Steam Summer Sale 6-20-14

It’s day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale, and I feel like we’ve already ventured into questionable games. I don’t see any AAA level games on this sale, and instead find early access games, ports, and a game maker. Also, more zombies, because apparently society hasn’t grown tired of those yet. Oh boy.

Main Sale:

Game Dev Tycoon – A game wherein you’re a game developer tasked with managing a studio and keeping it successful. Probably the most noteworthy thing about it is the part where pirated versions are programed to, as you go along, eventually bankrupt the studio due to piracy. The most ironic part of that is where the pirates would complain on the game’s forums, even clamoring for the ability to add some kind of DRM. Anyways, the legit version of the game is $3.99 today.

Bound by Flame – So I’d never heard of this RPG before, but after reading up on it, it sounds like it’s claiming to be a mix of Kingdoms of Amalur and Witcher, which would be fantastic if pulled of right. I’ll go on my wish list, but at $23.99, it’s just not a game I can afford right now.

Plague Inc. Evolved – Another early access title. This one has you control an evolving virus in an attempt to infect the entire world. Your enemies in this one are actually medical science. Who knew? So, interesting concept, but in violation of my blanket ban on early access titles. It’s $10.04 today.

Amnesia – Reviewed! I covered the original Amnesia with both a written and video review, and at $3.99, highly recommend that game. I’ve heard the same can’t be said about the sequel, A Machine for Pigs, though since today is the lowest I’ve seen it at $4.99, maybe I’ll give it a shot and let you know for the next sale. Both games can be had in a pack for $6.99.

The Walking Dead – Also reviewed! Though again, only the first 1. The point and click choose your own adventure game makes for a very enjoyable time, and focuses more on the characters and developing an emotional attachment than, say, zombie slaying. The original is $6.24, with the DLC for that one $2.49. The current “season” is both more expensive ($12.49) and incomplete. I’ll say this much about the episodic releases though. In the first game, since I waited until everything was released, I could play the entire game nonstop, which, frankly, is the only way I’d want to play in, considering that the first one was so good. So I’m going to hold off until everything is wrapped up, which should hopefully correspond with when it’s a little cheaper too.

RPG Maker VX Ace – Some version or another of this is a pretty regular sale item. While some of the RPGs I’ve seen created with this are quite impressive, I’m in the business of playing games, not making them (that is, after all, if you consider this a business). It’s $17.49 today.

Xtreme Legends Dynasty Warriors 8 Complete Edition – Yeah…just, yeah. It’s $24.99.

State of Decay – Zombie Survival RPG ported over from consoles. Watched my roommate play it, and he loved it, but honestly it didn’t look like this game did anything special compared to the other horde (get it, cause zombies travel in hordes?!?) of other zombie games out there. It’s an all-time low at $4.99 today.

Prison Architect – This early access prison sim has come a long way since it started going on sale. However, it does do that often, so today’s $10.19 for the base game may not be the best deal you’ll see this year.

Flash Sales:

Dungeon Defenders – Reviewed! One of a series of action tower defense games I played a few years back, this class based one made for an interesting time. Really geared for multiplayer, I found that the game was okay, but not something I would want to spend a large amount of time on. There are multiple buying options, from the base game for $3.74, to the collection for $12.49. You’d probably want the latter if you’re serious about this one.

Mount and Blade – The whole series seems to have developed into something of a cult classic. I gave it a try once and was immediately kidnapped by a band of thieves when I was knocked out in a battle. It’s also a series that is heavily modded, so you can upgrade visuals and the like. Titles range from $1.99 to $3.99, with a package deal for $6.99.

Pixel Piracy – Yet another early access game, this one is $7.49.

Spore – I played this one back when it came out, but the DRM the disk version used roasted my computer. No, I swear I’m still not bitter at EA for that. Anyways, the Steam version doesn’t have that. It’s a creature build em game with 5 different stages of evolution, and at each stage the game type is a bit different, such as open world adventure, rts, and space exploration. The way you behave, friendly, aggressive, religious, herbivore or carnivore, influences how your species will evolve, and what gameplay options you will have. An interesting game that you can dump hours into if you’re the right type of person. Packages range from $9.99 to $14.99, which strikes me as pricy.

Community Choice:

Rage – Reviewed! Okay, I was really not a fan of this game and greatly caution anyone against purchasing it. I also heavily disagree with this being featured in the “Underrated” community choice pack. Hey, maybe your game would do better if it actually ran decently and had some real content. Oh, and you weren’t an asshole about launch issues too! Sorry, just not really a fan of John Carmack after this game came out. It’s $4.99 for the base game today.

Call of Juarez – The big sale is for Gunslinger, though the other titles in the series are on sale as well, just for drastically less. I played Bound in Blood, which was the prequel to the original game. An acceptable western shooter with a few RPG elements, such as side quests, currency, upgradeable weapons, etc. Not great, but something to play if you don’t have a lot going on. Gunslinger is $3.74, though it is in a bundle with Far Cry Blood Dragon for some reason, so if you want both, you can save yourself some money that way.

Bulletstorm – Another shooter. This one’s claim to fame are skill shots, basically chaining different actions together to pull off some kind of tricky shot, usually involving a certain amount of vulgarity. For example, use the laser whip thing to slam an enemy up in the air, and then shoot him in his manhood, and you’ll get points. Never figured out what the points were for, mostly because I don’t think I ever finished the demo level. Still, I *might* pick it up just because it hasn’t been on sale for a while, and it looked like it might get pulled from Steam because EA is busy being EA. It’s $4.99 today.

Orin Dino Horde – I’ve seen this game on sale before, and it never really caught my interest. It’s 90% off today, at $1.49. That’s probably due to its 36/100 metacritic score, lack of any information on the store page, and having the only reviews that have been posted about the game consist of community reviews. Sorry, when I see titles like this, it seems that the best thing to do is back away very, very slowly.

And in case you missed it:

7 Days to Die for $13.74, South Park The Stick of Truth for $40.19, Torchlight 2 for $4.99, Van Helsing 2 for $10.04,  Half Life 2 for $2.49, Castlevania 2 for $44.99, Anno 2070 for $7.49, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst (dead God that is a long title) for $9.99,Euro Truck Simulator 2 for $3.74, Red Alert 3 for $4.99, Agarest Generations of War for $4.49, Super Meat Boy for $3.44, Monaco for $1.49, The Cave for $3.74, Forced for $5.09, and OctoDad Dadliest Catch for $5.09.

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Alright, so that’s it for today. There are only two games out of the whole sale I can honestly recommend you even consider, Amnesia and The Walking Dead. Beyond that, and even with the respective sequels, I think you should tread lightly. Ugh, this does not bode well for the rest of the sale.