Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Steam Holiday Sale 1 - 2

So it's the second of a new year. How many of you have already broken your resolutions?


Main Sale:

Magicka - Reviewed (written and video, base game only). Magicka is a great action RPG game. At first glance it might look just like most other games in that genre, such as Diablo, Torchlight, or Titan's Quest. While it shares that perspective, and many of the mechanics, what makes Magicka unique is the way you cast spells. Choose any combination of 8 different elements, with up to five at one time, while following rules about things that cancel each other out, and then unleash those powerful spells on enemies. Special spells, called magicks, have even greater effects, like allowing you to teleport, or summoning a group of zombies to fight for you. Really a fun game to play, and to learn all those RPG idiosyncrasies, but it can be a little touch and go at times if you're playing by yourself. While the game is only $2.49, I would highly recommend the Collection for $8.74, since it includes a ton of this game's DLC packs,  including major content in the form of new campaigns.

Tomb Raider Series - Tomb Raider has been on sale many times before on Steam. What makes this time special is the addition of games 1 through 6, which were just rereleased on Steam in November. You can get each of these nine games for $2.49, or opt for the full pack of the classic Action Adventure game for $14.99

Painkiller - I've always heard of Painkiller described more as a competition FPS, where it's about doing well and getting high scores, in a not too dissimilar way from Hard Reset. There are several different games and packs on sale today. The complete pack is $19.99, though it seems to lack much of the content associated with Hell and Damnation. The Hell and Damnation pack is $14.99. There is an upgrade pack for that same game for $5.00, which upgrades your game to the collector's eddition, and would add all that content you're missing from the complete pack. And finally you can get Hell and Damanation for $9.99 by itself, or Resurrection for $2.49.

Dark Souls - It's $19.99 on Steam. Don't buy it. Go over to Amazon and get it for $17.99 instead. And if you bought any other game off of Amazon prior to the start of this year, you just might have a $5 off coupon for any of their Editor's Choice games, of which Dark Souls is one. I'm actually thinking about doing that, just to see what all the rage is all about.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - Classic RPGs on sale here, either the original or II. Both of them are a very nice $2.49.

Sniper Elite Franchise - I picked this up during the last sale, but haven't gotten around to playing anything more than the demo yet. It's a WWII shooter that you play as a stealth game, creeping around to get to the best position to, say, ambush a convoy by shooting some explosive charges you had hidden on cars. Really has a lot of potential, though don't expect multiplayer to work for the first game anymore, because Gamespy has started shutting down it's service for certain titles. The Franchise pack is $13.74, which includes game 1 and 2, as well as a single DLC for 2. Oddly enough, it is actually cheaper to buy the franchise pack than it would be to just get the second game and that single DLC, so do that. You may also want to pick up two additional DLCs that were not included in the pack.


Flash Sales:
Tropic 4 - $5.99
L.A. Noire - $4.99
Miasmata - $7.49
Metro 2033 - $4.99
Mass Effect Collection - $9.99 (Only includes Mass Effect 1 and 2, doesn't include any of the DLCs afaik)
The Longest Journey - $6.24.


Community Choice:
Skyrim - $29.79, DLCs are discounted, but not to the same 50% off.



7 comments:

  1. Do you have any resolutions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That I do. There are some stereotypical ones, such as finding a different job, or getting back into shape. That last one has actually been on my list for a couple of years now, and each year I get there, only to fail to remain in shape, such as last year when I was running four miles a day uphill in about 28 minutes. Ultimately I'd like to do a half marathon early this year.

      The more important ones, those involving gaming, are also ones that seem to come up more often. I need to focus on finishing games, rather than continually starting new ones. Currently I'm playing Torchlight II, which halts progress on Splice, RUSE, and Frozen Synapse, each of which I'm only a few levels away from finishing. I should also be more prompt with my video reviews, since I have such a huge backlog, wherein the first game I'll do a video review for this year will be Hard Reset, which I posted the written review for back in October.

      Do you have any yourself?

      Delete
  2. I haven't broken my resolution.... but suceeding in it hasn't even begun yet, then again if I COULD succeed in it that quickly I'd probably be famous about now. Inquire if I've broken it sometime around December 31'st :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you're planning on stick around for another year :-)

      Delete
    2. whats your resolution that you'd be famous if you could do it????

      Delete
    3. Phrased it poorly perhaps, not famous for it. Just famous if I could pick up skills that easily and quickly.
      Sorry, the original comment probably didn't make sense out of context but I was thinking about gymnastics.
      *I'm a gymnast.

      Also I have now returned from my unexpected hiatus from commenting.
      You may now do the requisite HappyDance.

      Delete
    4. Uh oh. If people are going to start commenting again, I should probably start posting reviews. I had planned to stay on top of that this year, then Torchlight 2 happened.

      Delete