Steam Deals Thread V11 ~ Let's move along, people...

Status
Not open for further replies.
MrNinjaSquirrel

MrNinjaSquirrel

CAGiversary!
Feedback
25 (100%)
Seemed about time for a new thread, so here it is. Welcome to the Steam Deals Thread V11!

Daily Deal
Luftrausers - $9.99 $5.99
 
Yesterday's Deal
Metro: Last Light Complete Edition - $19.99 $9.99
Metro 2033 - $14.99 $3.74
 
Weekend Deals
Europa Universalis IV - $39.99 $9.99
Europa Universalis IV Extreme Edition - $44.99 $11.24 [customspoiler=DLC][/customspoiler]
Europa Universalis III Collection - 39.99 9.99
Europa Universalis III Complete - 14.99 3.74 [customspoiler=DLC][/customspoiler]
Europa Universalis: Rome - Gold Edition - 9.99 2.49
PAYDAY 2 - 29.99 9.99 [customspoiler=DLC][/customspoiler]
PAYDAY™ The Heist - 14.99 4.99 [customspoiler=DLC][/customspoiler]

Midweek Madness
Audiosurf 2 - $14.99 $8.99
Audiosurf - $9.99 $2.49
XCOM Complete - $49.99 $24.99 [customspoiler=Includes][/customspoiler][/customspoiler]
Painkiller Complete Pack - $69.99 $13.99 [customspoiler=Includes][/customspoiler][/customspoiler]
 
Weeklong Deals
Pool Nation - $9.99 $1.49
Booster Trooper - $4.99 $0.74
Zeno Clash - $9.99 $1.99
Thunder Wolves - $9.99 $1.99
Alien Breed™ Trilogy - $22.99 $11.49 [customspoiler=Includes][/customspoiler]
Two Worlds II - $19.99 $4.99 [customspoiler=DLC][/customspoiler]
Titan Quest - Immortal Throne - $14.99 $3.74
Titan Quest - $14.99 $3.74
Sine Mora - $9.99 $2.49
Primal Carnage - $14.99 $3.74
Mirror's Edge™ - $19.99 $4.99
Hard Truck Apocalypse / Ex Machina - $7.99 $1.99
Guncraft - $14.99 $3.74
Expeditions: Conquistador - $19.99 $4.99
Alien Spidy - $9.99 $2.49
Violett - $9.99 $2.99
Dark Matter - $14.99 $4.49
Survivor Squad - $8.99 $2.96
Victoria II - $19.99 $6.79
Star Trek - $14.99 $5.09
Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition - $14.99 $5.09
Tiny Troopers - $4.99 $2.49
Spate - $9.99 $4.99
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition - $19.99 $9.99
Litil Divil - $9.99 $4.99
Last Dream - $9.99 $4.99
KickBeat Steam Edition - $9.99 $4.99
Euro Truck Simulator 2 - $39.99 $19.99
Dead Space Pack - $34.99 $8.74 [customspoiler=Includes][/customspoiler]
Earthworm Jim Collection - $19.99 $9.99
Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension - $34.99 $17.49
Desert Thunder - $9.99 $4.99
Construction Machines 2014 - $14.99 $7.49
Tower of Guns - $14.99 $8.24
PlayClaw - Game Video Recorder - $49.99 $29.99
Vox - $9.99 $7.49
Obscure II (Obscure: The Aftermath) - $9.99 $7.49
Obscure - $6.99 $5.24
Action Indie Pack - $14.99 $1.49
Geneforge Saga - $19.99 $3.99

Miscellaneous Deals (end time varies)
Cloudbuilt - $19.99 $9.19
Titan Quest Gold - $19.99 $4.99
Football Manager 2014 - $49.99 $12.5
Dracula Trilogy - $19.99 $9.99 [customspoiler=Includes][/customspoiler]
The Wolf Among Us - $24.99 $16.74
MXGP - $39.99 $25.19
FX Eleven - $19.99 $9.99
Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 - $39.99 $19.99
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - $14.99 $6.00
 
Thread under construction, more to be added shortly...
 
Thanks to EastX, Detruire, Psydero, and everyone else that has contributed to the thread!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
BobbyTastic said:
Maybe it's more common because more games need to hide the fact that they're don't even come close to living up to their hype? :p
Click to expand...
Maybe partly, but you can come up with a list of great games that had release day embargoes. I'm not gonna make the list but I think Grand Theft Auto is one. It's just standard policy for a lot of publishers, there was a time that it would scare me off, but it no longer means much.

 
Neuro5i5 said:
Optimist.
Click to expand...
Nope. Just talking from experience.

Here is the one Watch Dogs review if anyone cares: http://www.reddit.com/r/watch_dogs/comments/260yv8/printed_review_in_french/

Gameplay: 5 stars
Everything works perfectly, the hacking is intuitive and allows for exhilarating moments in the game.

Graphics: 5 stars
Very solid on the technical level. The game is great when it comes to make the city feel alive.

Sound: 4 stars
Excellent ambient music and sound effects, but the track selection is a little limited.

Longevity: 5 stars
Because it’s a open world featuring multiplayer, there is a lot of various interesting and original things to do.

Pros:

Gameplay and level design
The life in Chicago
Generous content

Cons:

The Story, bof!
The first loading
That’s all!

Conclusion:
Watch_Dogs accomplished all the hopes placed on it and delivers a successful new take on open world games. Almost perfect, but with a slight disappointment on the story.

Final Score: 19 out of 20
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Blade said:
That's all wrong, btw.

He's over 2000 years old, can regenerate 12 times within one cycle, and can regenerate even more with enough energy. His real name is mentioned numerous times (Christos-something), he isn't the last of the Time Lords, and he doesn't destroy Gallifrey with the Doomsday weapon.
Click to expand...
His real name is Doctor Whom. (Sometimes -- when he is the object.)

 
BobbyTastic said:
Maybe it's more common because more games need to hide the fact that they're don't even come close to living up to their hype? :p
Click to expand...
I may know that the primary reason for an embargo in WD's case is because it's still fairly buggy. Nothing all too game breaking, but enough to shake a pitchfork or two at.

Game itself isn't THAT revolutionary, and I cant say anything about the story, but it's solid, has a lot of fun, relatively unique things to do, and the hacking system is pretty damn cool.

I dunno what's the hype about it, I guess I haven't been paying attention, but in the end its just a good fun game. Nothing that's going to make you disown your gods for the lord and savior Aidan Pierce.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Spoder, why don't you go grab squirrel nuts?

Edit: sorry. Was on mobile and somehow the keys mixed up. I tried to say "spoder, why don't you go grab race the sun at humble? Is a good game if you still don't have it. If you already have it... Go grab another game. There are a lot on sale. BTW, where's mayhem?". All mobile's fault
 
Idiotekque said:
I may know that the primary reason for an embargo in WD's case is because it's still fairly buggy. Nothing all too game breaking, but enough to shake a pitchfork or two at.

Game itself isn't THAT revolutionary, and I cant say anything about the story, but it's solid, has a lot of fun, relatively unique things to do, and the hacking system is pretty damn cool.

I dunno what's the hype about it, I guess I haven't been paying attention, but in the end its just a good fun game. Nothing that's going to make you disown your gods for the lord and savior Aidan Pierce.
Click to expand...
I may or may not know something about that as well, but I've been sworn to secrecy. ;)

<Paranoid> They know where I live...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Deuterium7 said:
I may or may not know something about that as well, but I've been sworn to secrecy. ;)

<Paranoid> They know where I live...
Click to expand...
Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up_zps9dde0bcd.gif


 
Idiotekque said:
I'm a writer myself, and I can tell you that the vast majority of lengthy stories are always going to sound like that when they're compressed into a block of text like that. I know the story of Chrono Cross inside and out, and that block of text does a terrible job of explaining things.

Chrono Cross's story can be summarized much more simply. It comes down to two themes, man and nature. Man plays God in creating a computer system so advanced (using alien technology, basically) they control the lives of the common people. Nature is seen through the dragons, which have their own dark agenda. You're put in between the two, and slowly you unravel the mystery and learn the truth behind things, ultimately thwarting all attempts to take over the world, more or less.

It's a complex story, and it has some flaws, but the best stories around are complex. Western RPGSs don't escape that rule and have problems of their own.
Click to expand...
That sounds a lot better than the Wikipedia page; maybe you should do the summaries for that site.

It might be a cultural thing; I don't know. Maybe games based on D&D seem arcane and ineluctable to the Japanese. Maybe it's me and I'm old and I would have loved these games if I'd played any of them in the '80s or '90s. But I doubt that that's true. If I concede that Western RPGs have story issues that doesn't mean that the kinds of games under discussion (things like Chrono Cross) are better than computer RPGs that came out at the same time.

lostnumberwar said:
Yes The basic narrative of Doctor Who is not that tough to understand if you actually watch it and not come into it with preconceived notions brought on by random other people's poor attempts at explaining it. Then again I like to judge things based on actual direct experience with them. An unbiased approach is best. I'm sure you've dealt with your share of people who blindly hate on Doctor Who just as much. It ain't fun is it. Of course I could prove my point by dragging up some poorly written fan synopsis as well but all that proves is inexperience with the subject matter. I'm not one for proving my ignorance so readily. I am a fan myself of Doctor Who but maybe not to the same level.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if this is intended to goad me into trying a PS1 game, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it. I don't have to put my arm in a container of liquid CO2 to know that it's not something I actually want to do. Frankly there are lots of people who don't like things that I enjoy (such as Doctor Who). It doesn't make them wrong. It makes them people who have different tastes than me. My wife likes some of the new Doctor Who but she has little to no interest in watching Patrick Troughton or William Hartnell stories; actually forcing her to watch one of those serials isn't going to do anything to change her mind.

In an earlier comment today, spoder alluded to my dislike for Portal. This is a great example. Most people liked Portal and the only thing they didn't like about it was that they felt it was too short. I perceived it to be too long because I didn't enjoy it. I found the puzzles to be obtuse and the platforming to be aggravating. Ask 10 people whether they liked or disliked Portal and probably all 10 of them will say they liked it. But I didn't. I'm not wrong about Portal being good and neither is anyone else. Portal isn't a good game to me.

I'm not trying to convince you or anyone else here of anything. I'm stating my opinions. Yours may be (and obviously are) different.

 
Souffrir said:
One of these days I'm going to have to figure out how AC worked before 3e.
Click to expand...
[customspoiler="D&D for whippersnappers"]

Basically the opposite of the way it does now. If you were buck naked, you'd have an Armor Class of 10. If you put on some padding and plate mail, that would bring your AC down to 2. With a Ring of Protection +1, it would go down to 1. A shield would drop it to 0. And so on.

[/customspoiler]
 
Cheaplikeafox 3.0 said:
I think you and your fellow nerds need to have a lan party or something because you guys can't seem to agree on some pretty simple facts here from a pretty simple show.
Click to expand...
Actually, thanks to the good looks of David Ten Inch and the charm of Matt Smith, there's currently a huge female fan base. So the female Who nerds and I usually get together and have banana orgies.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Blade said:
Actually, thanks to the good looks of David Ten Inch and the charm of Matt Smith, there's currently a huge female fan base. So the female Who nerds and I usually get together and have banana orgies.
Click to expand...
Well, I will say that Tennant was a big part of the draw for my wife (and Smith eventually grew on her). Hopefully Capaldi will grow on both of us; he seemed a bit of an odd choice.
 
lostnumberwar said:
5 special editions. 5 FIVE. Subdued my ass.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter how they cut it...

...from the spreadsheet - it looks still like this is the only game-content worth buying:

1. Watch Dogs (base-game)

2. T-Bone's Single-Player Campaign DLC; OR Season Pass (which contains T-Bone DLC).

Artbook and Soundtracks are always cool to have - but not necessary, unless that stuff here is something truly special....

{shrug}

 
warreni said:
In an earlier comment today, spoder alluded to my dislike for Portal. This is a great example. Most people liked Portal and the only thing they didn't like about it was that they felt it was too short. I perceived it to be too long because I didn't enjoy it. I found the puzzles to be obtuse and the platforming to be aggravating. Ask 10 people whether they liked or disliked Portal and probably all 10 of them will say they liked it. But I didn't. I'm not wrong about Portal being good and neither is anyone else. Portal isn't a good game to me.
Click to expand...
Someone else who isn't crazy over Portal? :shock: Never got the love, had a different issue with it (namely the platforming was really easy to me, until the last two levels that were aggravating) and apparently missed the greatness of the story.

 
warreni said:
That sounds a lot better than the Wikipedia page; maybe you should do the summaries for that site.

It might be a cultural thing; I don't know. Maybe games based on D&D seem arcane and ineluctable to the Japanese. Maybe it's me and I'm old and I would have loved these games if I'd played any of them in the '80s or '90s. But I doubt that that's true. If I concede that Western RPGs have story issues that doesn't mean that the kinds of games under discussion (things like Chrono Cross) are better than computer RPGs that came out at the same time.
Click to expand...
Well, it's a complicated story. Nothing that person typed up is necessarily false, but they tried to mash too many points in together and included parts that have very little relevance to the story as a whole (people like Fargo, Norris, Grobyc, etc). Not to mention they also tried to smash characters' backstories in there as well, which turns the "summary" into an unintelligible lump of text that's going to make anyone (especially a fan of the story like me) roll their eyes.

I know what you're saying about the divide between western and Japanese RPG themes, though. Western leans towards the darker, "arcane" (as you said), arguably gruesome side of the genre. When you come up to someone who knows nothing really about RPGs and their themes, and you ask them what they think D&D is about and what Final Fantasy is about, you're going to get a broad view that D&D does rest on that darker, magical side of things, while Final Fantasy is more about wild, colorful monsters and cute characters. After all, Japanese RPGs are all in some way or another influenced by anime, which usually comes with that big eyes, loud voices, flashy graphics quality to it.

Personally, I enjoy both sides of the spectrum. I know you're a big Dragon Age fan, and that's a good example of the dark fantasy (they even marketed the game with those two words) feel of D&D and its ilk in the modern age. I love the game and that setting as well (I'm also a huge Game of Thrones fan, though there's far less focus on magic in that). But I also enjoy the flashier, more colorful themes that come with some Japanese RPGs (though I'm not a huge fan of RPGs that completely go the anime route). Games like Chrono Cross are some of my favorites, because they find a balance between the wild side of things mixed with visuals that aren't just ripped from an anime. But I also adore games like Planescape Torment for the focus on the literary aspect, the deep storytelling, and that dark setting (though sometimes these games can get too wordy, and don't always have stories that feel worth your time).

But when it comes to story, that's sort of why I like both, because each side has different things. Western RPGs very, very often follow pretty generic, cliched storylines. Not always, mind you, but you can only read or play so many tales about an evil witch, an evil sorcerer, an evil dragon, and so on. While not all stories follow these staple ideas, a vast many do. That doesn't mean they're all bad either, take a game like Dragon Age that does the "Evil dark scourge descending upon civilization to destroy all that exists, led by a dragon." thing, but does it great, throwing in really unique ideas like their fantastical take on demons, religion, and so on.

Switch over to Japanese RPGs, and yes, you do have a lot of cliches as well, but the stories are far more often on the wild side, and are anything but dull. Final Fantasy 9 deals with a political struggle between nations, utilization of a mysterious, magical essence that spans much of the world called "mist", using that mist to create puppet soldiers with a level of self-awareness that puts another angle on the whole thing, etc. Wild stuff like that doesn't always come together, and is often just all over the place and annoying like that Chrono Cross summary you cut and pasted made it sound like, but other times these wild stories do come together and are truly unique experiences that take your imagination to different places.

TL;DR, So while Japanese RPGs have wild stories that oftentimes are all over the place and don't come together, I would say that just as often do western RPGs have cliched stories that are simply boring and winded.

It's understandable that the older generation such as yourself (not a knock on you or anyone, but you're not a kid) may prefer and cling to the genre you grew up with, while shunning the "crazy Japanese stuff", because a lot of times that isn't a bad definition for it. It's a shame to not give some excellent games and stories in the genre a try though. You never know! If I could recommend any JRPG to you, it would be Final Fantasy Tactics. Is the story wild? Yes it is, but it's also very serious and heavily political, with the "wild" stuff kind of simmering beneath the surface. Excellent story, even if it gets confusing near the end, and even better gameplay. Not a game I think anyone in any generation should miss.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well I've played nearly every single RPG and JRPG in existence, it's my mission after all. I can say there are lots of JRPGs I enjoyed but without a doubt 90% of them are junk and have the stupidest or most embarrassing story lines ever created. Western RPGs might be full of cliche and ho-hum off to save the world again plots but rarely am I actually embarrassed to be caught playing one like I am with the most of the JRPG trash (that I still play). Perhaps it's my ancient age but seriously, most of these JRPGs are clearly designed by deviants with mental health issues.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
warreni said:
Flemeth disapproves -2
[customspoiler="Tyranthraxus also disapproves"]

Uxd3HGi.png


[/customspoiler]
Click to expand...
Man, that brings back terrible memories of being seventh level, having to walk through the Slums and the game would throw a random encounter of like fifty kobolds at you. Then you slowly carve through them all because God forbid you blow a couple spells and have to rest to recover them thus spawning more random encounters...

Or finding a safe spot and setting yourself to Rest for six months to recover hitpoints because it was easier than memorizing/casting Cure [X] Wounds twenty times. What I'm getting at it that Pool of Radiance mechanically sucked. Curse of the Azure Bonds thankfully fixed and streamlined the worst of it.

 
Cheaplikeafox 3.0 said:
The internet is a much better place when we try to convince someone else that they are wrong and insist on getting the last comment in.
Click to expand...
Idioteque and motoki have proved this to be true

Bruticis said:
Well I've played nearly every single RPG and JRPG in existence, it's my mission after all. I can say there are lots of JRPGs I enjoyed but without a doubt 90% of them are junk and have the stupidest or most embarrassing story lines ever created. Western RPGs might be full of cliche and ho-hum off to save the world again plots, rarely am I actually embarrassed to be caught playing one like I am with the most of the JRPG trash (that I still play). Perhaps it's my ancient age but seriously, most of these JRPGs are clearly designed by deviants with mental health issues.
Click to expand...
This is surprising coming from you

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Syntax Error said:
Man, that brings back terrible memories of being seventh level, having to walk through the Slums and the game would throw a random encounter of like fifty kobolds at you. Then you slowly carve through them all because God forbid you blow a couple spells and have to rest to recover them thus spawning more random encounters...

Or finding a safe spot and setting yourself to Rest for six months to recover hitpoints because it was easier than memorizing/casting Cure [X] Wounds twenty times. What I'm getting at it that Pool of Radiance mechanically sucked. Curse of the Azure Bonds thankfully fixed and streamlined the worst of it.
Click to expand...
Pool of Radiance was certainly rough on mechanics but, imo, best of the Goldbox series and one of the better classic RPGs ever made. The overworld/exploration was HUGE compared to the later titles.

 
Bruticis said:
most of these JRPGs are clearly designed by deviants with mental health issues.
Click to expand...
tumblr_lebn7nGwAH1qcru8c.gif


I dunno, I guess it's hard to embarrass me. I don't really care what people think, and I'd rather laugh at the ridiculousness of something than slog through something that bores me to death. All depends on the game though.

 
Guys, I thought we had established that Sonic Racing Transformed was the best RPG of all time?

asheskitty said:
You sick puppy
Click to expand...
I like squares; shapes without corners can't be trusted.

BobbyTastic said:
That's because of what I posted about earlier. There's a review embargo until release, which is almost never a good sign for a game, especially after said game has seen delays.
Click to expand...
Good games come out with review embargoes; bad games have no embargo. Just because a publisher doesn't want reviews coming out early doesn't mean the game is bad, and I find the people insistent upon this theory are reading too much into it.

Blade said:
That's all wrong, btw.

He's over 2000 years old, can regenerate 12 times within one cycle, and can regenerate even more with enough energy. His real name is mentioned numerous times (Christos-something), he isn't the last of the Time Lords, and he doesn't destroy Gallifrey with the Doomsday weapon.
Click to expand...
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerd!

MysterD said:
I hope you mean THIS Metro:

And THIS one, too:
Click to expand...
I thought Metro 2033 was incredibly overrated, so no, I do not mean that.

The appropriate response here is to DRINK!

Cheaplikeafox 3.0 said:
I don't trust dishonest people who break embargoes.
Click to expand...
There's a circle of hell reserved for them.

Naked Snake Eyes said:
It's from a magazine so it doesn't count as breaking, I guess.
Click to expand...
Do you understand how embargoes work?

juanjava said:
Spoder, why don't you go grab squirrel nuts?
Click to expand...
Believe me, he's tried.

 
MrNinjaSquirrel said:
Good games come out with review embargoes; bad games have no embargo. Just because a publisher doesn't want reviews coming out early doesn't mean the game is bad, and I find the people insistent upon this theory are reading too much into it.
Click to expand...
Not gonna lie. I'm definitely guilty of that, but I feel like it's mostly bad games that get review embargoes. Yeah, a number of good games get them too, but the whole practice is done to preserve hype, regardless of the game's quality. It's done to artificially preserve hype for people who pre-ordered/get it day 1, and it shows a lack of trust in the game's own merits. Sometimes this is the publisher wanting to ensure their million pre-orders go through instead of just a couple hundred-thousand, sometimes it's to keep sales high on a bad game.

Based on what idiot hypothetically said, what I said doesn't seem too far off from the mark. There are issues that could derail the Watch Dogs hypetrain if made public before release and they're trying to bury them for as long as they can (I'm sure the issues were worse before the delays too). We'll see the full scope of it when the game drops, I guess.

 
BobbyTastic said:
Not gonna lie. I'm definitely guilty of that, but I feel like it's mostly bad games that get review embargoes. Yeah, a number of good games get them too, but the whole practice is done to preserve hype, regardless of the game's quality. It's done to artificially preserve hype for people who pre-ordered/get it day 1, and it shows a lack of trust in the game's own merits. Sometimes this is the publisher wanting to ensure their million pre-orders go through instead of just a couple hundred-thousand, sometimes it's to keep sales high on a bad game.

Based on what idiot hypothetically said, what I said doesn't seem too far off from the mark. There are issues that could derail the Watch Dogs hypetrain if made public before release and they're trying to bury them for as long as they can (I'm sure the issues were worse before the delays too). We'll see the full scope of it when the game drops, I guess.
Click to expand...
Yes, but there's also the fact publishers could be looking at the hype, and knowing unless the game comes out with perfect 10s all around people are going to consider it a failure. It could still be an amazing game, but with how hyped up it is there's no way it's almost certainly not going to satisfy people no matter how good it might be (just look at what happened when GameSpot gave GTA5 a 9.5 instead of a 10), so it's probably in Ubisoft's best interest to hold off releasing reviews no matter how confident they are about the game.

 
MrNinjaSquirrel said:
Porn.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a great example. I could say German porn is the best, most fetishistic porn in the world, and then Idiot could argue that no, Japanese porn is after all; and then Bobby could start going into the weird stuff Brazilian transexuals get into.

And we'd have to call him a :newbie: , of course.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top