Well, today it seems we have 3 shooters, a tower defense game, a sandbox action game, an mmo, another action game, a platformer, and whatever the heck you classify Football Manager 2013 as. Sim? Sports? I don't even know.
Main Sale
Football Manager 2013 - I will freely admit that I know nothing about this. Not only do simulations and sports games fail to catch my interest, but I can't even pretend to be interested in the subject. Sorry, that's just brutal honest. The good thing is it's $9.99 and has a demo...which means I like it more than a lot of games already.
System Shock 2 - It was a flash sale or some such here a few days ago, so there is a chance you might have missed it. If you did, it returns for the reasonable price of $2.49. If nothing else, it's worth it just to find out why this game is a classic, and, you know, why Bioshock.
Alan Wake - This one is four reviews away, as I just beat it a few weeks ago. I had high hopes for the game given reviews, which I should have learned by now not to trust. The game is an action game where you must use your flashlight to wear down the "shield" on people controlled by the darkness, and then finish them off with your gun. Light because a great weapon in this way, and things like flares, flash bangs, and flareguns become weapons in their own rights. The story is a bit of a mystery with lots of horror. What I really liked about the game wasn't it's story, but it's story telling, which gets into this whole thing where every creative work produced around the lake the game is centered around actually comes true, so you would occasionally find manuscript pages that would warn you what to expect. Unfortunately the game never was that interesting during it's main six episodes, but much better in the two specials that were appended to the original game. Not to spoil the review for you or anything, but the game is coming in at a 6/7. It's not a bad game to play, you're just investing your time in something that isn't as good as a lot of other titles. Still, if you want to get it, I would recommend the Franchise Pack for $3.99, since that includes the original game and the sequel. It's worth nothing that there's never been a lower price than this.
Secret World - An MMO? Nope, not going there. I know this game is F2P, so at least there isn't the monthly fee, but I don't need to relapse on the most addiction type of game I've ever played, which is a same, because this does look really, really cool. $14.99 today.
Orcs Must Die! - Both a written and video review for the first one, which is actually the first TD game I've really liked in years, due to the hybrid TD/Action gametype and the humor involved in the game. I highly recommend getting the franchise pack for $8.74, which covers everything you need over both games, the latest of which just added mod support, so you can go download traps and weapons that shoot acid bombs or whatever you're into. Seperately you can get the complete pack for 2 for $6.24, the base game for $3.74, the base of 1 for $2.49, the complete of 1 for $3.24, or just find someone to go into a double complete pack for $9.99.
Mark of the Ninja - I picked this up last winter and have been meaning to play it ever since. Actually, I'm about 3 games away from getting to it. It certainly seems like a really cool platformer, though, again, given my experience with highly reviewed XBLA type games, I'm not sure that counts for anything. Still, all time individual low of $3.74.
Crysis -Everyone talks about the original, usually as a means of benchmarking your gaming rig. That Crysis is on sale for $5.99, and Warhead is $5.99 as well. There was also this game released called Crysis 2, which no one talks about. That's $8.99, which I'm pretty sure is the lowest it's ever been on Steam. There is also a complete pack (which excludes the 3rd title) for $20.99. My thoughts on it, besides EA being jerks but not lowering prices on all their older titles to $4.99, is basically "Meh."
DMC - I never got into the DMC series, and at $24.99 probably won't today either. Still, its there, if you're interested.
Rising Storm - This game just came out, which makes it by far too new for me to have gotten around to it. Still, if you long for the purity of the WWII shooter, tripwire is a good company to go to. While this game is $9.99, its worth noting that other Red Orchestra titles are also on sale, either individual or as part of a franchise pack, which includes this for $14.99. Then there is the publisher bundle for only $24.99.
Sleeping Dogs - Picked this up earlier during the sale, and I've already logged 7 hours. The game is interesting, being a more serious, martial arts based, version of the genre that is so well established by GTA. You're an undercover cop trying to bring down the triads in Hong Kong. The game is generally pretty good, but has more than it's fair share of issues. The controls are a bit awkward, and definitely reek of "console" ports, since for half the menus you have to use the enter, backspace, arrow keys, etc. The combat is interesting, as you can pull off combos and use the environment to your advantage, but unfortunately there is rarely an opportunity to do this because you'll be surrounded byt 4-5 enemies and be unable to get off more than a hit or two before you need to counter their attacks. Heck, one of the best methods I've found to defeat enemies, particularly on drug busts, is use a vehicle and run enemies over. I actually have recorded a video of me doing this with classical music blaring from the car's radio. There will be a video review with that in it. Overall, and okay game that seems like it'll be a little short for the genre, even doing the side missions. The base game is $6.24, but there are a ton of DLCs, only 2-3 of which might be of any use.
Flash Sales
Dragon Age Origins - Not a shabby game, though somewhat typical fare from Bioware. I played the standard version of the orignal, so I didn't have access to all the DLCs that are include in this one. Still, it kept me busy for 80 hours or so. It's squad based, pause the game and issue orders, type gameplay. I would suggest investing in some mods to do things like improve the AI reaction system that you can set up for your squadmates. Not a bad deal at $8.99.
Mars War Logs - Just covered this the other day, but it returns for $9.99.
Formula 1 2012 - $9.99.
Aliens Colonial Marines - Yeah, it's only $12.49, but the game only came out in February, so that should be a huge warning sign. That, and the publisher and devs being sued because what was delivered looked nothing like what had been shown earlier. Probably a good idea to skip over this one.
Voters' Choice
Civilization - The review for the base game of 5 is posted. Frankly, I was very disappointed in this game, and that's coming from someone without a background in Civ. I did score it low enough that I would frankly recommend passing on it. However, should you be so inclined (it does have a demo, so do that), you can pick up the Gold Edition for $12.49, which includes all the DLCs and expansions up to, but not including, Brave New World, which would set you back another $29.99. I can't speak to what Gods and Kings added, or if it made the game better, since that wasn't out when I was playing, but here's to hoping.
And in case you missed it; Don't Starve ($8.99), Galactic Civilizations ($4.99), 3D Mark ($8.99), Carrier Command ($8.24), and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 ($4.99) over night; Serious Sam 3 ($3.99), Scribblenauts ($4.99), Assassins Creed III ($23.99), Amnesia ($3.99), and Skyrim ($35.99) this afternoon.
*****
Hmm, I'm not actually buying anything today, there there were certainly some good deals. I just happen to already have most of the games on sale. Best deal right now is Orcs Must Die!, though I'm hopeful that Mark of the Ninja turns out to be a decent game, and I still need to play System Shock 2 myself. Sleeping Dogs has a lot of potential, but suffers in enough ways that it'll hurt the final score for sure. Alan Wake is above average, despite what I'd heard. Hopefully Amnesia will come back on during a main sale, because that was actually the best price I've ever seen on that game, and it's a must play as well. Okay, that's it until tomorrow!
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