Steam is angry. Â See, Steam found out you were holding back on Steam. Steam found out you had a bit of money in your pocket you didn’t tell Steam about. See, Steam doesn’t like you keeping secrets from Steam, and Steam is going to do something about it. Steam is going to be friendly this time and let you fix this on your own. Â Do the right thing, and don’t let Steam find out about this again.
Aliens Vs Predator – $3.99 – Aliens Vs Predator is a niche title that is a lot of fun for the right type of player. There are three different campaigns, one for each race, and they all play drastically different. The online multiplayer is a bit lacking, but the co-op can be a great time. Word of advice, do not drink before playing as an Alien. With all of the scooting around walls and ceilings, you may end up needing a new keyboard.
Back To The Future – $9.99 – This game is everything that Telltale games does correctly. It doesn’t hurt that I’m a massive Back To The Future fan, and this is a fantastic way to get back into that universe. If you’re a fan of Telltale games version of point and click games or Back To The Future, this is worth the money. If you’re on the fence, it may be worth passing on.
Railworks 3 – $3.49 – Honestly, if you’re the type of gamer who is clamoring for a train simulator, you already have Railworks 3. The Railworks series is becoming famous for its sheer amount of DLC, but there’s nothing here for someone who isn’t already interested in trains. If you need to blow some money, pick it up and the trains versus zombies DLC, because that seems like a train wreck worth watching.
Cave Story + – $4.99 –  Cave Story + is an incredible game, and a must have for just about everyone. As I stated here, Cave Story would have been considered one of the greatest games of all time if it was released 20 years ago. You need to buy this game, BUT you don’t need to buy it from Steam. With the Humble Indie Bundle still going, you can get Cave Story as long as you beat the average price (which at the time of writing is $5.25) along with a plethora of awesome games as well as soundtracks. The only reason this isn’t the steal of the day is the ability to get more from the Humble Bundle. Buy this game NOW!
Frozen Synapse – $3.74 – You’ve never played a game quite like Frozen Synapse. It’s a tactical multiplayer turn based shooter. It actually pains me a bit to even write that as even after playing it still doesn’t make sense. Jump in with a friend, plan your squadrons moves and outwit your opponent before he can mount an offense. This is no better way to feel like an evil genius than playing those last moments as your plan unfolds and you crush your opponent. While there is a demo, I don’t feel it does it justice. Consider picking up the soundtrack edition, and enjoy one of the most interesting titles.
From Dust – $7.49 – I can’t really think of a title I was more disappointed in than From Dust this year. The game was lackluster with poor controls on the consoles, and the PC port is almost unplayable in parts and seems to do every mortal sin against PC gamers including a mess of bugs, extra DRM and a 30 FPS cap. If you have someone you hate on your Christmas list, this is a nice way of saying “I’d like to see you in pain.”
E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy – $2.49 – E.Y.E. is everything that PC gaming is supposed to be. It’s an engaging world with insane things happening around you and allows you to play any way you’d like. You can hack just about everything in the game, but they can also attempt to hack you back. Yes, that means you can hack a door to get access only to anger the door and have it attack. You can start panicking and forget how to fire your weapon. That giant space sea turtle? Impale him with a katana. The game offers multiplayer co-op in a way only PC games can with up to 32 players. It’s completely broken and absolutely insane, however it is there for you. I can’t think of anything I’ve played that’s quite like this, and for the sheer insanity available this is the steal of the day.
Cities XL 2012 -$19.99 – Cities XL 2012 is SimCity 4 without being SimCity 4. It’s a bit more streamlined with a few graphical improvements, but this city management game does little to reinvent the wheel. Pick up SimCity at a cheaper price and save a few bucks.
Saints Row 3 – $ 33.49 – Saints Row 3 is Grand Theft Auto worshipping at the altar of fun. The game is completely over the top, sophomoric and immature. However that is in no way a bad thing. Almost every mission has a holy shit moment, it’s surprisingly witty, and has the best use of a soundtrack of any title this year. If this game was $24.99 it would have been the steal of the day, but I still recommend it heavily. You may want to pick it up from Green Man Gaming as for today only they have a code to make it 20 bucks, and it does activate on steam. Use the code FIFTY-SAINT-XMASS here and enjoy an over the top joy ride.
Rage – $14.99 – If you ask ten people about Rage, you’ll get 10 different responses. The bottom line is the game, while technically proficient, isn’t the greatest FPS of all time. id tried to create a FPS reminiscent of the glory days but it just falls a bit flat. The story never lives up to its full potential, and a lot of the quests are uninspired. The game attempted to be more accessible by almost eliminating the possibility of dying, and without that to strike fear in the players mind it becomes a chore at parts to push through. On the plus side, the game looks absolutely fantastic, and could be one of the best looking shooters of the year. While the game is worth $14.99, the price has fallen rapidly since release so I have to imagine it will continue to crash early next year.
DiRT 3 – $16.99 – DiRT 3 is a fairly impressive racing game. Codemasters has the genre down to a science, and DiRT is a beautiful title with tight controls. If you’re a fan of racing games, this is a great one to buy into.
Audiosurf – $2.49 – Audiosurf is the mixture of Guitar Hero and a racing game. The game uses the songs in your personal library to build a track as you race down trying to catch all of the colored squares and build up your score. The leaderboards are based per song, and you’d be surprised to see how many lesser known bands have a huge following here. If you’re like me and have a massive music collection, this is a perfect way to experience it in a new way. Pick this one up.
We’ve had some major titles so far, and we’ve still got over a week to go. What are you best buys so far and what are you hoping to grab later?
