Hello once again. Since we're back to a pretty much normal day today, I think I'll do a pretty much normal write up of each game on sale - that is to say that I'll either point out the games I've reviewed, fall back to hearsay for some others, and try to keep from making too much stuff up for the other games.
You should of course check
out Amazon,
Green Man Gaming,
Gamers Gate, and
The Humble Store for some other deals, because you'll never know what you'll find. For instance, last night Amazon had Tomb Raider for $5, and still has a larger discount on some Warframe packs than Steam.
Main Sale
Hotline Miami - Reviewed! I do recommend this game, as it's a rather interesting top down 2D hyper-violent game. The one hit and you're dead gameplay makes for an interesting ballet as you pound through doors, fire off a shot, throw your gun, grab the knife the person with the gun was just hit with, and proceed to slash the next person through the door - in about 3 seconds worth of time. This is the lowest price I've seen it for, at $1.99 today.
Dark Souls - A game that I had high hopes for when I started playing it a few months ago. The reason you haven't seen a review for it is because I stopped after putting in 7 hours. It's lauded as being hard, but it's not so much a difficulty thing as it's a stupid game construction thing. Current;y I've left off on the 4th or 5th boss fight, which takes place in a tiny alley way where you don't have any room to dodge the boss demon's sword, because it's literally as big as the alleyway is wide. There is also 0 guidance in the game, without even an explanation of what your stats are, or what the heck is going on. Frankly, I'm about ready to write this one off as one of the most over hyped games of 2012, particularly since you need to download a couple of mods just to do things like run it in the resolution of your choice, or at something besides 30 FPS. It's a low $5.99, but I would think pretty long and heard about that one.
The Killing Floor - A class based horde survival shooter. It can be fun, but to really play it well you'll need a group of people. It can be a fun game with the right group, but at the same time it's not a lot of fun to play solo, mostly because you'll be focused on one of the large enemies, such as one that will enrage if you deal too much damage too quickly, and not notice the stealthy ones sneaking up behind you. Plenty of options here, for $4.99 for the base game, or $12.49 for the bundle that includes the mostly character skin DLC. You might also want to consider the Tripwire Interactive Bundle at that point, which is $24.99. Not a bad purchase, but one that you might tire of very quickly, particularly if you're not into multiplayer.
Van Helsing - I gave the demo a shot during the last sale, and resolved to pick it up this time. It seems like a pretty typical ARPG, though more in the vein of Torchlight than Diablo, what with an upgradable pet and all. Talents aren't in the form of a tree, but a certain level is required to get deeper down the list. Putting enough points into a certain ability unlocks bonuses, or enough on the same group of abilities will do the same thing. You can also super charge abilities with rage you've built up, adding additional effects. The base game is "classless," but what that means is there is really one class that you can customize in multiple ways. If you go for the full edition, which you should, because it's only $6.79 vs. $5.09, you'll gain two more classes, as well as more abilities for your pet. It looks like a solid game, though something that probably won't be exceptional. Still, I'm buying it and looking forward to reviewing it for you.
Devil May Cry - It's been a long time since I've played the action adventure game. You actually have three choices here, as you can get DmC: Devil may Cry for $12.49, Devil May Cry 4 for $4.99, or Devil May Cry 3 for $4.99.
Gone Home - I've seen a lot of press on this game (remember what I said about hearsay?), which was a bit suspicious because it made it look like the devs were advertising through some reviews. It looks to be a thematic exploration game along the lines of Dead Ester, which could be pretty good. It's $6.79, so I'll probably wait a bit longer.
Anno 2070 - I avoided this game due to activation limits and other issues it had when it launched (there is a 3 machine limit listed under the supported languages), but supposedly this issue has been handled, though I'm not sure I believe that. You can get the base game for $7.49, or the complete edition for $12.49.
NBA 2K14 - We would all know I was lying if I tried to give any information out about his game aside from this: it's $14.99.
Wargame - A pretty interesting modern-esque strategy game set during the latter years of the cold war, which is why it's intriguing, because of the type of technology involved. You can get the recent Airland Battle for $9.99, the previous European Escalation for $1.99, or both in a pack for $11.00. I think I'll pick up that $2 game...
Flash Sales
The Cave - A fun looking adventure game from Double Fine. It's $3.74.
Lost Planet 3 - The multiplayer game is $12.49 today, though none of the DLCs are on sale.
Unepic - The 2D indie RPG is $3.99 today. Just be aware that it is an early access game.
Bastion - Reviewed! I absolutely recommend this isometric RPG. It's quite a fun game, but you can learn more about that from the written and video reviews. It's a very, very low $2.24 today.
Since the last post you could have purchased Maia for $18.74, Substance Designer for $33.99, Euro Truck Simulator 2 for $6.24, and Cook, Serve, Delicious for $2.49.
Community's Choice
Tower Wars - A cute little tower defense game that seems geared towards multiplayer (solo exists, but it was added later). It's $1.99 for a single copy, though it can be purchased in a bundle to cut your cost.
Previously it was Guacamelee for $3.74.
***
Okay, that's it for today. Really, the only things I find myself advocating are to pick up Hotline Miami and Bastion (if it's still up), as well as to give Van Helsing a shot. You should probably stay away from Dark Souls, and Killing Floor is a maybe depending on if you have people to play it with or not. The first Wargame isn't too bad of a risk either at $2. I'll see you when we do this all again tomorrow.
