Steam Winter Sale 12-22-13

Hello there! Unforunately yesterday wasn't much, either in the way of explanations about what games to buy (sorry, but I was late for an important date), or for deals. Today is a bit better, as it at least hase a few titles that released this year, plus major titles at that. For the rest:

Amazon actually has a few fantastic deals, usually in bundle form. You can get the Max Payne Franchise for $7, the full Max Payne 3 for the same, a few more bundles with Max Payn3 and LA Noire or GTA IV for $8, the new XCOM games (EU and EW) for $20 which actually makes it $5 less than Steam had during a flash sale yesterday, and a couple other packs or deals that make it a great place to check out.

Green Man Gaming has various deals on a couple of publishers and some miscellaneous games, but nothing that really stands out.

Gamers Gate has it's sale, but nothing that strikes me as being a particularly great deal either.

The Humble Store has a new set of games up. The winners there are Hotline Miami for $2.49, Amnesia for $3.99, and possibly Vessel for $2.49


Main Sale


Tomb Raider - Same deal here as the last sale. The game can be had for $9.99 for the base edition, $11.59 for the Survival edition, or as part of a collection for $13.99. The criticism with this game have to deal with it's brevity and reliance on QTE, but I haven't actually given it a shot yet. Honestly, I'm more interested in the Tomb Raider collection for access to some of the classic games.

The Witcher - A franchise that is always on sale, and that I always highly recommend. The original Witcher, which is $2.49 today, is a game that I reviewed and gave a rare 10/10 to. I loved the choice and consequences system of that game, and found that it provided a very good RPG experience, even if the game looks a little dated and it had some issues with the voice actors (see the video review for an example). The Witcher 2, which is $4.99, is supposed to take the choice system up a notch, as well as run on a custom engine that revamped the graphics to a rig melting level. If for some reason you passed on this, rest assured that you'll see it again for the same price in the next sale, as it's become a bit of a staple.

Rogue Legacy - This roguelike game is another one that's been on sale recently. It is cheaper today than a month ago, coming in at $4.94 rather tan $5.09.

Max Payne - Well would you look at that. Steam actually matched Amazon's price, as you can get Max Panye 3 Complete for $6.99, or the same price. The stand alone game is $3.99. The original games can be had for $2.49 each, or $3.74 in a package. The catch is that Amazon has the bundle that comes with all 3 games and the Season Pass for the third, which includes all 10 DLCs. So...Amazon wins, because you can always trade away the CD keys for the other two games. There you go.

Antichamber - A Escher like first person puzzle game that looks really, really, really good. I should probably install in and try it, as I bought it the last time when it was a bit more than today's $4.99. High hopes for this game, as I've enjoyed games like Portal and Quantum Conundrum.

Oblivion - What surprises me about this is that such an older game would be featured as a daily deal. Not to say that Oblivion is good or not, but it's a common sale item, usually as part of a greater Elder Scrolls deal that would include a discount on Morrowind and Skyrim. Unfortunately, this is the only one on sale, at its typical low of $4.99.

Dragon Age - Played this one back when it came out, and I enjoyed the original game. It's typical Bioware, with a morality system, squad based combat where you can pause the game to issue orders. Oh, and romantic relationships. While you can get the game for $4.99, what you really want is the ultimate edition for $7.49, as that includes all the DLCs and the expansion pack that continues the story. Otherwise you'll do what I did, and end up buying it twice. Good, solid game, if slow at points. Expect about 80 hours out of the base game, with additional time from the extra DLCs and the expansion.

Crusader Kings II - A strategy game that is far too in depth for me, though one that seems like it would hold a ton of promise. The base version of the game is $9.99, while the complete collection is $19.99. Really, a game that I am highly tempted to try, even if I feel that I'll fail miserably.

Shadow Warrior - A recent remake/reboot of a classic game, Shadow Warrior is a bit of an over the top FPS, though not in the same way as, say, Serious Sam. I do like what Flying Hog did with Hard Reset, which was the most challeging and fast paced shooter I've played since the dawn of the Modern Combat Field games with their annualized releases. I see myself picking this up, but probably not for today's $9.99 or $12.49.


Flash Sales

Surgeon Simulator 2013 - Bought this last sale and put a fair amount of time into it already. I was very skeptical at first, but have found this game to be incredible entertaining, though some of that is the clumsiness of the controls (five keys for the five fingers, and the mouse of movement, tilt, raise and lower). Oddly fun, and a solid 8/10 buy, especially at this price. So...go get it.

The Testatment of Sherlock Homles - The adventure game can me yours for $4.99.

Ducktales - The reimagining of the class can be yours for $5.99, though I will admit I am a little too you to have played this the first time through.

La-Mulana - I had never heard of this game before, but it appears to be a retro 2D action adventure game. At $1.49, that's not a lot of risk, and it could prove to be an interesting game.

Unfortunately I missed a set of sales yesterday evening, as I wasn't around a computer and apparently the "Save for Offline Reading" function failed. However, the set immediately before the main sales rolled over including Kerbal Space program for $16.19, The Might Quest for Epic Loot for $9.99, Deponia for $1.99, and Sir, You Are Being Hunted for $11.99.


Community's Choice

Machinarium - The indie point and click adventure game is $2.49.

As I stated, I missed the sale, but I do recall that Red Faction Guerilla won out, though not the price. This was followed by Legend of Dungeon for $1.49.


***


Okay, that's it for today. Some winners, some so-so, but nothing that I would absolutely recommend you avoid. Just make sure to get, in order, the Witcher franchise, Surgeon Simulator, Dragon Age, then make your choice between Antichamber, Max Payne, and Tomb Raider. I see myself at least getting Max Payne, but that will probably be from Amazon, which will give me additional CD keys for the first two games. Anyone want to trade?