Crysis

No, you’re not seeing things. I actually am reviewing Crysis. You see, back when the game originally came out I couldn’t play it, largely because at the time (2007) I was using a computer built in’05 that couldn’t run anything post Xbox 360/PS3 release (I had to upgrade my video card to play Mass Effect, damn you Shader 3.0!). The things I heard at the time were mostly related to stuff like Crysis being a beautiful game that would melt your PC, including it becoming somewhat of a benchmarking tool for PC comparisons. Time went on and I eventually upgraded my PC to what I’m using now (i7 950, GTX 295, 12 GB DDR3), which should have been enough to run the game without issue, considering it was built 2 years after Crysis’ release and with near top of the line components. An earlier attempt to play the game, long before I started these reviews, was aborted because it didn’t like my Mouse 3 on my Logitech mouse/keyboard combo, and considering Mouse 3 is the default to use your special abilities, that’s kind of a big deal. So the game sat in my Steam backlog until now.

So this is what people mean by Crysis' open environments...Not bad, not bad at all.

What brought it back up were a few articles I read about how awesome the game is in retrospect, including one at PC Gamer and another with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. The jist of the articles focus on what you can do in the first half of the first game, before things come out that make it less entertaining, and before the tragedies of the 2^nd and 3^rd entries in the series (to be completely honest, I didn’t even know the 3^rd one had come out until several months after the fact, such was the lack of interest in it). One of the articles was even called something along the lines of “The Campaign for a Better Memory of Crysis.” So, new(er) mouse firmly in hand, I thought I should go back and finally, finally give this game a try and figure out just what all the fuss was about, both back when it was released and with this odd resurgence it’s made in the gaming media.

Though my game also came to an end when I couldn't look straight up to shot down this extremely buggy helicopter

So the first thing I want to do when I move out of my background paragraphs and onto the game of Crysis itself is not talk about Crysis. Instead, I want to talk about Halo. Yes, the game that made the Xbox a viable platform way back in the early 2000s. Why do I want to talk about Halo you ask? That’s because there are plenty of similarities in the design of the two games, the pacing, and just when the two go from being enjoyable experiences to being terrible. That’s right, the single player of the original Halo is a horrible game, and if it weren’t for the multiplayer to expose console gamers to the idea of networked gaming, I don’t think the series would have survived. Just in case you’ve never played the original game, here’s how it goes: Halo starts with a bang as you evacuate a damaged human warship, crashing on a structure known as the Halo. You spend the first half of the game battling in various locals, both attempting to find out what this ring structure out in space is there for, and to foil the plans of the alien race that threatens humanity’s very existence. You’ll fight in a space ship, across a beautiful beach, down valleys covered in forests, above snow covered peaks, and even inside the mechanical structure of the ring itself, all in a pretty liner, progressive A to B path. You’ll have access to an array of weapons and vehicles, and the enemy will be aggressive enough to pose a challenge.

Then you get to the middle of the game, and that sense of wonder gets replaced with a feeling along the lines of “this is just stupid.” You’ll spend a substantial amount of time wandering around this tower structure where you unwittingly unleash the Flood, the parasitic enemy that threatens all life in the universe with its capability to turn them into mindless mutant zombie things (I think I got lost in this level for about an hour, and never played it again after that first time, even though I replayed the full game, and one time the entire series, at other points with friends). The remainder of the game is spent backtracking through what you’ve accomplished, revisiting many of the places you’ve seen before in your now point B to A journey, until you ultimately end up in the same place you started the game – your space ship (the level is actually called “The Horse You Rode In On”). Both the lame enemy (not as intelligent or coordinated as the first half of the game, just more numerous) and the lack of original level design contribute to the feeling that the game is not what you were led to believe by the first few missions –  becoming really redundant, boring, and ultimately, unenjoyable. It is one of those games where the total duration exceeds the parts that are actually enjoyable by nearly double. This feeling of disappointment and the sense that someone, somewhere, didn’t know when they should stop, are the kinds of things I want you to keep in mind as I discuss Crysis proper.

Actually, the most memorable part of this game might be the Jason Statham knock of character aptly named Psycho.

Crysis takes place in the (now) not so distant future. An island near the Philippines has been invaded by North Korean forces. You take on the role of Nomad, one of an elite group of soldiers (complete with equipped nano suit) who are dropped into this potential warzone to rescue a few hostages that had been on an archeological dig on the island. While this seems like a simple rescue mission, things go south pretty quickly, starting with your separation from the rest of your squad. You make your way around the island, attempting to reunite with members of your squad, only to discover that most of them don’t make it. You’ll have to make your way through various North Korean outposts and checkpoints, disable jammers or search for intel, and even prep a harbor for a full scale counter invasion.

While I still maintain that video games do not cause people to become violent, I think there is an exception when the topic is game developers who put in frustrating, annoying, or just plain pointless jobs in their games.

Shortly after that point, and in Halo like fashion, the game makes a shift from interesting to, well, bad. Savor your last few levels of infiltrating enemy buildings or romping around in a tank, because as soon as you enter the dig site, you’re entering a part of the game better not played. You’ll get one last boss fight against the evil Korean general, then the mountain you’re inside will start collapsing, and the only viable route is to enter “The Cave.” While the archeologists refer to it as a temple, and the Koreans say it’s a huge power source (hence U.S Government interest), it’s actually an alien structure. Nomad slowly comes to this realization, and eventually has the epiphany that this many critters can only be an invasion force. You know this because he narrates the *entire* level, done in the guise of providing his thoughts for his suit’s recording devices, but mostly it’s to guide the player with useful tips, like “I feel I should keep fighting the current,” that seem so obvious and yet so dumb that you want to punch a game designer in the face. Once you escape the cave, your free roaming missions are done with. Now you proceed in a very liner fashion though the few remaining levels, including a mission where you must escort one of the two remaining members of your squad from fire to fire so that he does not freeze to death in the now ice covered island. Add in a mission where you take the gunners seat in a Humvee, one somewhat enjoyable one where you get to fly a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing), which is the only sci-fi vehicle in the game, and cap it all off with a final mission aboard a ship that’s 15 minutes of “go here, listen to this character be a jerk, then go of there” and 10 minutes of gameplay (including back to back boss fights), and you’ve just made it through Crysis.

While I still maintain that video games do not cause people to become violent, I think there is an exception when the topic is game developers who put in frustrating, annoying, or just plain pointless jobs in their games.

What really makes Crysis special (which is a stretch of the word) is the nanosuit. The suit gives you 4 special abilities or powers, depending on what you want to call them – Speed, Strength, Cloak, and Armor. In addition to your health (which, it’s important to note, regenerates rather quickly), you have an energy bar. That energy, predictably, fuels your special powers. You can use it to either maintain a faster than average movement speed with an optional turbo boosted sprint; increase your strength so you can leap walls, throw items/enemies with deadly force, or one punch kill enemies; go invisible for a time; or use your energy pool like body armor. The most memorable (in a good way) part about this game is combing the different abilities to put on something like a ballet of movement. Sprint towards a fence with maximum Speed, then switch to Strength to jump it. Once over the fence, Cloak to get into position to grab an enemy, switch to Armor, and use the enemy as a temporary shield to enhance your already enhanced health.

The problem with this is the amount of energy you have struck me as being very, very low, particularly in regards to Cloak. When cloaked, your energy will drain at a different rate depending on what stance you are in and how fast you’re moving. Even when prone, I felt like I couldn’t cover enough ground when cloaked to make it the preferred means of infiltration, as I would too often need to switch to something else to regenerate my energy. Speed was also a nice ability, but as with Cloak, it seemed like it drained too fast (to be fair, you do travel at light speed when sprinting, but you don’t cover a lot of ground), and the passive speed boost meant not having armor equipped if an enemy shot you. Further, you really needed the passive speed boost to not feel like you were wading through molasses the whole game, though my extensive time in Warframe may have screwed up my sense of scale as well. Strength proved most useful for jumping fences or on top of buildings, as well as punching or throwing enemies to dispatch them quietly. While I attempted to be stealthy at first, I pretty quickly came to the realization that it was far better to dash in and out of combat, cloaking with whatever energy you have left, and let your health regenerate while enemies comb the area for you. That is to say, while the game has the potential to be awesome in ways such as jumping over Humvee’s speeding towards you, turning around, and shoot the gas can, or punching out the edges of a building, in reality that’s just fancy marketing snippets that you won’t recreate during the regular course of the game.

The abilities in this game sound more impressive then they really are.

On the gun play side of things the game is pretty weak. You begin with 3 weapons – a SCAR rifle, pistol, and your fists. You’ll quickly run out of ammo for your SCAR and be forced to switch to the North Korean’s FK7 (or some similarly named thing), though over time you’ll also find a shotgun and, around 40% of the way through the game, pretty much nothing but SMGs. Sniper rifles are extremely rare, but they do exist. Generally I preferred to hold onto a sniper and assault rifle (you are limited to two primary weapons at a time), but without a way to hold your breath to improve accuracy (going prone helped, but didn’t eliminate the sway) it was rarely used. That’s a shame, because a sniper would have really come in handy to do things like take out the gunner on a patrol boat. Around the half way mark you’ll be introduced to the very unimpressive chain gun, as well as the more memorable, but only found in 3 spots in the whole game, gauss rifle. You’ll also gain access to two special guns in the game. One has regenerating ammo and is used exclusively in the mission where you must escort a squad mate, while the other launches a small nuke and is only useable on the final boss.  Out of all the weapons in the game, I’d have to say the gauss rifle was the only one that stuck out as being somewhat unique, but that’s largely because of its ability to two shot the largest non-boss enemy you’ll face. Furthermore, while weapons can be upgraded with things like different scopes, flashlights/lasers, and other attachments, most things didn’t stand out (I could put a sleeper dart on my rifle and knock people out with it, which would be fine if it didn’t also immediately put every guard in camp in high alert the one time I tried to use it, whereas the only thing the flashlight did for me was alert nearby enemies of my stealthed presence).

When it comes to the enemies you’ll quickly learn that the North Koreans put up a good fight. They will send up the alarm if you’re detected, calling in Humvee like vehicles with 50 caliber turrets as backup, as well as spawn significantly more enemies. The camps and outposts you’ll need to assault turn out to be crawling with guards when that happens, and the combination of how many shots those soldiers can take and how much damage they deal makes them a formidable opponent. Heavy enemies, including those with their own nanosuits, make an appearance towards the later portion of the first half of the game, and they can be a challenge to take down. On the other hand, the aliens usually come at you in groups of 2-5, and are pretty quickly taken down with the types of weapons you’ll have at that point in the game. They don’t synergize well, and instead will fly up into the air and then make a dash at you, or hop onto an elevated area and begin to shoot you. The largest threat that they pose is getting within melee range, but since their dash can be side stepped and it only takes 2 shotgun rounds to take them down, they are absolutely not a threat.

Even though there are only 4 of them and I'm playing a killing machine in an invisible suit, this situation could go south very quickly.

The final feature worth covering in this game is the one thing it does really well – create an open environment with a stunning level of detail and a decent physics engine. Yet even here there are a few caveats. First, Crysis is not an open world game like, say, GTA is an open world game. There are levels with loading points and distinctive boundaries to the maps. It’s just rather than making your way down the corridors of a science facility, trudging through a cave, or navigating the ruins of a war torn city with a tall skyline and rubble limiting your line of sight, you’re navigating valleys or beach fronts, and so it is a much more open feeling area. And the game is, for the most part, pretty. Enemies look pretty bland until you grab them by the throat and see the look of terror on their faces, but the foliage is what stands out the most in my memory. It is a nice touch, but while graphics are a nice thing to have, they can’t make a game on their own. You need some deeper substance (i.e. gameplay matters).

I know the previous paragraph made it sounds like I was getting ready to wrap it up, but I have one more jab to get in on this game, which involves covering some of the other miscellaneous issues I experienced that just made the game unpleasant (and technically these aren’t features, so I’ll use that loophole from the previous paragraph to my advantage). The first issue is performance. I’ve covered how Crysis was used as a benchmarking tool because of its ability to “melt rigs,” and while my computer is much more powerful than those in common usage when it was released (my computer is actually pretty far behind the curve now), there were still a few points that caused problems, seemingly without reason. The first issue involves the loading screen when you start up the game (really?) that would have my video card rendering 4000 FPS and squealing like a jet engine. It’s an issue I’ve experienced in some games that can be corrected by enabling Vsync, but it is annoying. The second involves two other points where I would get intense stuttering that made the game almost unplayable. You might thing these would be related to extreme draw distances, and while the first – on the final mission before you enter the cave and the game takes a major dive in quality – this could have been the case, the second time it happened was during the 15 minutes of running around on an aircraft carrier during the final level – indoors! I don’t know, maybe trying to put all those pipes and high polygon models in one tight corridor is an issue, but to not experience problems during the rest of the game but have the issue there was very, very surprising. The final two complains boil down to control settings. Usually I’m not one to favor toggle settings for aim or crouch, but some gamers do, which is why games will give you the option to change this. Crysis doesn’t. You’re stuck using toggle aim during the whole game, as well as dealing with a hold down crouch. That crouch wouldn’t be too bad if I didn’t have to use it to make stealthing around even plausible. Thankfully I was able to find a script for a config file to fix that, but any time I have to start modding a game to make it work or insert features that should be basic options, it’s an automatic deduction in my book (I’m looking at you Dark Souls!). I should also toss in a nod to broken Alt+Tab, just for kicks.

The foliage is probably the most impressive part of this game.

To bring things full Halo, err, circle, I’d just like to say that Crysis is a surprisingly disappointment and underwhelming game. Aside from the graphics, which are perhaps the only thing that could mark this as an above average title, I see no real reason to fondly remember it, despite what other review sites might suggest. The nano suit, a key feature in the game, feels more like an add on that a central aspect of the game where proper use can turn certain defeat into miraculous victory, and aside from being able to pull off a few tricks like scale a building, I’d say it’s not even worth was of time to switch out of anything besides armor. The Korean enemies are generally enjoyable in the way that they search for you, though they can quickly overwhelm and are so damage resist that you’d think they have an improved version of your nano suit on (the Korean General boss is extremely powerful, and I found the best technique was to hide under a bridge until his mini gun spooled down, but I certainly couldn’t do the same amount of damage to him he could do to me), which is acceptable in that it can make the game a challenge, but also disappointing that things like headshots don’t seem to scale well, particularly since that would have put some importance on improving your style of play. Furthermore, whatever good graces the game builds up during the first half is quickly lost during the second half, when you switch from an “open” environment where stealth is an “option,” to one that locks you in a narrow path at a pace you really can’t do anything about, and only serves to further negate the little that the nano suit adds to the game. It’s not to say that linearity is bad (most games are linear, yet they still manage to be enjoyable), but something about the jarring transition loses the player. Even the story is not engaging, particularly as you watch the cold, calculating scientist (who just lost her father but has no emotion in her voice whatsoever) scold the military leader about his predictable plan to nuke the island to destroy the aliens. It’s all just…bad. It’s a real shame, because while I was aware of some of these issues going into it, I was still hoping I would really enjoy this game, and that ultimately wasn’t the case. In the end, this is not a title you should pick up for more than $5, and hopefully you’ll be able to make it through the 11 or so hours it takes (keep in mind I tried stealth in a lot of that), because when it boils down to it, the game is at best…average – 5 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 5/10

Suggested Price: $5

***

For more Crysis, check out this collection screenshots otherwise unused in this review. Click any image for an enlarged version.

Steam Holiday Sale 2014

Hey there everyone! I know some of you have gotten used to the idea of me covering sales with my recommendations of what to buy. Unfortunately, I will be unavailable throughout much of this sale (10 days out of the 15 the sale is on for). That's a pretty good reason for me not being able to post on a regular basis, so I figure I'll just have to write this one off. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but you can still look through my list of reviews to see if one I've covered has come up.

I'm hoping to get a regular review or two up in the mean time, as I just completed Crysis last week, and still have XCOM almost ready to go (waiting for the enemy to take his turn). Otherwise, for a full sale review, you'll have to wait until the summer sale.

Steam Exploration Sale 12-1-14

Welcome once again to another day of deals! Well, sort of deals, but more on that below.

48 Hour Deals:

Child of Light - A fantasy platformer rpg that's been on my list for a while (with a combination like that, it's not hard to see way). Unfortunately, at only 60% off, which makes it $5.99, I feel it's worth it to wait.

Crusader Kings - This grand strategy game always catches my eye, but it's pricey, coming in at $9.99 for the base game and $39.99 for the collection (which is after it's 75% off). An alternative would be to go over to the Humble Bundle Flash bundle where you can get the game and 2 expansions for $16, plus 6 other games, including the reviewed War of the Roses.

XCOM - This is actually my next review, which will probably hit sometime next week. In short, it's a good, though longwinded, tactical strategy game where the goal is to make sure you win the war, not just a particular battle. It's $7.49 for the base game, but $12.49 gets you everything, and considering Firaxis' pricing, that's probably the best you'll get unless they release another expansion.

Tomb Raider - This QTE heavy game keeps dropping in price, which is why it's now $3.99 for the base game and $5.99 for the GOTY edition. Come on Square Enix, knock 1 more dollar off and you've got a sale...

Ryse - Does this game look awesome? Yes! Is it affordable? Not at $25.99!

The Forest - Hey, look another survival game, though this one patterned after Rust rather than Day Z. Either way, it's early access, which mean's it's an automatic no go at $10.04.

Skyrim - The massive fantasy game returns for it's recent sale price of $4.99 for the base game and that stubborn $13.59 for the complete edition, which I've been waiting to hit $10 for far too long.

Wasteland 2 - Another one of those games that looks fantastic, but it's $26.79, so well worth it to wait.

Alien Isolation - Survival horror game set in the alien universe. Good or not, one thing is for certain, it's $24.99.

24 Hour Deals:

Dawn of War - This game is actually an RTS, versus the other Dawn of War titles that were more ARPG (and good at that). Kind of a typical Relic RTS, in terms of mechanics like cover, but with the massiveness that is the Warhammer 40,00 universe. A good game if you like RTS, but it's $10.19.

Portal 2 - Reviewed! While I didn't like this game's design as much as the original, it was still a decent game worth your cash. It's $4.99, but you can get the franchise for $6.24.

Killing Floor - I've logged some time in this game as well, and it's an okay survival game that requires other skilled players to survive. It's the kind of title that if you don't have a good group of friends to play with, it's probably not worth your time or money, whihc would be $4.99 for the base game.

Shadow Run - Two different games here, Returns, and the (now standalone) expansion, Dragonfall. What you want to do is buy Returns only. Why? Because it's $1.49. Who could say no to that?!?

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Platinum! Um, it's $5.99.

Splinter Cell - I've played the earliest titles in the series, and I really liked the stealth in them (though, sometimes in the first one it was a bit too restrictive). Still a solid series worth playing if you want something other than just masacuring everyone. Just be forewarned that the series morphs, starting with conviction it becomes much more action oriented. You can get 4 of the first 5 titles (Pandora Tomorrow isn't on steam for some reason) in a package for $9.99, and get the latest title for $7.49. Not a bad deal on the package, TBH.

Castle Crashers - So this 4 player coop just hit a record low 90% off, making it $1.49. Still not my type of game (see the part about 4 player coop).

Farming Simulator - Having been a farmer, I could discuss the realism aspect, and criticize it for lacking. Or I could just give you the price, because really, no one actually wants to be a farmer. It's $20.09.

Planetary Annihilation - The spiritual seccessor to Total Anihilation and Supreme Commander, this game is finally out of early access and down to a reasonable price. The catch is it's been criticized as being badly bug ridden. That would probably explain why it's $5.99. While I've watched this game for a while, I'm going to have to pass until I hear it gets patch up good.

RPG Maker VX - Perhaps you're a critic and you don't like many of the games out there (pot, meet kettle). In that case, maybe you could try this RPG maker, if you want to go for that genre of games. It's $17.49.

Xtreme Legends Dynasty Warriors 8 Complete Edition - It's $16.99. (sad when you can sum it up in less words than the title)

So that's it for today, and possibly the sale. Not much in the way of good buys, but some decent ones, like XCOM and Portal, with the best deal being Shadow Run hands down. Just in case there is nothing new tomorrow, I'll say I hope you enjoyed these little reviews, and I'll see you again in ~3 weeks!

Steam Exploration Sale 11-30-14

Once again, hello! A lot of good titles on sale today, but, unfortunately, many are still very pricey. Which ones should you invest your hard earned cash on? Read below to find out!

48 Hour Deals

Divinity Original Sin - This looks like a great game, and it's been on my wishlist for a while now. The catch is that even though it's on sale today, this RPG is $26.79, and I'm just not willing to part with that much cash for a hobby/interest/passtime that I'm able to devote less time to than I'd like (read: I already have a big list of unplayed games).

Arma III - The latest version of the military sim series made most popular by Day Z. As with several other games, this one is on sale, but that doesn't mean it's cheap, considering it's $29.99.

Legend of Grimrock II - The first game looked really solid, and is in my library and on my to play list. However, once again it's still pricey, coming in at $17.99.

Train Simulator 2015 - Ah yes, the train sim game. It's $8.24. Not that this includes a couple of different DLCs, making it a good deal (versus paying for everything individually.

Plague Inc. - One of those games that looks cool, but since it's still early access, I'd recommend holding off. It's $10.04.

Saints Row 4 - Now here's a good deal. The fourth entry in the ridiculous sandbox game is now $4.99, with the complete "Game of the Century Edition" coming in at $7.49. Worth it!

Dishonored - This shooter that supposedly contains a lot of choice instead left a lot to be desired, so much so that I gave up on the game after about 20 hours. There are a total of 10 skills, though I'd only ever use 3 of them (I played it stealth style), and generally felt that much of the game was lacking. The main game is $4.99, while the GOTY edition is $10.19. Recommended only if you don't have anything else to play, really.

Gauntlet - Oh man, this one brings back memories of the classic N64/arcade game. Logged so many hours on that action game, just endlessly throwing axes at monsters filing out of a cave... This reboot is $9.99, which puts it up there in price more than I'd like. Maybe I'll just go dust off my 64...

Far Cry - The whole franchise is on sale, ranging from $2.49 for the first two games to $7.49 for the latest one. The real deal is the franchise pack, which, at $9.99, is the same price as the deluxe version of Far Cry 3.

24 Hour Deals

Just Cause - As with Far Cry, the version you want to get (and you do in fact want to get this open world sandbox game), is the collection, which included both games and all DLCs, for $3.79.

Torchlight 2 - Reviewed! Absolutely, 100% recommend this ARPG. It's $4.99 right now, which is it's usual sale price.

The Secret World- This different MMO no longer requires a subscription, but it does still require $11.99.

Grand Theft Auto 4 - Played this sand box game, but it didn't hold my interest. Less engaging that the story for others in the genre, like say Sleeping Dogs. It's $4.99 for the base game, with various other packages available.

Age of Wonders 3 - Uh oh, fantasy oriented 4x strategy game. I could be in trouble here. What's it cost? $13.59? Nope, I'm good now.

Risen 3 - I've not tried this RPG series, but it does look intriguing. It's

Street Fighter 4 - It's $17.19 today.

Transistor - One of several games I've been looking forward to, particularly after the dev's last game (Bastion), but I'm not ready to pick it up at $9.99.

Rocksmith - It's $20.39. Both cable and guitar not included.

Papers Please - A title that I'm currently playing, and would tenatively recommend at today's $2.99 price. You play a border customs agent, with the simple task of admiting or denying people entry into your country. Sounds easy, right? Not so. New rules about what you must look for are added each day, your bills go up, your child needs medicine, and then someone offers you a bribe to let them in. What do you do?

Resident Evil 6 - I've not touched the series since it departed from the classic setup (the two Wii games excluded). I've also heard this game isn't that good. That, plus the $9.99 price tag will keep me away from it.

So that's it for today. As I said, several good games, but many of them still too pricey for my taste. Instead I would recommend Saints Row, Torchlight, and Just Cause for several great games at a price that won't break the bank.

Steam Exploration Sale 11-29-14

Another day, another set of deals. So take a look through the games below, and then leave your comments in the box below that!

48 Hour Deals

7 Days to Die - Early access zombie survival game. Five words that tell you why you should probably avoid this one. It's $12.49.

Fallout - Now here's a deal. Both Fallout 3 and New Vegas are $4.99. I've put a good chuck of time into the former, but never completed it because I lost a harddrive right when I had another quest or 2 to wrap up the main campaign. I like this FPS meets RPG game, and there is tons of stuff to find if you look for it (this is one of those where an actual, physical, guide is recommended). It's now without it's downsides, including various bugs, and it's a big departure from it's predecessors, but worth picking up.

Call of Duty - Reviewed! Everything except Black Ops and Advanced Warfare are $14.99, though most of those titles are lightly discounted at $5 off. Frankly, the last time I played a good entry is this series was COD4, so I highly recommend you skip this all.

The Bindings of Isaac - This is for Rebirth, which is the revamped/expand version of the original, which I played and didn't enjoy. It's got roguelike elements (permadeath, each play through is unique, random items, etc.), but for some reason the game wasn't enjoyable at all. To be honest, I might still be pissed off at it's inclusion as one of the 2011 Christmas sale achievements for free games contest...Anyways, it's a whopping $10.04 right now.

South Park - I've been told this one plays just like an episode of the show, so your interest in it will depend on the actual show itself. I'm not really interested in either, particularly since the game is still $13.59.

The Walking Dead - Reviewed! Got two games here, seasons 1 and 2. I've completed season one and loved it, though the $8.49 is a bit higher than what I got it for, and for that reason maybe worth holding off on. That's actually what I'll be doing with the 2nd season, because it's the same price.

Borderlands - The franchise is on sale for various prices ranging from $4.99 (base game for either 1 or 2), to $39.99 for the most recent title. If you get the first, which I played and greatly enjoyed, even playing it solo and offline, you'll want the GOTY pack. Worth picking up if you've never played the series, but hold off on the latest game until it get's much lower.

Terraria - Reviewed! Fantastic 2D action/adventure/platformer/RPG game that just keeps growing. Dig to hell and back, raid a dungeon, fly to the clouds, craft items of all levels of epicness (Shark gun!). Grow your character, plants, and more. Really a fun game where you can do a ton of different stuff, so a good wiki is highly recommended. It's $1.99, which is as low as I've seen it.

Thief - Now here is a game I've only heard bad things about. It's apparently so restrictive the game feels like one QTE. Can't jump unless prompted to, etc. It's $7.49, which, with that background, sounds like it's still too much.

24 Hour Deals

Dragon Age Origins - I put about 80 hours into this Bioware fantasy RPG. It's a solid game in the typical Bioware style, with the "moral" choices and decision trees that entails. A good game, particularly at $4.99, but you could do better in this genre on today's sale.

Outlast - This survival horror game is usually on sale for today's $4.99, s. don't be in a rush for it.

Octodad - Honestly, when I saw this game in greenlight it just looked so dumb, and I'm not really sure what people saw in it to push it through in the first round of voting. At least it's $3.74 today.

Fable - I never played the fable games, mostly because I didn't have an Xbox (yeah, 2 systems ago...). This anniversary update edition is $17.49, but you'll have to pay more o get some DLC.

NBA2k15 - It's $40.19. Ouch.

Lego Marvel - I was ready to write this title off, but looking at it closer it seems like it could be a bit of fun. It's $4.99 today.

Contagion- This one has been on sale a bunch of the last year or so. Looks like a bland zombie survival game, though it has a smart phone, so there is that. It's $4.99, which I believe is lower than it has been.

Anno 2070 - City building sim that is usually on sale. I've heard good things (aside from the DRM issues when it was released), but haven't gotten a chance to try it yet myself. It's $7.49 for the base game and $12.49 for the complete edition, which is the usual price.

The Witcher - Reviewed! If you look up at Dragon Age and see where I said you could do better, the Witcher is what I'm talking about. I played the first game and loved it, particularly the fact that the decisions mattered much more than a screenshot and blurb of text at the end of the game (that's a direct reference to a "difficult" moral choice in Dragon Age where I sold at a child to demon in return for access to blood magic, but nothing came of it until the very end of the game). Multiple titles on sale here, including the first game for $1.49, the second for $2.99, and the yet to be released third one for $47.99. Absolutely get the first two games, which are the lowest price I've ever seen.

Prison Architect - This is another early access title that I've had gifted to me, but am holding off until it's done. I'll admit, the game looks really interesting with tons of features (really, dogs detect tunneling prisoners? that is awesome!), but I want to play it when it's finished. It's $5.99 for the lowest buy in option, and scales up to $9.99 for the name in the game option.

Rogue Legacy - This roguelike game involves generational gameplay that makes it look really interesting. Also contributing to it's impressiveness is the lower price of $2.99.

So those are the deals today. In general, I'd say it's not as a good of a deal as yesterday, though there are some games worth picking up, such as the Witcher series, Terraria, and the Walking Dead. Now I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

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?

Steam Exploration Sale 11-27-14

Another day, another (double) set of sales! A bigger mix of games today than yesterday, though many titles in the 48 hour category are still quite expensive. Also, yes, there are two sets with two different timings, as well as some hold overs from yesterday. Makes my life interest, at least.

48 Hour Deals:

Bioshock Infinite - While only $7.49, it's still $14.99 for the game + season pass, which is a shame, because I've been looking forward to playing this game for a while. I enjoyed the first game very much, and the 2nd wasn't bad either, what with the mix of gun play and special abilities like shocking enemies, setting them on fire, putting down a decoy, etc. One of the more innovative series out there right now.

Kerbal Space Program - It's still early access, though some major features have been added lately that distance it from a purely sandbox game where you try and create the best space ship you can. Now there are contract missions that you'll use to build up a space program. I'm still interested in this title (someone actually gifted it to me), but I'm waiting for it to be "finished" before I get into it, which would run you $17.99 today.

Banished - This one has been up for sale a few times, but today's $7.99 is the lowest I can recall. It's a city building sim with a much earlier setting than, say, Sim City. Not my type of game, but maybe you'll want to give it a spin.

Wolfenstein The New Order - In today's world of marketing, this is one of the games where I was inundated by info leading up to it's release, then heard nothing about it since it actually came out, which probably doesn't bode well. It is $20.39, so I'll be waiting a while for this one.

Shadow of Mordor - Speaking of games I'll be waiting a while for, this is another. The game looks fantastic (my roommate has it on his PS4 or some console thingy), and he really likes it. It's $33.49 today, hence the delay on my part, otherwise I'd get it.

Ages of Empires II - Eternally on sale during these things, though the classic RTS is a bit less today at $3.99.

Payday 2 - I've put some time into this 4 player coop heist game with RPG elements (classes, skills, xp, etc.). It's a fun game, but I felt the missions scaled poorly versus abilities, because to really be successful you need skills you can't get until you're a higher level. Also, absolutely terrible without good teammates, so make sure you have some friends for this one. It's $7.49, which is reasonably priced.

Total War Rome II - More RTS goodness, though this one apparently had it's fair share of issues when it came out (if memory serves). While 75% off, it's still $14.98.

Spintires - I had never even heard of this game before today, and it's little wonder why. Strikes me as the off road version of Euro Truck Sim 2, so, there's that. Its $10.19 today.

24 Hour Deals:

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Played the demo back when the game came out, and I liked what they were trying to do here. Take 3 talent trees (mage, warrior, rogue) and let the player blend them together to make his or her own class. The game itself, what little you get in the hour long demo, feels a lot like playing WoW on an empty server. It's $9.99 for the complete pack, which is less than what I got it for.

Mount and Blade Warband - I tried a Mount and Blade game once, and it definitely felt like one of those where you need to put a lot of time into it, but the result could be incredible. I'm just not into building my army from the ground up, but I still think this would be a good game. If you're into it, you might want to check out some of the mods out there, even if it's for something as  basic as increased visuals. It's $4.99.

Deus Ex - While I would normal recommend Human Revolution, this is the Director's Cut, and I've been told there are some serious flaws in this game from the original (which wasn't issue free either). So get the game, but be wary. It's $4.99.

Shadow Warrior - Here's one of those titles I've been waiting to see at a price below $10, and today's $3.99 is certainly that. The devs (Flying Wild Hog) previously did Hard Reset, and have a tendency to make shooters that are, well, actually satisfying (take that CoD). What I've seen of this remake looks promising enough that I'm getting it.

Sniper Elite 3 - I've put some time into the 2nd game, which is enjoyable, though either the stealth aspect is lacking or I'm just not so good at it, because often this turns into a shooting match. I'd hold off because it's still $24.99.

Naruto - Nothing to say but the price - $7.49.

Tropico 5 - Nothing like being a Caribbean despot. It's a country building sim, where you need to deal with everything from resources to politics. Not specifically sure about the 5th iteration (I have 4 myself), but it does have potential. However, it's $13.99.

Max Payne 3 - A couple of deals with this one, including a complete package of this one and a franchise pack. Ranges in price from $4.99 to $8.24. I'd say it's worth it at that price, plus I doubt you'll ever see it for less.

Might and Magic Heroes VI - I've not touched this series, but it's heavily discounted at $7.49.

Castlevania 2 - Like the previous game, I've not touched this franchise since the days of the N64, but it's $7.99 right now, which isn't bad.

Risk of Rain - Another one of those games I picked up in a bundle somewhere, but haven't played. Plus, I'm not the biggest fan of roguelikes. But this is $2.49 today.

So that's it for now. Not really anything I'd go for today at this price, besides Shadow Warrior, Kindoms of Amalur Reckoning, and, if you have the friends, Payday 2. But still a couple of items to add to my wishlist, so there's that.