Ok guys, just a few more days left. We can do this. We just need to stick together. Valve can’t get to us if we just stick together. Just don’t make direct eye contact with your PC, don’t click on Steam, and no sudden movements. There’s only three more days of sales, we can out last them. What’s that? Red Orchestra is 75% off?…Clever girl…
You guys know the drill by now but for those who are new, allow me to explain. Below you can find a list of titles that are on sale today thanks to the Steam Summer sale.
Civilization Bundle – $24.99 – I’m a huge Civ fan. As far as I’m concerned, this series is the pinnacle of the turn based strategy genre. Civilization IV still has a huge following, yet I have to admit I enjoy V a bit better. This bundle is a great way to jump into the franchise since you’ll get III-V as well as most of the DLC for V. The Gods and Kings expansion isn’t included in this bundle, sadly, and with only two days left it’s unlikely we’ll see more than a 25% discount; now may be your best opportunity to grab it at a discount.
F.E.A.R.3 – $4.99 – I didn’t expect to enjoy Fear 3 (I outright refuse to call it F.3.A.R.) nearly as much as I did. The cooperative shooter has very little going for it in the ways of horror, but in terms of gunplay it’s more than passable. Playing through the campaign cooperatively with a buddy was an absolute blast, and since both characters have slightly different abilities, there was a lot more teamwork than I would have expected.
The game really wants to be a psychologically haunting horror game, but it never really was able to cement itself in that role. I’m not sure if I’m just that jaded when it comes to horror games or if it was trying to be tame in order to attract a wider audience, but there’s nothing here horror wise to write home about. For 5 bucks though, it’s a pretty fun game, even more so if you’ve got a buddy to play with. If the previous F.E.A.R. games didn’t do anything for you, you can safely pass here, but if you have even a passing interest in the series this should be something worth picking up.
Magicka – $2.49 – Magicka has ended more friendships in the We Got This Covered bunker than any game outside of Mario Party. The realistic wizard simulator is a fantastic title where you and up to three buddies set out in a colorful world in search of spells, loot, and possibly a chance to save the world if you feel up to it. The game is funny without being obnoxious, has a novel control scheme that fits into the world perfectly. It is also an absolute delight to look at. However, most of this won’t matter once you get into a battle, forget how to do your spells correctly and accidentally nuke your friend right off the map. Of course it was an accident, you wouldn’t do that right after he picked up that awesome sword, would you?
Dungeon Defenders – $3.74 – We’ve covered (get it?) Dungeon Defenders pretty extensively in the past, and for good reason. The co-op action tower-defense title is an amazing game filled with a plethora of loot and breathtaking aesthetics. The game has an incredible amount of DLC available as well, the highlight being the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards. There’s no real reason to not try this game, and if you’ve got some friends willing to play you this will be one of the best buys of the entire sale. Download the demo if you’re still unsure, but pick this one up as soon as you can.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – $7.49 – Human Revolution was a contender for game of the year with many critics last year, and for good reason. It’s a daunting task to make a sequel to one of the games that’s considered a pillar of PC gaming, even more so when you take into account that the previous attempt went over roughly as well as the Hindenburg. Human Revolution didn’t just meet the expectations of the franchise, it surpassed them. The game is outright brilliant in almost every way.
I played through as a stealth/hacker character, and while this hindered me in the boss battles (we’ll get to that in a second) I was able to break into every computer in the game and understand every little nuance of what was going on, all the while not killing a single person. Not once did I feel bored or overwhelmed by the information. Actually, it was quite the opposite, I still wanted more to see exactly who I could and couldn’t trust. My friend didn’t quite have the pacifist morals that I did and left literal piles of corpses on the streets, and while he may be a bit of a sociopath, he loved the game as well.
The only negative I have to say about this game are the boss battles, which were admitted to be outsourced and subpar by Edios. This isn’t an excuse for having to completely abandon every tactic I had been using for 12 hours to fight an out of place boss, but it does lessen the blow to hear an apology for it. The Missing Link expansion more than made up for this faux pas and rounded out the game fantastically. Considering you can get both the game and expansion for roughly 11 bucks, there’s no good reason to pass this up if you’ve somehow managed to not play it thus far.
Red Orchestra 2 – $4.99 – While I recommend Red Orchestra 2, it comes with a very strong warning. This is not a fast paced run and gun game and 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, but most of them have been ironed out by now, leaving behind an extremely fluid FPS. If you’re the type of player willing to sit back and work at a game, there is a great community waiting for you. If not, there are better options for your dollar.
Crysis 2 – $11.99 – The Crysis titles have a bit of a legacy, namely that of being some of the most technically demanding games on the market. Even nearly five years after the release of the original, the top comment on YouTube videos about computer hardware is usually something along the lines of “Yeah, but can it run Crysis?” Both games are absolutely breathtaking and feature some stellar gunplay and while the original Crysis may actually be the better of the two titles, you really can’t go wrong here. They may not be the best shooters on the market place, but they’re decidedly worth looking into. Make sure your rig can handle them before you buy in though.
Driver: San Francisco – $7.49 – Personally, I didn’t enjoy this title at all. The missions felt extremely repetitive, the rubber banding in the AI removed any threat of penalty if you were to make a mistake and the plot was insane. Not the good kind of insane where you never know what’s coming next and you want to see what other horrors the developers came up with, but insane where I honestly felt that during “bring your kid to work” day someone’s daughter got loose and managed to type up a script.
Add on the oppressive Ubisoft DRM and it just being a poor port and you’ve got a hefty hill to climb over. If you’re looking for a campy sandboxish racing game with a lot of plot points from 80’s films, there are worse titles out there but there may also be better uses for your money.
Indie Bundle IX – $9.99 – This is the bundle I’ve been waiting for the entire sale. There isn’t a bad game to be found here and I would highly recommend most of them even at full price.
VVVVV is one of the most brilliant platformers I’ve ever encountered. You can’t jump, but with a single button press you can flip gravity itself. It’s challenging, engaging and rewarding. In other words, it’s just about perfect.
Jamestown is an absolutely gorgeous SHMUP that plays out perfectly. The multiple difficulty settings will allow new players to learn the ropes while players used to bullet-hell games will still find a challenge on the higher levels. There’s also the ability to have four player local co-op on your PC, something that is a bit unwieldy admittedly, however the control schemes allow for use of a mouse, keyboard, or game pad so there is a bit of shoulder room for one another.
Capsized is a beautiful action adventure game. The hand drawn graphics and fluid art style paired with a vivid soundtrack give the game a brilliant level immersion. The game plays out a bit like a Metroid-Vania title, and is really something deserving of your attention.
If you’re looking for information on the flash sales, check out our page dedicated to them here. We’re updating every few hours to keep you abreast of the latest information to save you money.
