The 'Steam deals' thread

[Jason]

Figured there's enough of them to warrant a thread on here about them.

Here's today's deals:

World of Goo - 75% off
EVE Online: Apocrypha - 75% off
Lucidity - 75% off
Battlefield 2: Complete Collection - 50% off
Prince of Persia and everything else Prince of Persia - 50% off
Guild Wars Trilogy - 50% off
Trackmania United Forever - 50% off

Much better than yesterday's, I must say.

I'll probably get Guild Wars, as I've been looking at that for a long time. Battlefield 2 has been one I've had my eye on for a while, but I think it's on its way out now, getting to the stage where most of the remaining players who haven't moved onto something else are so good at the game, I'm just going to get raped on every server.

I can highly recommend World of Goo - another indie game, and an incredibly intelligent and addictive one. Well worth anyone's money, especially at this price.

EVE online is actually really good, too - it's a MMORPG with a difference. It's not going to be to everyone's likings, as it's less 'pew pew' and more about power and influence (although the pew pew option is there too if you want it!) but it's a massively open and intelligent game where you really ARE free to do whatever the hell you like - the players really do shape the game. I'd recommend giving it a try, you'll either love it for its complexity and intelligence, or you'll hate it for its relatively slow pace.

[Landy]

Got World of Goo. Simply love it! Most of the other games i already have.

[Konrad]

World of Goo is great, of the indie sort I got Osmos on an earlier sale which has been working out great so far. I also picked up GRID, which I haven't tried out yet but for 7.30 how could I not? It's a legendary one from what I hear.

One more day in the big sale, whatever big guns shall they unleash?

[Astonix]

Guild Wars is definitely one to play. It's one of the best MMO's i've played. What's more is it's not P2P. It's got good graphics, the limited set of skills means you really have to think about the ones you equip (you'll see many people talking about 'builds'. This is sets of skills). Considering it's 50% off, I'd get it Jason if you've been looking at it anyway.

[Jason]

Yeah, I took the plunge last night and got it - I've been good this month, so I thought I'd treat myself. :p

It was downloading when I headed to work this morning, so it'll probably be ready by the time I get back tonight.

I'll have to see if someone else could post today's deals for me, too - I can't get Steam at work, so won't be able to get the info up until later on otherwise.

[Astonix]

Those of you who are Steam users will probably know about these sales already but for those of you who don't use steam, check out these deals (they may just get you using it).

Steam Download:
http://storefront.steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi


Today's Deals - 30th November 2009

1) Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
£6.99 £1.74 (75% off)

2) Evil Genius
£6.99 £1.74 (75% off)

3) Chronicles of Riddick: Assualt on Dark Athena
£14.99 £7.99 (33% off)

4) Section 8
£29.99 £14.99 (50% off)

5) Call of Juarez
£34.99 £24.49 (30% off)

6) Quantz
£7.99 £2.00 (75% off)

7) Mirror's Edge
£12.99 £3.24 (75% off)


In my opinion, none of those games are really that good today except for Secrets of Monkey Island. What a legendary game. Really, if you haven't played it, definitely worth trying it.

[Astonix]

Jason, just done it for you ^

[Jason]

Thank you, that's appreciated. Bit of a letdown for the final day of such a big sale, to be honest.

Evil Genius is actually quite a good distraction, and worth £1.74 of anyone's money. I'd say that Mirror's Edge isn't a bad buy for less than £4, either.

Still, was hoping for something really special there.

[MyNameDidntFit]

Evil Genius is really tempting. I used to have it, but it always glitched and would continue the construction of my doomsday device indefinitely :(

[Landy]

Been looking at Zeno Clash, anyone played it?

[Jason]

I've not, as I'm not convinced it'll run on my laptop, but I've read some very positive reviews, all of which hail the originality of the game. It's essentially a fantasy first-person beat-em-up. At 66% off, I'd certainly be tempted to have a look.

[Landy]

I now own the game :D

[Jason]

Medieval 2: Total War just £2.50!

Snapped that one right up. :)

[Rob]

Medieval 2: Total War just £2.50!

Snapped that one right up. :)

x2 (my friend and I both got it)
I got SW:KOTOR for $2.50 during Thanksgiving week. Cheap games are impossible to pass up for me. Especially ones that are rated so high.

[Jason]

Another 75% off, this time it's Counterstrike: Source that gets the treatment. If you don't own it already, this seems like a pretty good time to - it's just $5.

I might invest in this, although I've really tried to avoid it due to the ultra-competitive and macho-nerd nature of the community.

[Rob]

If you do pull the trigger on CS:S I have it installed although I rarely play it for same reason. Once we get a couple more people with the game we can do 2v2 or more on a empty/private server.

[Jason]

Yeah, that sounds like a giggle. I'm almost sure that Konrad has it, and I'll make some enquiries with some others - I have a gift pass for three days if anyone would like it, by the way.

[Landy]

I such at CS:S, but i wouldn't mind having a round or two with you guys. Anyone about for a game or two tomorrow night? I got a vent server we can use :)

[Jason]

Gah, I'm working from 2000-0800 GMT tomorrow night, so likely won't be able to make that one - I'll be out on saturday night, too. I'm free in the evenings for a good few days after that though.

[Konrad]

Hmm, I used to be all about CSS a few years back, but there are only so many hours you can spend on a game. Also, what little competitive gamer I ever had in me died a long time ago.

Still, CSS can be fun for the casual gamer if you know where to go, or if you're into the plethora serverside mods. If you folks want to get something going, im game.

[Rob]

Gungames are usually pretty quiet because people are busy trying to win and anything can happen. I'm not anything more then an avg player but I can win a gungame match frequently. I'm glad someone came up with that mode. :) Maybe we can find a random match to join.

[MyNameDidntFit]

I used to play a lot of CS:S in my day. I used to be a damned good Scoutzknivez player (clan matches and the like--great fun).

These days I rarely play it, but I'm still decent (or was last time I checked >.>) because, well, a lot of it is just twitch reflexes and knowing how the guns handle.

[Rob]

The next time there a 4pack of a game that we want at a reduced price (L4D2/Borderlands) then we should do group buys. Got to save that money! MG-Group Buys!

[Jason]

I have a couple of guest passes for Killing Floor if anyone has ever considered that?

EDIT: oh, and one for Counterstrike: Source, on the off chance no-one owns that already.

[Konrad]

I played Killing Floor during the free weekend, but didn't much like it. If everybody decides to make it "The forum game" ill probably get it, but I still think DEFCON is a superb idea.

[Jason]

I'm the same with KF - I grabbed it because it was cheap. I'm a little glad I didn't pay full price, as it's a bit thin. To be honest, I think three days is more than enough.

I'm up for Defcon too. Have a look (http://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/) and see what you think, guys - it ticks most of our boxes for a forum game. Give the demo a whirl. :)

[Konrad]

The entire Kalypso catalogue is 25-50% off. Which most notably puts Tropico 3 at $30.

[CemeteryGates]

Tropico 3

I didn't even know there was Tropico 2, let alone 3. I miss that game.

[Konrad]

Tropico 2 isn't particularly worth notice. The third one is OK. You can pick up the originals for $5 on Steam on the same sale. Or, if you like your games to actually run on whatever operating system you own, for $10 on Good old Games. The site is dead currently, but once it's up ill drop a proper link. The site to visit is gog.com

[Rob]

I have Defcon so if you see me online and don't mind dragging me through the early stages of the game then send an invite. It looks fun.

[Landy]

Not exactly steam deal, but what a deal none the less: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref_=bt_atcg_mm&docId=1000465631

[Rob]

Not exactly steam deal, but what a deal none the less: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref_=bt_atcg_mm&docId=1000465631

That's an amazing deal. I don't know anything about Rayman but if I didn't already own FarCry2, RainbowSix and BiA I would now. I think I just payed $15 for FC2 on steam a few weeks ago.

[Landy]

Yeah it is. Seems it's just available for people living in the US.

[Rob]

That's a bummer. Region pricing and locks are horrible. I'm sure companies have valid reasons to lock their products down but its such a pain for consumers.

[Rob]

The Last Remnant (66/100 Metascore (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/lastremnant)) is going for $9.99 right now in the steam store. It's made by Square Enix.

[Konrad]

There is ridiculous disagreement on the ratings for that game. 30-87, I don't even know what to think anymore. :p It's a huge sale, but I can't say I've ever had the opportunity to enjoy a JRPG. I think my only experience was with Final Fantasy on the PSP which though fun for a while didn't keep my attention long enough to finish.

[Konrad]

The Christmas Steam Sale started. A shitton of games are discounted, amongst those some real gems.

[Jason]

GTA IV for £5??! I know I don't rate the game, but that's just... madness. I think I'll have to pore through these to pick the best of them.

[Jason]

GTA IV (http://store.steampowered.com/app/12210/) - I know I (and others, whom I awarded points to... :p) have criticised this game quite heavily on here, but there is no doubt that for £5/$7.49, if your computer will run it, you should own this game.

Indigo Prophecy (http://store.steampowered.com/app/9740/) - by Quantic Dream, developers of Heavy Rain, and the game concept they based a lot of it on. For less that £3/$4, it'd be madness not to.

Overlord (http://store.steampowered.com/app/11450/) - For those that miss Dungeon Keeper, here's Overlord. It got pretty good reviews, and we all know it's good to be bad. It's cheap too, at £2.99/$2.99

Hitman - Blood Money (http://store.steampowered.com/app/6860/) - Not the biggest saving (it's dirt cheap already!) but probably the best of the Hitman games, and certainly worth £4/$6 of anyone's hard-earned.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl (http://store.steampowered.com/app/4500/) - whilst it's not going to go down in history with the likes of Half Life, the original Halo, or Doom as an instant classic, it's a very good shooter that was a little overhyped, and paid for it. However for a ludicrous £1.39/$2, you'd have to be insane to miss out.

Company Of Heroes (http://store.steampowered.com/app/4560/) - I'm not a huge fan of WWII games, and whilst I like RTS games, I'm usually so bad at them I very rarely see the second half of the campaign mode. CoH is an exception to this. It's one of my favourite games of the past 5 years. For £4.99/$9.99 it's quite simply an essential purchase.

Those are my highlights... anyone else got any they'd like to add?

(PS, Konnie, I guessed some of the USD conversions - feel free to edit and correct them)
Edit by Konnie: And so it is done.

[Konrad]

My highlights would have to be:

LucasArts Adventure Pack for $2.99

Prince of Persia $14.99

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent for $4.99

Audiosurf for $2.50

Indigo Prophecy for $3.39

These are currently in my cart, and ill probably get them soon. I'm a bit torn up about Prince of Persia, as it is still $15, but I'm very curious as to the game.

Of the dirt cheap, I would also recommend that if you haven't yet, you pick up:

Braid $2.99, World of Goo $4.99 and Full Pipe $3.39

[MyNameDidntFit]

Picked up SC: Chaos Theory and Double Agent so that I can co-op with mates on PC. Even got into this whole Christmas giving thing and gave a mate Chaos Theory.

[Jason]

I grabbed SC: Double Agent, Indigo Prophecy and Overlord for a princely total of £10.35.

God I love Steam sales.

[Rob]

I haven't bought a PC game from a brick and mortar store in over a year now. Steam gives such huge discounts and slashes prices on games so often that I think i'm in heaven. lol

Got the Unreal Deal Pack, Defense Grid, Braid and GTAIV = $26

[Landy]

Got Trine.

[MyNameDidntFit]

SC: Double Agent
Not sure how the MP works on it, but do you want to try and see if we can get a bit of co-op after Christmas? I doubt we'll be able to without epic lag, but we might as well give it a shot if you're up for it.

[Jason]

Yeah, works for me. I'm yet to see how my Lappy handles it, as the servers were too busy for me to download any more than just Indigo Prophecy without staying up until 5am.

I'll get it downloaded tonight and give it a runthrough over Christmas. Also, get your damn Gamertags in your profile, I keep going to add you on PSN and can't. :p

[MyNameDidntFit]

I haven't gotten around to making my own PSN ID yet >.> I'll get it done after all these Christmas shenanigans are over (and my two days of drunkenness over the boxing day weekend).

[Rob]

Ok this is getting a bit ridiculous. I have 53 games on steam thanks to all the packs/deals recently. Did anyone else get the Unreal pack? Oh and WarhammerII?

[MyNameDidntFit]

I still haven't been even slightly tempted to buy anything that's been on sale... :/

[Jason]

I've picked up one or two particularly good deals on games I hadn't got (Indigo Prophecy, Overlord, DoD:Source), but a lot of the better deals are on games I already own (GTA IV, The Orange Box, BioShock, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Company of Heroes...) - If you'd just got a new PC that could handle games made in the last 5 years, this would be the sale of the century for you. For us hardened veterans of many a Steam sale (including the awesome pre-christmas one), we've seen it all before, man... We were there.

[Konrad]

Shattered Horizon for $4.99.

Go get it. NOW. Seriously.

[Jason]

DirectX 10 on my laptop? No thanks.

My videocard supports DX10, but I'd either get a framerate of about 3 per second, or my laptop would burn a hole in my desktop.

[Jason]

Bleh.

Last day of the Steam sale is a real let-down. They've basically just re-hashed some of the old deals. Considering most people's complaints were that they were good deals on games most people owned already, I can't see how this helps solve it. :-/

Still, if you don't have Bioshock, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Torchlight, there's no excuse now.

[Landy]

Bah. Oh well, money saved, i guess.

[Jason]

Yeah. I got Defense Grid: The Awakening for £1.75 and that was it.

[Landy]

Even at that low prize, it's not really tempting.

[Konrad]

I have a tower defense game on my cellphone and it satisfied ALL and ANY urges to dabble in the genre I have ever had.

[Jason]

Company Of Heroes collection - 75% off! (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/1529/)

Madness. Seriously, if you have even the faintest passing interest in real-time strategy games, I urge you to get this one. It's probably the only RTS I've completed since the original Command & Conquer.

[Rob]

^ ^ ^

This is a good chance for us to all have a common game to play. You can't go wrong for that price. I still don't have Tales of Valor(lowest rated of the three) so I am not sure if buying it outside the package is a good idea considering its lower rating. Has anyone played ToV and can recommend it?

[Jason]

I'm in the same boat - can't really justify Tales of Valor, as it's got very mediocre reviews, and even Opposing Fronts didn't do that much for me.

[Konrad]

Eh. I'm not up for CoH. I have Opposing Fronts and didn't like it, so I'm not going to spend money on the series.

I'm still waiting for you lot to get DEFCON

[Landy]

I have the original game and it was ok.

[MyNameDidntFit]

I played the demo of CoH that came with my DoW: DC back in the day and it was alright, but not something I'm about to spend even $5 on.

[Rob]

Torchlight is only $5usd on Steam. If you were waiting for another sale before picking this game up then this is it.