspect it was an amalgam of many things, rather than just one aspect or another, but the point is, I never felt like I was really in the game, rather just a spectator giving orders that I hope the character will listen to, which is definitely something that should never happen in an FPS.

- The game was very generic. It wanted to be a cyberpunk run-n-gun, pretty much, but all the environments are pretty bland, it's very linear, and every room seems really small compared to the amount of enemies presented.

I liked the original a whole lot more, and you can pick it up off of GOG.com DRM-free for $6. It's still an awesome game, and due to the huge amount of pixel art still around, the game itself holds up in pretty much every aspect except the overly gray and overly square interface that was common for that time.

[Heliocentric]

Also, not Steam related, but sale related, is Syndicate worth £9.99? Figured more people would see it in here.

Its £2.50 cheaper on origin fyi

[Sketch]

Wait, that's where I was reading it from in the first place, but brainfarted and wrote that. Guess I'll try the Anno demo and see what I want more!

[Tritagonist]

Everybody who hasn't already should take this opportunity to buy this game: Cargo! The Quest for Gravity (http://store.steampowered.com/app/41740/). It's just €2,24 for me here in the Netherlands.

The 'campaign' revolves around spreading FUN to the Buddies of an Island with Mechanical Gods. In doing so, you'll need to create machines that can travel the land, ice, water and air - which all works very intuitively. There's dozens of different parts and the best thing is: there's a Sandbox mode!

http://i.imgur.com/v2Sp9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xFYBz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/r7LRp.jpg

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

Its £2.50 cheaper on origin fyi
I have $60 here. Is it a Europe-only sale?

[Leopig]

I have $60 here. Is it a Europe-only sale?


24 euro's in Europe

£7.49 in the UK.

No idea about the USA

[Heliocentric]

Cargo is great , its all kind of messed up wierd and terrible, but at the same time is flawless and genius.

Its a real contradiction.

[trjp]

GetGamesGo are doing an Anno2070 deal over the w/e - basic game just over £10 - Deluxe £14 - both quite a bit cheaper than Steam.

It's a UPlay game anyway - but their DLC prices are higher so I guess it depends what you want...

[Flint]

AssRev wins the community vote with 40%, followed by Darkness 2 (31%) and in the last place Rage (29%).

-

Went for that Tribes sale. Enjoyed the game so far, might as well get some extra mileage to it right from the beginning. I think I'm pretty sorted now, got what I came for + a few extras. And some friends gifted me The Ship and Binding of Isaac, so there's those as well.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

AssRev wins the community vote with 40%, followed by Darkness 2 (31%) and in the last place Rage (29%).
I don't know if you can get it outside US, but the Darkness sale on Steam would have been equivalent to the current Amazon sale. So I (and possibly other people) didn't vote for it for that reason. 2 sales are better than 1 and all that.

[TheDreamlord]

Damn it, I really wanted The Darkness II.....

[mnemnoch]

Everybody who hasn't already should take this opportunity to buy this game: Cargo! The Quest for Gravity (http://store.steampowered.com/app/41740/). It's just €2,24 for me here in the Netherlands.



That's one of the games in indie gala right? Gonna check my inbox to put the game in my steam library.

[Oak]

Please give Payday: The Heist a chance while it's so cheap. Mutterings about why it's so good can be found here. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?1782-Payday-The-Heist-The-Thread)

[neema_t]

Please give Payday: The Heist a chance while it's so cheap. Mutterings about why it's so good can be found here. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?1782-Payday-The-Heist-The-Thread)

I played a demo on the PS3 (I think? There's not one for PC, was there a free weekend maybe?) and felt quite 'meh', but I've not been able to forget about it since and I put my lack of 'eh'edness down to playing single player with the extremely stupid bots rather than human beings, that and giving it literally 5 minutes to impress me, which it didn't, but if I'd done that with Arma II, Killing Floor or basically any game then I wouldn't have played any of them either. So I bought it and I hope my one good PC gaming friend will do the same, he's (and so am I actually) a big Killing Floor fan so hopefully the two are comparable.

[Ravelle]

AssRev is so tempting, but I have not even finished AssBro so I'll resist the urge and wait for something else to spend the money on.

[Sketch]

I own all of the games available for vote, but it's worth considering FEAR 3 if you have the others, it has a really, really fun coop mode.

[Tritagonist]

That's one of the games in indie gala right? Gonna check my inbox to put the game in my steam library.
I don't know, I just picked it up after browsing through the Steam store.

[Faldrath]

Any opinions on Toy Soldiers? From what I read, it requires GFWL and the highest resolution it has is 1680x1050.

[alms]

Yes it was in IG VI (edit: Cargo I mean)

Some more for 2 and change: 1000 Amps, Offspring Fling, the first 3 Blackwells, Sequence, Fractal, the Broken Sword trilogy, Saira.

[RobC]

Any opinions on Toy Soldiers? From what I read, it requires GFWL and the highest resolution it has is 1680x1050.

I liked it. Looked fine on my 1980 x 1020 monitor. Some good simple fun for a couple bucks.

[Oak]

So I bought it and I hope my one good PC gaming friend will do the same, he's (and so am I actually) a big Killing Floor fan so hopefully the two are comparable.

It's modeled on Left 4 Dead (down to the UI) but it's definitely comparable to Killing Floor in its body count, great weapon feel, and sense of gusto.

[alms]

Groupees' Build a Bundle 2 is going to start soon and there's some good stuff in it. I'm posting this here too in case someone's thinking about buying some of these on Steam.

Full game list here (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?3511-The-onward-march-of-the-bundles-of-March&p=101548&viewfull=1#post101548).

[trjp]

Any opinions on Toy Soldiers? From what I read, it requires GFWL and the highest resolution it has is 1680x1050.

It's a lazy port with limited resolutions (I only get 3 options on a 1440x900 monitor and 1440x900 isn't one of them) and other issues including the fact it needs GFWL (come back - come back!)

Get around that and you have an utterly charming Tower Defence title - with the added-feature of being able to man the guns yourself if you prefer. The detail and love poured into it is the polar opposite of the shit porting which I suspect has led to poor sales (although ANOTHER TD title on PC - and one which needs GFWL - isn't a good starting point is it??)

Given that the stuff contained in the Steam Version for <£2 cost 2000msp on 360 at launch(that's the big-end of £20!!) and is still 1600msp (around £15) you cannot really be too upset!?

[Protoman]

Any comments on toy soldiers and the indie bundle for today?
This is the only indie bundle I have no game in this year, and toy soldiers looks like a lot of fun, but might end up on my infinite backlog with all these games being bought.

[Raaritsgozilla]

AssRev is so tempting, but I have not even finished AssBro so I'll resist the urge and wait for something else to spend the money on.

This is the same predicament I am in

[alms]

the indie bundle for today?

I would think of it as Botanicula with some less-than-stellar games thrown in for good (in that light, it's actually better than the HIB which featured Botanicula!). Haven't tried Splice yet but usually Cipher Prime games are decent puzzlers and look great. Universe Sandbox is... well... a sandbox. It can be fun if you find some way to entertain yourself in it.

[Protoman]

I would think of it as Botanicula with some less-than-stellar games thrown in for good (in that light, it's actually better than the HIB which featured Botanicula!). Haven't tried Splice yet but usually Cipher Prime games are decent puzzlers and look great. Universe Sandbox is... well... a sandbox. It can be fun if you find some way to entertain yourself in it.
Meh.
Botanicula looks good, but I wouldn't play the others that come with it. E.Y.E. in particular looks to be a game that's only good with friends, so when you're not getting the 4-pack it's just terrible.
And the GFWL requirement on toy soldiers pushed me away when I already had it in my cart. Double DRM = no buy.

[sabrage]

E.Y.E. in particular looks to be a game that's only good with friends
Ha! Good luck with that.

[Sketch]

Weird game that. Has good enough ideas, but is too muddled really. I thoroughly approve of the meaty shooting though IMO it's got some of the strongest gunplay on Source.

[johnki]

I've been looking at Football Manager for a while and that sale price is tempting. How is it?

[Leopig]

Please everyone vote Fear 3. Bioshock 2 and Metro both suck.

[Hypernetic]

Please everyone vote Fear 3. Bioshock 2 and Metro both suck.

LOL

10char

[Leopig]

Funny how in Steams eyes, 34% beats 35%

[Flint]

QUBE vs Plants Versus Zombies vs Super Meat Boy now, all -75%.

[Protoman]

QUBE vs Plants Versus Zombies vs Super Meat Boy now, all -75%.
QUBE: Never been on sale
Super Meat Boy: been on sale many times, and most of the people who want it already got it long ago
Plants Versus Zombies: With the -75% discount the mobile version is 50 cents more expensive, and the chrome app is free.
These choices are rather obvious...

Alice is really tempting, but I know that it's bad despite its gorgeous art style.
Disappointed the bioshock sale isn't franchise. Oh well.
Seriously considering blood bowl, but as far as these sales go $10 is a little steep...

[Scumbag]

Meh.
E.Y.E. in particular looks to be a game that's only good with friends, so when you're not getting the 4-pack it's just terrible.


If that's the outlook you have for it then its just terrible. Getting multiplayer to work without purely using the console in E.Y.E. is almost impossible, plus the netcode is so jankey with two players it can spawn so many mobs on some levels that even if you have a good machine with a good net connection it will be unplayable.

[cowthief skank]

QUBE: Never been on sale

Already have it but voted in the hope it will win and tempt others. I thought it was better than Quantum Conundrum (it being a first person puzzle type it seems a reasonable comparison, though QUBE is lacking the voicework)

[Vandelay]

Very likely to pick up Alan Wake American Nightmare. I really enjoyed the original and definitely felt they learned a thing or two with the DLC (at least the first one, not played the second yet.)

What are people's opinions on Alice? I know that it was not as good as everyone hoped, but the style alone looks like it would probably be worth the current entry fee.

Really hope that these flash deals come around again. I have already missed out on (I think) Trine 2 because of sleep/work and possibly some others. There have been a few big name games that I would have thought would make a daily deal, so I would be surprised if they only appeared on sale for a few hours.

[TechnoJellyfish]

What are people's opinions on Alice? I know that it was not as good as everyone hoped, but the style alone looks like it would probably be worth the current entry fee.

The art style is indeed fantastic. Sadly, the core gameplay mechanics (platforming and combat) are sub-par and not very satisfying. The different settings are very unique and breath-taking at first, but each sequence drags on near endlessly so you kinda feel fed up when you've completed half of each.

Also, I had to do a lot of *.ini-tweaking to make it not run like shit.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

What are people's opinions on Alice?
I thought the visuals and story were creative. If you like the Scarecrow levels of Batman or the zaniness of Psychonauts, you'll probably think it's cool. The problem I had with it was that the controls felt...off, but I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed it far more if I had used a gamepad.

[The JG Man]

Opinions on Alan Wake's American Nightmare, please. I played AW, thought it was okay as a whole, peaked into greatness every so often, but didn't quite match it. Is Nightmare worth it for me? It looked pretty cool, the interactions and context seemed upgraded over the base game. What say you, good internet folk?

[apricotsoup]

I liked alice, but as others have said most levels outstay their welcome and the controls aren't great.

That said I found it a nice journey, some of the design is fantastic and the mix of combat and jumpyness is about right if not very tight in how it handles so I did complete it, for that price I'd say it's worth a look.

[neema_t]

I'm interested in picking up Alan Wake, but I don't know how good the port is nor do I know how good/bad the game is. Also I have a huge backlog that's going nowhere thanks to Simraceway and Day Z so I could, like, wait. I think I'll do that actually.

[fiddlesticks]

Opinions on Alan Wake's American Nightmare, please.
In case you haven't seen it already, Adam Smith did a good Wot I Think (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/29/wot-i-think-alan-wakes-american-nightmare/) on the game.

[The JG Man]

Hmmm, well it certainly seems that it's better than the original, but perhaps not enough for me to want to buy it. Ah well, not to mind!

[Revisor]

Alan Wake - a very good story, repetitive but still fun gameplay and a very good port
Alan Wake American Nightmare - more work on gameplay, less story, still fun

Both recommended.

[Vandelay]

I'm interested in picking up Alan Wake, but I don't know how good the port is nor do I know how good/bad the game is. Also I have a huge backlog that's going nowhere thanks to Simraceway and Day Z so I could, like, wait. I think I'll do that actually.

In terms of the port, it is pretty great (you would hope so, considering how long it took to come to PC.) There were a couple of mouse issues when the game first came out, but these were quickly patched. Outside of that, can't really think of any problems I encountered. It ran flawlessly on my Sandy Bridge i5 with Radeon 6950.

With the game itself, it is very much a case of YMMV. Personally, I really enjoyed it when played in small doses. I get the complaints about repetitive combat and fairly ridiculous plot, but if you can go with it there is a lot to enjoy there.

Cheers on the Alice comments. Sounds pretty much what I was expecting. Sometimes a little bit of style over substance is nice, so decided to give it a go.

[jnx]

I've read that the PC version is by far the best version of Alan Wake. Bought.

[RobC]

QUBE: Never been on sale
Super Meat Boy: been on sale many times, and most of the people who want it already got it long ago
Plants Versus Zombies: With the -75% discount the mobile version is 50 cents more expensive, and the chrome app is free.
These choices are rather obvious...

Alice is really tempting, but I know that it's bad despite its gorgeous art style.
Disappointed the bioshock sale isn't franchise. Oh well.
Seriously considering blood bowl, but as far as these sales go $10 is a little steep...

Both Bioshocks for $7.50 at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/2K-Games-41045k-Dual-Pack1/dp/B0083W649I/ref=pd_ts_zgc_vg_2445220011_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1350266442&pf_rd_s=right-4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=979455011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01RZP3ZHZ89V2DSFN5QE

[mnemnoch]

There is a QUBE bundle in a midweek sale last month I think.

1571

-----------

I don't know if I should be happy or disappointed that I haven't bought any game today. My credit card is smiling at me again.

[Leopig]

I have a sneaky feeling Spec Op's The Line is gonna hit £15 today. Hope so.

[Track]

I didn't purchase anything yesterday, but I think that i'm going to grab Botanicula today before the Indie Bundle runs out. Since it's part of a daily deal (technically), I doubt that it'll get cheaper. Still hoping against hope for a bigger discount on Walking Dead and Arma II, but its doubtful.

[BenWah]

It's not doubtful at all, count on it.
It might not be a huge lot cheaper, because they're both so popular

[Leopig]

I wish I could give my Arma II away, I really do.

[Finicky]

Ew Brink in the flash sales, played it during the free weekend on steam and I wouldn't say it's worth 1 cent, such a bad game.

Ys is an excellent game though, played the Ys series to death on my psp before it broke, amazing action games with good bossfights, great gameplay and some puzzle/platformer elements.

[mnemnoch]

11 hours ago they put Halflife 2 in a flash sale now they put it again in the community choice? Almost same scenario with portal 2..

[Leopig]

I know, why can't they put something good on flash sale?

[vinraith]

The repetition in the HL2 and Portal 2 offers would seem to support the "there will be plenty of repeats" theory. That might be for the best.

[rsherhod]

Ew Brink in the flash sales, played it during the free weekend on steam and I wouldn't say it's worth 1 cent, such a bad game.


Anyone else feel differently about Brink?

Wish I hadn't missed SW: Force unleashed on flash sale. Hope it comes around again.

[Track]

It's not doubtful at all, count on it.
It might not be a huge lot cheaper, because they're both so popular

Its because they're so popular that I dont have much hope that they'll go lower than they are now. You might be right, though, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I own everything on this Community Choice vote, but I voted for L4D2; hopefully if it goes on sale it'll see a boost in traffic. I'll have to get Plants Vs. Zombies at that price point, and i've heard good things about Ys. Might pick it up.

[mnemnoch]

I predict tomorrow we will see Binding of Isaac and Payday the Heist in community or flash sale. XD

Damn, still waiting for Jade Empire, Evil Genius, Skyrim and Fallout...

[Leopig]

I really really want Game of Thrones to go on offer.

[Gnoupi]

Anyone else feel differently about Brink?.

I liked Brink a lot, aside from the problems I had with my AMD gpu on launch (fixed since). It had a nice feel, allowed for fluid movement. Though it also had bottlenecks on some maps which were ruining a bit the "free movement" feel. But in general, the "SMART" system was working good, and jumping around as a light build was quite nice.

Though whatever you think of it, the multiplayer is mostly dead now, hard to really find a game. So know this before buying.

There are bots which are doing the job in an "ok" manner, but nothing more. And they tend to be irritating, because when you play alone, the winning team's bots get a decrease of skill, while the other one gets an increase, when you are in the last moments before taking an objective. It can get pretty frustrating to have your team changing into useless sheeps, while the other will mow you down in a few seconds. But aside from that, bots are ok.

[Tritagonist]

Fallout...
That and Binary Domain were highest on my list going into this sale. There's still more than a week of daily and flash deals and to go, so I suspect we'll see them around.

[deano2099]

So what's the thought on that Ys game? Oath in Feligrania or whatever got a bit of a panning on release, saying it wasn't really the strongest of the series and an odd one to start with. So how does the other game that came out after and got mostly ignored measure up?

[Boris]

Anyone else feel differently about Brink?

I also played it during a free weekend a while back, and I have to agree, it's not a very good game.

[mnemnoch]

Since I didnt buy anything today, is the Day 3 Indie bundle good?

Day 3: Bit Trip Beat, Braid, Bunch of Heroes, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Runespell Overture

Really interested in Bunch of Heroes, Insanely and Runespell.

[johnki]

Since I didnt buy anything today, is the Day 3 Indie bundle good?

Day 3: Bit Trip Beat, Braid, Bunch of Heroes, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Runespell Overture

Really interested in Bunch of Heroes, Insanely and Runespell.Bunch of Heroes isn't all that great. It's got weak gunplay, is a little buggy, just doesn't feel all that great, and at the end of levels, seems unfairly balanced against the player(s).

Runespell on the other hand is really interesting. I liked it when I gave it a shot from it being in one of the...I think Indie Royale...bundles.

[RobF]

Bunch of Heroes is shit beyond words. Braid is a marvel but I don't think there's anyone on the planet who doesn't own it yet? Runespell is definitely interesting and ITSP is great but comes with the obligatory GFWL warning.

[Sakkura]

This vote might be interesting. Half-Life 2 is in the mix, but it was already on a -75% flash sale IIRC. Honestly though, Portal 2 really ought to take the cake.

[vinraith]

This vote might be interesting. Half-Life 2 is in the mix, but it was already on a -75% flash sale IIRC. Honestly though, Portal 2 really ought to take the cake.

Portal 2 was 75% off all of yesterday and the day before.

[Anthile]

Bunch of Heroes is the Gish of the twin-stick shooter genre. It's by far the worst purchase I have ever made on Steam.


Honestly though, Portal 2 really ought to take the cake.

Badum-tssh.

[mnemnoch]

Ugh! And I thought bunch of Heroes looks kinda cool base on those screenies. Well that dampens my enthusiasm.. GFWL is no issue for me since Im used to it due to Bioshock 2 and Batman

[vinraith]

Since I didnt buy anything today, is the Day 3 Indie bundle good?

Day 3: Bit Trip Beat, Braid, Bunch of Heroes, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Runespell Overture


I'm really interested in Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, which is on sale by itself for $8.99. The pack will be $9.99. Honestly, I don't see anything else there that's worth the extra $1.

[Sakkura]

Portal 2 was 75% off all of yesterday and the day before.
I blame my brain for conveniently filtering out offers on games I already own.

Well, I guess technically I do own Half-Life 2 as well... it's just on an old Steam account I forgot the p/w for.

Anyway, yet another vote I can safely ignore. I wish that'd make my votes count for more when I do care though... picked two losers in two attempts so far. :p

[trjp]

I'm really interested in Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, which is on sale by itself for $8.99. The pack will be $9.99. Honestly, I don't see anything else there that's worth the extra $1.

Runespell isn't terrible - the writing is OK, my only real complaint is that the card game is 'fixed' (not played with defined decks so there's not much skill involved) but if you can't get $1 of fun from it I'd be amazed.

Bit Trip Beat is fun for $1 too - Bunch of Heroes is SHIT tho, horrible, biased, unbalanced, repetitive, tiresome SHIT.

[Spengbab]

Who doesn't own HL2 or Portal 2 at this point? Madness, I say, waste of 2 good slots.

[johnki]

I don't personally own HL2 OR Portal 2 but I that's only because could easily borrow them both. :P

EDIT: That and I played HL2 a while ago and wasn't really thinking it was a must buy.

[vinraith]

Runespell isn't terrible - the writing is OK, my only real complaint is that the card game is 'fixed' (not played with defined decks so there's not much skill involved) but if you can't get $1 of fun from it I'd be amazed.


I hate traditional card games (ie card games that use the 52 card numbers, J, Q, K, A deck). I played the demo for a few minutes and I'll never touch it again whether I own it or not.



Bit Trip Beat is fun for $1 too - Bunch of Heroes is SHIT tho, horrible, biased, unbalanced, repetitive, tiresome SHIT.

What is Bit Trip Beat? I was looking at the video earlier and can't sort out what I'm looking at. I swear it looks like jazzed-up Pong.

[Hypernetic]

Who doesn't own HL2 or Portal 2 at this point? Madness, I say, waste of 2 good slots.

How dare valve sell their own games on the Steam sale!!

From a selfish standpoint though, I agree. I own all three games so it's kind of "meh". I voted for HL2 just because.



I hate traditional card games (ie card games that use the 52 card numbers, J, Q, K, A deck). I played the demo for a few minutes and I'll never touch it again whether I own it or not.




What is Bit Trip Beat? I was looking at the video earlier and can't sort out what I'm looking at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Pl4sPurck

It's like a weird version of pong, on crystal meth and LSD.

It's pretty fun though and extremely hard.

[vinraith]

It's like a weird version of pong, on crystal meth and LSD.

It's pretty fun though and extremely hard.

That's what it looked like.

Yeah, I'm going to stick with ITSP on its own. Not only is nothing in the bundle worth the extra $1 to me, I don't want stuff I'll never play cluttering up my games list.

[Protoman]

I'm really interested in Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, which is on sale by itself for $8.99. The pack will be $9.99. Honestly, I don't see anything else there that's worth the extra $1.
Braid is fantastic, Runespell is okay, Bit.Trip Beat is an acquired taste, but still very good.
For the extra dollar you might as well buy the bundle. Even if you own the above already, you get them as gifts.

As for the new vote, valve games are on sale about every 5 minutes, so it's not worth caring too much about. I chose LFD2 so that I can gift it.

[mnemnoch]

New deals!! I think my Credit card will start crying again. KOTOR for $2.49

[Leopig]

New deals, still nothing exciting. Man this sale has been shocking this year.

[Track]

New daily deals are up. I'm thinking that for $5 I might try Borderlands, what i've heard about it is interesting enough that I think that for that price I can give it a shot.

Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.

[Sakkura]

New deals!! I think my Credit card will start crying again. KOTOR for $2.49
On the other hand, it's 2½ dollars.


Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.
It was a great game in its day. If you can live with outdated graphics and semi-outdated controls (think slightly clunky Dragon Age, it's not too horrible), it's definitely worth it.

[mnemnoch]

New daily deals are up. I'm thinking that for $5 I might try Borderlands, what i've heard about it is interesting enough that I think that for that price I can give it a shot.

Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.

Borderlands GOTY $7.49

I bought one last week in amazon at the same price.


On the other hand, it's 2½ dollars.


It was a great game in its day. If you can live with outdated graphics and semi-outdated controls (think slightly clunky Dragon Age, it's not too horrible), it's definitely worth it.

I didnt mean the $2. But because Skyrim and a bunch of other game is in the daily deal. Guess I hurriedly post that.

[jnx]

KotOR is still excellent. Just replayed it some months ago. Borderlands is rather good but download the utility tool that allows changing FoV etc.

Any word on the Dirt Showdown? I'd like to have some racing game but don't know which really. Is there any meta game there?

[Hypernetic]

New daily deals are up. I'm thinking that for $5 I might try Borderlands, what i've heard about it is interesting enough that I think that for that price I can give it a shot.

Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.

KOTOR runs very poorly on newer systems. The last time I tried to play it I had all kinds of issues with my character just getting stuck in place for no reason. Apparently there was some kind of elaborate fix, but I didn't care enough.

[KauhuK]

Some people up for the Dead Island 4-pack? Preferably the buyer would be from USA. I can have money transferred with paypal.


Dirt Showdown?

Dirt 2 is the best game in the series imo.

[Gilead]

I wasn't particularly impressed by today's selection at first, but I suppose finally having a decent discount for Skyrim is worth a mention even if I do already own it. The 80% discount the newish Frozen Synapse: Red DLC has is also pretty good.

[Tritagonist]

Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.
I agree with Sakkura - it's not a smooth transition from today's games in the genre, but it's easy to get used to.


Other recommendations from today's sale: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - I no longer really play it, but got about 100 hours out of it, good fun and a beautiful world. Orcs Must Die! is, together with Sanctum, a great take on the Tower Defense + Shooter genre mix-up.

[Universal Hamster]

Any word on the Dirt Showdown? I'd like to have some racing game but don't know which really. Is there any meta game there?I can only say that the Demo put me off completely, a demolition derby game with no feeling of impact.
Dirt 2 is really fun though...

[vinraith]

Braid is fantastic, Runespell is okay, Bit.Trip Beat is an acquired taste, but still very good.
For the extra dollar you might as well buy the bundle. Even if you own the above already, you get them as gifts.


I don't buy games I don't want just because they're cheap. And anyway, why pay more money only to see less of it go to the dev of the one game I'm actually interested in?

---

Anyway, another day with nothing of interest in the dailies for me, though I'd endorse both Borderlands (highly) and Dead Island (with some reservations about the last chapter) as excellent co-op titles if you have some interested friends.

[airtekh]

So Dead Island, what's the scoop? Yea or nay?


Anyone else feel differently about Brink?

I'd offer an opinion on Brink but I haven't been able to play the game for longer than ten minutes without it crashing to desktop.

[vinraith]

So Dead Island, what's the scoop? Yea or nay?


It's melee Borderlands with zombies. If that sounds like fun, go for it.

[Hypernetic]

Brink sucks horribly. It could have been really great, but no it sucks.

[jnx]

So is Dirt 2 superior to Dirt 3 for some reason?

[Leopig]

I enjoyed Dead Island as silly as it was.

Anyone have any thoughts on Two Worlds 2? a quick look on metacritic and apparently the game is huge (70 hours plus) and quite a bit of fun.

[RobF]

Brink doesn't crash for me. It does, however, run at a snails pace with seemingly no way to avoid that happening. Someone suggested it was just the SP a while ago but that wasn't the case. Shame, I'd probably enjoy it enough if it worked.

Dead Island, sorta yes and no. It's chock full of videogame bullshit, at one point turns into a falling down a lot simulator but the combat is fucking great. At that price, it's hard not to get your moneys worth out of it before the tedium kicks in.

[jnx]

I enjoyed Dead Island as silly as it was.

Anyone have any thoughts on Two Worlds 2? a quick look on metacritic and apparently the game is huge and quite a bit of fun.

I'd recommend avoiding it. It's pretty and interesting. The gameplay just sucks on too many levels. I guess if you'd be going for a melee guy you might enjoy it. The archery is just, I don't know, I'm speechless. Magic is mechanically interesting but doesn't perform well enough.

[vinraith]

at one point turns into a falling down a lot simulator

Having completed the game recently I'm not sure what you're referencing, here.

[KauhuK]

So is Dirt 2 superior to Dirt 3 for some reason?

They both look graphically basically the same. Dirt 2 has better feel to it and it doesn't ask you to upload every race to youtube like Dirt 3 does.

[Faldrath]

So is Dirt 2 superior to Dirt 3 for some reason?

I'd say yes. While Dirt 3 is prettier, and a very decent game, the rally stages are even shorter, and they introduced those (IMO) horrible gymkhana events. And it feels more geared towards DLC (the way they display the fact that "OMG YOU DON'T HAVE THE FULL GAME!" is quite obnoxious). I ended up spending much more time with 2 than 3.

Dirt Showdown looks somewhat interesting, but, given that it also has gymkhana, I'm going to wait for a much larger discount before considering it.

[neema_t]

So is Dirt 2 superior to Dirt 3 for some reason?

In some ways, yeah, but then Dirt is superior to 2 and 3 in some ways too. Then again Dirt 3 is superior in ways to both, so yeah. Basically what I'm saying is when I bought Dirt 2 after already owning Dirt 3 I wasn't like 'oh damn, this is like Dirt 3 but worse!' and the same goes for buying Dirt 1 when I already had both 2 and 3, but Dirt has something going for it that no other rally game has: Pikes fucking Peak, aka the Nürburging of rallying.

Also Dead Island is pretty fun, the description of it being Borderlands but with melee and zombies is very apt. If you didn't like Borderlands then you probably won't like Dead Island, unless the reason you didn't like Borderlands was because it was just really brown. There's still no NPCs and there's still LOTS of walking, oh and it's actually better with a 360 pad because without one you can't do 'analogue' combat, which is where you choose which direction you attack in, and that's more useful than it may sound.

[vinraith]

oh and it's actually better with a 360 pad because without one you can't do 'analogue' combat, which is where you choose which direction you attack in, and that's more useful than it may sound.

For those who, like me, can't stomach playing a first person game with analogue sticks, the game plays absolutely fine with M&KB as well.

[mnemnoch]

Bummer, Im buying Frozen Synapse when it jump from 90% off to 80% :(

[jnx]

For those who, like me, can't stomach playing a first person game with analogue sticks, the game plays absolutely fine with M&KB as well.

Unless you're sensitive and get easily motion sick like me. Even with some tweaking tools, I was unable to play Dead Island for more than 30 minutes at a time without a massive headache.

[RobF]

Having completed the game recently I'm not sure what you're referencing, here.

I don't know if things have improved since I played it through but once you got to the city (playing solo), it had a couple of terrible habits. Spawning zombies behind you which would then bop you to the ground and having the we're not L4D2's chargers honest things placed in tight areas to do the same. It's like a weird fake-death thing that when the game decides to fall over, you end up spending more time staring at the floor through no fault of your own.

So I ended up spending a lot of time at this point just being knocked over, picking myself up, getting knocked over again. Ad infinitum. I think it was mainly just glitchy shit rather than design but with Dead Island, it's never quite that easy to tell.

Seemed to be focused entirely around the first run through the city though.

[vinraith]

So I think to myself "hey, Skyrim's on sale, this would be a good time to buy the DLC!" only to check and discover that there's no DLC. Does that surprise the hell out of anyone else?


I don't know if things have improved since I played it through but once you got to the city (playing solo), it had a couple of terrible habits. Spawning zombies behind you which would then bop you to the ground and having the we're not L4D2's chargers honest things placed in tight areas to do the same. It's like a weird fake-death thing that when the game decides to fall over, you end up spending more time staring at the floor through no fault of your own.

So I ended up spending a lot of time at this point just being knocked over, picking myself up, getting knocked over again. Ad infinitum. I think it was mainly just glitchy shit rather than design but with Dead Island, it's never quite that easy to tell.



I literally never experienced that, so I assume it's been corrected by patching in the intervening time.

[Protoman]

Also, does anyone know how Knights Of The Old Republic holds up? It's on for $2.50 in the flash sale, which is insanely cheap (obviously), but if it's not worth my time i'd rather not add it to my backlog.
It's great if you like baldur's gate style games. You should go for it.

As for the rest of todays deals:
Everyone who doesn't have it should be jumping on frozen synapse at this price. Fantastic game.
Orcs Must Die is pretty good, like Dungeon Defenders except actually fun in single player.
Borderlands is good for that price, but I would recommend playing with friends.

Anyone have opinions on dead island/two worlds?

[andytizer]

Here are the relevant PCGamingWiki articles, with bugs, fixes and workarounds for today's Steam sale games:

http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Orcs_Must_Die!
http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim
http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Borderlands
http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dead_Island

If you discover a new fix, take some time to add it in, no account required.

[The JG Man]

Of the games I've played for today:
Borderlands GOTY is a great experience, moreso in multi than single, but definitely still fun if you don't mind the by-rote objectives. Bang for buck, magnificent.
KOTOR is a great RPG. Not without flaws, but generally very enjoyable. Customisable lightsaber colours, all Jedi party and killer robots.
DiRT3 I can't in great faith recommend. I can, however, recommend DiRT (1) which is £1.74/75% off (although says it can't run in Win7 - there may be unofficial support? Do investigate). I haven't played 2, but 3 did very little for me, despite looking very pretty. 1 was far more enjoyable for a lot longer.

You can still buy Sonic Generations and Space Marine, which I recommend.

[Waleebe]

I'm thinking of getting Skyrim as it's 50% off. Before I do Id better ask if anyone has seen it cheaper elsewhere?

As this is my first post I should really say, Hi.

[Edawan]

I'm tempted by Tropico 4.
I love Tropico 3 (63 hours of play time and counting) and I bought it for cheap so I wouldn't mind giving the dev some more money, but I'm far from finishing it so getting #4 isn't exactly a priority.

Oh well, might as well get it now.

[vinraith]

I'm tempted by Tropico 4.
I love Tropico 3 (63 hours of play time and counting) and I bought it for cheap so I wouldn't mind giving the dev some more money, but I'm far from finishing it so getting #4 isn't exactly a priority.

Oh well, might as well get it now.

4 is a slight downgrade, at best.

[Track]

BTW, I take it that I should grab the GOTY edition for Borderlands rather than the vanilla game? I've heard great things about the DLC.

Also, I don't bargain hunt/watch for deals, so someone else will probably know more about this, but I don't think that i've seen Skyrim going for as cheap as it is today. Again, though, I don't look around for these things, and i'm not in the USA so I have no idea if Amazon has had any great deals on it (which they seem have a lot of).

[neonordnance]

Two Worlds II is not by any means a bad game. It is, however. A wonky game. There is a fair bit of quirkiness, some quirks annoying, some unique. The actual RPG systems of the game are well designed. Combat is interesting, with a lot of choices, although it lacks weight, and i have heard that the magic system is great (i play melee fighter). The graphics are quite pretty as well. Hands down the best thing is the crafting system. Two Worlds II has an utterly fantastic crafting system. It's accessible, offers tons of options, and getting ingredients is highly, highly addictive.

It's not Skyrim though, even if it wants to be. Although the crafting system is miles better, the world is more varied, and it's arguably more polished, it doesn't have the same quality in terms of movement-- the fighting, though well designed from an RPG perspective, lacks weight, the voice acting goes from competent to very poor, it's not quite open world (rather a series of large hubs, that you can travel between after you unlock them through the main quest), and it doesn't have that same thrill of exploration. Oh, and despite the polish, it does have a rather annoying ctd bug on my system, and it will sometimes crash after about an hour.

But if you put the time in, and don't mind a bit of european weirdness, then it's worth checking out. There's a lot of good here. Given the massive bump in quality between Two Worlds and Two Worlds II, the next game in the series should be a corker!

[Fumarole]

I'm tempted by Skyrim at 50% off, but I suspect it will be featured in a flash sale for a bigger discount.

[Faldrath]

DiRT3 I can't in great faith recommend. I can, however, recommend DiRT (1) which is £1.74/75% off (although says it can't run in Win7 - there may be unofficial support? Do investigate). I haven't played 2, but 3 did very little for me, despite looking very pretty. 1 was far more enjoyable for a lot longer.

There's a thread on the Steam forums about getting it to run on W7, shouldn't be too hard.

[Anthile]

There is a great two-part WIT on TW2: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/27/two_worlds_ii_review_1/

[Protoman]

I'm thinking of getting Skyrim as it's 50% off. Before I do Id better ask if anyone has seen it cheaper elsewhere?

As this is my first post I should really say, Hi.
That's the cheapest it's been, and it's not going to be less for a while.
The soonest it will be cheaper is christmas, and it's unlikely it will go down more than ~$10. So go for it. Just remember to get your mods from the nexus, because steam workshop makes me cry.


I'm tempted by Skyrim at 50% off, but I suspect it will be featured in a flash sale for a bigger discount.
Even if it becomes a flash (VERY unlikely) it will be the same price anyway.
They wouldn't do that, it's basically like pissing on all of the people who bought their game before.
As for the rest of it, see the above response.

Is Ys Origin worth it if you don't have the first one?

[Tritagonist]

So I think to myself "hey, Skyrim's on sale, this would be a good time to buy the DLC!" only to check and discover that there's no DLC. Does that surprise the hell out of anyone else?
You're right - I did check to make sure. There is something coming of course, but I think we're still in the Microsoft Xbox exclusive period for that.


I'm tempted by Tropico 4.
I've heard the expansion trivialized a lot of the game. You might want to investigate that if you're looking for more of a challenge.

[Nalano]

4 is a slight downgrade, at best.

How is it a downgrade? It has everything 3 has plus a few things more.

[Leopig]

Borderlands is a penny cheaper on Gamersgate,

[jnx]

How is it a downgrade? It has everything 3 has plus a few things more.

More is less now. Didn't you know?

[Kodeen]

So I think to myself "hey, Skyrim's on sale, this would be a good time to buy the DLC!" only to check and discover that there's no DLC. Does that surprise the hell out of anyone else?I literally never experienced that, so I assume it's been corrected by patching in the intervening time.

They said with Skyrim that they'll only be doing expac-sized DLC's.

[The JG Man]

As this is my first post I should really say, Hi.

Hello! Welcome to the fold!


BTW, I take it that I should grab the GOTY edition for Borderlands rather than the vanilla game? I've heard great things about the DLC.

Yeah. The price/content conflict between the base game and the GOTY means that even if there's some DLC content you don't enjoy (definitely possible, although I'd say some of it is superior to the main game) and considering the replayability, it's just out-right more cost-effective.

EDIT: The GOTY is the same price as the base game. No reason not to get it.

There's a thread on the Steam forums about getting it to run on W7, shouldn't be too hard.

Good to hear, then I stand behind my vote of neglecting DiRT3 for 1.

[trjp]

Is Ys Origin worth it if you don't have the first one?

The first one is a VERY VERY old game - not available on PC anyway.

The other PC Ys game is a remake of the third-part of the series - but like FF, there really isn't any sort of continuing story going on here.

Ys Origin is the most recent of the games but the first chronologically - Felghana (the other PC release) is a remake of Part III I think.

Parts I and II are available on PSP (along with Felghana and a final part, Ys Seven) - the advantage of the PC versions is that you can actually read things like the stat text which is TINY on a PSP (about 8 pixels high tops).

p.s. Ys games need a little explanation - they're not really JRPGs in the trad. sense, they're more a mix of fast-paced ARPG with quite a bit of platforming and some Metroidvania elements (discovering powers to fly higher/further so you can backtrack etc. etc.).

I like them but they can be brutally hard - esp bosses which tend to be 'repeat this movement/attack pattern 20 times or DIE' moments - and they also feature (and rely on) a lot of grinding (made easier by the fact rooms refill with monsters when you leave - made worse by the fact it's easy to accidentally leave a room and thus reset your progress!!)

p.s. I notice this Flash Sale has put Origin into 3rd place on Steam's overall sale list - that's a LOT of sales then!?

[renhoelder]

I'm tempted by Skyrim at 50% off, but I suspect it will be featured in a flash sale for a bigger discount.

I doubt that such a big game will be featured in a flash sale, bigger games seem to be in the Daily Deal spotlight. Even if it would make an appearance, which I think it wont, I doubt it'll be discounted more than that.
Anyone correct me, but I don't think there has been any game that has been in a Daily Deal, during a Summer/Holiday Sale, and then later has been discounted even more, durin said big sale.

[Colonel J]

I'm thinking of getting Skyrim as it's 50% off. Before I do Id better ask if anyone has seen it cheaper elsewhere?

I got it for £23 retail for Amazon which I think is about the cheapest it's been prior to this Steam sale, anywhere. I'd go for it now, I'd be surprised if they flash saled it to 75% this side of Christmas.

[trjp]

There's a thread on the Steam forums about getting it to run on W7, shouldn't be too hard.

To get Dirt to run on W7-64 I installed it and ran it - and that's all I did, it just worked for me!!

Dirt is great - but it's basically the last of the Colin Mcrae rally games and has that whole 'kagoule and notepad' feeling that those games exuded so it might turn-off people not into rallying.

Dirt2 is a work of art which brought the whole X Games thing in and added a lot of fun (and a few naff) concepts. I maintain it's the best 'hoon' game ever made.

Dirt3 advanced that but it brought in some horrible use of DLC and other issues which sort-of wigged-me-off - if it's cheap it would be hard to turn down BUT be aware that the DLC it will bug you about (and include in your progress stats whether you've bought it or not) is only available through GFWL at a ludicrous cost.

This 'arcade' Dirt game I know nothing about - doesn't appeal to me at all even at £15

[Waleebe]

That's the cheapest it's been, and it's not going to be less for a while.
The soonest it will be cheaper is christmas, and it's unlikely it will go down more than ~$10. So go for it. Just remember to get your mods from the nexus, because steam workshop makes me cry.

Thanks, I'll get it.
Don't worry about the mods I've used nexus for other games so it's always my first port of call for mods.

[ComradePenguin]

What is the general feeling on the Tropico 4 DLC? My other half has player thorough the base game and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately that was on Onlive (the £1 deal a while back) so she'd have to get the entire pack and start again. Will that be a problem or is the DLC mostly separate? It needs to be pretty darn good to convince her to reboot into her Windows partition when there are Civs sitting on the Mac one.

[vinraith]

What is the general feeling on the Tropico 4 DLC? My other half has player thorough the base game and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately that was on Onlive (the £1 deal a while back) so she'd have to get the entire pack and start again. Will that be a problem or is the DLC mostly separate? It needs to be pretty darn good to convince her to reboot into her Windows partition when there are Civs sitting on the Mac one.

Modern Times basically breaks the game, making it absurdly easy.

Honestly, 3 Gold is the better game.

[trjp]

I just noticed how stupidly cheap TW2 is - I love games which have hammy/stupid bugs and are generally a bit naff around the edges - playing a game whilst laughing at it doubles the fun don'tcha know.

Talk me out of it - go on...

[neema_t]

For those who, like me, can't stomach playing a first person game with analogue sticks, the game plays absolutely fine with M&KB as well.

Holy crap this thread moves fast... Oh no wait, that's time moving fast. But yeah, my point was that it's better with a pad in terms of having that extra feature, I tried it with a KB&M after spending a few hours with the pad (because my keyboard was elsewhere when I first got the game) and found it lacking a little, in that doing a quick downward smash on a zombie's head with a bloody huge morning star just, well, I couldn't do it. That said, however, the sideways swipe was almost as effective, it just didn't cause the zombie to collapse like a shit brickhouse which is what I had intended. Seeing as how you could clearly lock on to certain body parts (at least with a controller) I'm surprised they didn't add a contextual mode of attack with a mouse; would it be THAT hard to make a 'headshot' with a bladed weapon a horizontal swipe to attempt to sever the head but make a headshot with a blunt weapon a downward one to attempt to stun/knock the zombie down?

Long story short; I'm sure you're right, but using the pad does give you more options.

[Leopig]

For a fiver i just couldn't resist Two Worlds, the gameplay video's make it look stunning.

[jnx]

For a fiver i just couldn't resist Two Worlds, the gameplay video's make it look stunning.

Don't say I didn't warn you :)

[Leopig]

I bought that and Dragon Age 2 today :p Wish me luck

Cant be worse than some of the crap I have bought recently (Bastion, borderlands, The Witcher, Metro).

[trjp]

What is Bit Trip Beat? I was looking at the video earlier and can't sort out what I'm looking at. I swear it looks like jazzed-up Pong.

It is - but the way it uses music and the way the difficulty builds is really, really smart - when you miss stuff (and you will miss stuff) you'll always realise it was your fault.

After a while you almost get the ability to see what's going to happen next - it you love patterns in games, it's the king of games!

[trjp]

Yeah, I'm going to stick with ITSP on its own. Not only is nothing in the bundle worth the extra $1 to me, I don't want stuff I'll never play cluttering up my games list.

In UK money - ITSP is MORE than the Bundle! :)

[jnx]

I bought that and Dragon Age 2 today :p Wish me luck

Well DA2 was still the worse purchase. TW2 is at least unique, would've liked to explore it more but I didn't want to play a warrior.

[Nalano]

Modern Times basically breaks the game, making it absurdly easy.

Honestly, 3 Gold is the better game.

You know Modern Times doesn't change the base game at all, right? It's a separate campaign and game mode.

[Leopig]

ACtually quite enjoying DA2 so far tbh. been a long time since I played the first.

[Sakkura]

So I think to myself "hey, Skyrim's on sale, this would be a good time to buy the DLC!" only to check and discover that there's no DLC. Does that surprise the hell out of anyone else?
One month of Xbox 360 exclusivity. Just to mess with the established fanbase from Morrowind and Daggerfall.

[LTK]

I bought that and Dragon Age 2 today :p Wish me luck

Cant be worse than some of the crap I have bought recently (Bastion, borderlands, The Witcher, Metro).
Them's fighting words, they are. I can't say much about Dragon Age 2, but if none of the above games have something you enjoy, then there's no hope for you at all.

[Finicky]

My 2 cents on today's sales:
Borderlands:
-It's kind of a chore to play coop in that if you are 2 quests behind you have no business playing together anymore until one catches up
-the gunplay is weak but not as bad as some other games
-it's funny, but I didn't find it very entertaining for the first half of the game and by the time I got to crawmeraxx at the end it got too repetitive.
Perhaps it's best to just wait for blands 2 to be released.

Topico 4 ; I thought it was entertaining enough to build my first 2 cities, then it just became about keeping the happyness high for everyone and I have 0 interest in that, I'd say I got 5-10 euros worth of entertainment out of it, then again I'm not a fan of the genre.

Dead island : 99 percent of the complaints are from people who never got past the beach area.
The initial area is bad and has fetch quests and other stupid shit, it got a lot better than that, durability is never an issue if you play for longer than 2 hours and the first person melee combat sure beats the heck out of awful combat systems like in the oblivion games. This is the only first person melee that I can tolerate, let alone enjoyed.
Patches used to delete saves but since the patching is done now that won't be an issue, I definitely got 20 euros worth of enjoyment out of this game before it ate my save 8 hours in and I stopped playing.

Orcs must die : Some VERY entertaining maps, looks nice, plays well, fun game vastly much better than dungeon defenders.

Frozen synapse : Very entertaining with real life friends, it's inarguably an interesting game, wether you'll like it or not depends from person to person I guess, worth a try at this price for sure.

Skyrim: I personally thought the buggy and jankyness are atrocious, that the combat is so bad is doesn't make the game worth playing and that the world feels dead/uncanny valley and it ran like shit on my amd card (still does I assume?) at release.
I LOVE sandbox and open world games but this... I didn't like it at all.

[cowthief skank]

Orcs must die : Some VERY entertaining maps, looks nice, plays well, fun game vastly much better than dungeon defenders.

I loved Orcs Must Die. One of my favourite games of recent years, really surprised me. At this price, anybody who has even a passing interest in setting cunning trap networks should definitely take a look.

[vinraith]

You know Modern Times doesn't change the base game at all, right? It's a separate campaign and game mode.

Why buy DLC if you're not going to use it? And good lord, surely no one plays the campaigns, city builders are all about sandbox mode.

[Giaddon]

Two Worlds 2 is quite good! No one should feel bad about picking it up at today's price.

[TailSwallower]

PSA RE: Borderlands.

Don't buy it if you get FOV-related motion sickness.

Information is ammunition.

Frozen Synapse is fantastic. I got it in the humble bundle, and then ended up buying the bundle for a couple of friends too. After I played it I just felt like I needed to give the devs some more money.

[Flint]

Christ on a bike, a friend of mine gifted me six games today. All ones that had been reduced to around £1,50 or less but still. Now I've definitely got a freaking backlog.

[Revisor]

Be aware of the Two Worlds II's atrocious DRM.

It's a homebrew 3 activation limit subtracted by every HW change and you cannot reactivate it by any other means than contacting the dev (and you know how stable the dev companies are, balancing on the brink of a bust basically all the time).
See http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2637932

Have it on my wishlist but I'll wait till the GOG/DRM-free release.

[vinraith]

PSA RE: Borderlands.

Don't buy it if you get FOV-related motion sickness.

Information is ammunition.


This is very true. Borderlands is fantastic and I love the hell out of it, but there's no good way to fix the FoV. If that kind of thing bothers you, you should probably avoid it. Personally, I didn't notice it at all.

As to Frozen Synapse, I suppose I'll be the lone counterpoint. It's basically the combat system from any turn based tactical game without any of the context, and stripped down to a handful of weapons. The art style is kind of neat, but other than that I'm not entirely sure why it gets all the praise it does. At the end of the day there's just not anything to it, everything it does has been done better by other games. I guess it's an e-sport thing.

[neema_t]

I really don't know what it is about Borderlands, I mean the world is just dead and the game itself is quite a boring mix of fetch quests, go there and kill that quests and more fetch quests which involve a LOT of walking, the shooting isn't all that great and the enemies aren't varied enough, but I still love the shit out of it. I think it's the first game that I actually developed an emotional attachment to a weapon... In(?), I had a Crimson Lance sniper rifle that I kept from level 12 all the way to level 35 which I randomly found in the chest in Bruce McLane's house and was genuinely sad and felt like I was missing something when I traded it, especially as I've not found a single Crimson Lance since. That I have a friend who is really into it too probably helps, he and I started new characters specifically for co-op so we're within a handful of XP of each other which helps keep the game balanced for both of us. Playing it alone sucks, playing it with randoms is funny (especially when you're all playing as Brick) but playing it with at least one friend is the best way.

[trjp]

Two Worlds 2 is quite good! No one should feel bad about picking it up at today's price.

Apart from the DRM thing which pretty much discouraged me - 3 activation limit, gets upset at hardware changes - can't be reset without contacting the (German) developer directly - no thanks...

[LTK]

I see Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is also discounted a bit. I'd been waiting to see what RPS thought, but haven't seen a review. Has anyone else had a look at that?

[TillEulenspiegel]

As to Frozen Synapse, I suppose I'll be the lone counterpoint. It's basically the combat system from any turn based tactical game without any of the context, and stripped down to a handful of weapons.
Agreed. It's one of those small games that could be the core component of a great game, but as a standalone thing it's a bit flat.

Like, if Total War was just the battles, that would be an okay game. You can play scenarios, and that's nice. But it's the strategy map that gives those battles context and importance, and makes TW great games.

[alms]

Quick Q: OMD or OMD GOTY?

[neema_t]

Quick Q: OMD or OMD GOTY?

I don't have the game but if it were me I'd spend the extra 75p because if you end up liking it then it'll be £1.23 IF you buy the DLC in the sale or £5 if you miss it. If you hate the game then you've only wasted 75p more than you've already spent, so... Yeah.

[mnemnoch]

After the initial joy of seeing Skyrim @ 50% off, I cant seem to bring myself to purchase it. I keep thinking on when will I play it. And if I move it in front of my list, Im sure alot of my other games will complain. :D Heck, I havent finish DA: awakening and its sitting in my list for more that a year I think.

All this moddable games are a joy and bane of me in the same time. I spent most of my time hunting mods, tweaking it to work with other mods than I do playing the game. All those hundred hours I spent with Neverwinter playing modules and PW that I havent finish a single official campaign. And I doubt it will change with Skyrim.

[trjp]

I'm tempted by Skyrim at 50% off, but I suspect it will be featured in a flash sale for a bigger discount.

I'm willing to bet real money that Flash Sales will not be beaten by Daily Deals (or vice versa) - because it would piss people off, and you don't want to do that. It could even be construed as gambling and that's illegal - so as I said, I'm willing to put hard cash down, here and now, Flash Sales and Daily Deals on games will be the same.

[trjp]

I don't have the game but if it were me I'd spend the extra 75p because if you end up liking it then it'll be £1.23 IF you buy the DLC in the sale or £5 if you miss it. If you hate the game then you've only wasted 75p more than you've already spent, so... Yeah.
I enjoyed OMD - I have no desire to add a couple of extras to it tho. The levels are designed around the weapons on offer - doing them on harder difficulties isn't any easier (and may even be harder) with the extra weapons...

Horses for courses tho - 75p isn't a lot these days...

[trjp]

I see Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is also discounted a bit. I'd been waiting to see what RPS thought, but haven't seen a review. Has anyone else had a look at that?
Played the 360 demo and a bit further into it on someone else's copy - it's fun, it looks nice, it has not 1 iota of "wow I've never seen that before" tho.

I fancy it but I'm waiting for a deeper discount - it's a £5-6 game to me - hell there have been MSP deals which made it cheaper than the current 'sale' price.

[PeteC]

PSA RE: Borderlands.

Don't buy it if you get FOV-related motion sickness.

Information is ammunition.


Thanks for that. I was on the fence about it but think I may give it a miss. I still haven't finished Half Life 2 because it made me feel so ill while playing.

[neonordnance]

Um, I wouldn't go that far. Steam can charge whatever they want-- it's in the EULA. But I do agree with your point. The game sold millions of copies at $60; what reason would they have to further encheapen it?

[TailSwallower]

As to Frozen Synapse, I suppose I'll be the lone counterpoint.

I right in thinking (from posts in the past) that you generally prefer games with good single-player campaigns and/or skirmish components? 'Cause I think it's the multiplayer portion of FS that really elevates it. You're absolutely right about it being stripped down compared to other tactical combat games, but I think that's what makes the game so tense - you both have the same limited toolset, so every battle feels hard fought, and every victory feels well earned.

Generally I go for singleplayer or co-op over competitive multi too, but I enjoy FS because you can take your turns whenever you feel like it, or whenever you have the time - you aren't locked in to any particular schedule, or for any great length of time.

Anyway, just a counterpoint to your counterpoint.


Thanks for that. I was on the fence about it but think I may give it a miss. I still haven't finished Half Life 2 because it made me feel so ill while playing.

It's a shame too, 'cause it's a great game. I loved it on Xbox, finished the base game but never played the DLC. Got the GOTY on PC and haven't even got out of the first main area because of the FOV issues.

At least with Half-Life 2 you should be able to tweak the FOV until it's no longer an issue.

[PeteC]

At least with Half-Life 2 you should be able to tweak the FOV until it's no longer an issue.
Yeah, I believe you can. Just never got round to it with all the backlog of games I've got.

[trjp]

Earlier, I posted a comment into the Ys forum (on Steam) re-iterating my belief that Flash And Daily Deals would be the same - and so leaping at a Flash Deal was AOK/you'd not lose out.

Someone from XSEED just replied to confirm that is the case with Ys:Origin - doesn't mean it will be the case with all the other games, but as Ys: Origin isn't a 75% (just 60%) off, it suggests you're probably OK getting Flash deals when they appear without fear of being undercut by a Daily later.

Don't forget the bundles tho - there are lists of what they'll contain all over the place - if there's something you want in one of those, hang fire!

[trjp]

Also - I've not noted the starting times for Flash Deals but I have a feeling there might be 11 of them every day?

If that's the case, there are 8 Daily Deals (plus the Bundle) and 3 Community Deals - in other words, Flash Sales are just the same deals 'mixed up' so you don't have to wait for the later Dailys.

That would also mean that the later Daily Deals will more and more become repeats of the deals we've seen in Flash Deals.

That would also mean the shortness of some Flash Deals wasn't an issue at all - so it sounds good - anyone care to count the Flash Deals? :)

[alms]

I don't have the game but if it were me I'd spend the extra 75p because if you end up liking it then it'll be £1.23 IF you buy the DLC in the sale or £5 if you miss it. If you hate the game then you've only wasted 75p more than you've already spent, so... Yeah.

I don't think I'll hate the game (I played the demo last year).

The Q is whether the DLCs are good/useful or fluff. I don't even know what's in them. Maps, traps, what?

[stvornikus]

Dang I need to make a decision between buying Max Payne 3 or skyrim. (i have 30 EUR left om my CC limit, and it resets on 18th).

Thing is RPG's are my preferred games. But I have huge back log of them (Mass Effect 2,3, DA2, Two Worlds 2, witcher 2, Fallout New Vegas,...).

I don't play many shooters, (I don't own any COD, or BF games), but occasionally I like to shoot some stuff, and max payne looks great.

So anyway 8hrs to make decision.

[FriendlyFire]

The reason Frozen Synapse gets a lot of praise (at least from me) is the extremely slick and polished turn simulation system, letting you preview how the turn may unfold once you submit your choice. The fact you can plan ahead for both your units and the enemy's, as well as have so much flexibility in how you do so, is what elevates it above just about any other tactical turn-based game. I can't say I know all such games, but I can't even remember off the top of my head of a game which lets you preview turns at all outside of FS.

Also, buyer beware: KOTOR's Steam version has an encrypted executable, which means you need to grab a no-CD executable to run such simple things as the widescreen fix. Many mods apparently do not work with the Steam version, either.

EDIT: I've also just read a review for Dirt Showdown from PCG US (yeah yeah, I don't care), which basically said that it felt like expansion material stripped of its base game. It's a bunch of random competition events that have nothing to do with rally and most often involve smashing the other drivers, all with a superficial damage model (unlike Dirt 2/3's sophisticated ones).

In other words, I'd avoid it, especially considering the price of Dirt 2 or even 3.

[Leopig]

Dang I need to make a decision between buying Max Payne 3 or skyrim. (i have 30 EUR left om my CC limit, and it resets on 18th).

Thing is RPG's are my preferred games. But I have huge back log of them (Mass Effect 2,3, DA2, Two Worlds 2, witcher 2, Fallout New Vegas,...).

I don't play many shooters, (I don't own any COD, or BF games), but occasionally I like to shoot some stuff, and max payne looks great.

So anyway 8hrs to make decision.

I may be able to help you there. If you want a shooting fix, play Mass Effect 3. It is more a shooter than an RGP. And that is not a bad thing, it really is a good game.

[hariseldon]

To anyone on the fence over Skyrim, buy it. I had a whale of a time with vanilla, there's tonnes of awesome mods, and frankly in terms of value for money only FM beats it. You'll have a blast, trust me.

[Leopig]

Skyrim for me is a funny old thing. I loved playing through it and was totally hooked. Only problem was I finished the main story quest in about 15-16 hours unintentionally. After that my interest in it dropped and never had the urge to keep playing. Many attempts to replay since all falter at around the 3-4 hour mark.

But the first play through i was enthralled.

[vinraith]

I right in thinking (from posts in the past) that you generally prefer games with good single-player campaigns and/or skirmish components? 'Cause I think it's the multiplayer portion of FS that really elevates it. You're absolutely right about it being stripped down compared to other tactical combat games, but I think that's what makes the game so tense - you both have the same limited toolset, so every battle feels hard fought, and every victory feels well earned.

Generally I go for singleplayer or co-op over competitive multi too, but I enjoy FS because you can take your turns whenever you feel like it, or whenever you have the time - you aren't locked in to any particular schedule, or for any great length of time.

Anyway, just a counterpoint to your counterpoint.


Fair enough, like I said it strikes me as an e-sport kind of thing. The appeal of competitive MP with strangers is completely lost on me, and my friends have the same low opinion of the game I do. We played a couple of matches against each other, got bored, and move on.

[shakeit]

There is a nifty Greasemonkey userscript which scans the game page for 3rd party DRM and alerts you with a big red box if it finds something.

Steam DRM alert: https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/123500

PS: The first Ys game was 'Ys: The Vanished Omen" from 1989, see Mobygames http://www.mobygames.com/game/ys-the-vanished-omens

[Bleekill]

Call me a cheapass but I really want Arma II: Combined Ops to drop past 20%. I don't know if it will but I'm waiting for it because there isn't much else that I really want and I have a massive backlog. What are the chances of it being featured in a bigger sale? I don't even want it just because of Day Z, I've played a lot of Arma II free and love sims in general. But I will certainly play some Day Z and I think that mod might help the game get featured on a bigger sale.

[vinraith]

There is a nifty Greasemonkey userscript which scans the game page for 3rd party DRM and alerts you with a big red box if it finds something.

Steam DRM alert: https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/123500

That's really useful, thanks! You should probably post it somewhere where it won't be lost in a few minutes, this thread moves like an avalanche.

[The JG Man]

Renegade Ops is the flash sale for the next 6 hours, 75% off. I recommend picking up both the DLC at that price. It's a great game and I heartily recommend it.

[trjp]

Renegade Ops is the flash sale for the next 6 hours, 75% off. I recommend picking up both the DLC at that price. It's a great game and I heartily recommend it.
I was about to say "what DLC" and then I remember I got it for nowt for pre-ordering :)

[Leopig]

Renegade Ops is the flash sale for the next 6 hours, 75% off. I recommend picking up both the DLC at that price. It's a great game and I heartily recommend it.

So what are the controls for this? All mouse like Diablo or Torchlight? Or does the car move independent of crosshair?

[stvornikus]

I may be able to help you there. If you want a shooting fix, play Mass Effect 3. It is more a shooter than an RGP. And that is not a bad thing, it really is a good game.

I took your advice after finding out that EA has a sale too (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?5551-The-Origin-Summer-Sale).
I am downloading Mass Effect 3 as we type.

Also bought red dlc for frozen synapse. Now I am taped until 18th. Damn banks, wont process payment faster.

[The JG Man]

I'm not sure of the KB/M because I used a controller (which comes recommended by me and also when you start the game) but I believe it's WASD for movement, then mouse for aiming. Your mileage may vary on which you think is better.

[Heliocentric]

Renegade Ops, get the dlc play as Crystal. She (it?) turns the game into a slightly strategic and less twitchy and bullet hell. Healing yourself, throwing up a shield that later on you can carry with you at a later upgrade, I recommend regenerating special ammo as a third. It's a bloody fun game though.

[Tritagonist]

Renegade Ops is the flash sale for the next 6 hours, 75% off. I recommend picking up both the DLC at that price. It's a great game and I heartily recommend it.
Good call, thanks for the heads up. When I first checked the DLC was still 40% off. It's now 75% as well.

[Gnoupi]

So what are the controls for this? All mouse like Diablo or Torchlight? Or does the car move independent of crosshair?

The second one.
You have two control ways, for keyboard:
- The one identical to the gamepad (you indicate a direction, and it does the work to turn the car in this direction and go). Very awkward when you have 4 direction keys.
- And one "tank" mode, which is probably more traditional for keyboard controls. Up and down accelerate/brake, and left and right turn the car.

And the gun is independent completely from the car.

But honestly, it's to play with a gamepad. I really had difficulties enjoying this game on keyboard, only when using the gamepad I actually managed to have fun with the movement. Surviving in this game relies more on being mobile all the time than aiming precisely.



Renegade Ops, get the dlc play as Crystal. She (it?) turns the game into a slightly strategic and less twitchy and bullet hell. Healing yourself, throwing up a shield that later on you can carry with you at a later upgrade, I recommend regenerating special ammo as a third. It's a bloody fun game though.

Bah, play as the other guy from the DLC! You can turn your car into a giant flame for a few seconds while you ram through the enemy base. Much more spectacular :P

[Heliocentric]

Bah, play as the other guy from the DLC! You can turn your car into a giant flame for a few seconds while you ram through the enemy base. Much more spectacular :P

Both are great.

[vinraith]

Regarding Renegade Ops, I note that it says "4 player co-op." Is this the "requires four players" kind of co-op, the "a couple of people and bots" kind, or the "it scales to player number" kind?

[RobF]

Nah, you can do it with one or many. Makes as good as no odds, I don't think. You'll just blaze through the enemies faster.

[The JG Man]

I also feel it's worth mentioning that you can do 2-player split-screen with RO. Only one person can use a KB/M in that set-up, however. I think there is enemy scaling of some sort (I want to say damage received by them) but I'm not wholly sure. There aren't any bots though. Apart from the ones shooting at you. In which case there are many.

[Finicky]

Renegade ops is amazing! A little bit like desert strike and oh so much fun.

[Heliocentric]

Renegade ops is amazing! A little bit like desert strike and oh so much fun.

To be fair, considering LAPD Futurecop started as Future Strike, its REALLY REALLY like the prefix-Strike games.

[The JG Man]

What, really?? I mean, it makes sense, but I'm not sure which one I'd have wanted more.

[trjp]

It astonishes me that Left4Dead wins a community vote - there cannot be 10 people left on earth who want either L4D or L4D2 and don't have it surely?

See also HL2, Counterstrike and - indeed - almost all of Valve's Catalogue for that matter :)

[vinraith]

It astonishes me that Left4Dead wins a community vote - there cannot be 10 people left on earth who want either L4D or L4D2 and don't have it surely?

See also HL2, Counterstrike and - indeed - almost all of Valve's Catalogue for that matter :)

It's the only one that hasn't already been on sale in the last 48 hours, and its competition was other Valve games everyone already owns.

[thegooseking]

It astonishes me that Left4Dead wins a community vote - there cannot be 10 people left on earth who want either L4D or L4D2 and don't have it surely?

I think the same could be said of HL2 and Portal 2, though.

I already have all of them, but I voted L4D2 because its multiplayer nature means it's the one that benefits most from more people owning it. Sort of.

Come to think of it, I already own all the games in this round, too (albeit I only have L.A. Noire on Xbox 360). I think I may have too many games to participate in this sale.

[Kodeen]

To anyone on the fence over Skyrim, buy it. I had a whale of a time with vanilla, there's tonnes of awesome mods, and frankly in terms of value for money only FM beats it. You'll have a blast, trust me.

FM?

allthechars

[vinraith]

FM?

allthechars

Football Manager, perhaps?

[cowthief skank]

Call me a cheapass but I really want Arma II: Combined Ops to drop past 20%. I don't know if it will but I'm waiting for it because there isn't much else that I really want and I have a massive backlog. What are the chances of it being featured in a bigger sale? I don't even want it just because of Day Z, I've played a lot of Arma II free and love sims in general. But I will certainly play some Day Z and I think that mod might help the game get featured on a bigger sale.

You can get it (the Steam version) from the Bohemia store (https://store.bistudio.com/arma2-combined-operations-steam-version) directly for £14.99 right now. Not sure how long their sale will last, and obviously the Steam sale may reduce it below £15 too, but maybe it won't...

You may also consider picking up the two DLC from Steam too - particularly if you play co-op.

[thegooseking]

You can get it (the Steam version) from the Bohemia store (https://store.bistudio.com/arma2-combined-operations-steam-version) directly for £14.99 right now. Not sure how long their sale will last, and obviously the Steam sale may reduce it below £15 too, but maybe it won't...

That sale is ending tomorrow, I think.

[alms]

The reason Frozen Synapse gets a lot of praise (at least from me) is the extremely slick and polished turn simulation system, letting you preview how the turn may unfold once you submit your choice. The fact you can plan ahead for both your units and the enemy's

The simulation does not look like a feature to me rather a necessary annoyance because the waypoint/command system is so complicated that as an inexperienced player I had often trouble in making my units do exactly what I wanted.

Also I don't see how the simulation can help in predicting the enemies' movements, that should be part of the player's skill or wouldn't you have a game that basically plays itself?

All in all, Frozen Synapse seemed an overly fiddly and ultimately boring game to me, though I guess that's a minority opinion. To my credit, I had great fun with Deadly Games back in the 90s.

[Bleekill]

That is like 1 USD and change more than the Steam sale actually. Cool , I'll probably pick up the DLC when I end up buying it. I'm just going to wait and see if it drops anymore.

[FriendlyFire]

The simulation does not look like a feature to me rather a necessary annoyance because the waypoint/command system is so complicated that as an inexperienced player I had often trouble in making my units do exactly what I wanted.

Also I don't see how the simulation can help in predicting the enemies' movements, that should be part of the player's skill or wouldn't you have a game that basically plays itself?

All in all, Frozen Synapse seemed an overly fiddly and ultimately boring game to me, though I guess that's a minority opinion. To my credit, I had great fun with Deadly Games back in the 90s.

You do realize that the simulation also let you order enemy units, right? The fundamental attraction of the game was that you could basically play out any scenario you could imagine and thus find that "perfect" shot. Then watch it crumble as you hadn't predicted that one move the enemy made :D

The game didn't play itself, it just gave you the tools to try the possibilities.

[mnemnoch]

I vote Alan Wake just to see the reaction of people if it manage to win.