Steam Encore Sale 1 - 5

So it turns out I was a bit off in thinking that today would be the last day in 2012-13 Steam Holiday Sale. I figured, since the sale went from the 20th - 5th, that the last sale would begin on the 5th, just as had happened during the Autumn sale. Apparently I was wrong. But, there was an announcement yesterday that there would be an encore sale of the best sellers. A total of 24 games or franchises return today, offering a repeat of some of the best deals we've seen. Still, it does pay to look around, because there are a few titles that are currently less on other websites. Since everything has already been on sale, I'm just going to give the full list, prices, lower prices elsewhere if available, and point out if I've reviewed the game or not, rather than attempt to write something up for each individual game. And for reference, any time I talk about greenmangaming.com (GMG) current coupon, that would be this code, which grants you 20% off: GMG20-PJFEW-Y16HK


Borderlands Franchise - The original's GOTY edition is $7.49. Borderlands 2 is $29.99, but that 50% discount does not impact it's DLCs. If you really want those DLCs, I suggest heading over to GMG and using that code.

Saints Row III -  The Full Package edition, which is the complete version, is just $7.49.

Dark Souls - $19.99 on Steam, but still cheaper on Amazon at $17.99. If you purchased a game from Amazon prior to the 1st, you might have a code for $5 off an editor's choice purchase, which Dark Souls is.

Dead Island - The GOTY edition is $6.79.

Chivalry Medieval Warefare - $12.49.

Hitman Franchise -  Hitman: Absolution is $24.99 for the base edition, or $29.99 for the Professional Edition. There are also several pieces of DLC available, such as the Suit and Gun collection for $2.99. You can also get the Hitman Collection, which covers three other titles in the series, for just $6,24.

The Witcher Franchise - Recently reviewed the first game, which is a steal at $2.49. I expect much from the sequel, which is $7.49.

Natural Selection 2 - $9.99.

The Walking Dead - $12.49. Same price on Amazon, but it is also an editor's choice, so the whole $5 off rule applies there as well.

Football Manager 2013 - $19.99.

Portal Franchise - Reviewed Portal 2. The games are available seperately for $2.49 for Portal and $4.99 for Portal 2, or combined for $6.24.

Counter Strike - Global Offensive is $7.49. The other three CS titles are also on sale seperately, and you can acquire CS: Source, CS, and CS: Condition Zero for $4.99, $2.49 and $2.49, respectively. There is also a complete back with all four games for $9.99.

ARMA II - $14.99.

Anno 2070 - $19.99 for the base game, or $21.99 for the Deluxe Edition. You can also get the Anno 2070 pack, which includes all DLCs, for $39.99.

Darksiders Franchise -  The original entry is $4.99, which I have reviewed. That game is also included with the Franchise Pack, which is $13.59, and includes everything from II for less than you could buy the stand alone game.

XCOM - $33.49 on Steam. However, Amazon has it right now for $24.99. Only one of two DLCs are on sale on Steam. I would recommend purchasing the other of GMG using that code.

The Sims 3 - Everything Sims 3 is 66% off. The base game is $10.19. There is one other package that includes a single expansion for $16.99. Otherwise you can purchase the 15 expansions for a total of $155.45.

THQ Collection - Three titles reviewed here: Space Marine, Darksiders, and Red Faction Armageddon. The package is $24.99. While this includes an incredible number of THQ games, it is missing a few, such as a single Company of Heroes game or Red Faction: Guerrilla. There are also questions if the version of Darksiders and Saints Row it includes have all the DLCs or not. The price of the item included in the bundle is the same as the complete packs for each of those, but I am uncertain. Still, it's advisable to pick this one up for all the other titles alone, particularly given THQ's financial situation.

Civilization Franchise - Civ 5 GOTY is $12.49. The base version is available for $7.49, while the upgrade to the GOTY is another $5.00. The Gods and Kings expansion for Civ 5 is $7.49. Civ 4 Complete is $7.49. Civ 3 Complete is $1.24.

Elder Scrolls Franchise - Skyrim is $29.99, while it's two DLCs, Dawnguard and Hearthfire, are $9.99 and $2.49, respectively. Oblivion is $4.99, and Morrowind is $4.99. Both of those last two are GOTY editions.

Torchlight Franchise - The original is $3.74, while the recently released sequel is $9.99.

Batman Franchise - Arkham Asylum is $4.99, while Arkham City is $7.49. Both are GOTY editions.

Dishonored - $29.99. It's DLC is not discounted. Try GMG.

Ace of Spades - $4.99.


That...is a lot of games on sale. Additionally, all six titles that came up on sale yesterday remain on sale. That also wraps things up until we get some kind of summer sale in June or July. I'll do regular reviews between here and there, and hopefully plenty of them, so stick around. But before you go...

Now that the sale is done, what are your thoughts? Personally, I found that I wasn't nearly as involved in this sale as past ones, where generally there has been some kind of contest to win a fraction of your wishlist, or even every game on Steam. In hindsight, I think the best sale of 2012 would have been the Summer sale, and while the short flash sales and community choice sales meant I had to frequently check back, I feel it offered generally better deals, as well as including far more publisher packs, which were sorely missing from this sale. Furthermore, I found that many of the big ticket items were less, sometimes significantly so, elsewhere. GMG and and Amazon both got some of my busniess this go round, and if I had been on top of things and known about the errors over at GamersGate, such as a four pack of Borderlands 2 for $10 or that Bethesda pack for only a few dollars, I would have jumped on those as well.

In the end, I still got a decent selection of games this time, consisting of the following: Splinter Cell Conviction DLC, Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers, Saint's Row III complete, Spec Ops: The Line, FTL: Faster Than Light, Thirty Flights of Loving, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, XCOM, Trine 2 DLC, Hotline Miami, Torchlight II, Magicka DLC, The Longest Journey + Dreamfall, The Walking Dead, Dwarfs!?, Zombie Driver HD, Dead Island GOTY, SpaceChem DLC, and Deadlight.

That's not too bad of a list, but just a fraction of what I bought last year. The last five were actually trades from purchasing a 4 pack of Torchlight 2, while Spec Ops, Hotline Miami, and The Walking Dead all came off of Amazon. The largest purchase in that group, XCOM, was actually made over at GMG. Actually, when reflecting on it all, I'd say I didn't do too bad, financially, and that this spending spree was so small it won't come back to bite me in the butt.

This brings me back to the point where I'm curious to know your thoughts about this sale? Good sale? Or bad? Were there games you wanted on sale, or did you have to go elsewhere? Did my pointing out where better deals were help? I know I didn't find every single deal that was better somewhere else, but still, did you find it useful that I could generally point out other places to go? Then, purchasing aside, what did you get?

Finally, some non-sale topics. Currently I'm within closing distance of Frozen Synapse, Splice, RUSE, and even Torchlight 2 (for review purposes), so I'd expect those to be the next written reviews. I'd still like to go back and do a video review for several games, specifically: Hard Reset, Bastion, Space Marine, AAAAA - for the Awesome, Quantum Conundrum, Amnesia, The Witcher, Spec Ops: The Line, and maybe even FTL: Faster Than Light. So keep an eye out for those too. After that...I'm really not sure, but I've got plenty of games I haven't played before, and this is where your suggestions come in handy. Maybe it's time to play RAGE and find out just why it went down to less than 10% of list price within a year. Or maybe play something like Deadlight or XCOM with the knowledge that they will most likely be featured during the summer sale, that way I can avoid sounding like an incompetent fool when I'm listing whats on sale. Seriously, if you've got something you'd really like to see me cover, you can always check out my profile to get ideas, though I'd rather play something I haven't, if there is a game you'd really like to know about, I'll do it.

Other than that, I'd just like to say thanks for sticking with me so far, it's good having people around and commenting, and that I hope to see you all in the future.