The Steam Summer Sale Thread of 2011 - My god. It's full of games.

[Oneironaut]

Nothing today that interests me and I don't already have. Maybe I'll pick up something cheap that isn't on a daily sale. NightSky looks pretty good, I also really want Jamestown, but I feel like it might be going on a daily sale some time soon.

I've enjoyed Darksiders, Super Meat Boy, Battlefield: BC2, PvZ, and all of the Half-Life games, and would recommend them to anyone who hasn't tried them. Resident Evil 5 and Magicka are also really good, but each has issues that may make the game less fun for some.

[The JG Man]

I actually think the achievement for Super Meat Boy is indicative of the general difficulty of the game. Like many of the achievements in that game, they're actual achievements and genuinely worth bragging about having. Perhaps not suited to the meta competition, but it's totally valid for the game itself.

I'm going to buy a 4-pack of Magicka. I have someone I might offer one to, but the other two (and possibly 3) will be up for grabs. I'll post in the Kindness Club later.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

When it comes to Paradox strategy games it actually kind of sucks to own them on Steam, as Valve's third party patch process seems to delay updates for at least a month relative to Gamersgate versions of Paradox titles.

I only have HoI3 on Steam, but you can still install patches from the forum. The one thing that's missing from the Steam version is the launcher as far as I know. I have no idea why they would leave that out, it's all very strange.

[ColOfNature]

Shameless plug: if you've just bought Magicka (JG Man, I'm looking at you), why not join the Steam group?

[The JG Man]

I may or may not have joined that. Magicka seems to be stuck in the nether though of not downloading. Given that Super Meat Boy went up to the final half mb before stopping for no well explored reason before finishing a few minutes later, I think Steam might be throwing a hissy fit.

In other news, Super Meat Boy is still excellent and still on sale. Speed-running levels in this game is just too damn fun.

[8-bit]

Magicka is one of those games that is tempting because of the price and the fact that a lot of people really seem to love it. but I played the demo and it just didn't click with me and if I buy it I know that I will regret it, but I still kind of want it. :?

[The JG Man]

Magicka will go on sale again and even if it doesn't, you'll still be able to pick it up in the regular sale. That being said, if you played the demo and weren't a fan, don't do it. Alternatively, wait till the next sale and if you still want it then, get it, if not, you did the right thing!

[ConcreteOtter]

I was someone also that the demo didn't really "do it for me", but that was solo, the real fun lies in group play with the amazing spell mix-ups and team killing potential. For a couple bucks/quid you can't go wrong with it.

[vinraith]

Magicka is one of those games that is tempting because of the price and the fact that a lot of people really seem to love it. but I played the demo and it just didn't click with me and if I buy it I know that I will regret it, but I still kind of want it. :?

It really is a game that's vastly more fun with friends. I couldn't recommend it as a solo experience, but with even one other player it's a lot of fun.

[DainIronfoot]

I'd love to play Magicka, may even pick it up the complete pack now, but the demo was so unoptimised that I struggled to play it on this laptop. One to save until I have a fixed abode and a beefy gaming PC I feel.

Also:

Individual price:
£16.99
Package price:
-£5.61
-£5.61
Limited Time Offer
Limited Time Offer:
£5.77
Cost to you:
£1.93
You save:

What? I'm only saving £1.93 when the package is down from £16.99. A maths failure I feel.

[Vandelay]

Picked up Super Meat Boy. Very awesome so far. Played the first world, including the warp world levels that change the game into some kind of old 8bit game. Edging off a few point somethings of a second to get the A+ rating is always so very tempting, as well as trying to get the bandages scattered around the levels. I can see some obsessive completionist tendencies coming out off me with this game. I also love the style of it. There is just something incredibly charming about it, despite it also being incredibly gross.

Quick question, what are dark world levels and how do I access them?

Also picked up Darksiders, after hearing good things on here. Don't really know anything about it, but I thought I would take a punt on it. Still downloading (slowly), so can't comment yet.

[Icarus]

@Vandelay above:

You access the Dark World (harder/less forgiving) version of a level by getting an A+ grade on the regular version, and then switching to the Dark World while on the level map.

[Vandelay]

Ah, cheers Icarus. Completely missed the Dark World option on the map screen.

[The JG Man]

Good choices Vandelay!

I strongly recommend you don't actually try Dark World yet. Despite the fact the level lay-outs are mostly similar, the difficulty jumps up a hell of a lot. By all means look at the levels so you can see what you're getting yourself into (and to hear the great music), but if you're still finding your footing, they're not the best way to go about so early on as they ruin the difficulty curve. My suggestion would be to either complete the Light Worlds up to the final boss and then go Dark, or to complete chapter 4 and then go dark world 1. That being said, if you jump in and manage to complete Dark World 1 after completing Light World 1, you're a fantastic player and you'll have a lot of fun with this game.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

I'd love to play Magicka, may even pick it up the complete pack now, but the demo was so unoptimised that I struggled to play it on this laptop.

I don't know if Magicka is unoptimised per se, but the XNA framework doesn't play nice with certain integrated graphics cards, which might be the source of your problems. Have you tried playing it in windowed mode?

[Vandelay]

Good choices Vandelay!

I strongly recommend you don't actually try Dark World yet. Despite the fact the level lay-outs are mostly similar, the difficulty jumps up a hell of a lot. By all means look at the levels so you can see what you're getting yourself into (and to hear the great music), but if you're still finding your footing, they're not the best way to go about so early on as they ruin the difficulty curve. My suggestion would be to either complete the Light Worlds up to the final boss and then go Dark, or to complete chapter 4 and then go dark world 1. That being said, if you jump in and manage to complete Dark World 1 after completing Light World 1, you're a fantastic player and you'll have a lot of fun with this game.

Thanks for the advice. Turns out, I must be fantastic player, as I completed Dark World 1 this morning, after having only played all the Light World levels in chapter 1 and a couple in chapter 2. Carrying on with chapter 2 in the Light World after doing that does seem a little easy; I've managed to get A+ on pretty much all the levels. Brilliant fun though and still challenging enough (a total 957 deaths! Suddenly I feel less fantastic.)

I'm also really getting a sense of just how much content there is with the game. Not only are there the harder versions of every single level, but you can also replay each of these with a total of 11 different characters, all with slightly different abilities. There are also bandages hidden away on every level or there Dark World equivalent, which unlock the other characters, as well as warp zone worlds scattered about the place, also unlocking the characters.

Still a few hours left of the sale, if anyone is on the fence, I can't recommend it enough. If you miss the sale, it is still a great deal at full price.

Darksiders still downloading very slowly.

[airtekh]

It really is a game that's vastly more fun with friends. I couldn't recommend it as a solo experience, but with even one other player it's a lot of fun.

I'd agree with Vinraith on this.

I've only played Magicka solo and I found it incredibly difficult playing by myself (they may have patched this though, I haven't played it in a while).

[The JG Man]

You're going to love everything that game throws at you, Vandelay. Kudos to beating Dark World 1 so quickly. The total amount of deaths is a very personal thing. How hard do you push for the absolute quickest times? Did you get a bit lazy and accidentally die to some easy things? It's hard to compare, but from what I'm aware, anywhere from 10,000-15,000 is about average on completing the game...of course what you determine as completing the game is one thing as there are multiple points you could consider 'end'. Personally, I'd say that's 100%. On the 360, I 100% it in just shy of 10,000, but I have heard of others doing it in 6-7K. I bow down to their sheer ridiculousness.

Also, in hunting for bandages, if you think there are some that are too hard to get or near impossible, it's likely because they require a different character to unlock unless you can pull off some insane moves that are more based on luck than skill. If you're thinking "Man, I need a double jump to get to one", well...

Scouting the Super Meat World custom levels, there are different difficulties. People who are put off by the harder levels can still have fun in completing the Light World final boss and then trying these levels. You still get a ridiculous amount of content. Not to mention you can then make your own levels once you've amassed enough bandages to enter anyhow. Super Meat Boy is really hard, no questions asked, but it can be very satisfying. If you grew up with Mario or Sonic and recognise that platformers are something special, you owe it to yourself to try Super Meat Boy. It really is a sublime platformer and is a joy to play, despite its challenging harder levels and a sore thumb.

[Flint]

A friend just gifted me Hoard, and it's actually rather fun. You control a dragon trying to grow his treasure pile, which you do by looting the nearby villages and such while at the same time preventing thieves, knights and other, competing dragons trying to rob you. Each turn is ten minutes so it's a pretty nice, quick time-killer for those moments when you just want a quick round of something. The multiplayer's rather swell as well and can get quite hectic in an enjoyable way.

Definitely not a bad little timekiller for £2,09.

[vinraith]

I'd agree with Vinraith on this.

I've only played Magicka solo and I found it incredibly difficult playing by myself (they may have patched this though, I haven't played it in a while).

Well, "hard" in Magicka is a product of how creative you are with spells. You can make SP quite easy, actually, because you don't have to worry about killing anyone else. Consequently, for example, most of the game can be cleared with qqqse mines and the like. There are any number of SP strategies that work well, and couldn't work with other players present, but I'm not sure any of them are really all that much fun.