Another day where I have to explain to my friends on how this is somehow an investment that I’ll be able to pass down. I don’t think they’re buying it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t blow some more money, right?
Just a reminder, do not buy anything unless it’s a Daily Deal until the last day.  There’s a rule, if you buy it now it will be on sale tomorrow.  Let’s call it the Steam Tardiness Reciprocity.
Gothic Complete Pack – $12.50 – The Gothic games are extremely hardcore European RPG’s, and come with all of the caveats of being such. The UI is cumbersome and some of the mechanics simply feel…off. However, the first two games in the series were good and definitely worth looking into, however the quality drops off sharply past them to the point where it’s not worth your time or money unless you’re deeply embedded in the franchise.
Terraria – $2.49 – Terraria is the bastard child of Minecraft and Metroid, but is more than the sum of its parts. There is a huge focus on exploring and combat and the aesthetics are pleasing to the core. Once you add in a fantastic multiplayer which allows you and a few buddies to hunt down some of the bigger monsters, this title really starts to stand out. The game was a great deal for $9.99, but for $2.49 it’s a steal
Solar 2 – $2.49 – Many games have tried to be a god-simulator, however I don’t recall one where you actually build your universe. Start off as an asteroid and build up your mass until you can support life and eventually absorb the entire universe. There’s a demo for the title, but the title stands up on its own and makes it easy for me to recommend it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops – $29.99 – The most recent Call Of Duty before Modern Warfare 3 stands true to the formula, and has an extremely loyal fan base. The shooting is tight, the title seems to have a bit of a sense of humor, and offers a fun multiplayer experience. The zombie games manage to both be tense and ridiculous at the same time, something that’s fairly hard to pull off.
If you’re a fan of the series, you likely already have this title and new comers won’t find much to turn them into flag carrying fanatics, but it is a quality title. It may be worth holding off on this one to see if Modern Warfare 3 goes on sale on the last day for a bit less as that title should have more support over time, but there are worse places to buy in.
F.E.A.R. Collection – $24.99 – The F.E.A.R. series is quality horror-action FPS joy, if not a bit misleading. F.E.A.R. is about as scary as the Wizard Of Oz and relies on jump out scares and shaky cameras. However, the actual gameplay is more than capable and manages to offer a fun distraction. F.E.A.R. 1 had the best AI around when it was released, and 3 offers a fun visceral title with 2 just seeming to be lacking something but is by no standards a bad game. If you’re looking for a mindless shooter, this is a great series to grasp on to
Prince Of Persia titles ($2.49-$4.99) – The Prince Of Persia titles are some of the best action platformers of all time. The platforming always feels spot on and the combat is tight. Pick up the Sands of Time trilogy since that was the pinnacle of the series in my opinion.
Cities In Motion – $4.99 – I’m not really sure how to describe Cities in Motion. Imagine taking SimCity and instead of focusing on the managing the overall product working strictly on the transit systems. Somehow the game turns out to be fun, but it’s certainly an awkward place to build a title.
Sequence – $1.24 – My favorite part of the Steam sales is finding some titles that I’d never come across normally, and Sequence is the very definition of that type of game. Sequence is the mix of a DDR style rhythm game and a tactical RPG. You have to align arrows in time to the music while blocking enemy attacks and building up mana. The game has an intelligent sense of humor and the soundtrack provided by Ronald Jenkees is outright fantastic. There is no reason to pass on this game for this price, and it’s unequivocally the Steal Of The Day.
Star Wars Franchise ($2.49-$4.99) – The Star Wars franchise offers a little something for everyone. Battlefront 2 is essentially the Battlefield series in the star wards universe with 64 player battles, Republic Commando is a solid FPS, Jedi Knight offers brutal melee combat, Empire at War is a fun RTS and Knights of The Old Republic is widely considered one of the best RPG’s of all time. With a such variety it’s hard to recommend one title as they all have merits, but newcomers should possibly look at Knights Of The Old Republic to play through some video game history
Disciples III – Resurrection – $7.50 – Hey kids! Did you like Disciples! (Yeah!!) Did you love Disciples II( Yeah!!) Then you’re going to love Disciples III when we suck all the fun out of the original games replace them with crap audio a horrible tutorial weak combat and strip it of the multiplayer. There is more depth to Paris Hilton than there is this title.
Stronghold 3 –Â $33.49 – If you offered me a choice between paying for Stronghold 3 or paying for an unstable dominatrix to go after my junk with a sharpened stiletto, I would have to seriously consider the latter. At least then my pain could be blamed on someone else.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War II – $20.39 – This is exactly what the future of the RTS genre needs. These games are outright violent and offer a streamlined approach where nothing feels rushed or cheap. Retribution is the game of choice from these series as it has the most content and the largest player base still active. If you’re even a casual fan of Warhammer or RTS’s in general, this is a great title to buy
