Sales on Steam

[Signa]

Ok, this is totally out of place given the nature of 90% of the threads that get deleted here, but here goes anyway.

Steam is constantly having sales, and one right now is good enough to mention so that the rest of you who are interested can grab some great, cheap games legally. I pretty much vowed to not buy digitally distributed games, because I like my game boxes, but some times the deal is nice enough that I'm willing to forgo my usual habits.

All Half-life games are 66% off right now, and I just bought Half-life 1, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Team Fortress Classic for a little over $5. I also grabbed HL2:DM for a buck-fifty. I didn't look to see when the sale is over, but I would hop on this if you are even remotely interested. These are gaming's best here for chump change. Compared to a run to McDonalds, this is still a steal.

You are welcome to post any other deals you see on Steam here if you want to share. I'll update the thread if I purchase anything again.

[mountain_rage]

They have got me buying games I don't even have time to play because the deals are so good. Its actually gotten me in the habit of checking their weekend deal, because most of the time they are damn well worth it.

[Signa]

Sacred Gold is $5. Get it NOW!!!! GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!


To the uninitiated, Sacred quickly became one of my favorite RPG series for its wonderful reimaging of the Diablo-style hack-n-slash games. What I find refreshingly unique with this game is that none of the characters have MP for their magic skills. All your casting is controlled by recharge rates on each of your skills. The better your character gets, the more you are able to reduce your recharge rates.

One thing that I don't like about the system is that you can REALLY fuck up your character if you don't know what you are doing. Each time you learn a new level in a skill, you increase its damage as well as its recharge time. You can over-learn a skill to the point where you only get one shot at the skill before you have to wait too long to cast it again, and then those bosses can get their punches in while you are helpless.

Anyway, to summarize: If you like Diablo and/or open RPGs like Morrowind, BUY THIS GAME. While the game isn't a clone of either franchise, some points from each will stick out stronger than the other at different times. I find the game to be greater than the sum of its parts.

EDIT: I just typed up that quick review because I didn't know how long the game was going to be on sale for memorial day weekend, but it turns out that the game is on sale until the 18th (by the looks of it anyway...) so now I have a little more time to get into a few more details.

At first glace, the game is Diablo. You have a character, in an isometric view that you can move around and to click on enemies and attack. Diablo fans may be disappointed to find that the world is not randomly generated, but should be impressed to see the extremely large world map. It makes Morrowind added to Oblivion look a bit small. It certainly, if nothing else, makes Diablo feel like a demo in terms of world size.

I touched a little on the skill system on the first half of my post, but I'll continue it some more.

Your skills are divided into 3 categories: Attributes, Skills, and Combat Arts.

Attributes: Veteran RPG players should have no problem understanding this one. It's your character's physical stats. How strong you are, how much health you have, your mental abilities, etc, etc. Each time you level up, you get one point to put into your character. It sounds really crummy when you have 6 attributes, but all your attributes do level up, but you get to put that *extra* point into what you want to focus on.

Skills: Skills aren't what you may think of when regarding most RPGs. Skills in Sacred are better thought of as "proficiencies," because they will boost your ability to handle weapons, armor, riding horses, and any number of things. Say you are a mage with fire, ice, wind and earth magic. Taking Fire Skills allows your character to deal more damage and recharge your fire skills faster. You get to add up to 8 different skills as you level up, but you have to wait pretty long to get the 8th one. Just make sure you choose a skill you are going to stick with, because taking riding might be great for a while, but if you stop using your horse, then it was a wasted skill.

Combat Arts: Combat arts are basically what RPG players think of when some one refers to skills. They are your fighter's whirling blade attacks, or your mage's ice storms. Anything that isn't a basic attack is your Combat arts. What is unique to Sacred and combat arts is that you never learn them from leveling up like you would in Diablo. You have to find your Combat Arts by getting random drops. It kinda sucks, but there is a good reason for it, and I think it works better in the end. As I mentioned before, you can over-level your skills. Each time a Combat art drops from an enemy, you have a choice of learning it or keeping it as a token. All classes combat arts will drop, but you can trade them in multiplayer, or take them to a special store keeper and exchange them for a combat art that is applicable to your class. The reason why you might want to hold on to a Combat Art token is because you can insert them into your weapons and armor slots. If you insert a token into a slot on your equipment, you will gain the damage bonuses from the extra level without getting the full penalty of the recharge time. Two players could have 5 levels in the same Combat art, but the one who equiped his tokens instead of learning them permenetly will be able to use his skill much more frequently.

Anyway, I can't recommend this game strongly enough, especially at the price it is at. Even if you are unsure of whether or not you will like the game, it's almost impossible to say you wasted $5 if you didn't like it. Just like with the Half-life deal before, just compare it to a run to McDonalds, and see how much you really think it's not worth it.

[Signa]

Steam is selling Braid for $5 this week. If you don't know about it, I encourage you to find out. It has received plenty of critical acclaim, and is more than worth the purchase.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also going for $10. I've not played it, but I constantly hear it was one of the best Star Wars games.

[mountain_rage]

Just bought Braid earlier today, have yet to play it. Was looking at Star Wars, but I probably should not buy any more lengthy games at this time. Have to start studying.

[Mels_Smileys45]

I bought a Boom Stick and a bag of weed using steam. NICE service, quick shipping, great dealer! A+++++

[mountain_rage]

Just played the first two levels of Braid, the game is bloody brilliant! Was always turned off from the appearance of the graphics, but its really one of the best platform/puzzle games I've ever played.

[Signa]

It's a shame it's as short as it is. But yeah, I got to test the title update for it. I'm glad that I was finally able to pick it up at a price that wasn't ripping myself off. When you've beaten the game twice over as your job, it's hard to want to pay even half price for a game, even if you liked it enough to play it more.

[Signa]

Gary's Mod is on sale for $5 this week. Have fun doing insane shit with it for no purpose.

[moneoa]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also going for $10. I've not played it, but I constantly hear it was one of the best Star Wars games.
I do not lie when I say Knights was better written and more entertaining than the prequels

[Hath]

KOTOR is just plain awesome. I played it on the XBOX, and was one of the best I've ever played.

[Signa]

Damn steam is just pouring out the deals lately.

Unreal Tournament 3 is free this weekend

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is $5.

[mountain_rage]

No only is UT3 free to play till Sunday, its only 8 bucks, definitely worth it. Haven't played this version as much as the last ones, but you can't go wrong, its a solid shooter for 8$.

Id get Monkey Island but they totally butchered the character models on the remake. Guybrush should look like a stupid pretty boy, not a little flamboyant french twarp.

[Signa]

Madballs in Babo: Invasion is $8. It's a very solid Third person shooter with several character balls you can play as, each with their own weapons, stats, and unlockables.

[Signa]

Looks like F.E.A.R. 2 and its DLC are 50% off this weekend, making them $25 and $5, respectively. I'll be passing on this one, but some one else may want to know about it.

[Signa]

Left 4 Dead $15!!!!! Left 4 Dead $15!!!!! Left 4 Dead $15!!!!!
If you don't buy this one, you are retarded! Even if you weren't happy with the original campaigns, all the user-made ones are insane! I've only downloaded a few, and I've effectively doubled the game content. Some of them even implement features that didn't seem likely with the original game. I got a NES Zelda based campaign, which features the first two dungeons from the NES. The game allows you to map out the dungeon just like in Zelda, and you can look at the ceiling to check the ever-growing map. It will follow you around so that you can see what room you are in 'n' stuff. Pure awesome.

[mountain_rage]

Damn it! There goes 15$

[Signa]

You need to give me your Steam ID MR, We can play!

[Signa]

Ugh, this one pisses me off because I JUST bought it. I thought it was too old to see another sale, so I spent double on it.

Audiosurf is $5 right now. It's a very unique game that allows you to play your music as a puzzle game. There is tons of videos on Youtube if you want to know more, and I highly recommend this one.

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus and Oddysee are a little under $6 as a compilation pack. I've not played them, but I've heard constant good reviews on them.

[mountain_rage]

Ugh, this one pisses me off because I JUST bought it. I thought it was too old to see another sale, so I spent double on it.

Audiosurf is $5 right now. It's a very unique game that allows you to play your music as a puzzle game. There is tons of videos on Youtube if you want to know more, and I highly recommend this one.

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus and Oddysee are a little under $6 as a compilation pack. I've not played them, but I've heard constant good reviews on them.

Had Audiosurf for a long time now, bought it on sale a year or two ago, great game, should keep you entertained for at least 10 hours.

[Signa]

Empire: Total War is on sale for $25 until the 12th. I've never played the series, but I've heard constant rave reviews, and the metascore is 90/100. It really doesn't look like something I'll be buying, but I'm sure there will be others with a different opinion.

[Signa]

Hitman Collection is $10. 3 games for $10. Awesome!

[Signa]

It's THQ week on Steam. It's 50% off of THQ games, but only one game per day. Titan's Quest was 50% off yesterday, and I'm ashamed I only found out 40 minutes before the sale was over. Today is Company of Heroes. I don't know what is going to be tomarrow, but the THQ game list on steam is as follows:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Full Spectrum Warrior, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, Titan Quest, Titan Quest - Immortal Throne, Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Gold Edition, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War - Soulstorm, Frontlines™: Fuel of War™, Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II

I don't know which ones are going to be on sale, but it probably will be any one of these each day.

[Signa]

Saint's Row 2 is going for $7.50 right now. The PC version is a little buggy, but it's totally worth dealing with those headaches for the rest of the game.

[mountain_rage]

Saint's Row 2 is going for $7.50 right now. The PC version is a little buggy, but it's totally worth dealing with those headaches for the rest of the game.

Haven't heard much about it being buggy, from what I hear it just requires a really good computer to run. It was a quick port with poor optimization and adjustment settings. Looking at the customer reviews, I'd say that everyone with an appropriate computer gave it a 9 or 10 and everyone else gave it a poor review.

[mountain_rage]

Everything Half Life 55.8% off. Half Life series is a must own for anyone who likes FPS, it is the pc FSP series. If you haven't played half life 2 yet, you should get it for the gravity gun alone.

[Signa]

Assassin's Creed is $5 until Thursday.

[Signa]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is $5 this week.

[mountain_rage]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is $5 this week.

Game was glitchy, and they cut out the ability to drive which makes traveling around a time consuming task. Although for 5$ its worth it, had they not taken out driving the game would of been epic.

[Signa]

The Witcher is $20 for their mid-week sale. Not the most insane deal posted here, but anyone who doesn't own it might find this a nice alternative to retail. It's the Enhanced Director's cut, so apparently that's worth $40 normally.

[Signa]

Well, if anyone gets this message in the next 50 minutes, Steam is offering Team Fortress 2 for $2.50. The game is worth 10x that amount, so go buy it!

Edit:....8 minutes remain...

[mountain_rage]

Already have it, played it once, never really got into it.

[Signa]

Mass Effect is going for $10 this weekend. You know you want it!

[mountain_rage]

Mass Effect is going for $10 this weekend. You know you want it!

Way ahead of you, gotta stop buying these games, I have no time to play them.

[Atheist Icon]

Earthworm Jim

It's not on sale, $20, for earthworm jim, earthworm jim2, and earthworm jim 3d, who remembers playing the game on their sega or SNES?

[Signa]

Hearts of Iron 3 is $15 for the mid-week sale

Battle Stations Midway and Pacific are $10 and $17.50 respectively

[mountain_rage]

WEEKEND DEAL

Crysis $15

I'm not buying this one, I have enough FPS.

[Signa]

Hmmm, tempting...

I think I will pass. I've never played the game, and I have little desire to do so now. You know it will come out as a gold-pack with both games for $20 eventually, in a box, so I'll probably pick that up if and when that comes out. As it is now, I've not even gone through the effort to pirate the game, so that should tell you how much interest I have in it.

[Atheist Icon]

WEEKEND DEAL

Crysis $15

I'm not buying this one, I have enough FPS.

And it scales well...pfffft...plays like shit on a 400-4000 dollar machine...there still isn't a card and system that plays it with everything turned on....i feel sorry to who ever bought it and thought their machine could play that game.

[mountain_rage]

And it scales well...pfffft...plays like shit on a 400-4000 dollar machine...there still isn't a card and system that plays it with everything turned on....i feel sorry to who ever bought it and thought their machine could play that game.

My machine plays it and its 5 years old, people and their computer spec phobias, I just don't get it. Look at these specs, it would run on a pentium 4, absolutely no reason to complain about this game. The fact that it can be scaled up in the future is a benefit, not something to complain about.

Minimum:


Supported OS: Windows XP or Windows Vista***
Processor: 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster* (Vista)
Memory: 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Graphics: 256 MB**
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (included)
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Hard Drive: 12GB
* Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or faster.
** Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported. Integrated chipsets are not supported. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.
*** Currently only the 32-bit version is available.


ANOTHER WEEKEND DEAL Overlord games 75% off. The first one was great IMO, 2nd one have no idea, but for $8 I'm buying it.

[Signa]

Nice! That is one I will pick up. I don't know if it's my kind of game, but it's $8.75 for the whole pack.

[Atheist Icon]

My machine plays it and its 5 years old, people and their computer spec phobias, I just don't get it. Look at these specs, it would run on a pentium 4, absolutely no reason to complain about this game. The fact that it can be scaled up in the future is a benefit, not something to complain about.

Minimum:


Supported OS: Windows XP or Windows Vista***
Processor: 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster* (Vista)
Memory: 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Graphics: 256 MB**
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (included)
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Hard Drive: 12GB
* Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or faster.
** Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported. Integrated chipsets are not supported. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.
*** Currently only the 32-bit version is available.


ANOTHER WEEKEND DEAL Overlord games 75% off. The first one was great IMO, 2nd one have no idea, but for $8 I'm buying it.

Processor:
AMD Phenom(tm) 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory:
6142MB RAM
Hard Drive:
1.75 TB
Video Card:
ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Monitor:
27.5" Hanns-G
Operating System:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7100) (7100.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700)
Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX

And my system still will not play it at 1920x1200, with all the eye candy on. There is a joke in the video card world, "Does it play Crysis?"

[mountain_rage]

Processor:
AMD Phenom(tm) 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory:
6142MB RAM
Hard Drive:
1.75 TB
Video Card:
ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Monitor:
27.5" Hanns-G
Operating System:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7100) (7100.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700)
Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX

And my system still will not play it at 1920x1200, with all the eye candy on. There is a joke in the video card world, "Does it play Crysis?"

Turn off some the eye candy... Oh noes the developers made it so it will improve with my system upgrades, those bastards.

[Atheist Icon]

How you dispute the fact that it was a poorly optimized game, I cannot understand. Far Cry 2, built off the same engine a year later, plays 100 times (overstatement) better on my system. According to the specs you posted, my computer should be more than able to play the game at the resolution of MY monitor. Hell even at the Recommend Specs, I still should have been able to play with everything turned on.
Recommended:

Supported OS: Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory: 2.0 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar

Considering that in 2007 the 8800 series were still the supreme cards to have. The game was poorly, poorly, poorly optimized.

Just because people are complacent with playing on a 17" monitor using a computer from a couple years back, and a video card that plays games(albeit with everything turned off), does not mean the game plays well. Sorry.

On another note, pick up your copy of L4D2 on Steam for $5 off the cover price, join the mayhem!

[mountain_rage]

On another note, pick up your copy of L4D2 on Steam for $5 off the cover price, join the mayhem!

Gonna wait for a weekend deal for that one, just got l4d a couple months ago. From what I hear they still haven't given anyone lobby leader kick, which is seriously needed. Other than that the demo seemed like a good game, hoping they improved the infected physics, far too many times it didn't register attacks properly.

[Atheist Icon]

Gonna wait for a weekend deal for that one, just got l4d 2 a couple months ago. From what I hear they still haven't given anyone lobby leader kick, which is seriously needed. Other than that the demo seemed like a good game, hoping they improved the infected physics, far too many times it didn't register attacks properly.

I got L4D last year when it came out...beautifully fun game, played non-stop on the night it was released until I had to go to work...that was a horrible day...doing the same thing tonight...hopefully the decrypting thing will gooooooooo faster....taken 10 min to get to 50%.....come on steam, go!!!

[Atheist Icon]

98% *clapping like a retard getting an ice cream*...heheheehe

[Atheist Icon]

Turn off some the eye candy... Oh noes the developers made it so it will improve with my system upgrades, those bastards.

A video card just came out today that can play Crysis, well Crysis:Warhead, same poorly designed engine, and it can play it at 2560x1600 no less....with AA turned off of course.

http://hardocp.com/images/articles/1258499856BbWqNvEaGR_5_3.gif

w00t!! All I need is a $600 video card to play Crysis!! A game made 2 years ago!

Full review of the video card here:
http://hardocp.com/article/2009/11/18/amd_ati_radeon_hd_5970_video_card_review/1

And just in case you want to call BS on the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067950589&name=Radeon%20HD%205970

Atleast you can play any other game on 3 30" monitors, monitors set on portrait, running at 5760x1200....with one card.

http://hardocp.com/images/news/1258444975N69Y5JGcMV_1_2_l.jpg

[mountain_rage]

A video card just came out today that can play Crysis, well Crysis:Warhead, same poorly designed engine, and it can play it at 2560x1600 no less....with AA turned off of course.



w00t!! All I need is a $600 video card to play Crysis!! A game made 2 years ago!

Full review of the video card here:
http://hardocp.com/article/2009/11/18/amd_ati_radeon_hd_5970_video_card_review/1

And just in case you want to call BS on the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067950589&name=Radeon%20HD%205970

Atleast you can play any other game on 3 30" monitors, monitors set on portrait, running at 5760x1200....with one card.



Seriously, you have a major issue if you see it as a negative that they future proofed a game. If you couldn't scale it down then I can see your issue, but you can so there is nothing to complain about. The models created during game development have a much higher polygon count than the models used in game. Same thing with textures, they are downgraded to work on slower machines. For models they are ran through software that tries to replicate the detail using bump mapping, similar processing is done on textures. What they did with Crysis I assume is give you more options, and higher level of detail possible than other games. You can't run it with all the eye candy not because it isn't optimized, but because they are giving you higher quality graphics. Id software did this when they released Doom 3.

Also, Farcry 2 uses the Dunia engine, a derivative of the original Cryengine, not Cryengine 2, which is used in Crysis. If you take the time to compare the two you will notice that many effects are faked in Farcry 2, while in Crysis they render many effects on the fly. The vegetation, water, lighting is far more dynamic in Crysis.

Seriously, what is so wrong with making a game that has effects too advanced for current hardware if those effects don't need to be turned on?

Here watch this video, it compares the differences in Cryengine 2 to Cryengine 3 which is more or less an optimized cryengine 2 for consoles with faked effects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WJG14uLA3k&feature=player_embedded

[Signa]

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! is $7.50. Yes, that is a game title, or not, if you want to get picky about the number of "A's" and their capitalization.

[Excrement_Cranium]

It wasn't a sale, but I just snatched up Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.

steam ID: b00ms71ck
those are zeroes, not ohs...

[Atheist Icon]

It wasn't a sale, but I just snatched up Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.

steam ID: b00ms71ck
those are zeroes, not ohs...


Atheist Icon or |ES|Atheist Icon, I forget which.

That is if you can stomach me enough to play the same game with me. And that goes for any one else that plays, CS:S, TF2, L4D, L4D2, etc. Do not ask me to play COD:MW2, I am thoroughly pissed with that game and I will not play it again. I cannot even get my money back for that POS game.

[Signa]

Neither work, Atheist Icon. Mine is Signa8

[mountain_rage]

Mine is left___behind, that is 3 underscores.

[Signa]

You're Left___behind?! I thought you were from the Escapist! I have a thread running there for the same purpose, and I've had several people just blindly add me because of it. I even searched their user registry and found a Left Behind there when you added me!

Well, then, I guess I'll be jumping into your games a lot more now!