PC Bargains

[NathanH]

The Thieves are some of the best games ever made. I'd play them in order, although you could do Deadly Shadows first. The graphics of the old games should not be a problem if you are OK with old games in general. Other than iffy graphics there is nothing really old-fashioned about the old Thieves that should cause a new player too much trouble.

I'd definitely not just play Deadly Shadows though, the first two games offer things that Shadows doesn't. Metal Age in particular is a glorious achievement and deservedly sits at #2 in the NathanH video game ranking.

[LTK]

If you're trying to figure out whether you can deal with the datedness, keep in mind that Thief 1 is contemporary to Half-Life 1 and Unreal 1, while Thief 2 is contemporary to Deus Ex 1 and Hitman 1. So if you could play those games now, you could probably deal with the corresponding Thief games now.

I didn't know that, but I'm not sure if that logic holds up. I grew up on HL, Unreal and Deus Ex, and I can still enjoy them today, but that still leaves the question of whether I can enjoy another game from that era without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.

But I'm curious enough to find out.

[Bobtree]

Codblops2 query: can I host a multiplayer server, what about Lan(offline) ?

I don't know, but Steam is running a free trial weekend through Sunday 1PM PST, and also it's a Steamworks title.

[elephant god]

In any case, a DRM-free download beats Steam any day in my book, even if I have to jump through a US-billing-address-shaped hoop in order to get it.

That's why I have the best feeling when buying a game from the humble store. If there is a humble store, there's usually a DRM-free version AND a steam key involved, and that - for me - warrants a higher price, even if it's usually even lower, given that the humble price is calculated in dollars, while steam just charges us europeans more.

[Heliocentric]

I don't know, but Steam is running a free trial weekend through Sunday 1PM PST

I guess I'll download it and see, as the "league mode" completely eliminated my winges about grinding in one fell swoop.

[Strazz]

Modern Warfare Bundle is $30 on Amazon.com after you use the code "CAGROCKS". Includes Steam keys for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007); Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009); and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011).

I've never played a Call of Duty game (except maybe a few demos) so I'm wondering if I should grab this for the single-player campaigns. Then again, I've got a huge backlog as it is, and there must've been some reason I haven't grabbed these games previously. :P

[Heliocentric]

I've never played a Call of Duty game (except maybe a few demos) so I'm wondering if I should grab this for the single-player campaigns. Then again, I've got a huge backlog as it is, and there must've been some reason I haven't grabbed these games previously. :P

CoD4:MW was the only one I played in the bundle, its alright... Linear as hell, the multiplayer was quite good, and had player ran servers meaning communities could self govern and lan was possible, i understand at some point later lan and player ran servers were eliminated. They came back for codblops 2 apparently, its all rather odd.

Scratch that,
http://community.callofduty.com/thread/200539708
Apparently they are a near miss on fulfilling the core principles of dedicated servers.

[gundato]

CoD games (especially the modern warfare series, but also the "good" ones) are insanely linear affairs with plots on par with Michael Bay movies (think The Rock, not Transformers).

That being said, they have really nice set pieces and lots of explodey goodness, and the gameplay is pretty fun. It isn't necessarily the best at anything, but it is consistently good at the things it tries for:

Set Pieces (STALKER had better ones, and they were more natural)
Modern gun shootery (up for debate)
QTEs (Infamous is the king)

[elephant god]

CoD4 is still a very influencial game, and arguably a milestone in the FPS genre. Playing all three Modern Warfare games in order would give you one hell of a headache, but I can still very much imagine it could be a few days of condensed fun, - though maybe after one or two of the games rather tiresome - much like a Michael Bay Transformers triple feature. (See, gundato, I very much DO think Transformers.) To each his own.

edit: No, STALKER does not have better setpieces. Stalkers simply has heart, atmosphere, even story, but the stepieces are only half successful in execution. Setpieces... maybe Bioshock, but it's a very controversial term in FPS/Action games. Third person console games (and CoD) probably do it best, atm.

[Rauten]

Well, for those considering Blops2, Steam is having a free weekend on it, I guess you could consider it a demo, though I assume the free weekend is only for the MP part.

I personally found CoD4 to be a fantastic game, regardless of linearity, and while nowadays everyone knows about the "shock" moment, back in the day, it caused a huge effect and was certainly unexpected. Easily one of my favourite FPSs of all time.

MW2 can go die in a fire though. The only salvageable part of that is the Spec-Ops coop mode, which is surprisingly good and quite fun if you play it with a friend.

[internetonsetadd]

Wow, that's a lot of games in the Amazon February sale. The deals aren't particularly good, but still.

[eRa]

Wow, that's a lot of games in the Amazon February sale. The deals aren't particularly good, but still.

There are so many. I demand fewer sales to preserve my decision making capacity.

Yes, I'm actually complaining about too much cheap stuff.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

I didn't know that, but I'm not sure if that logic holds up. I grew up on HL, Unreal and Deus Ex, and I can still enjoy them today, but that still leaves the question of whether I can enjoy another game from that era without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.

But I'm curious enough to find out.

Ha, I played Deus Ex 1 recently before I bought and played Human Revolution. It still held up, I thought. I don't think I could make it though Half-Life 1 these days.

MW2 can go die in a fire though.

I liked the "defend the homeland" part. It was what I was liked about Freedom Fighters and was hoping for (but missing) in Homefront. I thought Max Payne 3 did the Brazilian theme better though. I also liked the Russian gulag levels but that's probably because my college roommate years ago watched "The Rock" almost every weekend.

[Sketch]

I'm sort of surprised you found HL1 worse than Deus Ex. I love DE, but it definitely feels a lot more wooden than HL.

[F. Lynx Pardinus]

I'm sort of surprised you found HL1 worse than Deus Ex.

I played them both to death when they first came out. I just think Deus Ex 1 has aged better than Half Life 1, probably because an RPG-like FPS like DE1 relies more on story and exploration and less on set pieces, shooting mechanics and graphics than a pure FPS like HL1. I would put the Thief series more in the Deus Ex category than Half-Life so it ages well, in my opinion.

[khaz]

There are so many. I demand fewer sales to preserve my decision making capacity.

Yes, I'm actually complaining about too much cheap stuff.

Oh god. That list.

/brain freeze

[alms]

30$ of credit? where's the catch, says I?

Only applies to Bioshock Infinite preorder, 15$ now and 15$ on release, credit can be spent on 2K titles.

http://www.amazon.com/2K-Games-BioSh...dp/B009SPZ11Q/

[Juan Carlo]

The Thieves are some of the best games ever made. I'd play them in order, although you could do Deadly Shadows first. The graphics of the old games should not be a problem if you are OK with old games in general. Other than iffy graphics there is nothing really old-fashioned about the old Thieves that should cause a new player too much trouble.

I'd definitely not just play Deadly Shadows though, the first two games offer things that Shadows doesn't. Metal Age in particular is a glorious achievement and deservedly sits at #2 in the NathanH video game ranking.

I just played through them all last year and Thief 1 and 2 are awesome. I finished Deadly Shadows too, but ironically that is the one that's aged the worse. It's hamstrung by XBOX memory requirements, so the levels are tiny and it takes ages (like over a minute) to load areas between hubs or to reload when you die.

[elephant god]

Anyone played the Gratuitous Space Battles Galactic Conquest expansion? Is it any good?

I loved the game and went on a literal GSB-binge a few years ago, but never really went back to it, even though the new campaign mode really gave me an itch? Can anyone say if it works?

[neema_t]

If you have a racing wheel, NetKar Pro is 4.99 EUR until the 1st of March. Buying it will entitle you to access the Assetto Corsa tech preview. If you don't have a wheel you might want to skip it, but if you do it features some of the finest handling I've experienced (though the car selection is limited).

http://www.netkar-pro.com/main/