Steam Exploration Sale 11-28-14

Hello again everyone! If you celebrated Thanksgiving the  way I did, you're probably still recovering from a food coma.  Well, what better way to deal with your lethargic state than to pick up a few games and spend some quality time in from of your computer, eh?

48 Hour Deals:

Endless Legend - One of those titles you never hear about until you get to a big sale (thanks Steam recommendations?). It's a 4x fantasy game from the same people that brought us Endless Space (itself a good game, though not with the depth I had hoped, at least when I played it). That is a good thing, I think I'll hold off until the price drops a bit more, because it's $17.49 today.

Dark Souls - I've but several hours into this game, but stopped playing after a while. Yes, it's a difficult game to play, starting with the fact that you'll need a controller and several mods to even get it to function appropriately on the PC. Then you'll have to deal with poor level design ("Oh, I can't roll past a 2 cm tall rock? Awesome, let me just get nailed in the face by an enemy who is able to clip his sword through the wall then!") and other annoying limitations of the game that make it a "challenge." Other than that, it is an RPG with no direction, so invest in a guide (or, you know GameFAQs) and figure out things like the differences in the classes, where all the secrets are (early on in the game there's a dragon, and if you shoot his tail off you can get a sword, but it's one of those things you really need to know about before hand). It's one of those games I should go back and finish some day, but, frankly, I'd rather play an excellent game than a "meh" one any day. It's $4.99, which is the low price.

Batman - We've got 3 Batman games on sale here (Asylum, City, and Origins). Asylum is reviewed, and you'll see that I really enjoyed the stealth action adventure game that plays a lot like Metroid meets Splinter Cell. At just under $5 each, I'd say it's worth it to get the first two games, both of which have GOTY editions. Maybe wait a while long for Origins to come out with a complete version, time you can spend playing the first 2.

State of Decay - It's another post zombie apocalypse survival RPG. My roommate tells me it's a good one, but I'm just board with the theme at this point. Still, it did seem interesting, though, again, not a new idea by any means. It's $4.99, which makes it the lowest I've seen it go for.

Left 4 Dead - While not reviewed, I've logged 115 hours on the first game and 15 hours on the second, which should tell you something right there. I really enjoyed the game in versus mode, and it was a blast with myself and 7 other friends. Solo, or even online with random people, the game isn't as good (people tend to drop out when they are getting beat pretty badly in versus). Each game is $4.99, but you can grab both for $7.49, which is worth it if you meet the proper criteria.

Wreckfest - I'll give this early access title this much - it is a beautiful game. Heard about this one a while back, and while it is cool, it's not the type of thing I go for in my games. Yes, "demolition derby themed racing game with soft-body damage modeling" may make for some excellent videos of destruction, but doesn't fill any voids in my life. It's $14.99 and $22.49 today.

Gary's Mod - This is one of those games that never ceases to amaze. You can use it for a ton of different things, from posing Half Life and related game assets to take screen shots, to making videos for your maps, to playing game modes like prop hunt. Its also one of those that's always on sale at today's price of $2.49.

Europa Universalis IV - This strategy game is another one of those that is on sale often. It's available in various editions from $9.99 all the way up to $24.99.

Assassin's Creed - Reviewed! It's been a long time since I've played any Assassin's Creed titles, and then it was just the first two, both of which I would recommend, but to different extents. The series has continued to grow at the rate of 1 a year, and has stayed well ahead of me.  Worth picking up a couple of games, because the series was heading in the right direction. Most titles are $4.99, though IV is $199, which warrants holding off on a bit longer.

24 Hour Deals

Spore - Played this one years ago, back before it was on Steam. Take a species though 5 stages of evolution (from single celled organism to space faring race). It's an okay game, but not great, and I'm still kind of pissed the DRM in the off the self version broke my last computer. It's $4.99 today.

Democracy 3 - A bit of a different kind of strategy game, one dealing with politics and satisfying people's interest (reminds me of Tropico, but with much more depth in this one area). It's $4.99.

Grid - Racing games of one of those things that just never do it for me, though they are damn pretty. This one is still $13.49.

Darksiders - Reviewed! Played the first one, and I loved the Zelda esque action adventure game, and highly recommend it. The 2nd game is one of those titles in my library that I haven't circled back to yet. The good news for all of you is the franchise is $8.99, which makes it the lowest price I've ever seen by far.

Mortal Kombat - Fighting games have never been my thing, but this one is $4.99.

The Banner Saga - This will be the title I'm picking up today. The game, by every account I've heard, is absolutely fantastic. Plus, I think the makers of Candy Crush can shove their lawsuit somewhere, so I'll support these devs. It's $4.99, which marks an all time low.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 - It's always on sale, and I always fail to understand it. The good news for you is its $3.74 today, which is the lowest I can recall.

Sleeping Dogs - Reviewed! A good open world sandbox game that's GTA like, but creates a compelling story. It's the fluff in between that is less interesting, but kind of essential as you level up. This version of the game is supposed to include some improvements, as well as all the DLC (there were a ton, and, frankly, most of them were useless). It's $10.19.

Styx - I don't know what is about this company, but they put forward some great looking games that people always tell me fail to deliver. Plus, it's $14.99 and only 50% off, which is more than enough to keep me away from it for a while.

Starpoint Gemini - One of those massive space games that always seem way too complex (I'm looking at you Eve and X) to be approachable. Also, it's $17.49.

Chivalry - This one comes up on sale and free weekend a lot. It's a medieval combat game that basically plays like Call of Duty with swords (read: people die quickly and easily). I prefer War of the Roses over it, but it's still a solid game. It's $4.99 today.

Well, that's it for today. There are a couple of good games in there, including ones I've reviewed, that you should pick up (Batman, Sleeping Dogs, Darksiders). There are a couple more that are taste dependent (like Chivalry, Left 4 Dead) where I don't think you can go wrong if that's your thing. As for me, well, I know I said I'd pick up The Banner Saga, but now I'm trying to decide if I should wait for the winter sale, or hope it ends up in a humble bundle. How about you, what are you winners for today?