Day 3. Walls are closing in. People keep looking in my windows, trying to understand where the howling sounds are coming from. They’d never understand. How could they understand. It’s just me and you Steam. Forever….
Ok, that was a lot creepier than I thought it was going to be when I first started writing it out. Just a reminder, do NOT buy any games that aren’t either a deal of the day or a flash deal. You’ll always be able to buy it on the last day if it doesn’t go on a deeper discount.
Skyrim – $29.79 – I think you would be hard pressed to find a gamer who isn’t familiar with Skyrim right now. Arguably the biggest release from last year, Skyrim offers a vibrant world and a remarkable RPG experience. The world is massive and lets you create your own story if you’re willing to walk from the beaten path. The vanialla gameplay can be a bit weak but the modding community is absolutely fantastic and has fixed every issue I could dream of. Grab this one now.
Orcs Must Die! – $3.74 – Orcs Must Die! is a new twist on the Tower Defense game and ended up being a killer product. It doesn’t try to do too much either; it’s a streamlined title that provides easy fun. While you may not lose hours to it at a time, it’s my go to title if I need to do something with 15 minutes to kill. Robot Entertainment announced that players that have played the original Orcs Must Die! will have access to a “classic mode” when the sequel is released on the 30th, so consider this your last chance to jump on that deal at a discounted rate.
Dead Island – $10.19 – I really wanted to like this game. The initial trailer was downright amazing, the premise seemed unique and it promised to offer something we haven’t had yet. The actual product left a lot to be desired though. The game is essentially a first person brawler with occasional gunplay. The gunplay is subpar and the brawling gets repetitive and stale alarmingly fast. Even discounted to this price, I can’t recommend this title. Pass on this.
Dirt Showdown – $24.99 – Not being a huge fan of racing games generally, it’s hard for me to give a very accurate review of the genre. Dirt games are usually known for being ultrarealistic with precise handling, however, Showdown is an arcadey spin on the formula. Chad gave it a 70 when he reviewed it last month, so take from that what you will.
Tropico 4 – $7.49 – God, do I love Tropico. The city management simulator may not change much in the lines of gameplay but it simply oozes personality. Not content with just building up your tropical island, you have to take charge as a dictator trying to appease world powers, keep up your publicity and calming your people while secretly padding your off shore bank account. If that sentence didn’t tickle you at least a little bit, you can probably stop reading here. With the latest expansion, you can bring your paradise into the modern world complete with your own space program. Fans of city management games should really look into picking this one up.
Two Worlds II – $7.49 – Two Worlds II never quite got the respect it deserved thanks to the original title. The original Two Worlds was quite possibly one of the most offensive final releases I’ve seen with this generation. Somehow things were broken that I didn’t know you could break. Two Worlds II aimed to rectify this, and while it made some great changes it just never stepped fully out of that shadow. The story itself is rather bland, but the crafting system and sarcastic overtones give the game a certain charm. This is the video game equivalent of a B-Movie .
Borderlands $4.99 – Borderlands is Diablo with guns. Your enjoyment of this game will be based solely on if you’re the type of player to go solo or if you have a few friends willing to tag along. Solo, there’s nothing really fantastic waiting for you here, however, teaming up with a few friends to explore the wastelands is an absolute thrill. There are some gameplay issues you should know about before jumping in though. Voice chat is done through open mic only (and turned on by default) as well as using the notoriously temperamental Gamespy for matchmaking. If you’re willing to work with it, pick up the Game Of The Year addition to grab the DLC for only a few more bucks.
Frozen Synapse – $4.99 – You’ve never played a game quite like Frozen Synapse. It’s a tactical multiplayer turn based shooter. It actually pains me a bit to even write that as even after playing it still doesn’t make sense. Jump in with a friend, plan your squadron’s moves and outwit your opponent before he can mount an offense. This is no better way to feel like an evil genius than playing those last moments as your plan unfolds and you crush your opponent. While there is a demo, I don’t feel it does it justice. My one complaint is that this title has gone for less in previous sales, and I have to imagine it will again down the road.
Indie Bundle III – $9.99 – Braid is a title that every gamer should play. The puzzle platformer single handedly reinvigorated the “Are videogames art?” argument, and really is a stable of this generation. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is also pretty fantastic on it’s own rights, as is Bit.Trip.Beat, although it may be overly simplistic for some. The rest of the bundle is fairly meh. If you’re missing Braid or Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet from your library, this would be a fantastic time to pick them up.
Flash Sales? Hell yeah we’re covering flash sales! You can check out all of them right here, and we’ll be updating that post every few hours to keep you guys abreast of exactly what’s going on. Bookmark the page and check back often.