The Steam Deal Thread V7 - The soda wars have ended, but the deals rage on.

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Welcome to the Steam Deal Thread V7! You can find link to past threads at the bottom of this post. Read post #2 of this thread for Steam FAQs and more.

Since the V6 thread, we've decided to leave regular minor sales out of the OP. This post will keep track of major sales (Summer sale, etc.), Steam deals available through other sellers (like Amazon), Preorder deals, and Group Buys.

I would still greatly appreciate help from you folks at home in keeping this smaller-scale OP up-to-date. This is a Wiki post so anyone can contribute. Wiki instructions:
Thanks for your help! If you notice a sale has ended, feel free to delete its line from the sale list. Of course, if you see something does need to be added, then kindly add it to the list.

Make sure your changes match the thread's format! For example, every game that's on sale is part of an unordered list. When adding a game to the list, copy an existing line and update the link, title, and prices. That way, the format stays correct. Do not list percentages off! We list the original price and the sale price here. If you have any suggestions for major changes to the post/thread, PM me (EastX) about them.

Steam Sales - Updated 5/20


CAG Threads Featuring Steam Games on Sale Elsewhere - Updated 1/9


Preorder Deals - Updated 1/10
Group Buy Deals - Updated 1/9/13
Several multiplayer Steam games are available in 2-packs or 4-packs. These packs offer a discount over buying multiple copies of a game separately. We also maintain group buy trade threads for several games, so please use those threads if you're interested in setting up a group buy.


Free Stuff - List needs updating with F2P games!
There are several free games and mods on Steam. These are a few choice ones; you can find a full list here. Note that free games are not permanently attached to your Steam account like actual purchases would be. You'll need to manually download a game again from the website if you uninstall it.


Steam around CAG

If you are interested in joining the Steam CAG Community or participating in a trade or group buy with fellow Cheap Ass Gamers, please do so in the dedicated threads and not in the deal discussion thread. In the dedicated threads you will find CAGers with the same specialized interest who will be much quicker (and happier) to respond than in the Deals thread.

Past Special Sales

Visit www.steamgamesales.com to check previous sale prices on Steam games. We do keep track of some older sales here though:

Steam Retail Key List

What is a CD key and where can I find it?

Steam's explanation and list of Steam-activatable keys

The CD Key is a serial number with a combination of 13, 18, or 25 letters and numbers - it can be found on a sticker inside your game's case or printed on the game's quick reference card. The CD Key acts as your proof of purchase for the game - Steam Support may ask for it if you need to establish your ownership of an account. It is recommended that you keep your CD Key in a safe place to ensure the security of your account.

Other Keys that can be redeemed on Steam (CAG tested & verified)
11.gif

  • The Ball (bought @D2D, tested by voken)
  • Supreme Commander Forged Alliance (gives both FA and original, bought @amazon, tested by vism)

Indie Bundles thread on Steam forums (link)

Past CAG Steam Deal Threads
 
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I suspect the scar tissue above my left ear was a self inflicted wound. I have no recollection of IGN's Fez review. I think these two things are related.
 
[quote name='IamPro']Soda wars are over??[/QUOTE]

Only a temporary ceasefire.

"Coke" sustained heavy casualties, and its terms of surrender are currently being negotiated.
 
I thought FTL was completely unrealistic in that it is about space ships and intergalactic war and ... wait...

I thought Containment was completely unrealistic in that if there was a zombie outbreak no way are we going to be doing puzzles to fight them... wait...

I play video games to escape reality. Otherwise I'd want to be one shot killed like 75% of the time, mortally wounded 20% of the time, and survive and spend weeks in the hospital the other 5% of the time. That would be fun. "I can't wait until I recover in the hospital so I can return to that save the world mission I was doing."
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']I believe enemies DO drop ammo when you kill them, they just drop ammo specifically for all the guns you're holding on execution. It doesn't make sense in an in-world context, which makes it so gamey that it loses any kind of impact. If you want to say that that's commentary on a modern military shooter, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree that that was the intent of the game.

It sounds like the kind of thing a designer threw in for the sake of gameplay and a writer tried to rationalize in interviews after the fact.

That's actually what a lot of Spec Op's issues strike me as stemming from, to be honest.[/QUOTE]

Wait, you're criticizing Spec Ops for not being realistic enough? The mechanic was meant to make you contemplate, not be realistic. They're brutal actions, but they give you more ammo, which do you prioritize? It makes you think about what you're doing. Similar to the headshot slowdown mechanic, do you revel in the head popping or are you irked that you're mercilessly and brutally killing these guys? It's all there for a reason. In fact, I'm pretty sure time doesn't slow down in real life when you headshot someone, either.

I apologize. Guardian_Owl was the one to use the word satire.

You only compared it to Citizen Kane. ;)
Click to expand...
Citizen Kane once faded into obscurity too.
 
[quote name='CheapLikeAFox']
I play video games to escape reality. Otherwise I'd want to be one shot killed like 75% of the time, mortally wounded 20% of the time, and survive and spend weeks in the hospital the other 5% of the time. That would be fun. "I can't wait until I recover in the hospital so I can return to that save the world mission I was doing."[/QUOTE]

My issue wasn't with SO not being realistic enough, it was more about its "have your cake and eat it too" attitude. Did it want to be a modern military shooter? A piece of social commentary on modern military shooters? Another modern take on Heart of Darkness?

I think I agree with RS in that it was most successful in the third of those things, but it spent so much time waffling between all three that I found it often exhausting to watch.

[quote name='Davinatorman']Wait, you're criticizing Spec Ops for not being realistic enough? The mechanic was meant to make you contemplate, not be realistic. They're brutal actions, but they give you more ammo, which do you prioritize? It makes you think about what you're doing. Similar to the headshot slowdown mechanic, do you revel in the head popping or are you irked that you're mercilessly and brutally killing these guys? It's all there for a reason. In fact, I'm pretty sure time doesn't slow down in real life when you headshot someone, either.
[/QUOTE]

At no point did I care if the game was realistic.

Narrative justification and verisimilitude are not the same thing.

[quote name='Davinatorman']
Citizen Kane once faded into obscurity too.[/QUOTE]

More accurately, it began in relative obscurity and was elevated to prominence in the latter half of the century as film criticism (both in the academic and popular sense) became more widespread and respected.
 
I'm not sure how you can think of it as a conventional modern military shooter, when it's specifically set up to look like that, then later turns that whole idea on it's head.
 
$1+ for Darksiders and RF:A
BTA for Darksiders 2 and RF:G

https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly

The Mighty Bundle

Waveform - for: steam (pc, mac and linux), windows, mac, linux, desura
Avadon: The Black Fortress - for: steam (pc and mac), windows, mac, linux, desura
Zafehouse: Diaries - for: windows, desura
Derrick the Deathfin - for: windows, mac, desura
Tidalis - for: steam (pc and mac), windows, mac, desura
War of the Human Tanks - for: windows, desura

http://www.indieroyale.com/
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']
More accurately, it began in relative obscurity and was elevated to prominence in the latter half of the century as film criticism (both in the academic and popular sense) became more widespread and respected.[/QUOTE]

Sound familiar? We're in an age where the general consensus is that video games are simply meant to be entertainment and nothing more.
 
Go away Royale.

2012 GotY Banzai Pecan is $5 and change.

http://www.desura.com/games/banzai-pecan-last-hope-for-the-young-century
 
[quote name='anarchyoblivion']I would wait off to BTA on the Humble Bundle; it jumped from $6 to over $10 in minutes.[/QUOTE]

Saw that too. The BTA was $6.38 and then someone paid $638 and are the top contributor. Mistake on there part? or on purpose hahah, either way its back down to $8 which is a great deal for Darksiders 2
 
[quote name='Davinatorman']Sound familiar? We're in an age where the general consensus is that video games are simply meant to be entertainment and nothing more.[/QUOTE]

No form of any kind of culture is seen as entertainment and nothing more any longer.

That's why cultural studies exists.
 
That definitely explains why no form of media takes video games seriously, right? Six Days in Fallujah was destroyed by media backlash, for christs sake. No one rose a storm about Zero Dark Thirty or any other middle eastern conflict film.

Hell we're on a thread where collecting hundreds of video games and never playing 75% of them is the norm.
 
Define "taken seriously." The movies critics like are seldom what the viewing populace likes.

On second thought, lets not get in the 6000th pointless games should be "taken seriously" debate. That'd be more pointless than the internet's millionth Jack Robertson/Uwe Boll five minute hate.
 
I think the fact that this discussion over Spec Ops is even occurring is more significant than any debate over its intentions and shortcomings. Yes, the game takes some things out of your hands and forces you to do things you don't want to do, and at times things operate in service of "being a game" more than narrative. However, the game largely attempts to make you aware of what you're doing and the choices you are making (as well as the actions you are forced to take). As the game progresses, the loading screens start to mock the player who might be enjoying the dudebro action setpieces and gunfights.

All that said, your average shooter doesn't even elicit the slightest conversation on these sorts of topics. Whether or not Spec Ops fully succeeded (and I believe it is mostly successful and many of the design choices are intentional in service of the ultimate point), the fact that we talk about these ideas and are aware of what it attempts to say is more important than whether any of us are right or wrong in the details.
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']
All that said, your average shooter doesn't even elicit the slightest conversation on these sorts of topics. Whether or not Spec Ops fully succeeded (and I believe it is mostly successful and many of the design choices are intentional in service of the ultimate point), the fact that we talk about these ideas and are aware of what it attempts to say is more important than whether any of us are right or wrong in the details.[/QUOTE]

Are you sure? I could have sworn No Russian was meant to symbolize something about life or love or something.
 
[quote name='tsel']ftfy.[/quote]

qft

Edit:

20 Years from now we'll all have realized that The Goonies for the NES was the Citizen Kane of videogaming, anyway.
 
[quote name='travathian']When does the Summer Sale start?[/QUOTE]

When the midwest changes from uncomfortably cold and dry to uncomfortable hot and humid.
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']qft

Edit:

20 Years from now we'll all have realized that The Goonies for the NES was the Citizen Kane of videogaming, anyway.[/QUOTE]

Pffft. I came to that conclusion decades ago.
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']qft

Edit:

20 Years from now we'll all have realized that The Goonies for the NES was the Citizen Kane of videogaming, anyway.[/QUOTE]

That's a stretch. Most people thought it was a travesty, sure, but I thought The Goonies was good enough. Good enough for me anyway.
 
[quote name='louiedog']When the midwest changes from uncomfortably cold and dry to uncomfortable hot and humid.[/QUOTE]


That could be any day now! Of course there is no guarantee that the temperatures won't drop/snow won't fall the day after.
 
[quote name='travathian']When does the Summer Sale start?[/QUOTE]

it starts between june to auugust who knows unless one of indie developer leak it we wait and see
 
[quote name='asheskitty']Dirt 2 is well worth it (Dirt 1 too). I doubt Dirt 1 is coming back. If you want to see rage check out the GOG forum rage at Colin McRae Rally 2005 being pulled from GOG in '09. Dirt 2 passed the 3 year mark in December. I wouldn't recommend waiting for too many more steam seasonal sales to pick it up, if you're really interested in it (i.e. arcade racer/sim-lite fan).[/QUOTE]

i message and coddemaster and said they talk to steam guys to tried to get back on so maybe it be while
 
[quote name='tebowdragon15']i message and coddemaster and said they talk to steam guys to tried to get back on so maybe it be while[/QUOTE]

Thank tried and say you
 
[quote name='etcrane']Please Mooby, do enlighten us ... what is a good AAA game you've played lately?[/QUOTE]

I can't speak for him but it seems his whole point is that AAA games aren't good?

I wouldn't go that far, but they are definitely the Top 40 Radio of video games; homogenized fluff designed to appeal to as many people as possible. (And hey, let's take this one step further - they're also shackled to a comically outdated business model that doesn't seem to be working very well any more.) I'm not saying they can't be fun or interesting experiences, they can, but publishers need to realize not every game is going to sell 25 million copies like Call of Duty does year after year.

It seems obvious to me that smaller games with smaller budgets, using different visual and gameplay styles is the way to go. Needing 5 million copies sold to break even on Dead Space 3 is a stupid problem to have; dumbing the game down to an essentially horror-free co-op shooter is an even stupider solution. And they act surprised when this shit doesn't work.
 
I know one of you wants this ...
:bouncy:
:wall:
:whistle2:$
:baby:
:spam:
:rofl:
:-({|=
\\:D/
:D
:cry:
:booty:
:whistle2:#
:cold:
:hot:
:D
:)
:cool:
:lol:
:drool:
:oldman:
:applause: You made it!
Geneforge Saga
Steam:
977WW-L96TM-09G9K
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']
It seems obvious to me that smaller games with smaller budgets, using different visual and gameplay styles is the way to go. Needing 5 million copies sold to break even on Dead Space 3 is a stupid problem to have; dumbing the game down to an essentially horror-free co-op shooter is an even stupider solution. And they act surprised when this shit doesn't work.[/QUOTE]

Large publishers are changing their business models, but the indie games we think of when we think of where the industry should be going don't have the margins that an EA or an Activision are looking for or require, so they're more interested in F2P, mobile, and microtransaction based games now. You can hit that giant audience with far less investment.
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']Large publishers are changing their business models, but the indie games we think of when we think of where the industry should be going don't have the margins that an EA or an Activision are looking for or require, so they're more interested in F2P, mobile, and microtransaction based games now. You can hit that giant audience with far less investment.[/QUOTE]

I think the problem is that the margins EA/Activision/Ubisoft/whoever are looking for simply don't exist in reality. Their game budgets are out of control and there is no market to support them.

Mobile and F2P probably sound nice to executives who barely understand what the terms mean, but outside of a few isolated cases, how many of these games are ever even successful?
 
[quote name='Eldredpe']Large publishers are changing their business models, but the indie games we think of when we think of where the industry should be going don't have the margins that an EA or an Activision are looking for or require, so they're more interested in F2P, mobile, and microtransaction based games now. You can hit that giant audience with far less investment.[/QUOTE]

EA made a fortune on that f2p simpsons iOS game

i expect much more shit like that out of them in the next few years
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']I think the problem is that the margins EA/Activision/Ubisoft/whoever are looking for simply don't exist in reality. Their game budgets are out of control and there is no market to support them.[/QUOTE]

Yep.

Probably.

[quote name='N3UROP0D']
Mobile and F2P probably sound nice to executives who barely understand what the terms mean, but outside of a few isolated cases, how many of these games are ever even successful?[/QUOTE]

EA puts out pretty much every board game on iOS (these are rarely microtransaction-based, thankfully). I'm guessing with the sheer volume of games like that they can put out that quickly for that cheaply on phones and in browsers, it must be doing something for them. I think that market is larger and has more money than we often care to admit.
 
[quote name='vince_carter']
that said i'm about 1.5 hours into bioshock infinite and my mind is not blown, but i definitely like it better than bioshock 2[/QUOTE]


To clarify: I don't think it's a bad game, per se, just 'overproduced.' That's my biggest issue with the majority of AAA games. Of course, there are plenty of bad indie games, too, but the AAA industry has spiraled out of control in terms of the insane budgets, overemphasis on graphics and 'storytelling,' red carpet style PR blitzes, and gaming journalists that act as just another marketing conduit.

[quote name='N3UROP0D']I can't speak for him but it seems his whole point is that AAA games aren't good?

I wouldn't go that far, but they are definitely the Top 40 Radio of video games; homogenized fluff designed to appeal to as many people as possible. (And hey, let's take this one step further - they're also shackled to a comically outdated business model that doesn't seem to be working very well any more.) I'm not saying they can't be fun or interesting experiences, they can, but publishers need to realize not every game is going to sell 25 million copies like Call of Duty does year after year.

It seems obvious to me that smaller games with smaller budgets, using different visual and gameplay styles is the way to go. Needing 5 million copies sold to break even on Dead Space 3 is a stupid problem to have; dumbing the game down to an essentially horror-free co-op shooter is an even stupider solution. And they act surprised when this shit doesn't work.[/QUOTE]


This is a good summation of my thoughts. Above and beyond that there isn't much point in me arguing tastes. You'd never convince a Justin Bieber fan he wasn't any good.
 
Yeah I'm with you. I still have my doubts that going the F2P and mobile route can sustain a full-bore industry-wide gold rush any better than the current AAA model. There will be some successes and a lot of disappointments, same as it ever was (albeit with less at stake.)

And not to be one of those Kotaku-caliber commenters throwing a tantrum over how mobile is ruining everything!!1 but sometimes it's just like...can't we just have some proper games again, with no bullshit? I really think it could work if they'd just try. :lol: Anyway that's all I have to say on the topic.
 
[quote name='Mooby']You'd never convince a Justin Bieber fan he wasn't any good.[/QUOTE]

Maybe not right now. Time makes fools of us all. I made a Cyndi Lauper reference earlier. Hopefully no one got it.
 
[quote name='Blade']Prey isn't very good. It's a short FPS that you can play when you have nothing else to play, which most likely won't happen. I played it on 360, the console practically built by and for FPS games, and didn't even want to finish it. Same bland level designs, same abilities, same gameplay throughout all of the 18 or so chapters, some of which only consist of one enemy spawn in one room. I had more fun with Duke Nukem Forever. As far as this list goes, you should definitely save Prey for last.

Start up Portal 2 after you're finished with Bastion. It's a great game. Play co-op with mics (and some booze, if you're so inclined) and you'll have a blast.[/QUOTE]

I played PC version of Prey: Collector's Edition (paid like $20 for it, on sale)...and thought it was really good with a KB/mouse.

So.... {shrug}

[quote name='warreni']
RTCW is pretty great, especially the Where Eagles Dare-style breakout introductory levels.[/QUOTE]

RTCW is a really good SP; and had an AWESOME MP Component.

Seriously - that MP was pretty ground-breaking w/ its classic structure and all, for its time.
And how can you ever really go wrong w/ a Raven Software SP-made component? Really good SP.
 
[quote name='louiedog']Maybe not right now. Time makes fools of us all. I made a Cyndi Lauper reference earlier. Hopefully no one got it.[/QUOTE]


I see your true colors shining through...
 
[quote name='hollowfreak']I know one of you wants this ...
:bouncy:
:wall:
:whistle2:$
:baby:
:spam:
:rofl:
:-({|=
\\:D/
:D
:cry:
:booty:
:whistle2:#
:cold:
:hot:
:D
:)
:cool:
:lol:
:drool:
:oldman:
:applause: You made it!
Geneforge Saga
Steam:
977WW-L96TM-09G9K
[/QUOTE]

Game of the year right here folks
 
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