Computer game sales
Each weekend Steam has a special sale on one of their games that is usually 25-75% off. I thought I would post the deal here for people to see, in case the weren't aware, since some really great games tend to go past for really great prices.
This weekend it's the X-Com: Complete Pack for $5. This pack includes X-COM UFO Defense, X-COM Terror From the Deep, X-COM Apocalypse, X-COM Interceptor, and X-COM: Enforcer. These are all of the old X-COM games, if you ever were a fan. The nice thing is that they all will run on XP or Vista (though Terror From the Deep might have problems on Vista). Oh, and of course being steam games, you don't need the disk in to play.
Now, these are old games. The first having been released right at the end of 1993. The last (Enforcer I think) was made in 2001 using the Unreal Tournament engine. Still, $5 may be a good price for nostagia's sake, or to discover what made the series so popular.
There aren't any demos, but you should be able to find plenty of pages that talk about the games. The wikipedia page might be a reasonable place to start (be sure to check the links to the pages for the individual games.
Anyway, I will probably buy it, in part because from time to time I've wanted to go back and play Apocalypse, but it's been too much of a pain to get the original release I have running again on my XP system.
Oh, and ignore the multiplayer and co-op tags on Apocalypse and UFO Defense.
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Re: Steam Weekend Deal
Oh yes, here's a link for this week's steam deal:
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/964/
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
This week's steam deal is Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six: Vegas 2. It's on sale at $10 (regular price $20). I really don't know a whole lot about this specific game. I have played a couple games in the Tom Clancy series. They decent, but not my cup of tea. Like Optiker, I prefer a bit less planning and a bit more running in a shooting stuff. Still, some people really like the series...
http://store.steampowered.com/app/15120/
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
This week we have Mount and Blade for $7.50 (reg $30). This is a pretty cool game featuring first person combat (including what is widely recognized to be the best mounted combat available) with swords, bows, lances, etc. The fighting is lots of fun, but what makes it better is that you fight with a whole mob of other guys against another mob. So, you've got 30 guys on each side or something fighting over a variety of terrain (including castle assaults). To make it even better is that this game has a whole layer on top of the fighting where you run around doing quests and leveling up, and trying to capture castles for your lord, and managing your village, etc.
On the negative side (for some), the game is single player only. But, on the positive side, the system requirements are very low, and a demo is available (it'll show up on the link above).
I bought this game a long time ago as a pre-order that gave you access to the beta, and played a lot of it. I've been intending to get back to it now that the full version has been released, but I just haven't had time yet. Definitely a fun game.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
Also available until the 29th is Mayhem Intergalactic. This is $10 right now (reg $20). There is a demo, which I just played a bit of. It's actually kind of an interesting game. It's a turn based strategy game that takes only about 15 minutes to play. It features multiplayer, although competitive, not co-op. I don't think I'll pick it up, but I did find the demo to be interesting.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
It was on the December deal that time you told us about the sales. It was one I DLed the demo for and tried. I guess I'd compare the mechanics with Thief, and while pleased that my system could handle it fine, didn't feel it was one I'd enjoy playing because of the mechanics, so passed on buying it. I guess what sealed it was the slow repetition rate of attacks, like sword strokes or bow shots. I suppose different settings might have improved it, but I wasn't thrilled enough with it to buy it.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
While the attack speeds do increase as you gain levels in your weapon skill, the combat is meant to be more on the realistic side, so attacks do tend to be a little slower. Plus defense is definitely required in fighting. Still, makes sense not to buy something if it doesn't grab you.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
I'm not good at, and don't much enjoy the more realistic fighting - and guess I'm not all that motivated to spend the time and effort to get better at it. I think that's why I stalled on Thief - when I was detected and had to use a sword, I never could survive. I also think that's why I found CoH to be so easy to pick up and why it's been my favorite game.
The same applies to racing games - the more realistic, the less I enjoy them. The more arcade style, the more I enjoy them. Thus, I liked POD, but wore out pretty quick on the series that Kheldar passed on to us several years ago - forget what it's called.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
This weekend is 30% off all Rockstar games. This includes the Grand Theft Auto games, which I certainly wouldn't recommend to everyone. But they also include the Max Payne games, which are very enjoyable first person shooter games with a very strong story. I liked the first better for its better story and presentation, even though the second had a much nicer game engine with a more interactive environment.
http://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Rockstar%20Games/
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
The deal this weekend is Left 4 Dead priced at $25 (reg $50). This is an online co-op game that I bought when it first came out not too long ago, and have had a lot of fun with. Unfortunately, there is no demo. There is definitely a bit of blood and gore in this game, and while you can technically play single player (offline), it really is designed for multiplayer online. And boy, does it shine in that environment. I can even enjoy playing it with a random pick-up team. I paid $45 for this on release, and definitely feel like I've gotten my money's worth out of it.
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
This week is a package of 5 games for $10 (reg $45). The package includes the following games:
Eets - This is kind of a puzzle game. It's been called a combination of Lemmings and The Incredible Machine. There is a demo for this one. I thought it looked somewhat interesting, although when it was on sale over Christmas I passed on it for $5.
Graviton 2 - This is a retro-style game with colorful vector graphics. The concept is a side view of a space ship with gravity pulling you towards the bottom of the screen. You have to resuce the people on blow up the reactor while avoiding the turrets and other enemies. Don't run out of fuel, and don't take too much damage. It's a pretty basic game, but could be entertaining for a bit. There is a demo for this.
I-Fluid - This looks pretty cool, but unfortunately doesn't have a demo. This should be vaguely similar to Katamari, the game where you roll around the world rolling up stuff and getting bigger... Sort of. In this case, you are a drop of water trying to get somewhere. Beware of things that absorb water, and find other droplets to get bigger. This supposedly features a nice physics engine allowing you to knock stuff over in interesting ways. I was tempted to pick this up on its own at the normal $10 price, but didn't want to do it without a demo.
Multiwinia - This is kind of a real time strategy game with inspiration from 80s arcade games. It's really quite interesting, and definitely worth picking up if you are into RTS games at all. Even if you are not (like me), it may prove interesting. There is a demo allowing you to check it out. This game can be played online, although I'm not sure about it's co-op potential.
Trials 2 Second Edition - This is a side view, 3D, motorcycle obstacle driving game. There is a demo. I actually already have this one, so this one is just wasted space for me. It's an interesting game, but the harder levels can get a bit challenging, leaving you to go back and work on perfecting the easier levels until you get better at driving.
All together, this is a package with some pretty decent games. I'll be very tempted to pick it up just for Multiwinia and I-Fluid at effectively half price.
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/1409/
Re: Steam Weekend Deal
This weekend World of Goo is $5 (reg $20). This is a great price for a fun physics-based puzzle game. There's a demo, so check it out.
Be aware though that steam is really getting hit hard this weekend, because they're also allowing anyone to download and play Unreal Tournament 3 Black for free this weekend, so you may have a hard time installing anything. They're also selling that game for $12 (reg $20). The system requirements don't look too painful if you are looking for a 1st person shooter. With both a single player and multiplayer component.
Re: Computer game sales
I decided to post any computer game sales here rather than splitting them into separate threads.
So, Impulse is also have a sale this weekend. I'm not going to provide full details on all these, since I'm not familiar with a number of them... Many of these have a demo.
Galactic Civilizations II Ultimate Edition - $40 (reg $50) - This is a space-themed turn based game. Kind of like Civilizations in space. It's very well put together. A very good game if you are fond of the genre. It includes all three of the expansion packs that were made. I've played a decent amount of this game and enjoyed it.
Galactic Civilizations Ultimate Edition - $4 (reg $10) - The complete package version of the original game. Also a fairly good game. May be worth picking up if you are curious about the genre, but don't want to spend more money.
Warlords Battlecry III - $10 (reg $15) - Real time strategy.
Civilization 3 Complete - $10 (reg $30) - This is the edition of the game before the most recent one. I wouldn't strongly recommend it over version 4. Most people agree that 4 was better.
Unreal Gold - $6 (reg $10) - The original version version of the game.
Alpha Prime - $10 (reg $20) - First person shooter. Never heard of it.
Painkiller: Heaven's Got A Hitman - $10 (reg $20) - First person shooter. I've heard of it, but don't recall how well received it was.
Mr. Robot - $4 (reg $20) - This is a very nice puzzle game. I'll probably pick it up. I enjoyed playing through the demo, and $4 seems like a steal.
Re: Computer game sales
This weekend's Steam deal is The Orange Box for $10 (reg $30). This is a package deal that includes Half Life 2, HL2 Episode 1, HL2 Episode 2, HL2 Lost Coast, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. All this is a $75 savings on buying each of those items separately.
For those of you interested in Portal, that $10 price is half the normal price of Portal by itself, and you also get all the Half Life stuff, which I found to be a very entertaining first person shooter.
Team Fortress 2 is an online-only multiplayer game. I haven't played it, but it's supposed to be a fairly fun team-based game.
If you want to check out demos, each of the individual games in the package will have their own demo.
All in all, this is a really great deal.
Re: Computer game sales
Wow - that really is a great deal.
-- Kent
Re: Computer game sales
For the next week (until August 10th) Trackmania United Forever is 50% off, bringing the price to $20. I already own this game, and have definitely gotten my money's worth out of it. The multiplayer component is very lag tolerant, since you can't collide with other cars, so the network component is just competing on time and seeing other nearby cars. There is a demo available: Trackmania Nations Forever, which is pretty similar to the full game, except it only has one of the track environments, and you have much more limited score tracking capabilities.
When I bought the full game, the score tracking capabilities are really what opened it up for me and made it interesting. At first, I was just paying attention to my ranking within my own state in the area of medals (single-player mode). Then I discovered official mode, where you pay tokens to try and make your best time, and I started moving up the ranks in that area. Then I started paying attention to my ranking in the U.S. as a whole, since I was getting pretty far up the Utah chart. Then I started racing online and getting my online ranking up. All in all, the ranking system gave me a sense of progression and improvement that the demo version didn't particularly have.
I've definitely enjoyed this game, and if you get it, let me know so I can friend you, and we can compare times and scores.
Re: Computer game sales
Hmmm... EVE Online is available through Steam for $5 (1/3 normal price). That price includes account creation and 1 free month of play (normally priced at $15 per month unless you purchase multiple months at a time).
I will freely admit that this game is not one that appeals to everyone, so you might try out the demo first. Just be aware that the sale only lasts until Aug 17th (most likely the midnight just before Aug 17).
Be sure to let me know if you do take advantage of this deal. I'll gladly help you get going.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/8500/
Re: Computer game sales
For the next week, everything published by Strategy First is 50% off. There's a pretty decent list of stuff in there for nice cheap prices. I grabbed a copy of Sacred Gold for $5, which I enjoyed playing some when it first came out. I also tried the demo for FlatOut, and like the feel, so I picked that up for $5. There are some other decent games in there. Probably worth checking out.
Re: Computer game sales
In case you don't have it already, Steam is offering Portal free for a limited time.
Re: Computer game sales
Interesting...
Last night at the Truth Project group, during the break, one of the guys suddenly piped up and said he had gotten Portal for free, and an animated discussion followed about it - a third to a half of the group seemed to know what Portal is and were playing it. One couple (engaged or soon to be) were talking about it, he telling her she'd probably like it and she not sure she can handle it since she still hasn't completely figured out how to make her WoW character move around.
Makes me think that maybe we do have something in common with these "kids", though Kheldar and Hameed's experience with Portal suggests that they (K ande
may be more accomplished, at least at Portal, than these guys. Looked like at least four of the 10 or 11 folks there were involved in the Portal discussion.
It was so tempting to jump in and let them know that we've played Portal as well, and also WoW, and the others we play, to try to connect on another plane that might help us appear a little less as outsiders with little in common. But, I backed off other than asking the one guy what level he was on - he had no idea. That immediately spawned a discussion among the players of, "Well, did you get to the flame yet, did you get to the personal helper cube [or whatever it's called] yet?" etc. Probably a good thing that nobody picked up that I apparently knew something about Portal. If I was still playing WoW, it might have been tempting to at least talk with that couple afterwards and ask what server they use and what their character names are so I might watch for them. I guess we introverts sometimes have the urge to feel included.
Re: Computer game sales
In a crowd that's interested in computer games, talking about them can be a great way to connect. I think it's because everyone has a shared experience, even if they've never seen each other before, and shared experiences are fun to talk about. I definitely think you should have joined in the conversation!
Re: Computer game sales
What a fun conversation and a nice surpirse to find common ground!
Re: Computer game sales
They are pretty talkative, so I'd have had to interrupt what somebody else was saying to get in.
Re: Computer game sales
Finally picked up Portal the other day while it was free....
Very glad I did. Fun game! Tricky at points... I think I'm in the computer core - maybe the end of the game actually - not sure. It's the part where the room is filling with nerve gas and you have to use the rocket-turret to knock parts off the writhing-hanging-computer-body-array-thing and drop them in the incinerator.
-- Kent
Re: Computer game sales
Yup, you are very near the end. Definitely a fun game. I'll probably go back and replay it some time, or at least take a shot at the advanced levels...
Re: Computer game sales
Steam Summer Sale through July 4th. - http://store.steampowered.com/
Plus, each day they have a new set of special deals that are even more on sale. So, the best strategy is to wait until the last day to buy something, and then watch each day to see if they put up a good deal on it.
Just a couple items of note:
Moth - King's Bounty: The Legend is the game you played at my house where you have the groups of creatures you move around the hex grid for each of the battles. If you found it interesting, it's 75% off ($3.24). Here's a link to the game, although note that the expansion is also on sale. http://store.steampowered.com/app/25900/
Shadowgrounds Pack is a fun top-view action shooter game. It's not amazing graphics, but it's fairly fun, and is 75% off ($5). There's a demo on the page for the first game. http://store.steampowered.com/sub/552/
Hammerfight is... hard to explain. You pilot a flying helicopter like vehicle with a giant ball and chain attached. You swing the mouse in circles to move your helicopter, thus swinging the ball and chain around to destroy other flying things. Outstanding game at 50% off ($5). There is a demo. http://store.steampowered.com/app/41100/
AI War is a space-based strategy game with some elements of civ-style games, some elements of RTS games, and some elements of other games. There is coop-multiplayer support. It's a pretty cool game at 66% off ($6.80). There's an expansion that is also on sale. There is a demo. http://store.steampowered.com/app/40400/
Torchlight is a really really great action-RPG game. The only downside is that it's single-player only. Still, it's a good deal at 50% off ($10). There is a demo. http://store.steampowered.com/app/41500/
Guild Wars and all the expansion packs are available on steam and are 33% off. A quick look seems to indicate that you are given a regular serial number, so you should be able to integrate your purchase with your existing Guild Wars account. It might be best first to check around and verify that though.
That's enough for now. I'm sure there are lots of good finds out there. Let me know if you end up purchasing anything!
Re: Computer game sales
Hameed, didn't you say you were a big fan of Age of Empires? Well, if you are willing to purchase it through the Games for Windows Marketplace (microsoft's attempt to do digital sales), then you can pick up Age of Empires III: The Complete Collection for only $0.10 right now. The Games for Windows client is available here, and you can find the game on sale here.
Oddly enough though, when I logged into my Live account, the sale didn't show up, so I'm not sure if there's some kind of special limitation or something going on. I'll investigate further.
Re: Computer game sales
Oops... It looks like it was a limited time offer, and I managed to catch it just before time ran out. Oh well. On the plus side, it means you don't need to interact with Games for Windows Marketplace, which seems to be somewhat of a train wreck (according to popular opionion).
Re: Computer game sales
Bummer! Lee wants to get Daddy a computer game for Christmas and that would have been perfect!
Re: Computer game sales
Well, keep an eye on steam. They have really amazing sales that usually start mid-december and run through the beginning of the year, usually with a daily supersale that changes each day. Either check the main steam page each day, or keep on eye on this sales site.
I'd also get Hameed to go to the steam store page, log into his account, and then add games to his steam wish list. That way you (and possibly other people) might get some good gift ideas.
For example, my wish page is here... However, since I have so many unplayed games right now, you really shouldn't buy stuff on there unless the game is at least 50% off (except the $5 games, which might not drop that low). Some of those items have even been 75% off multiple times in the past (like the Dawn of War and X3 games), and will probably drop that low again.
Re: Computer game sales
Wow that was a good price. I already have all of the Age games on CD but for that price I would have tried to pick it up since when Adviga and I play we have to share the CD. Not that it's a problem just an inconvenience that $0.10 would have been a nice remedy for.
Re: Computer game sales
From the Steam news feed:
The "Give & Get" Sale starts today and ends Tuesday, November 30. Each day during the sale there will be huge savings on featured games and large game packs that are perfect for gift-giving throughout the holidays. In the spirit of giving, each day of the sale, Valve will be awarding 30 users with the top five games on their wishlists. To become eligible to win, simply load up your own wishlist with ten or more items now.
Re: Computer game sales
Hameed, I said I mention it if TrackMania ever went on sale. Well, Steam has it for 33% off right now ($27). I'm not sure how long the sale will last, and not sure if that's low enough to be tempting, but...
http://store.steampowered.com/app/7200/
Re: Computer game sales
Whoops! I hope you didn't already buy trackmania, because now it's on sale for only $10. The deal is good through Thursday at 10am PST. That's a really great deal...
http://store.steampowered.com/app/7200/
Re: Computer game sales
Wow, I don't think it will get better than that and no I had not yet purchased it but I think I will now even if I never play it and it's something that Lil Squirrel only plays it's a good deal! Thanks for the head's up!