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Brace Yourself, The Second Day Of The Steam Winter Sale Is Here

Day two has made it, and we’re faced with another set of games at stupidly low prices. I won’t waste any of your time as there are games to spend money on and new mortgages to take out.

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Day two has made it, and we’re faced with another set of games at stupidly low prices. I won’t waste any of your time as there are games to spend money on and new mortgages to take out.

Just a reminder, unless it’s on a Daily Deal, I strongly recommend holding off until it is. While everything is discounted to some extent, there is a law in the universe stating that as soon as you buy something it will go on sale even cheaper.

  • Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. $14.99 While this is a quality title, I can’t recommend this to anyone who has interest in the multiplayer which is arguably the best point. The servers are simply overrun with hackers, and with Modern Warfare 3 out there doesn’t seem to be anyone policing the inmates anymore.
  • Costume Quest $3.74 The latest offering from Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions is a charming game with a JRPG style turn based combat system complete with random encounters.
  • Duke Nukem Forever $4.99 For everything Duke tried to do right here, and no matter how much I want to support the team, hold on to that five bucks. The game is the very definition of mediocre. We’ll find a better use for it later.
  • Dungeons Of Dredmor $1.24 Dungeons Of Dredmor is my pick as the steal of the day. A clever rogue-like game that is easy enough to grasp to newcomers and offers enough difficulty for the more experienced. The games aesthetics are amazing, it has an incredible sense of humor and is simply rewarding on every level. Buy this one now. It’s a very welcome break to the overly gritty games we see so much of
  • Half-Life Franchise $9.99 This is widely considered the greatest franchise in PC gaming history, and is a driving reason behind the success of Steam as a whole. Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two are still games you can go back to now and forget they started almost 7 years ago. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two would cost you 8.96 separately today, so it’s well worth the extra $1.03 to pick up the complete pack which includes Half-Life redone in the Source engine.
  • Lego Batman $4.99  You like Legos. Admit it, I know you do. You also love Batman. Even more, you love the Lego series of games thus far with their brand of humor and accessible gaming. That five bucks you saved on Duke would do well here if you’re interested in a casual game that is simply happy.
  • Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale $4.99  Recettear is a novel take on the RPG dungeon crawler format by adding in the factor of you being the shop keeper as well. While it certainly won’t appeal to everyone, the game does enough things right to make it a title I continually go back to over a year later.
  • Chantelise $2.49 By the same creators of Recettear it follows a very similar game plan. Chantelise removes the shop keeper element and offers a more serious story for a traditional RPG
  • Red Orchestra 2 $19.99 While I recommend Red Orchestra 2, it comes with a very strong warning. This is not a fast paced run and gun game. Unless you take the time to plan your moves and coordinate with your teammates you will die quickly and embarrassingly. This is a realistic WWII shooter. The initial launch was marred by a plethora of bugs, and most of them have been ironed out with promises of fixing others still. If you’re the type of player willing to sit back and work at the game, there is a great community waiting for you. If not, there are better options for your dollar.
  • Sacred Franchise $4.99 – $9.99 Sacred offers a dungeon crawling experience very similar to Diablo with a hack and slash approach to combat. However, it lacks the charm and story drive that was so key to Diablo’s success. If you’re chomping at the bit waiting for Diablo III, this may be a decent diversion, but the rest of you can save the money.
  • Theatre of War Franchise I haven’t played the Theatre of War series, but doing some research I keep coming across two points. Sluggish even on killer systems, and tries to be Men Of War. If you’re really looking for a WWII RTS, this will scratch that itch. However, I wouldn’t expect much out of this title.
  • Tropico 4 $13.59 Tropico 4 is an island management simulator where you play the role of a dictator trying to appease the world powers, your people and your publicity while secretly padding your off shore bank account. If that sentence didn’t capture your imagination just a bit, there is nothing in this title for you. If you wondered what SimCity would be like in 1950’s Cuba, this is exactly what you were looking for. Tropico 4 was essentially a straight upgrade from Tropico 3, so owners of Tropico 3 will have to decide if it’s worth jumping into on their own.
  • The Witcher Franchise. While I’m not personally a fan of these games, they have some great merits and some diehard fans who will sing the praises of the title up and down. The Witcher’s big selling point, to me at least, is that every decision you make actually has an impact in the story. Not a simple black or white, but by saving one person you could start an all-out war later in the game closing some areas off while gaining access to new ones. It’s worth noting that Amazon had The Witcher 2 for $16 a few days ago, so this is not a price that you need to jump on if you’re hesitant. We’ll probably see this one again.
  • Psychonauts $2.50 Psychonauts was very close to edging out Dungeons Of Dredmor as the steal of the day. When it came out it was universally praised by critics and offered tight platforming, engaging combat and a fun world to be in. Tim Schafer cemented his legacy as a hero to the game development community with this one. Travel through the minds of your fellow campers in order to bring recover their stolen brains and fix their emotional baggage.

I’ll see you again tomorrow ladies and gentlemen. Make sure you’re checking out the Great Gift Pile for chances to win free games, and let us know in the comments what you’ve picked up and how you’re enjoying it.