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

[field_studies]

JC2: 158 hours played, 62% complete. No problem with longevity there. (I came back to it after a year off and fell in love all over again.) One of my favorite games of all time. Hopefully the upcoming multiplayer mod gives new players an incentive to pick it up.

Wow, and I thought my 80+ hours was long. It may be a bit 'empty' as others have said (they could have tweaked just a few simple things to make it so much better, like having the army response lessen depending on how many of the local bases you'd taken out), but it sets a beautiful and detailed world for you to romp in, and a good silly central story to hang it all on... one of my favourites of all time too.

Incidentally, I just booted up Saints Row 3 for the first time, hoping I'd find something similar. So far it's been less thrilling, but I'll give it some more time.

[alms]

Ah, Steam. Your initialization issues will never get old. :P

Wise is the man who can get enjoyment out of small things :P

[vinraith]

Yeah. Switch it to easy and JC2 is a nice relaxation game where you get to mess around and blow stuff up. And you get a small sense of accomplishment for clearing an area. It's far from a perfect game, but there's not much else out there which fills that niche well.

Really? I guess I should try that, but I don't really see how it would solve the repetitiveness/emptiness issue. There's just not that much to do, and the novelty of dicking around with the grapple/parachute stuff only lasts so long. Eh, regardless I'll try it. I really want to like the game, god knows it's pretty and I love a good sandbox destruction title.

[gundato]

Yeah, here are the rules to enjoying JC2:

Play it on Easy. The game is meant to be played on there
If you can be arsed to, get the infinite ammo trainer
Focus on the missions. Only go package/item/upgrade hunting when you feel like it, and only go on 'splosion sprees when you feel like it
When you don't feel like grinding for 100%, just stop. IT takes a LONG time and isn't worth it.

[Finicky]

Yeah, here are the rules to enjoying JC2:

Play it on Easy. The game is meant to be played on there
If you can be arsed to, get the infinite ammo trainer
Focus on the missions. Only go package/item/upgrade hunting when you feel like it, and only go on 'splosion sprees when you feel like it
When you don't feel like grinding for 100%, just stop. IT takes a LONG time and isn't worth it.

This is good advice.

Seems the people who have a hard time enjoying Just cause 2 are always those who don't know how to let go and just do whatever you want.
It's what conditioning people to filling bars, getting achievements and being lead around by a leash all day in games for the last several years has done I suppose , too many people don't know how to just have fun anymore without being patted on the back or getting a gold star.

In JC2 , from the moment you leave the tutorial you are free to go where you want and do what you want, you don't have to gain levels or follow some corridor or storyline to get access to the entire Island.

It's one of very few proper sandbox games in the past few years, and this game gives you so much freedom in every sense to enjoy the sandbox.

You don't need to unlock islands like in gta or slavishly drive to a paint shop or ammo shop or the nearest kevlar pickup, you don't have to find a single NO fun allowed parachute one time use parachute like in gta4, you don't need to fill bars to get access to all kinds of cool vehicles and weapons, you get the parasail chute to whiz around the environments with, the grappling hook to fuck around with however you please.

It's so enjoyable to just start up the game, grapple up to speed (or simply teleport with the heli transport option) and start random races, blow stuff up, hijack cars and tanks and planes, drive off whatever cliffs you damn well please etc just to see what happens. The world is huge with tons of sights to see.

Trying to 100 percent anything or do every sidequest/mission as it comes up is missing the entire point of the game.

[Finicky]

[how on earth did i double post

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

like having the army response lessen depending on how many of the local bases you'd taken out
Yeah, I like games that give you some feedback when you take out enemy infrastructure. Saboteur had the cool colorization feedback, while I found Far Cry 2 frustrating because nothing you did altered the enemy checkpoints (I would have liked it if clearing a checkpoint made it stay cleared or at least noticeably weaker next time).

[internetonsetadd]

Wow, and I thought my 80+ hours was long. It may be a bit 'empty' as others have said (they could have tweaked just a few simple things to make it so much better, like having the army response lessen depending on how many of the local bases you'd taken out), but it sets a beautiful and detailed world for you to romp in, and a good silly central story to hang it all on... one of my favourites of all time too.

You know, I've seen a fair amount of debate on whether taking out communications towers, colonels, and statues (etc.) has an effect on the military response in each area, and I'm almost sure that it does. The game says that it does, but apparently a lot of people don't notice anything. I think the effect is somewhat subtle. In areas in which I have yet to cause this type of chaos, the military response seems swifter, harder, and longer-lasting (more jeeps, more soldiers, more helicopters). In areas that I've completely razed, the response is weaker. Targets such as statues that affect the Panauan people seem to cause the factions to respond more frequently and potently, and I believe they will often attack an area soon after you've destroyed statues or propaganda-mobiles.

I play on normal. These effects might be easier to discern on a harder difficulty setting, or it could be that my subjective experience has caused me to invent a bunch of shit that isn't there. Either way, when the response meter is at its peak I find it much easier to stay alive in this game than in GTA3, simply because every vehicle that comes at you can be turned against the enemy, and rapid escapes aren't terribly hard.

My favorite experience in the game so far was a random encounter, not part of any mission. I was scaling a towering, sheer cliff with my grappling hook when along came a helicopter wielding a minigun. Naturally, I grappled onto the helicopter to hijack it. The pilot lost control, and the helicopter began sliding down the cliff face sideways on its skids. After sparking its way down the entire cliff, mere feet from the base, I managed to input the hijack code, jump into the cockpit, straighten, and achieve lift. The game makes all kinds of bad action movie moments possible without explicitly intending to, which makes finding them all the more awesome.

Edit2: I've also tried my damnedest to drive a motorcycle up a suspension bridge cable, but I've only ever lasted a couple meters. I had a motorcycle dropped at the top and tried driving it down, but that was even harder.

It also does a reasonable job encouraging you to explore, with easter eggs, [pos. spoilers] the whole freaky Lost-esque island, a bubble gun [/spoiler], and off-the-map hideouts.

Also, I just had a power outage, so thank sweet Atheismo for the restore feature.

Edit: I've been deeply considering getting SR3 throughout the Steam sale. These types of sandboxes are nice getaways in between more serious games.

[vinraith]

...and then Finicky convinced me to leave it in my junk folder.

[alms]

LOL10-char

[hamster]

Bough gimrock. Hope it's worth it.

[johnki]

Bough gimrock. Hope it's worth it.I bought it and I'm really liking it. I really like the spellcasting system, though it's certainly a test in time management lol.

The graphics are also borderline incredible for the style of game.

[internetonsetadd]

Bough gimrock. Hope it's worth it.

So do I. I "evaluated" it for about 30 minutes, and though I didn't see much, I was neither totally underwhelmed nor undulating with excitement. For six bucks, though, sure, especially with the forthcoming level editor.

[gundato]

Edit: I've been deeply considering getting SR3 throughout the Steam sale. These types of sandboxes are nice getaways in between more serious games.

SR3 is probably the best GTA clone ever made. It is better than the GTAs since it never takes itself seriously.

But it isn't a sandbox. Almost all the sidequests are very repetitive. SR3 is more about an insanely zany and awesome singleplayer campaign with some side activities you can do when you are bored.

That being said: it still suffers from the GTA "Wait... I have to drive all the way over to the other side of the map?" almost all the time. Once you get a homie who can give you a helicopter, things get a LOT less painful

[internetonsetadd]

Hmm. Thank you. I wouldn't say no to more of a campaign than JC2 had, but this one continues to want to keep sitting on the fence. Apparently Amazon is planning/hoping to offer it for $9.99 at some point (maybe it was you who mentioned it, I don't recall), but I have yet to see their next big wave for the second half of July. I'm also considering the THQ pack, so I'll hold off for now.

[Anthile]

Just Cause 2 is basically Daggerfall with guns.

[vinraith]

Just Cause 2 is basically Daggerfall with guns.

What? JC2 is about as far from an RPG as it gets. Sometimes I wonder if people are just playing a completely different game called Just Cause 2 than the one I've got.

[Anthile]

No, I mean it's just as dull and repetitive.

[Bleekill]

Haha, I think he just means its big as fuck

edit: Oh i was going for a positive interpretation

[Protoman]

Which Prince of Persia game in the currently flash-saled bundle is the best? I want one, but I know I'm not going to play the 500 hours of prince of persia this entire pack provides.

[Oshada]

The 2008 cel-shaded one was quite nice. The original trilogy was great, your best bet is probably Two Thrones?

Crap, Two Thrones is nearly seven years old. That just made me feel so old.

[asskicker]

I'm planning on buying Saints Row III, any DLC I need?

[Nalano]

I'm planning on buying Saints Row III, any DLC I need?

Here you go (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?5180-The-Steam-2012-Summer-Sale-anticipation-thread-Because-it-is-Inevitable&p=160527&viewfull=1#post160527).

[field_studies]

You know, I've seen a fair amount of debate on whether taking out communications towers, colonels, and statues (etc.) has an effect on the military response in each area, and I'm almost sure that it does. The game says that it does, but apparently a lot of people don't notice anything. I think the effect is somewhat subtle.

You could be right. I looked for an effect awfully closely, but completely clearing a large swath of individual locations seemed to do little to temper the quick and brutal military response. But I wanted to believe I was missing something. I suppose this is what I was originally referring too though--that if the developers had just made that cause/effect relationship more pronounced, the 'clearing' activity that occupies most of the game would have been so much more satisfying. The game never fools you into thinking that you're liberating the island for the people, but one would like to have the sense of making incremental gains in the one-man-war.



My favorite experience in the game so far was a random encounter, not part of any mission. I was scaling a towering, sheer cliff with my grappling hook when along came a helicopter wielding a minigun. Naturally, I grappled onto the helicopter to hijack it. The pilot lost control, and the helicopter began sliding down the cliff face sideways on its skids. After sparking its way down the entire cliff, mere feet from the base, I managed to input the hijack code, jump into the cockpit, straighten, and achieve lift. The game makes all kinds of bad action movie moments possible without explicitly intending to, which makes finding them all the more awesome.

This is just it. One year ago, during the summer sale, someone told me a story like that one and I was convinced to buy the game. I'd thank that person if I could remember who it was. But the point is that nearly everyone seems to come away from the game with a story or two like that... it's built precisely for it. It may be 'empty' in some ways, but it's empty like a massive stage set, actors and props positioned and ready for you to play your role.


It also does a reasonable job encouraging you to explore, with easter eggs, [pos. spoilers] the whole freaky Lost-esque island, a bubble gun [/spoiler], and off-the-map hideouts.

:-o I don't think I ever found that island!

[Grizzly]

:-o I don't think I ever found that island!

A faction mission has it I think. It shoots down airplanes with EMP guns.

I geuss I am different: I am playing Just Cause 2 on "Hard", and I am actually enjoying that a lot more then I enjoyed "Normal" in the demo. I don't really enjoy random blowing stuff up, but trying to blow as much stuff up as possible before the goverment response becomes overwelming is a lot of fun for me. Makes things more frantic.

[vee41]

This is just it. One year ago, during the summer sale, someone told me a story like that one and I was convinced to buy the game. I'd thank that person if I could remember who it was. But the point is that nearly everyone seems to come away from the game with a story or two like that... it's built precisely for it. It may be 'empty' in some ways, but it's empty like a massive stage set, actors and props positioned and ready for you to play your role.


Exactly. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard with any game as I did with JC2. I had this small firefight in small town, things got hairy and escalated a bit. After lots of thrilling near death situations and epic shootyshoot moments I found myself escaping an enemy helicopter through desert with a pink scooter. While rockets kept exploding around me I just started laughing to absurdity of the whole situation, I laughed so hard that I lost control of my pink scooter and crashed it into this huge advertisement banner killing myself.

[Davkaus]

Fallout NV is now up for £3.74.

Is it worth going for the ultimate edition for £7.50?

[renhoelder]

One question. I already own Fallout New Vegas and plan to purchase the DLC aswell, but it is cheaper just to buy the Ulitamte Edition rather the buying the DLC separetly. The problem is, when I land on the Ultimate Edition page it shows that I already own it.
When I buy the Ultimate Edition on top of the normal one I own, only the DLC will be added to my account, right?

[Nalano]

Exactly. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard with any game as I did with JC2. I had this small firefight in small town, things got hairy and escalated a bit. After lots of thrilling near death situations and epic shootyshoot moments I found myself escaping an enemy helicopter through desert with a pink scooter. While rockets kept exploding around me I just started laughing to absurdity of the whole situation, I laughed so hard that I lost control of my pink scooter and crashed it into this huge advertisement banner killing myself.

And you just know that all Rico's thinking as he rides this pink scooter through the desert, dodging missiles from an attack helicopter is, "what am I doing with my life?"

[XisLoose]

Oh man, Bastion was 75% off during the night and I missed it! :(
Any chance anyone here picked up a spare copy and willing to sell it? :O

[renhoelder]

Oh man, Bastion was 75% off during the night and I missed it! :(
Any chance anyone here picked up a spare copy and willing to sell it? :O

It'll probably pop up as Flash Sale or Daily Deal before the end, or as part of a Bundle.

[7hink]

Oh man, Bastion was 75% off during the night and I missed it! :(
Any chance anyone here picked up a spare copy and willing to sell it? :O

I've got an extra key for it. Send me a PM and I'll give it to you.

[neema_t]

This is why I love Just Cause 2:
I got it on my PS3 when it came out (this was before I was a PC gamer) and in missions where you're getting chased by bastards in cars I'd just stand on the roof of my car and shoot them until they exploded, like a right idiot, it took time and ammo and was a bit dull, really.

Then, after I got it on PC, I realised something... What if, right, what if I used my grappling hook to tie the cars to the floor? Sure enough, hilarity ensued. There's one mission which involves you being chased across a bridge and if you hook onto an enemy car you can tie the other end of the hook to the floor in front and towards the edge of the bridge, when the line goes taut the car gets flung off the side. Or you can string them up to the bridge suspension so they basically take off. You can also tie one car to another but that's not quite as exciting, though it can be funny at times if you cause one of the two to have an accident. You can also jump onto the enemy car and hijack it, or (presumably, I never tried this) jump from one to the next, planting remote explosives as you go, then get back on your own car and blow the lot up.

Helicopters are another good one, I always jumped onto the chopper and hijacked it but it's just as much fun to hook it onto a building and make it try to follow you, or attach it to an enemy truck, or conversely attach a light enemy vehicle to it; that doesn't often result in either being destroyed but watching them dawdle awkwardly as they both try to not blow up is hilarious. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, I don't know, but there's just so much you can do. Connecting jets to the ground as they attempt to take off is another good one.

[Spengbab]

Then, after I got it on PC, I realised something... What if, right, what if I used my grappling hook to tie the cars to the floor? Sure enough, hilarity ensued.
I know exactly what you're saying - halfway through the game I was fucking around with stuff when I accidently managed to grapple my vehicle (think it was a car) to the wall behind it, somehow snatching it up and colliding with some pedestrians behind it.

Needless to say, the Grappling Terror was unleashed upon the small island nation that day. Also, bikes are REALLY satisfying to tether to the ground, if you manage to pull it off (oh dear)

[rsherhod]

Voted Force Unleashed 2 for the community sale. Hope others do the same since I missed its flash sale.

Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3? I enjoyed Fallout 3, but only played through once. The main story was pretty crap and the first DLC just put me off going back.

Edit: Force Unleashed 2 has a meta score of 59/100. I'm not normally one to care about such things, but that seems uncommonly low.

[neema_t]

Voted Force Unleashed 2 for the community sale. Hope others do the same since I missed its flash sale.

Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3? I enjoyed Fallout 3, but only played through once. The main story was pretty crap and the first DLC just put me off going back.

Edit: Force Unleashed 2 has a meta score of 59/100. I'm not normally one to care about such things, but that seems uncommonly low.

I wanted TFU2 as well but I can't really remember why I decided against it when the flash sale was on, I think I looked around the Steam forums to see what kind of issues people were having and concluded it wasn't worth it.

Also New Vegas is better than Fallout 3 by quite a long way (upon reflection that's maybe a little strong), I prefer the story (but that's subjective) but it's the smaller things like weapon modding, hardcore mode, the various factions and how they work and the fact that it's just more polished than Fallout 3 was in some ways. In others it's still a buggy mess but I have yet to receive a message saying an important character has died even though I was nowhere near them, like the time I was at the Regulator HQ in Fallout 3 (northwest region of the map) and the game just cheerfully informs me that 'Allister Tenpenny has died!', thus fucking at least two quests, but then that was nothing the console couldn't fix.

[Spengbab]

Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3?
Depends on who you ask, really. I loved FO3 and the extras (Except the spaceship, terrible mess. Swamp was great though), but Im struggling to finish NV, and haven't even touched the extra stories. The cowboy thing isn't working for me, the story hasn't pulled me in (I'm at the point where I have to pick between House, Yes Man and the cowboys. Killed the game's main villain when I first met him, many quests ago. Though there are some great sidequests, it's just not pulling me in like FO 3 did.

[XisLoose]

I've got an extra key for it. Send me a PM and I'll give it to you.

Thanks to 7hink for the game! he is the king (rather commander by the avatar) =]

[internetonsetadd]

Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3? I enjoyed Fallout 3, but only played through once. The main story was pretty crap and the first DLC just put me off going back.

I enjoyed both. FO3 managed to incorporate a lot of novel side quests into the less than compelling main story, and I thought Beth did a decent job adopting the FO spirit in a lot of areas. Still, FO:NV for me was the better game. Romping around DC was fun, especially since I've made a number of trips to the city, but NV was just incomparably more Fallout-y, if one is a fan of the first two. The companions and choices were far more interesting, and the quests and world were weaved together to form an impressive web that led nicely to the central story any way one chose to approach it. Although I came quite close, I didn't fully complete either game; I seem to have a serious mental issue that causes me to delay the gratification of finishing until I've seen all there is to see, by which point I've worn myself out.

[7hink]

Thanks to 7hink for the game! he is the king (rather commander by the avatar) =]

It's not a problem at all. If I can buy a random stranger a drink it shouldn't be a problem to give a random stranger a videogame.


I enjoyed both. FO3 managed to incorporate a lot of novel side quests into the less than compelling main story, and I thought Beth did a decent job adopting the FO spirit in a lot of areas. Still, FO:NV for me was the better game. Romping around DC was fun, especially since I've made a number of trips to the city, but NV was just incomparably more Fallout-y, if one is a fan of the first two. The companions and choices were far more interesting, and the quests and world were weaved together to form an impressive web that led nicely to the central story any way one chose to approach it. Although I came quite close, I didn't fully complete either game; I seem to have a serious mental issue that causes me to delay the gratification of finishing until I've seen all there is to see, by which point I've worn myself out.

I think the most fun you can have in both games is exploration. Just going inside a vault and seeing what you will find in there. I enjoyed FO3 more because it was new. NV felt like more of the same to me at the time. I might give it a go again some time though. I thought most of the quests weren't stellar in both games. It's the world and how it's presented which makes the game fun in my opinion.

[Leopig]

I love FO3 and FONV, preferring the story in NV although if I reall at the time (release) there were many game breaking bugs. I am thinking about buying it for PC and going through it again.

[thegooseking]

Fallout 3 is the more coherent game and has a better sense of 'place' but New Vegas has better mechanics and better 'bits' of writing, even if it doesn't all join together as well.

[apricotsoup]

It wasn't until new vegas that I was able to appreciate the new fallouts at all, I'm not sure exactly what it was but I completed bounced off fallout 3 and thus didn't get to the excellent new vegas for quite a while.

[johnki]

Argh, my simulation addiction is making me want Railworks 3, but I'm wondering if it's really worth the $20 (forget the $17.50 edition...for $2.50 more, you get what is a $15 expansion when on sale!) plus the $2.50 for the Trains vs Zombies DLC which looks absolutely freaking hilarious, or if I should wait to see if it hits 75% off, or if it'll even be worth it at 75% off...

EDIT: Does anyone play With Fire and Sword online? I'm more interested in that than Napoleonic Wars, to be honest, but definitely would get Warband, either way.

EDIT2: Oh god, Steam lied bigtime. Shogun 2 is NOT only 15 GB. It is, in fact, 25 GB.

[mnemnoch]

What's up with EA and their different prices in every region? First Alice Madness and now Dead Space @ $12.48 while checking in steamgamesales its only $9.99?

Damn, I hope Red Faction win, its been on my wishlist for quite a while now.

[Leopig]

25gb? Not too bad only about a hour and a half download.

but on the subject of rail simulators, whats the deal, it driving a train hard? I would imagine you basically have a throttle and a brake. Not like you steer a train. I guess most of the joy is the scenery? I am fancying trying one since I went on a train for the first time ever (aI am 36 now by the way and never been on a train lol) two months ago from Newcastle to Bridgend and I really enjoyed sitting there for 7 hours watching the world zoom by.

I voted red faction too.

Edit: Nice, my 99p brand new copy of Splinter Cell conviction just dropped through my letter box, thanks Amazon.

[johnki]

but on the subject of rail simulators, whats the deal, it driving a train hard? I would imagine you basically have a throttle and a brake. Not like you steer a train. I guess most of the joy is the scenery? I am fancying trying one since I went on a train for the first time ever (aI am 36 now by the way and never been on a train lol) two months ago from Newcastle to Bridgend and I really enjoyed sitting there for 7 hours watching the world zoom by.With things like OpenBVE and Railworks, I'll be honest. No clue. But I'm interested in finding out what the deal is.

With things like ZDSimulator, there's a hell of a lot more to it than "just driving a train", which is intriguing, but even after running the manual through Google Translate, the language barrier is still a bit high between untranslated Russian words (at the very least, they're now in Latin characters, rather than Cyrillic) and the overuse of the word "controller" without any way to distinguish what is what. I was actually able to get a little ways in with the tooltips that show up (I was able to discern keys to press) but I had no idea what I was doing or why the train wouldn't go over 10MPH. If only I knew the $12 I'd be paying could convince the dev to finish translating it. :/

And so I'm interested in trying Railworks.

[fiddlesticks]

First off, thanks for the comparison. So CSS has stronger recoil and smaller hitboxes? Or the other way around?
I worded that poorly. 1.6 is the one with smaller hitboxes and stronger recoil. In general, CS:S is probably a bit easier to get into, as the mechanics are more forgiving and the average skill level of the other players is a bit lower.


Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3? I enjoyed Fallout 3, but only played through once. The main story was pretty crap and the first DLC just put me off going back.
Unsurprisingly, Fallout 3 feels a lot more like an Elder Scrolls games. Plot and characters are largely forgettable, so the appeal lies in exploring the Wasteland and its dungeons. It's also hilariously breakable, if that's your thing. New Vegas on the other hand, feels a lot more like the earlier Fallout titles. There's less dungeons to explore, but it makes up for it with a much greater focus on interesting NPCs, quests with multiple solutions and a more coherent world. There are also some subtle but welcome gameplay changes and more weapons.

Overall, I'd say New Vegas is clearly superior to Fallout 3, but then I was always disappointed with how little 3 actually feels like a Fallout game.


Fallout NV is now up for £3.74.

Is it worth going for the ultimate edition for £7.50?
Definitely, the New Vegas DLC is absolutely stellar. In fact, I'd say NV is a prime example of how to do DLC right. The base game feels complete without them, but they all add something substantial to it without just being tacked on.

[mnemnoch]

Definitely, the New Vegas DLC is absolutely stellar. In fact, I'd say NV is a prime example of how to do DLC right. The base game feels complete without them, but they all add something substantial to it without just being tacked on.

+1

except that courier stash and Gun runner arsenal

[Goateh]

but on the subject of rail simulators, whats the deal, it driving a train hard? I would imagine you basically have a throttle and a brake. Not like you steer a train. I guess most of the joy is the scenery?

Surprisingly, yes, it can be hard, especially if you take off all the aids and try driving those steam engines. I still can't get a steam train from stop to full speed to stop again with any reliability. Seeing the sights is definitely a large part of the appeal, either scenery or the trains themselves. It's no hardcore flight sim but there is a surprising amount of work in getting the trains going and stopping at a station. My first attempt was half a mile down the tracks from the station and that was playing with some aids on so it really was just accelerate and brake. I still can't do the shunting jobs in the train yards accurately.

[johnki]

Surprisingly, yes, it can be hard, especially if you take off all the aids and try driving those steam engines. I still can't get a steam train from stop to full speed to stop again with any reliability. Seeing the sights is definitely a large part of the appeal, either scenery or the trains themselves. It's no hardcore flight sim but there is a surprising amount of work in getting the trains going and stopping at a station. My first attempt was half a mile down the tracks from the station and that was playing with some aids on so it really was just accelerate and brake. I still can't do the shunting jobs in the train yards accurately.So with games like Railworks, do they have objectives or do you just go from point A to point B and you're done?

And damnit, you reminded me I wanted to pick up DCS: A-10C. Must. Fit. All. This. Into. Budget!

[Revisor]

Fallout NV has a much better writing, a somewhat more interesting main story (although the meat lies in all the details, companions and side quests) and a more balanced gameplay. The DLCs add a lot to the game and to the whole story, if you are interested and take it in slowly.

Although I guess all hardcore Fallout fans know it and thus have already played Fallout NV, Fallout NV uses a lot of the material that was being prepared for the original Fallout 3 aka Van Buren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Buren_(Fallout_3)), before Interplay went belly up. So in this sense it is the real Fallout 3.

2 suggestions for the best enjoyment of Fallout NV:
1. Install the mods Project Nevada and New Vegas Bounties 1+2 (and the large community patch). They both add so much to the vanilla game without changing the core experience. I recommend them even for the first playthrough. They are similarly crucial like Stalker Complete Mods to the Stalkers.

2. If you get the Ultimate Version (which you should!) and you care about the world, play the DLCs in the story-chronological order:
- Honest Hearts (which I found was the weakest one)
- Dead Money
- Old World Blues
- Lonesome Road

Old World Blues is basically the best of Obsidian let loose and having lots of fun. There are gameplay and story surprises around every corner.
Lonesome Road gives so much closure to your personal story that I consider it emotionally the real ending.

[Similar]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it? I'm wondering whether to get her the Season Pass thing, but it'd be nice if it was a surprise (i.e. so I don't really want to ask her if she has it) and I can't afford to just risk buying it.
She said she had played something that took place in space, so I don't know if that means she already has Gangstas in Space (which I gather is worth getting).

[thegooseking]

Edit: Fallout 3's store page says it incompatible with Windows 7. I never heard that. I've checked the store page a few times since I got Windows 7, and I never saw that notice before. When did this happen?

Now they changed the notice to "Fallout 3 is not optimised for Windows 7". Oh well, I guess at that price I'll give it a shot. I have it on Xbox 360, but I'd rather have it on PC, and don't have The Pitt, which I've heard is quite good. I also don't have Operation Anchorage and Mothership Zeta, but I've heard they're not so good anyway.

[johnki]

Now they changed the notice to "Fallout 3 is not optimised for Windows 7". Oh well, I guess at that price I'll give it a shot.
Actually, that's because someone on the forums mentioned that it could be compatible with Win7 through some ini configuration-fu, and one of the Valve guys noticed and changed it accordingly.

[Leopig]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it? I'm wondering whether to get her the Season Pass thing, but it'd be nice if it was a surprise (i.e. so I don't really want to ask her if she has it) and I can't afford to just risk buying it.
She said she had played something that took place in space, so I don't know if that means she already has Gangstas in Space (which I gather is worth getting).


I suppose you could check her achievements.

[Goateh]

So with games like Railworks, do they have objectives or do you just go from point A to point B and you're done?

There are some objective based modes where you're given a schedule and a route and you need to keep to them, either transporting passengers or hauling goods. They're all grounded in reality so there's nothing too elaborate; a commuter train route across multiple stops, picking up and dropping off coal for a power plant, that kind of thing.



2. If you get the Ultimate Version (which you should!) and you care about the world, play the DLCs in the story-chronological order:
- Honest Hearts (which I found was the weakest one)
- Dead Money
- Old World Blues
- Lonesome Road

I agree Honest Hearts was a little bland despite the appeal of the story of the Burned, but I found Dead Money horrible to play. The idea of the casino was nice but it turned Fallout into a dull, corridor-heavy survival horror game and it wasn't very good at it. I actually turned on god mode to avoid having to slog through those endless passages. It improved when you got inside but that opening was horrible. It didn't help that my character had a strong focus on laser and plasma weapons, which were replaced with a hefty collection of clubs.

Old World Blues was easily the highlight of the DLC for me. Lonesome Road was a great story but the level design was a little samey. The story of Old World Blues was disconnected from the rest but how many games take your brain as an opening move?

[thegooseking]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it? I'm wondering whether to get her the Season Pass thing, but it'd be nice if it was a surprise (i.e. so I don't really want to ask her if she has it) and I can't afford to just risk buying it.
She said she had played something that took place in space, so I don't know if that means she already has Gangstas in Space (which I gather is worth getting).

You won't see the DLC, but you can check her achievements. If she has any of the following achievements, she will have the DLC.

Gangstas in Space
I Do My Own Stunts
First Contact
Union Buster
Xenaphobe
Lights! Camera! Action!
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Warrior Princess
Revenge of the Navigator
Do a Barrel Roll!
C-List Celebrity

The Trouble With Clones
B.A.M.F.
Public Enemy #1
Weird Science
Eye of the Bee-holder
Sting Operation
Tour De Farce
Supaa-Excellent!
Send in the Clones
The Johnnyguard
My Pet, Monster

Genkibowl
Get Off My Back
Stick the Landing
Murder in the Jungle
Storm the Yarn
Cooked to Perfection
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Flame On
Feeding Time
C-C-C-Combo Breaker
Genki Bowl Champ

[Fredie007]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it? I'm wondering whether to get her the Season Pass thing, but it'd be nice if it was a surprise (i.e. so I don't really want to ask her if she has it) and I can't afford to just risk buying it.
She said she had played something that took place in space, so I don't know if that means she already has Gangstas in Space (which I gather is worth getting).

You could check the pages of the 4 DLC's in the pack, on the right of the page under "community" it'll tell you whether she has those. Doesn't matter whether she got them through the Season Pass or individually, it'll tell you anyway.

[Gnoupi]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it? I'm wondering whether to get her the Season Pass thing, but it'd be nice if it was a surprise (i.e. so I don't really want to ask her if she has it) and I can't afford to just risk buying it.
She said she had played something that took place in space, so I don't know if that means she already has Gangstas in Space (which I gather is worth getting).

Try it. Pretend you are buying it, select "purchase as gift", then "send it directly through Steam".
It works the same as for games, if someone already owns a DLC, it will tell you in the list and you won't be able to select their name.

Steam doesn't let you gift something to someone who already owns it. (Exception could be with bundles, so check the individual parts of DLC if you wonder about the season pass, typically)

[TechnoJellyfish]

Question:

If a friend on Steam has Saints Row 3, would any DLCs show in her games list when I look at it?

Not sure if DLC's show up in the games list (I think they don't), but if I'm not totally mistaken, you can simply browse to the DLC in question via the store front end and it should show which one of your friends owns it already. I'm also pretty sure, Steam won't let you gift something to someone who already owns the title.

[Similar]

I suppose you could check her achievements.
oh right. There are some for Genki Bowl, Sad Panda Skydiving and Gangstas in Space. They're not completed, but I guess they wouldn't show up if she didn't have the DLCs. I hope.

Thanks.

[Gnoupi]

Not sure if DLC's show up in the games list (I think they don't), but if I'm not totally mistaken, you can simply browse to the DLC in question via the store front end and it should show which one of your friends owns it already. I'm also pretty sure, Steam won't let you gift something to someone who already owns the title.

Oh indeed, that's even more simple than my solution.

[Similar]

Oh indeed, that's even more simple than my solution.
Both seem to work, thanks. Just going by the names of the achievements like I tried isn't a safe way to determine it, after all (seems like several of the names from the base game have to do with the DLCs, so it's confusing).

When I try gifting Gangstas in Space, the list of friends shows that another friend has it, but she doesn't, so that seems safe to trust.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Flint]

oh right. There are some for Genki Bowl, Sad Panda Skydiving and Gangstas in Space. They're not completed, but I guess they wouldn't show up if she didn't have the DLCs. I hope.
No, the achievements show up even if you don't have the DLC. You just can't complete them, obviously.

[deano2099]

2 suggestions for the best enjoyment of Fallout NV:
1. Install the mods Project Nevada and New Vegas Bounties 1+2 (and the large community patch). They both add so much to the vanilla game without changing the core experience. I recommend them even for the first playthrough. They are similarly crucial like Stalker Complete Mods to the Stalkers.

How does PN influence the combat difficulty? I love these games just to explore and stuff, but shy'd away from FWE in Fallout 3 as it just looked like it'd make fights longer and make me spend time hunting for food rather than just enjoying exploring the wasteland. I know it's modular but so was FWE and I got rid of it when I realised 90% of it seemed annoying...

[Revisor]

How does PN influence the combat difficulty?
It makes the combat more enjoyable, with bullet time, night+thermal vision, grenade hotkey, multiple zoom levels.

As for the difficulty Project Nevada is absolutely configurable. Eg. on my second playthrough I pushed my weight limit and action points to the max, increased the impact of all attacks making the combat more lethal while slowing down the level progress by 33%.

[SirKicksalot]

I have a US version of New Vegas and its first two DLCs, gifted by someone on D2D a year ago. I live in Eastern Europe.
I can't buy the rest of the DLC because Steam claims I don't own NV.
Eventually I bought the Ultimate Edition. It's more convenient to pay three Euros more than stalk a US customer and trade.
Now I have two NV entries in my library, each with their own separate DLC, achievements and even friends list. What a mess.

[deano2099]

Anyone else finding that the really big discounts seem less common? The most for most things is 75%, which even on a game already reduced to a base price of £20 (older stuff, mostly) puts it at £5. Great deal on something I want, but I find I'm buying less as there's a bunch of stuff I'm slightly interested at maybe playing at some point... for £3 I'd buy it just-in-case, but at £5 I've tended to leave them.

Likewise the series packs (with 2-3 games) seem to just have the same discount of 75% rather than anything bigger.

Not complaining, it's just interesting.

[hamster]

Can't really bring myself to get any AAA games that i genuinely do want on Steam - i have to get the box and the cd case, which is of course, more expensive. Hate myself.

[neema_t]

Anyone else finding that the really big discounts seem less common? The most for most things is 75%, which even on a game already reduced to a base price of £20 (older stuff, mostly) puts it at £5. Great deal on something I want, but I find I'm buying less as there's a bunch of stuff I'm slightly interested at maybe playing at some point... for £3 I'd buy it just-in-case, but at £5 I've tended to leave them.

Likewise the series packs (with 2-3 games) seem to just have the same discount of 75% rather than anything bigger.

Not complaining, it's just interesting.

I've noticed a lot of stuff I have previously bought from Steam is currently not as cheap as it was. I bought Dirt 3 and F1 2011 in a pack for £15 on Steam a while back, now Dirt 3 is £15 by itself and I assume F1 2011 is too as F1 2010 is something like £13, but then Dirt 3 is only piggybacking on Dirt Showdown's daily deal and F1 2010 isn't a featured sale at all so I don't know. I've noticed it a few times though and on the whole it seems more expensive this year than either of the previous ones.

[Revisor]

I have a US version of New Vegas and its first two DLCs, gifted by someone on D2D a year ago. I live in Eastern Europe.
I can't buy the rest of the DLC because Steam claims I don't own NV.
Eventually I bought the Ultimate Edition. It's more convenient to pay three Euros more than stalk a US customer and trade.
Now I have two NV entries in my library, each with their own separate DLC, achievements and even friends list. What a mess.

I had similar problems in Central Europe, couldn't buy the DLCs for my gifted copy, couldn't activate the Ultimate Edition bought in the UK and then silently after a few days of support ping-pong between Bethesda and Steam it suddenly sat there.

And for that all we can thank Bethesda and 1C who has exclusive distribution rights in the former Soviet bloc.

Despite these publisher hurdles, despite Bethesda shafting Obsidian from the bonus payment it's a wonderful game.

[gundato]

Kind of hoping JA2: Back in Action wins the vote. If I can get the game and the DLC for a reasonable price, it could be a nice supplement to 1.13

[Smashbox]

I've heard that that game has become worthwhile since the last patch. Can anyone confirm/deny?

[trjp]

I've noticed a lot of stuff I have previously bought from Steam is currently not as cheap as it was.

I think this is just the ever mounting pressure of things like

- Bundles which give you 5-10 games for next-to-nothing and which appear weekly
- Mobile games where £2 is seen as expensive and 69p will often cause people to say "nah - it will be free soon"
- DD stores which run deals 52 weeks of the year and price-match each-other constantly.
- The SHEER WEIGHT of cheap/free games available and the fact there are only 24 hours in a day

There are some astonishingly cheap games in this sale - but in many cases they've been this cheap before and/or you're already weighed-down with stuff to play.

There has to be a floor somewhere tho - we're seeing games half-in-price within a month of release - we're seeing AAA titles quarter in price well within a year (sometimes within 6 months) of release. I think when you look at a game which is £5 or less and say "I'll wait until it's cheaper" what you're really saying is that you don't want it - which is fine but I'd rather people say that.

Games which cost £3 or less probably earn nothing for anyone other than the store and the payment processor - by the time a game hits that level, you're not a customer anymore - you're just someone standing waiting for freebies :)

[Leopig]

Please, Spec Ops or Game of thrones or guild wars collection today please St Gabe.

[trjp]

Please, Spec Ops or Game of thrones or guild wars collection today please St Gabe.

Specs Ops is too new surely? Guild Wars has never been a 'feature' title in a sale either (tho it's frequently dirt-cheap anyway).

[Finicky]

Also, how does New Vegas compare to Fallout 3? I enjoyed Fallout 3, but only played through once. The main story was pretty crap and the first DLC just put me off going back.

I quite enjoyed fallout 3 (just enough to deal with all the jankyness and buggyness and problems) until I got halfway through the broken steel expansion and it just got too repetitive/formulaic.

I tried playing new vegas a while ago, but it has all the same problems and more, the engine was also incredibly unstable and I was still tired of the formula of the previous game and really not willing to deal with the jank a second time.
+ it's still one of the ugliest games out there, and combined with the unstable engine and fairly poor performance if you use the texture pack it's painful to look at.

If you got bored of fallout 3 you 'll feel right at home in new vegas (bored immediately).

[Leopig]

Specs Ops is too new surely? Guild Wars has never been a 'feature' title in a sale either (tho it's frequently dirt-cheap anyway).

They reduced Max Payne 3 so I do not think it is beyond the realms of possibility. Also Amazon put it down to half price a week after release. But saying that it has become a bit of a surprise hit so maybe steam hold it's value up.

[gundato]

Yeah. This steam sale (and most of the previous ones) really does give support to EA's "devaluing intellectual property" argument. Don't get me wrong, 60 bucks for a new game is ridiculous. But, at the same time, many of us are saying "Well, I can get it now, or wait a few weeks until it is under 10 bucks". Hell, Sonic Generations looked interesting, but I wasn't willing to pay however much they were asking (15 bucks on sale?).

And, at the same time, Blizzard games (and even CoDs) tend to never go below 30 bucks and sell like hot cakes. So there may be something to this price floor concept (I vaguely recall learning about what said something was in an economics class I was forced to take for stupid reasons).

On an unrelated note: The Steam community sucks, I wanted JA2:BIA :p

[Mistabashi]

Just a quick note on the X Superbox as its one of the flash sales - if you're interested don't bother buying the whole box, there's literally no point in playing the earlier games. Just get Terran Conflict and Albion Prelude (which is a sort of stand-alone expansion that requires TC to run), you'll save yourself some money that way.

[Leopig]

Sorry, I voted red faction even though I have no interest in buying it lol

[Smashbox]

Stand alone, but requires the base game. Expansion pack!

Also, Red Faction Armageddon is surprisingly awesome.

EDIT: I realize my mistake, I MEANT GUERRILLA NOT ARMAGEDDON.

[Hypernetic]

Yeah. This steam sale (and most of the previous ones) really does give support to EA's "devaluing intellectual property" argument. Don't get me wrong, 60 bucks for a new game is ridiculous. But, at the same time, many of us are saying "Well, I can get it now, or wait a few weeks until it is under 10 bucks". Hell, Sonic Generations looked interesting, but I wasn't willing to pay however much they were asking (15 bucks on sale?).

And, at the same time, Blizzard games (and even CoDs) tend to never go below 30 bucks and sell like hot cakes. So there may be something to this price floor concept (I vaguely recall learning about what said something was in an economics class I was forced to take for stupid reasons).

On an unrelated note: The Steam community sucks, I wanted JA2:BIA :p

No it doesn't, and EA does the same crap with Origin sales anyway.

Also Blizzard just had a massive sale on WoW and all it's expansions for $10 each.

[rsherhod]

I see your point. On the other hand, below £5 puts it in my "what the hell" price range. At that price I'm prepared to take a risk on something I might not have bothered with.

...and when I say risk, I mean that you could end up with a From Dust :(

Edit: That's directed at gundato. I forgot how fast this thread moves.

[Leopig]

Stand alone, but requires the base game. Expansion pack!

Also, Red Faction Armageddon is surprisingly awesome.


I remmeber I bought it on release on the xbox and the multiplay was uite good. Is there still a PC community going? I may buy it for that.

[gundato]

RF: Armageddon was okay. I think my main annoyance was that Guerilla was the best GTA-clone until Saints Row 3, and they took away my ability to rescue hostages by driving a truck through a wall.


I see your point. On the other hand, below £5 puts it in my "what the hell" price range. At that price I'm prepared to take a risk on something I might not have bothered with.

...and when I say risk, I mean that you could end up with a From Dust :(

Edit: That's directed at gundato. I forgot how fast this thread moves.

Yeah, but I have just noticed that many people seem to have "I wants it now so I buy it new" and "I'll wait until it gets to the 'what the hell' range". Obviously there are exceptions and there are still people who just wait for minor sales (like me and The Walking Dead. I would have gotten that thing for 1 dollar off...), but it does seem like we are getting more people who only operate in the extremes.

[Finicky]

Yeah. This steam sale (and most of the previous ones) really does give support to EA's "devaluing intellectual property" argument. Don't get me wrong, 60 bucks for a new game is ridiculous. But, at the same time, many of us are saying "Well, I can get it now, or wait a few weeks until it is under 10 bucks". Hell, Sonic Generations looked interesting, but I wasn't willing to pay however much they were asking (15 bucks on sale?).

And, at the same time, Blizzard games (and even CoDs) tend to never go below 30 bucks and sell like hot cakes. So there may be something to this price floor concept (I vaguely recall learning about what said something was in an economics class I was forced to take for stupid reasons).

On an unrelated note: The Steam community sucks, I wanted JA2:BIA :p

Does it, now?
All the sales make me do is consider games I would otherwise NEVER buy. (I even bought LA noire, which I'll most likely regret) and has made me discover several games I didn't give a chance before.

I still pay full price (in pc land full price is 40 euros, not a cent more) for games I love.

+ it does a good job of spreading people's spendings out and away from the "aaa" (80 percent of a large budget spent on marketing they mean...)games and into the hands studios who don't spend all their money on ads and viral marketing.
That alone is double worth any possible 'negative' effect (as a consumer, prices going down is a good thing, not a bad thing) it may have.

Valve has repeatedly pointed out that sales exponentially increase the revenue for games and that (if the game is decent) the increase in word of mouth has a long lasting positive effect after the sale ends.
The only cheapening it does is cheapening the value of BAD games, buggy/unfinished games and DLC whoring games. (why pay full price at release when you can wait for the GOTY edition with most of the jank and bugs fixed at a quarter of the price).

Seems like a win, win, win for the gamer to me.
You also can't seriously be concerned about the poor industry right? I've never seen a more bloated industry in my life and I'd like nothing more than to see AAA (marketing) budgets no longer be sustainable.

I'd rather word of mouth be the main reason for people buying games rather than insulting glorified toy commercials tricking people into buying shit blindly.

[Leopig]

The sales are nothing to do with cheaping IP's. The ONLY thing they are is to rake in money hand over fist, and that is what they are doing. Win win scenario for everyone. But if EA do it they are of course evil for trying to give you a better deal.

[gundato]

The sales are nothing to do with cheaping IP's. The ONLY thing they are is to rake in money hand over fist, and that is what they are doing. Win win scenario for everyone. But if EA do it they are of course evil for trying to give you a better deal.
Ha ha, that bit about EA is definitely true.

And don't get me wrong, I like the sales and I think they benefit most people. But there is definitely a point to be had that a game that, a few years ago, we would think was worth 50 bucks is now worth only 20 or 30 to most consumers (less to the frugal ones).
And Valve's statistics can easily fall into the "chicken and the egg" scenario: If Valve didn't have huge sales every week, would the revenue difference be as noticeable?

I guess my question is: How long until the AAA game is not sustainable? We are already almost at that point (which is why most of them are in the "safe" genres), but how long until just about every game has the production values of an "indie" title. Don't get me wrong, you can get some GREAT stuff from those, but it is rare that you get something more cinematic than a Call of Duty game (for better or for worse).

[Leopig]

Well, with the new pay to win fad, AAA titles are going to taper off soon. Sad but true.

[Smashbox]

RF: Armageddon was okay. I think my main annoyance was that Guerilla was the best GTA-clone until Saints Row 3, and they took away my ability to rescue hostages by driving a truck through a wall.



Yeah, I actually meant Guerilla. NOT Armageddon.

Also: God damn you all for not voting JA:BiA

Ja! Beer!

[Smashbox]

And Valve's statistics can easily fall into the "chicken and the egg" scenario: If Valve didn't have huge sales every week, would the revenue difference be as noticeable?

I would assume that Valve has done the sale vs. no-sale numbers and found that sales generate more revenue. After all, they only started doing daily/midweek/weekend sales 18 (?) months ago. Not because it's less profitable, I'd imagine.

There's probably a bit of a getting-more-eyeballs-on-the-site-per-day factor at work, too.

[Leopig]

Vote for Lara Croft please folks.

[Herzog]

Got Crusader King II with Sword of Islam DLC, Bastion and Offspring Fling! so far. Everybody should check out Offspring Fling! Its fun and cute and costs 2 euros or so!

[Kodeen]

So RF Guerrilla is the open-worldy one, correct? Is it good?

[Smashbox]

So RF Guerrilla is the open-worldy one, correct? Is it good?

Yes, and yes. As long as you don't care about writing. The physics system is R.A.D. rad.

[deano2099]

I think when you look at a game which is £5 or less and say "I'll wait until it's cheaper" what you're really saying is that you don't want it - which is fine but I'd rather people say that.
While that's true, I still bought them! And occasionally played them. Or I bought games I already had a boxed copy of for convenience's sake.


Games which cost £3 or less probably earn nothing for anyone other than the store and the payment processor - by the time a game hits that level, you're not a customer anymore - you're just someone standing waiting for freebies :)

I don't think so, maybe if you're using PayPal, but I think Steam charge a flat percentage (a la the App store / Amazon) and merchant charges on credit/debit cards are tiny (5-20c range). I know Time Gentlemen Please has been on sale a lot for less than a dollar and the guy still seems to make a nice sum whenever it goes up.

I think the big difference this time around is bundle of old and new games. It used to be that you'd get the latest version of a game at 75% off (for around a fiver) or you could get a pack with it and it's two predecessors for a quid or so more. That seems to have stopped in favour of selling them both at 75% off or a pack where it works out at around 80% off. Basically the old games were pretty much given away, whereas now I think the sheer amount of stuff on there means that's starting to look silly (bundle FO3 and all DLC with New Vegas? Or Oblivion and Morrowind with Skyrim?)

[alms]

And Valve's statistics can easily fall into the "chicken and the egg" scenario: If Valve didn't have huge sales every week, would the revenue difference be as noticeable?

No it can't, not even hardly. You're making it sound like videogames' origins are shrouded in the fog of time and we don't exactly how things were before digital distribution and sales.

Leave the long and hard thinking to the economist guy Valve's hired, and just think about this: there are psychological thresholds in spending (everyone has different ones), and sales mess with these self-regulation mechanisms.

Net result you get existing customers to agonize less over purchases and just buy more, while at the same time bringing in new ones.

Does this mean people will stop buying full price games? of course not, and if you think the ones who are buying 75% off are lost full price purchases, then I have a funny video (http://www.ted.com/talks/rob_reid_the_8_billion_ipod.html) to show you.

[gundato]

Yes, and yes. As long as you don't care about writing. The physics system is R.A.D. rad.

Just keep in mind that Guerilla is the opposite of JA2

The SP campaign is really just there to open new areas and get new toys. The game is really about doing random side missions where you rescue people or blow up bases.

[deano2099]

I would assume that Valve has done the sale vs. no-sale numbers and found that sales generate more revenue. After all, they only started doing daily/midweek/weekend sales 18 (?) months ago. Not because it's less profitable, I'd imagine.

There's probably a bit of a getting-more-eyeballs-on-the-site-per-day factor at work, too.

There's no control group though to work it out properly.

You can't measure for an individual game. Sure, it sells X units at full price, then three months later sells 10X units at 75% off. The sale was more profitable, but they still made more money than they would have launching at 75% off. You have no idea how selling at 50% would have done, and you can't go back and re-run the numbers.

So you have to compare one game with another, but you never know what other factors influence sales: how well did it review, how well was it marketed, what time of year was it released and is it selling more just because Steam has more users than ever?

Thing is, EA could be right. Maybe the PC download industry was growing independent of big sales, and publishers would actually be making more money without them. Annecdotally, 'wait for the sale' has become a mantra repeated by many. There are definitely people who would have bought at full price that now wait for a good deal. We can speculate that the extra copies you sell to people who otherwise wouldn't have bought without a discount outweigh the money 'lost' from people 'waiting for a sale' but you can never know.

We simply don't know what the PC industry would look like without Steam sales right now. And short of traversing into a parallel universe, we can't ever know. I have a feeling EA is wrong, but their position is perfectly logical and feasible.

[motherpuncher]

I agree with alms. Also think about the fact that a lot of these big games like F3 and F:NV made profits when they first came out. So these sales just bring in a nice big chunk of revenue for the companies from people who would never bother at the $20/$30 price point.


Anyone played Arx Fatalis in recent years? It's on sale for $2 right now and I am thinking about grabbing it. I never finished it back in the day and I am wondering if it has stood the test of time.

[Finicky]

But how long until just about every game has the production values of an "indie" title. Don't get me wrong, you can get some GREAT stuff from those, but it is rare that you get something more cinematic than a Call of Duty game (for better or for worse).
Is that really what you think, that AAA has anything to do with production value?
Games like trine 2 and section 8:prejudice have far more polish than pretty much any AAA game out there, AAA budgets are mostly squandered on massive amounts of marketing and if you take a look at AAA game credits you see a list of 150-300 people in there of which MAYBE 40-60 actually had a hand in creating the game.

As usual with a booming industry you have tons of dead weight latching on to get a piece of the pie, if a company like CDPR can make a game like tw2 for 18 million (and still spend way too much on advertising imo) then I see no reason for turds like COD and star wars TOR to cost ten times that. (please don't pretend wages alone count for more than a fraction of that 10x increase).
Valve managed to sell the orange box (hl2+ tf2+portal +the dlc for hl2) for 50 euros BEFORE they had any revenue from DD with steam and they did pretty well for themselves.
You had 5-10 man teams make amazing mods like desert combat, 1-2 man teams redo all the textures and tons of assets for games like gta4.

If there is a bit less money for the biggest publishers/studios then maybe they'll start budgetting properly, especially if they can no longer afford to just market their way to the sales charts but actually need a decent game to get a share and a demo to get the attention.

Gaming did just fine in the era before every billboard and tv station and the entire internet was filled with game related ads. As budgets increased , multiple genres have died off or aren't represented at all by 'aaa' publishers , we have incomplete games with dlc to finish them and it has never been harder to find an objective review of a game (viral marketing, online advertising on all the 'journalist' outlets).

For all this money we pay for our games we surely aren't getting much in return, and production values can't be called high when stories are throwaway fanfic, gameplay and art design is an aftertought and most games are just michael bay shootbangs.

The industry is no longer about sustainable business (building IPs, long term stability) and making games, but about investment vs return in the short term and raising stock values (gaming companies going public is the worst thing that happened to gaming)

Every company is lead by a suit (not a passionate programmer or artist) who only cares about the numbers during HIS term and the size of his bonus, and they are all willing to step on every IP in existence.
Look how many IPs are being dredged up ,they are going through 15-20 years worth of careful name building in 5 years or less leaving nothing but ash in their wake.

If that isn't a sign that things are due for some change then idk what is.

[Smashbox]

I think the generally-but-loosely-agreed-upon definition of AAA would include polish and scope/ambition.

obviouslythereareexceptionstotherulebutyoucantmake agamelikeskyrimwhichidconsiderAAAwithabudgetlikeTr ine2's

[vinraith]

Anyone played Arx Fatalis in recent years? It's on sale for $2 right now and I am thinking about grabbing it. I never finished it back in the day and I am wondering if it has stood the test of time.

I've no idea if the Steam version even works, but the GOG version plus Arx Libertatis (http://arx-libertatis.org/) holds up quite well.

[The JG Man]

RF: Guerilla is a fantastic game, RF: Armageddon is an above-okay-but-not-good game. If you do get RFA, get the mission DLC. It's definitely very fun. Not too long, but worth it.

As for the community vote, well, whichever wins, we win. All fantastic games.

[jnx]

Do not get RF: Armageddon. There really isn't anything worthwhile there. RF: Guerrilla on the other hand is awesome. Armageddon abandons everything that was good about Guerrilla and pisses on what's left.

[TheDreamlord]

Do not get RF: Armageddon. There really isn't anything worthwhile there. RF: Guerrilla on the other hand is awesome. Armageddon abandons everything that was good about Guerrilla and pisses on what's left.


Well that's just your opinion (yes, I know!). Armageddon was a very fun game with very satisfying shooting and demolishing mechanics. Just because it was linear, doesn't mean it was not fun.

[alms]

There's no control group though to work it out properly.

If hard science precision is what you're expecting from economics, I think you're gonna be disappointed. In economics even if you set up a control group it will always be in a social experiment that you set up (i.e. totally artificial) and hope to not make huge mistakes that affect the results in ways you can't probably ever figure out (tales about design failures in experiments can make for an enjoyable read from time to time).

In other words, the control group is an illusion. Economics was pretty much a more boring type of philosophy until mathematicians stepped in and painted a thin layer of objectivity on it.


So you have to compare one game with another, but you never know what other factors influence sales: how well did it review, how well was it marketed, what time of year was it released and is it selling more just because Steam has more users than ever?

I think you're underestimating the privileged position of people who's been running this stuff at Valve. They might not be able to publish a paper about that, but I'm pretty sure they can size things up pretty accurately by this time.

[jnx]

Well that's just your opinion (yes, I know!). Armageddon was a very fun game with very satisfying shooting and demolishing mechanics. Just because it was linear, doesn't mean it was not fun.

It also featured a FoV of 25 degrees, blander than bland caves and barely anything to destroy. Only fun to be had with it was with the demolition maps. Guerrilla didn't really have a good plot either, but at least it tried. It was political rather than the Armageddon's "AND THEN MARTIANS AND SHIT". The shooting was satisfying in the sense that it wasn't exactly worse than other games out there, but it wasn't better either, and considering the weakness of the game, it really would've needed it to be better. The demolishing part was just a downgrade from Guerrilla since it was a lot better utilised there.

Alan Wake is just as linear and actually a good game. Armageddon is just linear and bad.

[Smashbox]

I played Guerrilla to death on the console (gasp!), but I think I might pick it up for PC to get More Graphics. I really just want to mess around though, and it doesn't look like there are any cheats :(

[gundato]

Yeah, I mostly view "AAA Game" as being budget/polish based. Maybe the core gameplay is something we have had for decades, but it LOOKS shiny.

And yeah, economics is always hard to deal with because it isn't a real science. I haven't looked at Valve's numbers (did they make it public beyond just saying "We sell more and make more money during sales than with permanent price drops"), but I think there is still room to question

The "Abed makes Jeff get the pizza" timeline
Valve are just starting out with Steam. They have a pretty big market share because nobody else is doing DD.
Fast forward a few years, they start doing occasional big price discounts (I forget when those started) so that they can get more of the market share now that there is competition.
These days: Steam is, essentially, known as being the platform for new games (Steamworks) and for being where to get games dirt cheap due to the regular super-sales. They make more money during said super-sales because that is when most people want to buy stuff becuase of the mental influence of sales. They don't stop said sales because it is not in their interest to do so (similar to how Walmart and the like could raise their prices, but it would give someone else a chance to get their market share)
End Result: AAA games may or may not be taking a hit (there is a reason console games are favored in those cases), but indie games and smaller publishers are thriving because their operating costs are low enough to not have to worry. Some publishers (Paradox) are even starting to focus on launching games at "sale prices". Most importantly, first week sales are much lower because a lot of people wait for discount prices.

The "Troy gets the pizza" timeline
Valve are just starting out with Steam. They have a pretty big market share because nobody else is doing DD.
Fast forward a few years, they arson Stardock to the ground or something and still get their giant market share
These days: Steam is basically like a brick and mortar store in that you occasionally get a sale, but most of the time they don't shift too much from the publisher suggested retail price (basically what everyone does with Blizzard games, and what US Origin does). Because they already have a huge market share, nobody really cares, and we all tend to buy fewer games, but at bigger prices. So... console games
End result: AAA games thrive on the PC, but indie games and smaller publishers are basically where they were 10 years ago. People see a discount title and tend to ignore it, leaving them with small revenue streams.

Don't get me wrong, EA were self-serving jackasses when they said that. But I don't think it is a stretch for most of us to realize that a game we would think was worth "40 bucks" a few years ago might only be worth "20 bucks" these days.

[Finicky]

I think the generally-but-loosely-agreed-upon definition of AAA would include polish and scope/ambition.

obviouslythereareexceptionstotherulebutyoucantmake agamelikeskyrimwhichidconsiderAAAwithabudgetlikeTr ine2's

:p I'm sure there will always be a market for giant open world games, and if they are polished enough then people will pay. (then again skyrim wasn't polished at all and very inconsistent even graphically with fundemental problems in how the engine handles shadows and lod transitions) , and hey look at games like Stalker which also have a massive world with lots going on and lots to see (equally janky as skyrim though) and those didn't have to cost 100 million to make.

Some price variation is welcome, not all (most) games are worth 40-50 or even 60 euros (you have to admit ubisoft and ea and console makers have tried ever so hard to push that idea) and sales put things right back into place with a wide variety of tiered pricing.

Again, a giant game that took years to make and polish will always carry an appropriate value for the gamer.

@ gundato: no , valve said that many of the games they put on sale KEPT selling really well after the sale ended (much better than before the sale started) because obviously people that like the game will tell their friends etc and the sales brought the game to a market of people that wasn't interested at full price.
You can sort of compare it to handing out samples in supermarkets or at events. It's a good and cheap way to make people know you exist and know that what you have to offer is good (if it is good).

Again this is the main difference between marketing and word of mouth, I'm sure all the AAA studios will prefer the former, the less people that played their games (that they -or parts of which -they couldnt afford to can if they turned out mediocre or bad) the more potential for game factories to hock their shit to people at full price before enough people figure out it's not all that the marketing promised.
Interest in preventing an IP from devaluing because your offer is crap or shallow vs trying to build the name of your IP with something good that you are proud to show.

In the non-AAA world there would be no room anymore for the former, which I think is a good thing, no? Bit of natural selection for the industry, the untalented can go back to delivering pizzas.

[Cooper]

Re: Arx Fatalis

It plays a lot like a somewhat more cumbersome Deus Ex. If you can enjoy Deus Ex now, despite all its issues due to age and inherent wonkiness, you can probably enjoy Arx Fatalis.

[neema_t]

I think this is just the ever mounting pressure of things like

- Bundles which give you 5-10 games for next-to-nothing and which appear weekly
- Mobile games where £2 is seen as expensive and 69p will often cause people to say "nah - it will be free soon"
- DD stores which run deals 52 weeks of the year and price-match each-other constantly.
- The SHEER WEIGHT of cheap/free games available and the fact there are only 24 hours in a day

There are some astonishingly cheap games in this sale - but in many cases they've been this cheap before and/or you're already weighed-down with stuff to play.

There has to be a floor somewhere tho - we're seeing games half-in-price within a month of release - we're seeing AAA titles quarter in price well within a year (sometimes within 6 months) of release. I think when you look at a game which is £5 or less and say "I'll wait until it's cheaper" what you're really saying is that you don't want it - which is fine but I'd rather people say that.

Games which cost £3 or less probably earn nothing for anyone other than the store and the payment processor - by the time a game hits that level, you're not a customer anymore - you're just someone standing waiting for freebies :)

I'm very sorry if I've misunderstood you, but I think you may have misunderstood what I'm saying. It seems to me that you're saying that this Steam sale is cheap, but I'm saying it's less so than before. It seems to me that Valve have probably started to bend to opposite pressure; they might've realised that they were going a little too low before and in doing so have trained gamers to expect to be able to buy whatever game they may want for stupidly low prices, which must have had an impact on the PC gaming industry, surely?

Anyway, I disagree that people who say 'I'll wait until it's cheaper' are effectively saying they don't want it full stop, they just don't want it enough to pay more than they have in mind for it. I think I want Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 but I have absolutely no way of justifying why I think I want them, the last NFS game I played was Carbon which was ages ago and developed by someone else and I've never even owned a WWII flight sim ever so how can I say I want them? However, if they were to come down a little (£7.50 for NFS:HP and £5 for IL-2, I'm literally on the verge of buying it at the price it is now but I wonder if a game I really want will go on offer and I will rue the decision) then I'd buy them instantly.

I'm not saying I think all games should be cheap, just saying that I think Valve are starting to reverse the trend for which they've become well-known in at least the time I've been a PC gamer (which is about a year and a half to two years). That's fair enough because some of the sales they've had during my time as a customer have been too-good-to-be-true-but-wait-it's-really-actually-happening cheap. Frankly I'd like to have a deterrent to buying loads of games because I've got more than I can play in my lifetime already.

[Flint]

Speaking of Arx Fatalis, doesn't it need a patch of some sort to run on modern computers or something? I vaguely remember hearing something about that.

[The JG Man]

Today's sales recommendations:

Knights of the Old Republic is flawed, but very fun. You can change the colour of your lightsabers.
Assassin's Creed 1 is not worth playing, but 2 is pretty good.
Audiosurf is good fun, as expansive as your music collection (it's in the indie bundle).

As for the flash deal on FEAR, I can incredibly recommend the first one, with its two expansion packs and the second one is pretty good too (flashier, but I'd say not as good). They both have some very good shooting, with the first having possible the most satisfying gun-play in any FPS you may play. Considering the cost of the collection pack, you know, you can probably take a risk on getting it with 3 inclusive.

[TheDreamlord]

Is Rage worth a tenner???

[Smashbox]

Sheeit yeah, Rage & AssCreedRev.

Things are getting grim, wallet-wise.

Maybe someone can answer my AssRev question:

Does this game have the kind-of assassin management features from Brotherhood? Are they further fleshed out?

[LTK]

New deals are here. The one for Rage baffles me. It's still €50 undiscounted? I didn't get the impression that it was very well received, so some time ago I hunted for a good deal and found it going for €16, but I never actually bought it. I'm still not very tempted to do so now.

Dear Esther, on the other hand, seems like the perfect price for an eye-pleasing interactive story. Might pick that up. Metro 2033 is also a steal, but I already own it.

[neema_t]

Is Rage worth a tenner???

I liked it, I'd say so (but then I would as I picked it up early at £20). It's not an open world, it is kind of non-linear (in that you go back to places you've already been) but the individual levels are pretty linear. It feels quite a lot like Quake so if you liked that then you'll like Rage. I think. I can't remember it that well but I do remember enjoying it.

Yes.


Dear Esther, on the other hand, seems like the perfect price for an eye-pleasing interactive story.

That's how I feel about it, when I saw it when it came out I thought 'oh that's interesting... HOW much?! No thanks!' but for £1.74 I may well. Question is: soundtrack, any good?

[Finicky]

I can recommend the indy bundle, audiosurf is entertaining when listening to some music, ys: oath of felhgana is awesome and as all the ys games one of the best arpgs ever made, I also had a good time playing Greed corp.
edit: did they ever fix the texture streaming problem with rage ?
I've tried the game twice (at release and 6 months ago) and both times the texture lod switching ruined any feeling of immersion. (hd6870)

Also did they ever fix the d&d style hit detection for rage? (your very first shot before recoil kicks in has random deviation,which makes the game feel like an rpg (in the worst possible way) instead of an fps) and makes it very unsatisfying to play.

[vinraith]

Fear 3 is the only one with co-op, right?

[LTK]

Assassin's Creed 1 is not worth playing, but 2 is pretty good.

Do you know what the status of UbiDRM is on either games?


Fear 3 is the only one with co-op, right?
Yeap.

[vinraith]

Do you know what the status of UbiDRM is on either games?


It's there on all but the first, but offline mode works for all of them. Personally, I liked AC1 every bit as much as the others.

[TheDreamlord]

Fear 3 is the only one with co-op, right?

Yes I think so. I bought it a few weeks back for £5 and I don't regret it. It was a decent shooter, mechanics were good, not sary at all like the first one, but nevertheless, for £3.24 I'd go for it. About 7-8 hours of linear shooting.

[Heliocentric]

Does this game have the kind-of assassin management features from Brotherhood? Are they further fleshed out?

Not got it, but I know from friends that the assassin management features are slightly augmented and you can assign assassins to protect property. I need to get it cheaps.

[Kodeen]

There's precedence for the rest of the AssCreed series (eventually, possibly a ways off) to come to GOG, so I will wait for them then.

[neema_t]

Also did they ever fix the d&d style hit detection for rage? (your very first shot before recoil kicks in has random deviation,which makes the game feel like an rpg (in the worst possible way) instead of an fps) and makes it very unsatisfying to play.

I honestly never noticed that and seem to recall being all like 'WOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH serious business' when using most of the guns, particularly with some of the different pistol rounds.

[Smashbox]

One more Assquestion:

Brotherhood or Revelations? (I have seen some Brotherhood - roomie was playing it - but not much. Have seen none of Rev)

[Leopig]

Is Rage worth a tenner???


No, it is incredibly boring after a few hours due to receptivity and poor multiplayer.

[Leopig]

Sheeit yeah, Rage & AssCreedRev.

Things are getting grim, wallet-wise.

Maybe someone can answer my AssRev question:

Does this game have the kind-of assassin management features from Brotherhood? Are they further fleshed out?


It is exactly the same.

[Leopig]

One more Assquestion:

Brotherhood or Revelations? (I have seen some Brotherhood - roomie was playing it - but not much. Have seen none of Rev)


Apart from one or two new weapons they are pretty much the same game. Not much changed at all. Oh and in revelations there is a silly defence type game tacked onto it. I think i prefered Brotherhood as the story in Revelations is poor and a stretch too far.

[Finicky]

I honestly never noticed that and seem to recall being all like 'WOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH serious business' when using most of the guns, particularly with some of the different pistol rounds.
I noticed it like 20 mins into the game, I'd aim at some distant guy's head and shoot him and nothing would happen every so often, so I googled if there was some bug or issue right away. It made the shooting feel incredibly off to me, like the equivalent of poor netcode but in SP.

[Tei]

I vouch here for FEAR 1.

I have FEAR 2, and is not a PC game, is absolutelly horrible in all ways possible. FEAR 1 has a good feel on everything, and a lot of scary moments. For 5€ I say Is a good deal.

[LTK]

There's precedence for the rest of the AssCreed series (eventually, possibly a ways off) to come to GOG, so I will wait for them then.
Oh dang. GOG seems to have more recent titles in its catalog than I thought. I need to remember to resist Steam's cheapness in favor of GOG, because I can't allow myself to buy something from Steam when it's DRM-free on GOG. Looks like Hitman: Blood Money isn't there, so that's one purchase I can be comfortable with.


...due to receptivity...
Teehee.

[vinraith]

One more Assquestion:

Brotherhood or Revelations? (I have seen some Brotherhood - roomie was playing it - but not much. Have seen none of Rev)

Revelations will make no sense without having played Brotherhood first (and Brotherhood will make no sense if you've not played 2, incidentally).

[Finicky]

AI think I want Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946.
IL2 sturmovik 1946 is on Gog for 5 euros atm (so probably cheaper than steam).

[Kodeen]

Oh dang. GOG seems to have more recent titles in its catalog than I thought. I need to remember to resist Steam's cheapness in favor of GOG, because I can't allow myself to buy something from Steam when it's DRM-free on GOG.

It's only AssCreed 1 so far, but I'm still expecting that to change eventually.

[Leopig]

So.. Fable III or Fear 3? I have Fear 1 but never played 2, but hear 3 is closer to 1.

[Giaddon]

Actually, I disagree. The plot of Revelations is pretty tiny (it's almost not even there) and self-contained. It's probably more important to have played the first game than Brotherhood!

EDIT: Wow this thread is fast. Obviously this is about whether to play Brotherhood or Revelations first.

[Tritagonist]

The last few days have been kind to my card! I managed to pick up Fallout: New Vegas with just a couple of minutes left on the timer and added some Saints Row III DLC for good measure. Now to look for a couple of good FNV mods to make the experience more enjoyable!

As for today's daily sales: Age of Empires III is a good game. I didn't think it was as good as Age of Empires II, but it has that same vibe, with just a little too many gimmicks tacked on. There are some good new ideas too, though, and it's worth a look if you like the genre. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic has a bit of a reputation - a good one, so if you're interested in the genre I'm sure you'll have already heard of it. I don't think it has aged all that well, but it's still pretty good fun. From the Indie Bundle Audiosurf is a nice game, though you'll need some pretty crazy music to make the tracks that it generates from your MP3s to be very exciting. I've heard some good things about Greed Corp as well, though I haven't tried it myself.

[Sakkura]

Dear Esther, on the other hand, seems like the perfect price for an eye-pleasing interactive story. Might pick that up. Metro 2033 is also a steal, but I already own it.
Not all that interactive really. I think of it as a videogame poem. It's pretty damn short, but beautiful and thought-provoking.

[gundato]

Yeah, anyone who doesn't have Metro should buy it

And with respect to AssCreed: The first is weak gamewise, but sets the story. To be fair, 2 does a good recap, but you probably won't give a rat's ass about Lucy
Brotherhood builds on 2, and is a very fine game (my favorite of the series)
Revelations follows up on Brotherhood in the sense that it is about Ezio and Altair's life. The Desmond story won't make much sense without having played Brotherhood, but the Ezio story will still work.

It is best to view them as very expensive expansion packs/episodic content. There are two games: AssCreed and AssCreed 2. Brotherhood and Revelations were just expansion packs to 2.

[rsherhod]

Not all that interactive really. I think of it as a videogame poem. It's pretty damn short, but beautiful and thought-provoking.

I figured it's got to be worth the price of a frozen pizza.

@Leopig: I don't know about Fable 3. I played it through on the xBox and it had its moments, but it's not nearly as good as the first or second game. Basically, the first half was good, the middle bit was excellent, the second half was very disappointing.

[TechnoJellyfish]

RE: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Is the Digital Deluxe Edition worth the extra money? Doesn't seem to contain much of value ... Maybe the soundtrack?

[Mistabashi]

Do not get RF: Armageddon. There really isn't anything worthwhile there. RF: Guerrilla on the other hand is awesome. Armageddon abandons everything that was good about Guerrilla and pisses on what's left.

I'd have to disagree with you also - I thought Armageddon was good fun, it used the destruction pretty well (the magnet gun in particular), and it even judged the sillyness of the plot pretty well. If you went at it expecting something like Guerrilla then you might have been disappointed, Armageddon is much more similar to the first two games in the series.

Definitely worth picking up for cheap I'd say.

[RobF]

I found RF:Armageddon to be a horrid husk of a game that reeks of publisher interference at every critical level. Not a bad game in and of itself but an empty soulless shell all the same where the toys have clearly been built with love and a real joy and the rest is having to cram them into a shit series of corridors with aliens that clamber all over the walls and nothing ever reaches "interesting". For the story. Because how else can we transmedia this bitch?

[johnki]

I think the generally-but-loosely-agreed-upon definition of AAA would include polish and scope/ambition.

obviouslythereareexceptionstotherulebutyoucantmake agamelikeskyrimwhichidconsiderAAAwithabudgetlikeTr ine2's
By this definition, Soldiers of Empires II is a AAA game whereas the CoD games are not.

EDIT: I have not played Red Faction Armageddon firsthand, but it was pretty much summed up like this to me:

"I can smash through concrete walls but the street sign won't go down...DAMNIT! The AI took that street sign down in one shot..."

"It's fun to play on easy where your health regens in about 2 seconds and charge at the enemies with a hammer."

I got that it was not a game to play correctly and still expect to have fun. :P

[Kiril]

Is Rage worth a tenner???

I am throwing in a vote for Yes. I found the shooting fun and as its a shooter thats all that matters to me, its gets a bit slow when you run from here to there, and then back again, but that is the current state of gaming for you.

For a tenner its a decent shooter. As neema_t said it feels abit like quake.

[magnus1969]

I vouch here for FEAR 1.

I have FEAR 2, and is not a PC game, is absolutelly horrible in all ways possible. FEAR 1 has a good feel on everything, and a lot of scary moments. For 5€ I say Is a good deal.
Wrrroooooooooooonnnggggggggggg! Soooooooooooooooo wrong!

[Leopig]

Fear 1 was excellent, if you are afraid of a 10 year old emo girl.

Seriously, why are so many people afraid of children?

[Smashbox]

By this definition, Soldiers of Empires II is a AAA game whereas the CoD games are not.

Exactly the games I was thinking of when I wrote the words "obviously there are exceptions." Well not Soldiers of Empires, obviously, but CoD.

Ambition plus polish equals very expensive.

[mnemnoch]

Just woke up and saw Guerilla won the vote. So, I happily went in hoping to buy a bundle of sort (Guerilla and Arma). Annnnd got my first disappointment of the day. Armageddon is still 33% instead of 75%. :(

On another note, voted for Mirror's Edge hoping it wins. Im tempted to buy it last week in Amazon but the no steam key put me off.

[magnus1969]

Fear 1 was excellent, if you are afraid of a 10 year old emo girl.

Seriously, why are so many people afraid of children?

You would if lived where I do.

[Leopig]

lol


Right a question. I just bought the Fable III complete pack for myself. Am I able to gift the first one if I do not install it?

[johnki]

Exactly the games I was thinking of when I wrote the words "obviously there are exceptions." Well not Soldiers of Empires, obviously, but CoD.

Ambition plus polish equals very expensive.
Ah, SoEII is quite the ambitious game. I demo'd it, but I wasn't ready to drop $50 (I think it's $50) on a turn-based game that has near 1000 units on each side that you can't set to some sort of auto behavior, for obvious reasons. Maybe if it were in the Steam sales. :P

[Smashbox]

Sounds like maybe it's missing some polish?

[johnki]

Sounds like maybe it's missing some polish?
It's missing some intuitiveness but not really missing polish so much as turns took forever.

[postinternetsyndrome]

Anyone up for splitting a The Darkness II fourpack? Is there any neat way to do such a thing with strangers on the internet?

[The JG Man]

Fear 1 was excellent, if you are afraid of a 10 year old emo girl.

Or if you like your shotguns to feel like shotguns of pure, unmitigated destruction. As they should be. I thought the plot was stupid and rubbish, but that doesn't change the fact that the gun-play is excellent and incredibly satisfying.

[rsherhod]

Right a question. I just bought the Fable III complete pack for myself. Am I able to gift the first one if I do not install it?

Unless things have changed recently, the answer will be 'no'.

[Leopig]

Unless things have changed recently, the answer will be 'no'.

Ahh nuts, I have about 6 games that I bought as part of packs but never intend on playing (Fable 1, GTA 2, 3, SA, VC). Ah well, nothing I can do about that I guess then. I thought maybe if you had never played a game they would let you gift it.

[Scumbag]

Ahh nuts, I have about 6 games that I bought as part of packs but never intend on playing (Fable 1, GTA 2, 3, SA, VC). Ah well, nothing I can do about that I guess then. I thought maybe if you had never played a game they would let you gift it.

Laws are a chaaaaangin... give it time.

[motherpuncher]

Excited to see Metro up, but damn I already got NV, Witcher 2, and Orcs must Die.

[sonson]

How demanding is Metro 2033 specs wise? My computer is about five years old now although can scale pretty well, but I gather it's quite a big resource hog?

[Sakkura]

How demanding is Metro 2033 specs wise? My computer is about five years old now although can scale pretty well, but I gather it's quite a big resource hog?
It's not the most demanding game around, but it's fairly close.

[internetonsetadd]

You would if lived where I do.

A decade ago I was accosted by a group of children near the Temple University train station while going to visit my girlfriend one fine day. I'm pretty sure they were just bored and messing with me, but there were about 25 of them. I started carrying a short metal rod with me on those visits. I also saw a ten-year-old kid walk by my mom's front door (where my mom and I were standing) holding a gun (in a fairly safe neighborhood). Judging by the situation that unfolded, he had helped his friend jack a bike from another group of kids. Don't mess with kids.

[Leopig]

How demanding is Metro 2033 specs wise? My computer is about five years old now although can scale pretty well, but I gather it's quite a big resource hog?

My old PC (AMD Phenon II Dual core @3.2ghz, ATI 5670 1gb, and 4gb ddr3) ran it smoothly. Just a shame my new PC plays it worse with too much screen tearing (which there is no option for in game, and enabling it in the config file does not work). So if you normally have trouble with tearing a good chance this will too.

[vinraith]

Ahh nuts, I have about 6 games that I bought as part of packs but never intend on playing (Fable 1, GTA 2, 3, SA, VC). Ah well, nothing I can do about that I guess then. I thought maybe if you had never played a game they would let you gift it.

You can on Gamersgate, but not on Steam.

[Sakkura]

My old PC (AMD Phenon II Dual core @3.2ghz, ATI 5670 1gb, and 4gb ddr3) ran it smoothly. Just a shame my new PC plays it worse with too much screen tearing (which there is no option for in game, and enabling it in the config file does not work). So if you normally have trouble with tearing a good chance this will too.
Whoa... what resolution and settings were you playing at?

[Leopig]

Not sure, the default setting it gave me when I started the game (probably 1152x 664 - medium). Nowadays I have a decent PC I can crank every game to full.

[Sakkura]

Oh, okay. That's a tiny resolution. Now I don't feel so bad about my computer struggling with 1920x1080 @ high settings.

[sonson]

Yeah, my monitor is 1024x784, I can play most things on high resolution with an Radeon 4890 and a Dual Core 2.33. Maybe I'm missing out playing on a small screen but so long as I don't know it dosen't hurt me. Or my eyes.

Thanks to those who helped re the tech requirements also. Probably worth a punt for a frankly negligible amount of money.

[johnki]

Oh, okay. That's a tiny resolution. Now I don't feel so bad about my computer struggling with 1920x1080 @ high settings.
The same thing happens to me with Tribes: Ascend. Have to keep it on medium, even though I have a custom gaming PC, largely due to the resolution. Runs fine on lower resolutions, but my monitor doesn't support them well and I get black bars AND blur. :/

[vinraith]

I can't help but notice that the Fable 3 complete pack is the same price as the game by itself, which is odd.

I know I've been told before that F3 is awful, but I can't recall why. Taking GfWL as an unpleasant given, what's the issue?

[Leopig]

If it does struggle just run it on DX9.

[Leopig]

I can't help but notice that the Fable 3 complete pack is the same price as the game by itself, which is odd.

I know I've been told before that F3 is awful, but I can't recall why. Taking GfWL as an unpleasant given, what's the issue?

I just bought it myself. I think the main complain people have though it is supposedly very easy with little customisation. So the more hardcore RPGers say it is crap. But lucky for me I am not that bothered about stat balancing and stuff (I dont mind it, just dont need to have it in every game). I am just going to breeze through it and soak up the story.

[alms]

So the main difference between MoW and Assault Squad is the latter is basically MoW multiplayer?

Don't care a bit about MP anyway, I'm thinking about snatching just the original MoW @ 3.24 €. I do feel a bit guilty though, because I bought CoH and Opposing Fronts in a previous sale and only played 4 hours of those.

[RobF]

@vin

It's not that bad, really. The endgame is a mess and ill considered and it's *very* handholdey. I mean, absolutely the most handholdey thing you will ever play. Take your hand off the keyboard or joystick and it gets very upset and has a little cry in the corner to itself because you've been separated sort of handholdey.

But taken as a fluffy piece of Sunday afternoon gaming with some mildly amusing we're so British is hurts what-o type humour then it's alright. If you're after a Skyrim or something like that, it's not really that. If you're after some sort of other RPG-thing, it's probably not that either. It's just sorta Fable and not the best of the three but still alright.

[vinraith]

@vin

It's not that bad, really. The endgame is a mess and ill considered and it's *very* handholdey. I mean, absolutely the most handholdey thing you will ever play. Take your hand off the keyboard or joystick and it gets very upset and has a little cry in the corner to itself because you've been separated sort of handholdey.

But taken as a fluffy piece of Sunday afternoon gaming with some mildly amusing we're so British is hurts what-o type humour then it's alright. If you're after a Skyrim or something like that, it's not really that. If you're after some sort of other RPG-thing, it's probably not that either. It's just sorta Fable and not the best of the three but still alright.

I played the first one so yeah, I'm expecting fluff. Did I read correctly that the whole thing can be played in co-op? That's the main reason I'm interested, really.

[trjp]

The discount on RAGE is great (and has changed a few times!!) it's just the price it's discounting is hilariously and stupidly high (£30 for a game which has been around for the better part of a year - are you kidding or what?)

Console version has been under £10 several times - they clearly aren't keen on selling the PC version are they?

[Smashbox]

Oh Jesus, self. What are you doing. Stop buying things. Shit.

[Smashbox]

The discount on RAGE is great (and has changed a few times!!) it's just the price it's discounting is hilariously and stupidly high (£30 for a game which has been around for the better part of a year - are you kidding or what?)

Console version has been under £10 several times - they clearly aren't keen on selling the PC version are they?

Base price in USD is $29.99

[trjp]

Base price in USD is $29.99

I'd said I'd pick-it-up were it £7-8ish - I know it seems mean-spirited to say £9.99 is too much but I do feel they're holding-out of the discounts for a game which was neither well received at launched nor likely to improve.

F3AR and FableIII are both newer games (I think?) and are both around that pricepoint - Rage just seems expensive (and at £30, must be nailed to the floor in sales-appeal terms?) :)

[Smashbox]

Haven't played but this discount plus John Carmack is enough for me to impulse buy.

[alms]

we would think was worth "40 bucks" a few years ago might only be worth "20 bucks" these days.

Well making a game nowadays is much much easier than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Tons of languages, tools, libraries, toolkits, with multiple choices for each part, powerful machines with tons of storage that make development faster and easier. Also vastly increased availability of people with the necessary skills.

So, no replies to my MoW question? guess I'm gonna DIY with the demo. Hopefully it will scare me into not buying it :P

[Finicky]

Well making a game nowadays is much much easier than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Tons of languages, tools, libraries, toolkits, with multiple choices for each part, powerful machines with tons of storage that make development faster and easier. Also vastly increased availability of people with the necessary skills.

So, no replies to my MoW question? guess I'm gonna DIY with the demo. Hopefully it will scare me into not buying it :P
Yeah, people always go abooo bloo blooo development costs, but conveniently leave out that the market is 10 times bigger than it used to be, it's not a semi niche product anymore (there are barely even any niche games anymore) like it used to be.

There was a time when 200-500k sold copies was a huge success , these days the big games sell 1-5 million (sometimes even more) copies.

[vinraith]

So the main difference between MoW and Assault Squad is the latter is basically MoW multiplayer?

Don't care a bit about MP anyway, I'm thinking about snatching just the original MoW @ 3.24 €. I do feel a bit guilty though, because I bought CoH and Opposing Fronts in a previous sale and only played 4 hours of those.

MoW is a linear, scripted campaign with (hilariously/painfully) bad voice acting. It can be played in co-op or SP. It has no skirmish mode.

MoW: Assault Squad is basically the missing skirmish mode, sans campaign. Again, it can be played co-op or SP, and of course with skirmish can also be played PvP if desired. Generally it's considered to be the strongest rendition of the engine, mechanics, and series as a whole.

So it's really a matter of what you want. If SP is your only concern, would you rather play skirmishes or a (wonky) linear campaign? If the latter, get the original, if the former, go with Assault Squad. If you could go either way, I think Assault Squad probably has the edge simply because it's a more refined version of the game. From an "amount of single player gameplay" perspective, they're about even, with the added caveat that for SP you might want to check out the "Dynamic Campaign" mod, which works with either (but benefits from Assault Squad's various refinements).

[xspork]

Haven't played but this discount plus John Carmack is enough for me to impulse buy.

My thoughts exactly.

[Kiril]

I'd said I'd pick-it-up were it £7-8ish - I know it seems mean-spirited to say £9.99 is too much but I do feel they're holding-out of the discounts for a game which was neither well received at launched nor likely to improve.

F3AR and FableIII are both newer games (I think?) and are both around that pricepoint - Rage just seems expensive (and at £30, must be nailed to the floor in sales-appeal terms?) :)

You should come around to Euro town, base price is €50, about 40 of your queens money, sale price is €16, around 13 queens.

Fear 3 and Fable 3 are both about half a year older. Its worth the tenner in my opinion

[LTK]

Amnesia has appeared in the flash sales. You should get it!

[Mistabashi]

Amnesia has appeared in the flash sales. You should get it!

Also worth pointing out that the Penumbra Collector Pack is only £4, so if you already have Amnesia but haven't checked out the games that spawned it then now would be a good time. Black Plague is one of my all-time favorite games, I think it got the pacing a bit better than Amnesia and it had a much stronger narrative. The pack doesn't include Requiem, but that was the black sheep of the trilogy, being much more of a puzzle game.

[alms]

vinraith, thanks! that was thorough beyond my hope. My preference is for SP campaigns so I'd go with the original, but I've been reading up a bit while waiting for the demo to slowly come through, and suddenly I've got cold feet. Your reply has got me to reconsider, though: I'll try and see if it clicks with me.

[TheDreamlord]

Ok, it's Mirror's Edge for tonight's Community Choice. Can someone tell me if it is actually worth three and a bit quid? Is it fun? Is it just running around? And how are the graphics keeping up in today's world? :)

[alms]

I know the answers to first and third and they are both yes.

And now I'm morally obligated to buy it. To my credit I must say I voted for it, so it's not like I tried to avoid it :P

[neema_t]

Ok, it's Mirror's Edge for tonight's Community Choice. Can someone tell me if it is actually worth three and a bit quid? Is it fun? Is it just running around? And how are the graphics keeping up in today's world? :)

The graphics are on a par with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 except I think they're a little bit better because there's not so much foliage, rounded edges or busy textures (since the art style is all geometric city with lots of white and solid colour. I seem to be saying this a lot lately but I really like it, I think it's great but I never think to play it which is why I have less than an hour on it. The shooting is poop but you're supposed to avoid it whenever you can anyway so that's not a big deal. So yeah, it's 'just running around' but in the same way that any game is 'just' doing whatever the main activity is; i.e. yes, that is what you do the most of, but you will gasp at least once because of it.

Edit: I voted for it even though I already have it because I think everyone should have it, it's unique and really good fun. And now it's also not expensive enough for you to say no to, either!

[trjp]

Ok, it's Mirror's Edge for tonight's Community Choice. Can someone tell me if it is actually worth three and a bit quid? Is it fun? Is it just running around? And how are the graphics keeping up in today's world? :)

It's completely unhelpful to you, but I decided it was time to uninstall Mirrors Edge as I've tried and failed to get to grips with it (it would be brilliant without the combat - but as-is, it's a hodgepodge).

I mention this mainly because it took - and I'm not kidding here - FORTY FIVE MINUTES to uninstall itself.

FORTY FIVE MINUTES - I mean, WTF!!!

[trjp]

I just noticed there's a PC Demo for Blades of Time - I'd tried the 360 demo but I thought I'd take a peek at the PC port.

It scores a number of pluspoints instantly - it finds and sets the right graphics settings/resolution which so many games fail to do and then it does 'the holy grail' trick for PCs in that it gives controller OR keyboard prompts depending your control choice BUT also allows either control method to be used at any time (e.g. you're only selecting which prompts appear). Honestly, the games which do that can be listed on one hand I think!!

It remains a Marmite experience otherwise - but I think it's just quirky enough to be fun for the £6-odd they're asking for it.

The melee is where it shines for the most part - but oddly, the ranged combat doesn't feel QUITE so shit on a keyboard/mouse as it did on the controller. Sadly, the melee requires 11 fingers and so you'd probably stick with the controller if you had one (or remap some keys onto your fancy mouse perhaps?)

p.s. a quick dig shows that Rage has been as cheap as £6-odd (on a GameStop deal where it's only £12.99 normally anyway) - retail copies are also available at £10 so I think I'll hang-fire - it will be £5 a Xmas I'm sure and I'll feel better about that.

[The JG Man]

Mirror's Edge is the current community offer. You should buy it because it is a very good game. It has flaws, sure, but it's fresh, stunning and at its best, unparalleled.

[TheDreamlord]

I just noticed there's a PC Demo for Blades of Time - I'd tried the 360 demo but I thought I'd take a peek at the PC port.

It scores a number of pluspoints instantly - it finds and sets the right graphics settings/resolution which so many games fail to do and then it does 'the holy grail' trick for PCs in that it gives controller OR keyboard prompts depending your control choice BUT also allows either control method to be used at any time (e.g. you're only selecting which prompts appear). Honestly, the games which do that can be listed on one hand I think!!

It remains a Marmite experience otherwise - but I think it's just quirky enough to be fun for the £6-odd they're asking for it.

The melee is where it shines for the most part - but oddly, the ranged combat doesn't feel QUITE so shit on a keyboard/mouse as it did on the controller. Sadly, the melee requires 11 fingers and so you'd probably stick with the controller if you had one (or remap some keys onto your fancy mouse perhaps?)

p.s. a quick dig shows that Rage has been as cheap as £6-odd (on a GameStop deal where it's only £12.99 normally anyway) - retail copies are also available at £10 so I think I'll hang-fire - it will be £5 a Xmas I'm sure and I'll feel better about that.

I bought Blades Of Time on the first sale day and I am half way through. I like it. It is not great and it has difficulty spikes, the story sucks and the enemies are repetitive, but the fighting is rather fun and the environments are good and imaginative, good graphics and it will take about 15-20 hours or so to finish. Not bad for £6.

I am on the same mind about Rage. I already got a bunch of great games, half of them shooters (both Alan Wakes, Batman AC, Blades of Time, The Darkness II, Dead Island, Max Payne 3, Saints Row The Third, as well as Vessel and Ys Origin). So I think you are right, Rage will be much cheaper over the XMas sale!

[neema_t]

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record... It's Capcom so I'm immediately skeptical, and the screenshots show 360 control prompts; a bad omen?

[Sakkura]

Mirror's Edge is the current community offer. You should buy it because it is a very good game. It has flaws, sure, but it's fresh, stunning and at its best, unparalleled.
It looks like a parkour simulator from what I've seen. Is there more to it?

[The JG Man]

Some generally acceptable-but-unnecessary gun-play that you can pretty much entirely ignore (apart from one segment) but yes, it's almost exclusively to do with movement. It's not very long, but it's built for replayability.

[Finicky]

It looks like a parkour simulator from what I've seen. Is there more to it?
Nope.
There is a bad cheap story with comic book style cutscenes, some really awful quick time event + bad shooting based combat and the parcours.

Plus points of the game are nice artstyle and graphics and image quality (only ue3 game I can think of with proper AA support) and a fairly entertaining world to travel through.
I thought the shitty combat really dragged the game down, they should have left it out. Having to fight back or constantly getting shot at was never enjoyable.

[Heliocentric]

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record £5, flash sale, whats the word on the street?

[vinraith]

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record £5, flash sale, whats the word on the street?

Same question with "how's the co-op?" added in.

[Mistabashi]

Mirrors Edge is an extremely flawed game, but one that I'd recommend everyone try. It was poorly executed as a game, but the idea is great and it feels great to play in the moments between the frustrations. It's basically a first-person Prince of Persia (the reboot) with added gunplay wedged-in inappropriately, but sadly it failed to learn from that game's elegant handling of failure, so you're in for a lot of trial-and-error restarting from checkpoints, and being pressured a lot by goons shooting at you despite the fact that it tends to suck the fun out of the game. Definitely worth experiencing, but don't expect to complete it.

[The JG Man]

The lack of me-equivalent enthusiasm about Mirror's Edge is disappointing. I will stand up amongst the crowd and say flaws be damned, it's still fantastic. And if you love, if you really get it, then it will be one of your favourite games of this 'generation'.

[gundato]

Just as far as Men of War goes:


Men of War: Campaign-oriented gameplay
Red Tide: Expansion pack (basically)
Assault Squad: Skirmish based gameplay. The campaigns have a general flow, but every mission is "push back the enemy, take the control points"
VIetnam: Campaign-oriented, similar to MoW. But the gameplay requires different strategies and tactics (can't imagine why :p). A lot of people dislike it because the tactics they learned in MoW don't always apply, and it is hard
Condemned Heroes: I haven't played this yet, but I believe it is pretty much another MoW style campaign.

[Drake Sigar]

Ok, it's Mirror's Edge for tonight's Community Choice. Can someone tell me if it is actually worth three and a bit quid? Is it fun? Is it just running around? And how are the graphics keeping up in today's world? :)
There's a lot of running and a bit of kung fu. It's six hours of that starting chase scene from The Matrix. I think this is one of those rare games everyone should play once. I particularly enjoyed the artstyle. Sunlight beats down on pristine white rooftops to create a living canvas, and the eye-popping colours of jumpable/climbable objects may provoke strong childhood memories of a beloved playground.

[Heliocentric]

A lot of people dislike it because the tactics they learned in MoW don't always apply, and it is hardart imitates life?

Mirror's Edge is excellent, just play it on easy and spam you way though the mandatory fighty bits.

[neema_t]

The lack of me-equivalent enthusiasm about Mirror's Edge is disappointing. I will stand up amongst the crowd and say flaws be damned, it's still fantastic. And if you love, if you really get it, then it will be one of your favourite games of this 'generation'.

Hey, I thought I was quite supportive of it too. I think it's one of those that people who like unique games should really try because it is exactly that, and I know there are plenty of people like that who read RPS.

Then again I'd be interested to know what percentage of people who start it actually finish it, I'm betting it's below average (I am one of the ones who started it and haven't finished it yet).

[vinraith]

Mirror's Edge is very much a platform game, and a finicky one at that. Timing must be perfect, wrong steps mean starting over, missing a button press means starting over, the game thinking you missed a button press means starting over. The aesthetics are interesting, the idea is interesting, but the execution will lead people that aren't particularly inclined towards precision twitch gameplay to pull their hair out.

[sabrage]

In case nobody mentions the excellent soundtrack: Mirror's Edge has an excellent soundtrack.

[johnki]

Is A Valley Without Wind a game worth getting if it comes up as a daily deal or a flash sale? I had all the games it was in a bundle with so I'd be paying a dollar more than the sale price for it buying it that way, and I just don't want to pay $10 for a game that was so widely disregarded. I played the demo a bit, but one of the instructions was weird during the tutorial and I couldn't figure out where to go.

But yeah, I think that's the only game left that, if it gets a bigger discount, I'd be interested in buying if it's worth it.

[vinraith]

I think AVWW is pretty great, it's certainly something unique. The demo is a reasonable representative slice, and if you've not played it in awhile it's worth looking at it again because (in typical Arcen fashion) they've radically overhauled it in the last few weeks.

[johnki]

I think AVWW is pretty great, it's certainly something unique. The demo is a reasonable representative slice, and if you've not played it in awhile it's worth looking at it again because (in typical Arcen fashion) they've radically overhauled it in the last few weeks.
Alright, I'll give it another shot. I didn't quit playing because I didn't like it. It seemed interesting, but that one point in the tutorial, I must have missed a keyword or something, and I just didn't feel like doing it over again at that point in time.

[vinraith]

Alright, I'll give it another shot. I didn't quit playing because I didn't like it. It seemed interesting, but that one point in the tutorial, I must have missed a keyword or something, and I just didn't feel like doing it over again at that point in time.

If you get stuck either drop me a line or drop a line on the official Arcen forum:

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/board,92.0.html

The devs patrol that forum constantly and are extremely helpful.

[johnki]

If you get stuck either drop me a line or drop a line on the official Arcen forum:

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/board,92.0.html

The devs patrol that forum constantly and are extremely helpful.
Alright, I'll remember that.

Do demo saves transfer to the full game?

[Sakkura]

Mirror's Edge is very much a platform game, and a finicky one at that. Timing must be perfect, wrong steps mean starting over, missing a button press means starting over, the game thinking you missed a button press means starting over. The aesthetics are interesting, the idea is interesting, but the execution will lead people that aren't particularly inclined towards precision twitch gameplay to pull their hair out.
Thank you for saving my wallet from one out of the thousand summer sale paper cuts threatening it at the moment.

[vinraith]

Alright, I'll remember that.

Do demo saves transfer to the full game?

Yup. Basically the full version just unlocks the demo, so it's all the same game.

[johnki]

Yup. Basically the full version just unlocks the demo, so it's all the same game.
Cool. Assuming it works that way on Steam, I think I'll give it another shot and wait out a better price. After getting The M&B Collection and Shogun 2 each for lower prices than it, I'm a little reluctant to pay that much heh.

[alms]

Thank you for saving my wallet from one out of the thousand summer sale paper cuts threatening it at the moment.

Don't you know? games today cost less than the plant my fish ate yesterday for dinner. Don't worry, stop eating and buy some games. Everything will be fine!

Humans have lots of fat stored anyway.

[vinraith]

Cool. Assuming it works that way on Steam, I think I'll give it another shot and wait out a better price. After getting The M&B Collection and Shogun 2 each for lower prices than it, I'm a little reluctant to pay that much heh.

It works that way on Steam. AVWW (like AI War) doesn't use Steam's DRM at all (though it does have Steam achievements), it's just a copy of the game installed to a Steam folder. You can pull it out of there and play it just as easily. Buying the game means buying an unlock code, no matter what platform you're on.

[trjp]

AVWW's biggest issue are it's visuals - a lot of people hate them and can't get beyond them.

I really enjoyed the demo - Arcen make games which are way overcomplicated and this is moreso than most of their titles BUT somehow it works here (esp as there is extensive in-game help as to what the hell you're supposed to be doing).

What I love the most is that they're considering putting the cost of a graphical overhaul (or possibly several different ones) into some sort of Kickstarter - which will make those who moan about the visuals either 'put up or shut up'. If they do the former, we get a revamped looking game - if not, they can't moan anymore ;)

[vinraith]

Don't you know? games today cost less than the plant my fish ate yesterday for dinner. Don't worry, stop eating and buy some games. Everything will be fine!

Humans have lots of fat stored anyway.

This game only costs $5. And so does this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one!

[The JG Man]

Hey, I thought I was quite supportive of it too.

Ah, I must've miss-read. My apologies!


Mirror's Edge is very much a platform game

This is going to be splitting hairs, but I actually think it's a racing game. I mean, there are platforms and you must traverse them to get from A to B, but considering momentum and control and knowing where you're going, I think it has the feeling of a racing game. If that makes sense?


In case nobody mentions the excellent soundtrack: Mirror's Edge has an excellent soundtrack.

It's very lovely. It also has the best game-related song titled Still Alive.


Thank you for saving my wallet from one out of the thousand summer sale paper cuts threatening it at the moment.

If you change your mind, there's a good chance it'll be a flash sale and daily sale later, if what we've seen so far is any indication.

[Nalano]

This game only costs $5. And so does this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one! And this one!

I like NerfNow's comic. We've all been picked dry so much, there's no games left!

http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/image/796

[alms]

Oh BTW what game do you want me to vote this time?

I gotta buy more plants, can't afford skyrim.

[vinraith]

This is going to be splitting hairs, but I actually think it's a racing game. I mean, there are platforms and you must traverse them to get from A to B, but considering momentum and control and knowing where you're going, I think it has the feeling of a racing game. If that makes sense?

Only inasmuch as it requires course memorization to succeed. The precisely timed button pressing is very much platforming.

[gundato]

A Valley Without Wind is worth it for under 10. It is fun, but there is nothing to it after the first 30 minutes or so, at least as of a few patches ago. You learn everything about the game by then, and the way the system works, you have no noteworthy personal progression outside of your gear (spells and settlements reset every time you clear a continent).


art imitates life?
Basically. But read the forums for a good laugh. A LOT of people hate MoW: Vietnam because it is too hard and you have low visibility in a jungle.... It also doesn't help that the first missions all seem to be squad-based (which have always been hard as crap in the Soldiers/Faces/Men of War series).

Yup, according to these people, Vietnam should have been giant masses of armies with trenches in wide open deforested areas.

[vinraith]

(spells and settlements reset every time you clear a continent).



That hasn't been true for some time.

[alms]

(which have always been hard as crap in the Soldiers/Faces/Men of War series).

Just let beans work out their magic!

[gundato]

That hasn't been true for some time.

Really? Which patch changed that? And do you have a link to updated info? I skimmed the forums and the like and they all seemed to have been written for one of the older versions (apparently).

[vinraith]

Really? Which patch changed that? And do you have a link to updated info? I skimmed the forums and the like and they all seemed to have been written for one of the older versions (apparently).

Well, "for some time" in the betas, apparently, it only just made it into the "official" patches with 1.2. As always, the best resource is Arcen's forums. Here's the announcement post for 1.2 which gives a basic rundown, and includes a link to the full patch notes (which are, as always with those guys, totally insane):

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,11094.0.html

[Wheelz]

What are the odds of Dungeon Defenders coming up again? I missed the community choice (I think it was), and was hoping to pick up a couple of copies for friends.

[Fumarole]

I've heard that that game has become worthwhile since the last patch. Can anyone confirm/deny?Yes, the patches have improved the game immensely.

The DLC missions are quite challenging, especially with the FoW enabled.

[alms]

I'm surprised, the actual game looks much much better than every single screenshot I've seen of it.

So it's basically like Terraria but better?

(AVWW I mean)

[vinraith]

I'm surprised, the actual game looks much much better than every single screenshot I've seen of it.

So it's basically like Terraria but better?

(AVWW I mean)

Sort of a cousin of Terraria, yeah. It's a different animal but it's not easy to summarize how, especially because the current development cycle has been adding so much new and interesting stuff to the game. One thing about Arcen, they have the best support in the business. Near-daily beta patches with bug fixes, community requests, new features, all kind of good stuff.

[PeteC]

Anyone here played The Walking Dead? Roughly how long does it take to complete an episode?

[Track]

I played through Episode 1 so far, it took me two hours according to Steam. Apparently the second episode is longer, though I can't imagine it being longer than 3 hours.

[Raaritsgozilla]

Goddam it I have resisted an AssRev buy once before but this one has be stumped. I'm halfway through Brotherhood but it is taking some time. Would it be acceptable to think that the price for Rev would drop further by Xmas or should I just suck it up and buy it now?

The gold pack is only $21 NZD which is pretty decent I reckon

[PeteC]

I played through Episode 1 so far, it took me two hours according to Steam. Apparently the second episode is longer, though I can't imagine it being longer than 3 hours.
Thanks. I've got a few hours spare tomorrow so maybe I can do both.

[vinraith]

New flash sale is a rerun of the earlier Civ 5 flash deal. Being as this is only day 5 of an 11 day sale, I'm surprised at just how many reruns we've already seen.

[trjp]

New flash sale is a rerun of the earlier Civ 5 flash deal. Being as this is only day 5 of an 11 day sale, I'm surprised at just how many reruns we've already seen.
I'm fairly convinced that they have a set pool of deals and they're rotating them through the Daily, Community and Flash slots so that we don't have to wait until the last day to get the best bargains (which is actually quite cool if it's true).

That does mean that as the sale goes on we'll see more and more repeats - in theory, by halfway (tomorrowish) we'll have seen almost everything they have to offer - certainly 'flash' deals should start to contain earlier Community and Daily deals if that's true.

[Track]

I'd be fine with that for the most part, since there are already a few games that I now regret not purchasing on sale. That being said, there are quite a few titles that I'd like to be Daily Deals that haven't popped up yet (GTA IV, for instance).

[duff]

I'd be fine with that for the most part, since there are already a few games that I now regret not purchasing on sale. That being said, there are quite a few titles that I'd like to be Daily Deals that haven't popped up yet (GTA IV, for instance).

I have a sneaky feeling that I saw that for community choice, so it may well be in a future daily sale.

[Track]

I was on community choice; I believe that Dead Space 2 won the vote. Alan Wake (which was previously on sale) was the third on that ballot, so I imagine that there's a strong chance that GTA IV will be a daily deal soon.

[trjp]

Another thing I enjoy during sales is taking a peek at what people on my friends list have been buying.

One title which keeps cropping-up are the Eschalon RPGs (Books 1 and 2) - I was initially wary as I'm not really a fan of old-school RPGs but I decided to give the demo of Book 1 and try and 2 hours later I can't say I didn't enjoy it.

It's sort-of what I expected of the Spiderweb games - but the thing I can't get away with on those is the VAST areas every room covers. I'm in a dungeon or a catacomb and it's a toss-up whether I play football or lease the space for 747 storage - that and the slightly po-faced writing is offputting to me (tho I'm persevering with Avadon on the iPad which feels a bit better for some reason).

Anyway - Escalon seems similar in style (perhaps even more old-school than even the latest Spiderweb titles) but I found myself more hooked from the off for some reason.

Anyone else tried these and care to tell me that 2 hours in the whole thing goes to shit? :)