# Steam Bargains



## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Morrowind: £3.25
Oblivion: £6.80
Fallout 3: £14.99

(All are GOTY editions with expansions/plugins)

3 of my all time favourite games, Morrowind especially holds up well despite being almost antique in terms of computer games!  Well worth a go.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

dang almost tempted by fallout 3 but i still havn't played oblivion after buying it last time it was discounted


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> dang almost tempted by fallout 3 but i still havn't played oblivion after buying it last time it was discounted


Well it is a great game, but if you're not going to get round to it for a while anyway you may as well wait until it's even cheaper I suppose!

Oblivion is my least favourite of the 3, it was very much criticised by hardcore Morrowind fans, but only because by comparison Morrowind is so much better - Oblivion is still a good game though, when I play it I just try not to make comparisons.


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## Silva (Jun 12, 2010)

I'm not sure if FO3 is such a good deal at that price. I could have bought the game + both expansions at less than that.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Isn't team fortress 2 free this weekend? Or something. I downloaded steam on the iMac and I got it for free anyway. It might be only free for macs.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Silva said:


> I'm not sure if FO3 is such a good deal at that price. I could have bought the game + both expansions at less than that.


Really? £28 at Amazon.  Let us know where you found such a bargain!  You say "both" expansions - you are aware that there are 5 expansions in the GOTY edition aren't you?


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## Stigmata (Jun 12, 2010)

Morrowind is excellent if only for the nuttiness of the 36 Sermons, replete with metaphorical references to gay sex.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

ah hell

i'm ill so i'm treating myself

fallout 3 is purchased


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> ah hell
> 
> i'm ill so i'm treating myself
> 
> fallout 3 is purchased


Cool, I think you'll enjoy it - it gets a lot of praise from both RPG* and FPS fans and I think has captured that crossover thing pretty well.  And at the risk of turning this into a flamefest, it has plentiful good cheats if you find any of it too frustrating (I remember that thread Shippy!)

*Of course no game is without criticism from hardcore RPGers, but FO3 fared pretty well considering


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

i rewatched the ZP review of it... http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/420-Fallout-3

sounds cool ...  epecially as  one of the major complaints  he had was that it's too easy... for me that's never really an issue


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> i rewatched the ZP review of it... http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/420-Fallout-3
> 
> sounds cool ...  epecially as  one of the major complaints  he had was that it's too easy... for me that's never really an issue



I'm with you there.  As someone who got into PC gaming thanks to the old isometric Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate et al), I don't appreciate combat being "difficult" in modern RPGs - it's supposed to be about the plot, and the skill of your character, not whether the player can remember a complex sequence of button presses to pull off a "move" or hit a button to reload the weapon quick enough!!!

BTW the bearded one says Hello


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

if you can't get through an area  go round beating up slimes  till you can buy better armour  and  unlock fury death bolt lvl 2


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Fallout 3 is the best game I've ever played. Fact.

Well, there's Portal, but that's a very different thing in practice.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Fallout 3 is the best game I've ever played. Fact.
> 
> Well, there's Portal, but that's a very different thing in practice.


Don't fancy the sound of Portal tbh, weren't Steam doing that really cheap a little while back?  It just didn't sound like my sort of thing.

FO3 is definitely a great game, but not my favourite game ever - but that's because for me as a dedicated RPG fan I would have liked the main quest to be longer, more side quests, more interesting dialogue from NPCs etc.  So for that reason I'd place it lower in my list than Morrowind, Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape:Torment, and Arcanum - I'd easily say it was my favourite game released in the last 5 years though, and I can't wait for New Vegas!


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

More side quests? There are 50 or so! I'd agree about the dialogue though - while it's funny and well written, conversation is very predictable. The options all follow the same format: there's a "sensible plot progressing" option, an "arsehole make the NPC hate you" option, and one or more "okay but don't get you anywhere" options, and it's always very obvious what they are. Still.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> More side quests? There are 50 or so!



That's a low number compared to Morrowind, which allowing for the fact you can only join one Great House (so can't get quests from all the Houses), and ignoring the main quest, has more than 200 side quests related to joinable factions and guilds.  

Besides those, there are numerous side quests that aren't associated with any faction or guild in most of the cities and villages, some that are found in the wilderness, and another whole bunch of quests if you decide to become a vampire and join one of the vampire clans.

Then there are the 2 expansions, each offering a main quest and plenty of side quests.  And several free official plugins.

I reckon there are easily between 300-400 official side quests available in any playthrough of Morrowind.

Then there are the available mods, I easily have another 200 community built quests added.

FO3 does not offer a large number of side quests given that it is billed as an RPG.

ETA: Which is why Morrowind is the best RPG ever made for the PC, and why anyone who hasn't played it probably ought to pick it up for £3.25 on Steam this weekend.  It's the game that sets the standard against which all other RPGs are measured and found wanting.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

i can say that  morrowind is my favorite modern  rpg

the onlt rpgs  that i might put above it  are some of the classic   snes jrpg  but   they feel like quite a diffrent beast


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Hm. Quest/task construction is something I'm actually professionally involved in right now, writing systems for interactive online VWs. I've not played Morrowind, but the issue of how *deep* quests go and how much they branch - the total plot tree - is significant, as well as the number of them; side quests with large task trees are more significant than ones with smaller ones, but on the other hand, some people prefer lots of shallow quests rather than a few deep ones. (As well as that there's the issue of branching - if a quest can branch in different exclusive directions, that provides a huge boost in the perception of interactivity and personal choice, but it means basically doubling or more the development effort required from then on, because half of what you work on at each branch, the player won't see.)


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## Silva (Jun 12, 2010)

Epona said:


> Really? £28 at Amazon.  Let us know where you found such a bargain!  You say "both" expansions - you are aware that there are 5 expansions in the GOTY edition aren't you?



In here (Portugal) Game bought a large percentage of the stock after the first shipments ran out. When I bought it (last December), they had both expansions and the game for around £16. According to the website, the PC GOTY goes at around the same price (although it does take some searching and travelling right now).

Yes, there are five expansions, four of them split between two expansion disks. Mothership Zeta was a download only, but IIRC it's more a cheap source for alien blaster ammo.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Silva said:


> In here (Portugal) Game bought a large percentage of the stock after the first shipments ran out. When I bought it (last December), they had both expansions and the game for around £16. According to the website, the PC GOTY goes at around the same price (although it does take some searching and travelling right now).
> 
> Yes, there are five expansions, four of them split between two expansion disks. Mothership Zeta was a download only, but IIRC it's more a cheap source for alien blaster ammo.


Ah so in Portugal you can pick it up cheaper (sounds like a fantastic bargain for such a good game!), nice for you, not so relevant for most of the posters here 

GOTY includes all 5 official expansions, and Mothership Zeta which is no longer download only was awesome IMO (my second favourite expansion after Point Lookout) with a really good story, much more to it than a source of alien ammo.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Hm. Quest/task construction is something I'm actually professionally involved in right now, writing systems for interactive online VWs. I've not played Morrowind, but the issue of how *deep* quests go and how much they branch - the total plot tree - is significant, as well as the number of them; side quests with large task trees are more significant than ones with smaller ones, but on the other hand, some people prefer lots of shallow quests rather than a few deep ones. (As well as that there's the issue of branching - if a quest can branch in different exclusive directions, that provides a huge boost in the perception of interactivity and personal choice, but it means basically doubling or more the development effort required from then on, because half of what you work on at each branch, the player won't see.)



i suppose it ups the replay value though

but i'd be intrested to se  how much people actually replay rpg type games


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> i suppose it ups the replay value though
> 
> but i'd be intrested to se  how much people actually replay rpg type games



It does, and some people replay, but not many with explicitly story-driven games. More gamey-games, they are more likely to I think.

There was a good piece on randomisation in games wrt to replay value on Game Set Watch recently... based around Roguelikes, but explores other RPGs. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/05/column_play_purposes_for_rando.php Randomisation of course provides the greatest number of novel branches by definition.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Hm. Quest/task construction is something I'm actually professionally involved in right now, writing systems for interactive online VWs. I've not played Morrowind, but the issue of how *deep* quests go and how much they branch - the total plot tree - is significant, as well as the number of them; side quests with large task trees are more significant than ones with smaller ones, but on the other hand, some people prefer lots of shallow quests rather than a few deep ones. (As well as that there's the issue of branching - if a quest can branch in different exclusive directions, that provides a huge boost in the perception of interactivity and personal choice, but it means basically doubling or more the development effort required from then on, because half of what you work on at each branch, the player won't see.)



If that's your yardstick, then Morrowind still beats FO3 by a million miles.  "Shallow" side quests?  Have you even played Morrowind, or are you just assuming that because there are many quests that they must not be that complex?  Many of the faction/guild side quests are a tricky web of interweaving, with quests from different guilds overlapping/interacting, the outcome of one affecting another, highlighting tensions between the guilds and with multiple outcomes in a way that many games can't even be bothered to attempt.



Shippou-Chan said:


> i suppose it ups the replay value though
> 
> but i'd be intrested to se  how much people actually replay rpg type games



The fact that there are still mods being released for Morrowind 8 years after its release and that several big community modding projects are very much alive and well demonstrates that people do go back and replay it - I've played it on and off over those 8 years (although never actually finished the main quest  ) and still enjoy it.  I've replayed every good RPG I have over and over!  And it's the ones I replay that make it onto my top 10.  FO3 is there, but not at the top, not by a long way.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Epona said:


> If that's your yardstick, then Morrowind still beats FO3 by a million miles.  "Shallow" side quests?  Have you even played Morrowind, or are you just assuming that because there are many quests that they must not be that complex?  Many of the faction/guild side quests are a tricky web of interweaving, with quests from different guilds overlapping/interacting, the outcome of one affecting another, highlighting tensions between the guilds and with multiple outcomes in a way that many games can't even be bothered to attempt.



I haven't played Morrowind, I'm just speaking generally about depth vs breadth in plot trees. Unfortunately I won't be able to get a sabbatical to play RPGs 

Annoyingly a lot of the stuff that I do has to be deliberately short, to fit in with teaching modules and short attention spans and to cope with people who just can't use the client in the first place. It's "educational" rather than "gaming" - same principles, different constituency. My current plan is hopefully to have short-depth discrete goals with "tangible" rewards (Facebook badges, inworld items etc) which are mutually dependent to form deeper structures.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

i replay a lot of my games but then i reread all of my books  quite a lot   (which apparently some people find strange)    i was curious  on how replayability affrect  the market  rather than  the  hardcore fans

i never really understood the games market  when i found out that  some of my favorite games  bombed

i still think just about every one should play  grimfandango  a game  that won high praise  but   was not a comercial sucsess


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I haven't played Morrowind, I'm just speaking generally about depth vs breadth in plot trees. Unfortunately I won't be able to get a sabbatical to play RPGs
> 
> Annoyingly a lot of the stuff that I do has to be deliberately short, to fit in with teaching modules and short attention spans and to cope with people who just can't use the client in the first place. It's "educational" rather than "gaming" - same principles, different constituency. My current plan is hopefully to have short-depth discrete goals with "tangible" rewards (Facebook badges, inworld items etc) which are mutually dependent to form deeper structures.



oh christ so your  the one to blame for it all


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

I don't work for fucking Whyville, I'd like to make that quite clear from the outset.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I haven't played Morrowind, I'm just speaking generally about depth vs breadth in plot trees. Unfortunately I won't be able to get a sabbatical to play RPGs



Well no bloody offense mate, but if you're not that well versed in RPGs, don't try to make out that FO3 is the dog's bollocks when it comes to RPG criteria, because it isn't.   It's a crossover Action-RPG, which it manages to pull off fantasically well, to the extent that it's a good game that appeals to fans of each (also making it hugely successful).  But FPS fans complain that the combat's too easy, and RPGers complain that there aren't enough side quests and dialogue, and it's not "deep" enough - that's the cross that a game playing piggy in the middle (however well) has to bear, and it's probably never going to be universally declared best game ever amongst either hardcore group, because each finds it a good game, but slightly lacking in some way - and that wide appeal without pandering to the expectations of either group at the expense of the other is good for the number of units sold, which is what it is all about.



Shippou-Chan said:


> i replay a lot of my games but then i reread all of my books  quite a lot   (which apparently some people find strange)    i was curious  on how replayability affrect  the market  rather than  the  hardcore fans
> 
> i never really understood the games market  when i found out that  some of my favorite games  bombed
> 
> i still think just about every one should play  grimfandango  a game  that won high praise  but   was not a comercial sucsess



Replayability is a big issue in the RPG community, an RPG with less than 50-60hrs play and limited opportunity to have a different experience on a second, third, and fourth playthrough is usually slated - find any dedicated RPG gaming forum and you'll soon get the gist of how important replayability is.

As for the market for games, they don't really give a shit whether you play it 1 time or 20 times, as long as you pay for it.  A game that gives 1 great playthrough so that people rave about it and it gets good reviews is as valuable in terms of initial sales as a game that you can replay over and have it a bit different each time (which must cost much more in development terms).  The thing is that the hardcore RPG community is particularly hard on games with low replay value, but they are a small minority of the game-buying market, hence we're getting more FPS/RPG crossovers, typically getting lighter on traditional RPG complex skill/levelling based play, because they still manage to attract some of the RPG market, but also open it up to the much larger and more lucrative FPS fanbase.

Fallout 3 I will play more times I am sure, but I feel as if I've done ME2 - where FO3 got the crossover right, ME2 failed quite badly on many counts - it was too FPS for me, however much I enjoyed the original Mass Effect, ME2 was a bit of a disaster.

As for Grim Fandango, I bloody loved that game, I just think it missed the last boat leaving the port as far as Adventure game popularity goes.  Adventures had their heyday in the days when 3d rendering and physics engines and all that technical stuff was but a dream, and Grim Fandago came at the end of that period - unlike earlier adventure games, it was competing with a much improved action genre including titles such as Half Life, Unreal Tournament, and Nocturne, that sort of thing.

At least that's my take on it.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 12, 2010)

i guess i'm so used to playing old school rpgs  with limited  branching  my mesuring stick is a little off


i must say with mass effect   while i was on the station it  felt RPGish  but as  soon as i got into spac it went  totally FPS   still not played ME2

intrestingly it seems  there has been a bit of a resurgence  iun the adventure  game... but i think  it's  aimed squarly at the older teen/;adult audience... i mean  a kid  will find grim fandango fun  but  you really  need to have an apreciation of  film noir to get some of it...  like the whole casablanca  section


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> i guess i'm so used to playing old school rpgs  with limited  branching  my mesuring stick is a little off



I'm not going to say a word against any old RPGs you like, I think we probably played different ones for a start (I imagine you were more Final Fantasy and I was more Baldur's Gate!) and I don't know enough about those games to comment.




			
				Shippou-Chan said:
			
		

> i must say with mass effect   while i was on the station it  felt RPGish  but as  soon as i got into spac it went  totally FPS   still not played ME2



I like Mass Effect, it's a good game, but I played it through twice (once as Paragon, once as Renegade), and that'll do really, to experience the game.  ME2 was a disappointment - it was billed as an amazing sequel which would reflect your choices in ME during gameplay, but I found getting a thank-you e-mail from someone you helped in ME a bit disappointing.  And I found some of the combat difficult (although FPS fans said it was too easy).  And I didn't like the way the missions were recruit recruit recruit loyalty loyalty loyalty - just because you can do the recruitment/loyalty missions in whatever order you like doesn't make it non-linear.  And there were times I couldn't save my game, and times I couldn't go off and do something else instead.  I'm an RPGer, what the fuck is that about?




			
				Shippou-Chan said:
			
		

> intrestingly it seems  there has been a bit of a resurgence  iun the adventure  game... but i think  it's  aimed squarly at the older teen/;adult audience... i mean  a kid  will find grim fandango fun  but  you really  need to have an apreciation of  film noir to get some of it...  like the whole casablanca  section



Definitely, I've noticed an increase in the number of adventure games coming out, but they're not 'big' and they don't get all the marketing the way that the latest action games do - I think they're aimed at the more mature market - people around my age and older who (if I had reproduced and wasn't a nerdy RPG fan and long term PC gamer) might go into the shop to pick up a copy of the latest shooter for my teenage kid and see something on the shelf that is a bit more casual and less dependent upon fast reflexes and manual co-ordination.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

Epona said:


> Well no bloody offense mate, but if you're not that well versed in RPGs, don't try to make out that FO3 is the dog's bollocks when it comes to RPG criteria, because it isn't.   It's a crossover Action-RPG, which it manages to pull off fantasically well, to the extent that it's a good game that appeals to fans of each (also making it hugely successful).  But FPS fans complain that the combat's too easy, and RPGers complain that there aren't enough side quests and dialogue, and it's not "deep" enough - that's the cross that a game playing piggy in the middle (however well) has to bear, and it's probably never going to be universally declared best game ever amongst either hardcore group, because each finds it a good game, but slightly lacking in some way - and that wide appeal without pandering to the expectations of either group at the expense of the other is good for the number of units sold, which is what it is all about.



FO3 is the best RPG *I've* played, that's just personal opinion. As to the "RPG community" or for that matter the "FPS community" - not my interest, I don't write for any of them. They're both already very well served, as well as both being entirely mired in genre protocol, and they're not the target audience in any case.


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## Epona (Jun 12, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> FO3 is the best RPG *I've* played, that's just personal opinion. As to the "RPG community" or for that matter the "FPS community" - not my interest, I don't write for any of them. They're both already very well served, as well as both being entirely mired in genre protocol, and they're not the target audience in any case.



Cop out, sorry.   The only thing I was disagreeing with you over was your statement that 50 side quests!!! was loads - in response to my comment that there weren't enough.

You are welcome to say it's the most fun game you've played, but to say it's the best RPG you've played is irrelevant when it sounds like it's the *only* RPG you've played (and when it's not even fully an RPG).  

Had you said "I don't normally play RPGs but FO3 is part RPG and it's great" then fine, I'm not objecting to the opinion that it's a great game (which it is, I love the game!), I'm objecting to the opinion that it's a great RPG (which it isn't, it's OK, but not spectacular).

ETA: And I stand by my comment that 50 side quests is piddly and mean, and I expected more from a game from Bethesda *that is marketed as an RPG*.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 12, 2010)

kk, whatever


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## Epona (Jun 13, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> kk, whatever


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 13, 2010)

Er so any good bargains playable on the Mac?


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## Epona (Jun 13, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Er so any good bargains playable on the Mac?


If you were that interested in games, you wouldn't have bought a Mac 

(sorry, couldn't resist, it was like in Laurel & Hardy when one of them bends over and you just know they're going to get a boot in the arse.... the opportunity was there and I took it, sorry)

Edit to add: and actually if that's a serious critisicm of this thread, fuck it.  I started this thread and I don't have a Mac, I have a PC, I have no idea what Steam games run on a Mac or not.  I'm not providing an official advertising service for Steam, I'm posting about PC game offers I noticed for games that I recommend.  ie. Games I like that I noticed available for PC that I play on a PC.  If you want a thread about games specifically available for a Mac (I've never had one, and don't know what will run on it), go start your own thread.  If you were being serious.  If you weren't, I apologise for my sense of humour failure


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 13, 2010)

Yeah it was a joke to - you know - break up the intensely odd turn the thread has taken...btw how's Nate?


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## Stigmata (Jun 13, 2010)

To be fair I think FO3's quests are on the whole more involving and deeper than Morrowind's. But outside of the quests I think FO3 has less characterisation and variety in encounters, so it provides the player with fewer opportunities to make up their own stories.

Both games are vastly improved through judicious use of fan mods. I wouldn't play either game unmodded anymore.


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## Silva (Jun 13, 2010)

Epona said:


> Ah so in Portugal you can pick it up cheaper (sounds like a fantastic bargain for such a good game!), nice for you, not so relevant for most of the posters here
> 
> GOTY includes all 5 official expansions, and Mothership Zeta which is no longer download only was awesome IMO (my second favourite expansion after Point Lookout) with a really good story, much more to it than a source of alien ammo.


I was thinking Game prices would be the same a bit everywhere (except taxes), but I forgot they're only similar in terms of brand, not stock/prices.



Shippou-Chan said:


> i suppose it ups the replay value though
> 
> but i'd be intrested to se  how much people actually replay rpg type games


It depends. With mostly linear stuff like most jRPGs, I really don't see much incentive to re-play them once they're finished. Western RPGs are mostly open ended and offer many ways to change the story as customize the character.


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## Sunray (Jun 13, 2010)

Metro 2033 was 15 quid, fancied a new FPS but was under the impression this was mediocre, but its anything but.  Only the AI lets it down from time to time. If they fixed that it would be an all time classic.


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## golightly (Jun 15, 2010)

Yep.  Just got Metro 2033.  Playing it now.  Presents a much darker post-apocalyptic vision than Fallout 3.  I like it but it seems derivative of so many other games.  I'm currently in a bit that is very reminiscent of Splinter Cell.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

What's metro like compared with s.t.a.l.k.e.r.?


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## golightly (Jun 15, 2010)

Hmm.. I don't think that they're that similar other than being set in ex-Soviet states and have monsters and guns.  Oh, and everything is dirty and radioactive.


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## revol68 (Jun 15, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> What's metro like compared with s.t.a.l.k.e.r.?



if I was feeling a tad unfair I'd say SHITE, if I was being more generous I'd say it's a meh FPS stripped of everything that made STALKER great but with some very nice graphics.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 16, 2010)

playing fallout 3

got out of the vault  explored megaton  did a side quest  then went  to go a little futher  and got lazered to death  by bountyhunters... hummm


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## revol68 (Jun 16, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> playing fallout 3
> 
> got out of the vault  explored megaton  did a side quest  then went  to go a little futher  and got lazered to death  by bountyhunters... hummm



such a great game!


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## treelover (Jun 17, 2010)

'As for the market for games, they don't really give a shit whether you play it 1 time or 20 times, as long as you pay for it.'


Er, from what i read in games mags, Developers, (producers may be different) are indeed concerned about gamers finishing their output, especially their Triple A franchises: Ubisoft are saying that over 40% of purchasers finished AC2 and that justified them making the combat 'more relaxed' though I think it is too easy, in the stages I am upto at least. With this in mind, they say they will continue the orthodoxy with AC2 Brotherhood


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## treelover (Jun 17, 2010)

Dracula Origin is pretty good and reasonably cheap, not on steam afaik

need a walkthrough though, imo...


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 17, 2010)

been playing fallout for a bit now

and it's not bad...  vats is very cool  though i burn through AP
doesn't  have nearly the same amount of  quest opportunities as morrowind  which is a shame  as   they really  add something to the exploration element  mind you i did manage to wander  across vault 112  just when i kinda wanted to 
i've cheated a bit  adding some cash   and ammo  and  a fuck load of stim packs  but that's  mainly as  i suck at combat

also i HATE weapon degredation


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## Sunray (Jun 18, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> What's metro like compared with s.t.a.l.k.e.r.?



Its not, Metro is a linear FPS shooter with a good story and some nice set pieces and a limited but interesting set of guns.

15 quid was about the right price and about as good as your going to get in the summer months.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 18, 2010)

ahh, I thought it was similar in feel to s.t.a.l.k.e.r. Really liked Shadow of Chernobyl, and Call of Pripyat...

I (stupidly) brought Oblivion in the sale. Not sure I like the levelling, but it's a lovelyly rendered game, and just riding through the forrest, stopping to pick the flowers and observe the gambolling deer is nice...


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## tommers (Jun 18, 2010)

why stupidly?


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## debaser (Jun 18, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> ahh, I thought it was similar in feel to s.t.a.l.k.e.r. Really liked Shadow of Chernobyl, and Call of Pripyat...
> 
> I (stupidly) brought Oblivion in the sale. Not sure I like the levelling, but it's a lovelyly rendered game, and just riding through the forrest, stopping to pick the flowers and observe the gambolling deer is nice...



Give it a good go, its a half decent game. Go do the thieves guild quests.


----------



## ohmyliver (Jun 18, 2010)

tommers said:


> why stupidly?



because it's a huge timesink.  Still...


----------



## tommers (Jun 18, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> because it's a huge timesink.  Still...



ah.  I see.  Good timesink though.


----------



## Buddy Bradley (Jun 18, 2010)

I'd get Oblivion again if it was released for Mac.


----------



## golightly (Jun 18, 2010)

Hmm.. Mirror's Edge for £3.24.  Worth a go I reckon.


----------



## Sunray (Jun 19, 2010)

I enjoyed Mirrors Edge, has some flaws and I want a sharper version, can't argue with the price though.


----------



## Stigmata (Jun 19, 2010)

Yeah Mirror's Edge isn't perfect but for that kind of money it's definitely worth getting.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 19, 2010)

i can't get passed the first level... i gewt lost


----------



## treelover (Jun 19, 2010)

don't you get headaches, etc with this game?


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 19, 2010)

got mass effect 2 today in the  sale

tommorow it dragon age  omn sale so i'll probably get that too


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 21, 2010)

tonight i have been mostly playing dragon age...  i'm doing it  as  a famle human mage  because i like  zapping shit

b8ut playing on easy as i suck 

so far so good  untill    my processor went into melt down...  going  to  give it another go ... it  might  just have been a fluke  it  might  be that level  just  is  processor  death


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 21, 2010)

that level was processor  death

had to play through a section   at about   a frame  every other  second....     really... it was like playing in slow motion

luckily it was just that level that  did  it   had no problems since...  however i'm now at the point  where i've played through all the starting  bits   and am now   out  visiting towns and    doing  all the locals   quests ...  i have also  now  got   6  characters in my team and.... i'm hoping it won't start boring me...


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 24, 2010)

actually i'm enjoying this one in a way i didn't with fallout 3   i guess it's because  there is a lot more  direct story in this one....    although i suppose  that  makes it  some what less sandboxy    

in morrowind  when i wandered around  i felt like  around every corner there  might  be some thing new and  interesting  strange creatures to talk to   fun little side quests etc etc   in fallout 3  it   felt like  wasteland  nearly  empty  except for  things that want to kill me ... kinda  took   some of the fun out of  it  although i suppose  that it did  suit  the story/environment 

dragon age is fairly linear   yes  you can chose which quest  to  do  when  but  so far  once you get into a story  it locks you into a path  rather than the over arching plot  being connected  by a series of  tasks  rather like  all the other sides  quest as in morrowind  (that was nice...  it made it feel that  anything you did was equally  important  not  just side quest for the sake of side quests )  this  kinda ruins  the open feel of the  game   but  it  does make it  feel like a more cohesive story is  going on  epic things are afoot  and you are in the middle of them 

for me i really like  games with stories  therefore i'm rating dragon age quite highly  although  some of the gameplay elements are a bit mediocre


also every now and again  the game slows to fuck  and it like i'm swimming through treacle


----------



## treelover (Jun 24, 2010)

massive sale on now, nearly every game reduced!


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 24, 2010)

fuck me!


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 24, 2010)

just got 

Trine
Greed: Black Border
Far Cry®
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut 
Monkey Island™ 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge™
King's Bounty: Armored Princess


----------



## Epona (Jun 25, 2010)

Shippy, I got The Witcher a little while ago and really enjoyed it - there are some mods available (which I can confirm work fine with the Steam version) which remove the slightly irritating things about gameplay such as making your stored inventory available anywhere rather than just in taverns (pretty much essential in the last chapter!)  Google for a mod called "stuff to make Geralt's life easier" or something like that - you have to register with the site to download mods but it's free.

ETA: I also loved Dragon Age, I wasn't sure at first because of the reasons you state, but actually the story and interaction with your companions (make sure you talk to them all in camp and ask them about locations you are in) are superb and make the game great.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 25, 2010)

are there  two sorts of inventory  or  is it  just  really  crap design?


----------



## tommers (Jun 25, 2010)

I really didn't get on with dragon age.  Following on from my experience with Mass Effect I think I've gone off Bioware.


----------



## Epona (Jun 26, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> are there  two sorts of inventory  or  is it  just  really  crap design?


The Witcher?  You have a very limited number of weapon slots (silver sword, 2 steel swords, and a short weapon slot), a certain number of misc inventory slots (similar items form stacks of 10), and a certain number of herbal ingredient slots (similar items form stacks of 50).  These you carry around with you and can access at any time.  But you can't carry weapons in your misc inventory, so can't pick up dead foes' dropped weapons (which vanish within a short time of being dropped, you can't come back for them later) because you're already carrying your own weapons in those slots.  You can also store stuff at taverns, this gives you a lot of storage space that you can access by talking to tavern innkeepers.  Unfortunately there are no taverns late in the game, so you can't access all that stuff you stored for later when you probably most need it.

IMO it's a bit of a crap design.

The mod I suggested using gives you a useable gadget which takes up 1 misc inventory slot that gives you access to your tavern storage at any time - absolutely invaluable.  It also means you can transfer weapons that your foes drop into tavern storage and you can then sell them later, and although there's money to be had late in the game, by the time you get rich there's not much opportunity to buy stuff - collecting dropped weapons to sell is a bit tedious but means you can get a bit of cash when you need it a bit earlier in the game.

It got hugely slated when it was released - the enhanced edition fixed many of the bugs and made it playable (and fixed the English translation so you can actually understand what's going on!), the mod I suggested makes it just that bit more fun!  The story is absolutely brilliant btw, IMO one of the best RPG plots* - don't spoil yourself by looking at too many web pages!

*ETA: and also among the best in terms of your choices having impact much much later in the game, there's no black & white good vs evil stuff, you just have to make decisions as you go along and find out much later in the game what the consequences of your actions are, mostly it's just whatever you think at the time is the lesser of 2 evils - this isn't a world of heroes and villains, just an awful lot of moral grey areas.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 26, 2010)

ok just spent about 20 hours straight playing armour princes

it's alright... coulorful, with a fun mix of locations and enamies..  go from pirate islands to bardarian islands to undead islands...  game play is rather like classic consol rpgs  where you wander around a world map  but the go  to turn based  battle screens  when in a fight

the  one reason it's beginning to bore me now  is  all the fucking plot is delivered in tiny dialog boxes...   i just ended up skipping it   it  was mainly bullshit anyhow   

however  i'll probably go back at least to explore  all the islands   to see what they are like... and  given the  pricce i paid for it  (about £3)  i'm happy


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 27, 2010)

just got the  Meridian4 Complete Pack

19 games  for £15

even if some are shit  still worth it for that price

some of the games are even ones i considered buying  before i saw the pack


----------



## debaser (Jun 30, 2010)

Team fortress 2 for £4.75 today.. ooo, only 2 hours left in fact!

You won't find more entertaining on-line shooter, until potentially brink


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 30, 2010)

i got so many games off steam barclays blocked my card

every time i order a load of shit from japan and  a load of steam games   they block my fucking card

i would have thought  they  had that  sussed by now


----------



## golightly (Jun 30, 2010)

So exactly how many games have you bought on Steam now, Shippy?


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 30, 2010)

err  120 apparently

http://steamcommunity.com/id/professorh/games/


----------



## tommers (Jul 1, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> err  120 apparently
> 
> http://steamcommunity.com/id/professorh/games/






bloody hell.

Actually, I suppose I've bought loads more than that over the years but they're not all laid out in front of me like that.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 1, 2010)

one or two eh?


----------



## golightly (Jul 1, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> err  120 apparently
> 
> http://steamcommunity.com/id/professorh/games/



Wow!  Is there a support group for Steam addiction?


----------



## Yetman (Jul 1, 2010)

Which one do you recommend out of that lot shippers? I'm thinking psychonauts. Done portal/HL and am in the middle (well, 1.9% of the way through Fallout3 - is this game THAT big?!)


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 1, 2010)

golightly said:


> Wow!  Is there a support group for Steam addiction?



perhaps


actually it you look  a lot of them i havn't played


and  i got  a few bundles   which  came with out of date games  or  games i'm not intrested in


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 1, 2010)

Yetman said:


> Which one do you recommend out of that lot shippers? I'm thinking psychonauts. Done portal/HL and am in the middle (well, 1.9% of the way through Fallout3 - is this game THAT big?!)



well

dragon age  is  exactly what you'd think it was 
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1096-Dragon-Age-Origins 
guild wars  isn't at all shabby   
just cause is  kinda cool   but  maybe just go for JC 2  if you like  gta like  fucking shit up
mass effect is  good   
prince of persia SOT is ment to be awesome  but i havn't played it yet
Saints Row 2    like gta but more fun 
knights of the old republic  more of  the  mass effect/dragon age type thing  but with a star wars skin
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind  tops!!
Torchlight   fun to mess with ....  might get a little repetative
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1385-Torchlight 
unreal... my fav  fps type stuff


----------



## Epona (Jul 2, 2010)

Shippou-Chan said:


> knights of the old republic  more of  the  mass effect/dragon age type thing  but with a star wars skin



KOTOR is the fucking mutt's nuts!  Fantastic game!  KOTOR 2 not so much, there were a lot of improvements in game mechanics, but the end of it was a rush-job and they left a lot out so you kind of think "was that it?" towards the end, which is a real shame.


----------



## tommers (Jul 2, 2010)

Epona said:


> KOTOR is the fucking mutt's nuts!  Fantastic game!  KOTOR 2 not so much, there were a lot of improvements in game mechanics, but the end of it was a rush-job and they left a lot out so you kind of think "was that it?" towards the end, which is a real shame.



yeah, I enjoyed KOTOR loads more than Mass Effect / Dragon Age etc.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 2, 2010)

i found it to be slightly disconnected....  i would enjoy playing through one planet  but as soon as you moved planet   i felt  like i was starting a new game


----------



## Stigmata (Jul 2, 2010)

Epona said:


> KOTOR is the fucking mutt's nuts!  Fantastic game!  KOTOR 2 not so much, there were a lot of improvements in game mechanics, but the end of it was a rush-job and they left a lot out so you kind of think "was that it?" towards the end, which is a real shame.



I never played the first game but the story in KOTOR 2 was a blinder, probably the best story i've ever seen set in the SW universe (including the films). Kreia is one of the all-time great computer game characters.


----------



## dylans (Jul 5, 2010)

Fucking steam. I'm completely locked out of my account. My password suddenly stopped working this morning and when I request a new one it says they have sent details for changing it  to my email address and then when I check...Nothing. So my kid can't play Team Fortress or Gary's Mod or access any of his games. Anyone got any ideas?


----------



## debaser (Jul 5, 2010)

dylans said:


> Fucking steam. I'm completely locked out of my account. My password suddenly stopped working this morning and when I request a new one it says they have sent details for changing it  to my email address and then when I check...Nothing. So my kid can't play Team Fortress or Gary's Mod or access any of his games. Anyone got any ideas?



Reclaiming a Hijacked Steam Account - Sounds like dude. gl!


----------



## dylans (Jul 5, 2010)

debaser said:


> Reclaiming a Hijacked Steam Account - Sounds like dude. gl!



Sorted. Yeah we had the account hijacked by some scumbag shit head low life tosspot. I wish I could tell that bastard that he just tried to rob a 10 year old kid of all his favourite games. 

Anyway, steam got back to us with a new password and info on avoiding hackers. 

Thanks for the tip debaser, you just made a ten year old kid very happy. He lives for TF2 and Gmod and he was really upset and worried that the hijacker was going to cheat and get him banned.


----------



## ohmyliver (Nov 26, 2010)

Um, another massive Steam sale... Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY ed for a fiver etc


----------



## no-no (Nov 26, 2010)

oops, wrong thread


----------



## Radar (Nov 27, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> Um, another massive Steam sale... Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY ed for a fiver etc


Yep, I'm downloading that at the moment..


----------



## tommers (Nov 29, 2010)

KOTOR - 1.75
Monkey Island 2 - 1.75

get em while they're hot.


----------



## Epona (Nov 30, 2010)

tommers said:


> KOTOR - 1.75
> Monkey Island 2 - 1.75
> 
> get em while they're hot.


 
Oooh Monkey Island 2, that's a blast from the past!  Might have to get that, I'd love to play it again.


----------



## mattie (Dec 6, 2010)

Dammit.

My old account tied to a now-dead work email and I can't remember username.  I assume that's one I'll have to take on the chin?

I only had Farcry and something else I'd never actually installed, but annoying nonetheless.


----------



## Epona (Dec 21, 2010)

By the way, I hope everyone has realised that the Steam Holiday Sale has started, and there are some incredible bargains available, including different daily offers with up to 75% off, and bundles of games at very good prices.

They really ought to start paying me for this!

ETA: The Witcher Enhanced Edition for £3.25 is a real bargain if you like RPGs and haven't tried it before.  It's one of my favourites.


----------



## tommers (Dec 21, 2010)

Epona said:


> ETA: The Witcher Enhanced Edition for £3.25 is a real bargain if you like RPGs and haven't tried it before.  It's one of my favourites.



Yeah, I saw that and was going to ask....  the screenshots look a bit like Dragon Age, so it kind of put me off.


----------



## Epona (Dec 21, 2010)

tommers said:


> Yeah, I saw that and was going to ask....  the screenshots look a bit like Dragon Age, so it kind of put me off.


 
I like Dragon Age well enough so I might not be the best person to advise.  Like DA, you can play either in top-down isometric strategy view, or 3rd person over the shoulder type thing, so it sort of looks a bit like DA visually.  It's a story RPG with chapters (and various locations accessible in each chapter), no open world stuff.  But what sets The Witcher apart is the story - it's dark and there's no clear 'good vs evil' thing going on, it's a world full of prejudice and oppression and it's not a pleasant place.  The decisions you make don't have an immediate impact, but you see their effects much further down the line, and those decisions mean something.  Combat is a bit different (you have different combat moves that follow one from the other, each doing more damage than the last), but not at all complicated (you just have to click the LMB at the right time - if I can manage it, anyone can).  IMO it's one of the best story driven RPGs ever written, with an amazing atmosphere.

I'd recommend trying it, at £3.25 it's hardly a disaster if you find it a bit 'meh' - other than the camera modes, it's not anything like DA in terms of story and atmosphere.  And I can't wait for The Witcher 2*, which is due out in May next year.

*It's the 2011 game I'm _second_ most excited about!


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 21, 2010)

the big problem i'm having at the moment is not being able to justify  any more game purchases untill i fucking play some morwe of the ones i currently have


----------



## Vintage Paw (Dec 21, 2010)

Amnesia is half price. Tempted. Sorely tempted.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 21, 2010)

steam is awesome for deals

just lloking though all the deals  and some of the packs are  god damn insane!


----------



## Epona (Dec 21, 2010)

Vintage Paw said:


> Amnesia is half price. Tempted. Sorely tempted.


 
Amnesia: Dark Descent?  I couldn't play the demo because it was too fucking frightening.  I'm the sort of person who can't watch a horror film by myself.


----------



## bhamgeezer (Dec 22, 2010)

Got Bioshock 2 for 6.99, seems like a decent game.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Dec 22, 2010)

Picked up Civ4 for a couple quid.


----------



## Epona (Dec 22, 2010)

I've got Assassins Creed 2 which I was umming and ahhing about a couple of weeks ago.  And Bully: Scholarship Edition for the OH.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Dec 22, 2010)

I spent about twenty quid last night and ended up with five or six games, including the whole Civ IV pack. I could spend twenty quid by accident if I stayed in the pub too long and met up with somebody.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 23, 2010)

i was going to buy assasins creed 2 

but  then i remembered the  shitty drm  so didn't


----------



## Epona (Dec 23, 2010)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> i was going to buy assasins creed 2
> 
> but  then i remembered the  shitty drm  so didn't


 
They changed it.


----------



## Vintage Paw (Dec 23, 2010)

Epona said:


> Amnesia: Dark Descent?  I couldn't play the demo because it was too fucking frightening.  I'm the sort of person who can't watch a horror film by myself.


 
Yeah, that's the one. I know a couple of people who've been playing it recently and really enjoyed it. Been chatting with them while they've been playing and it's been freaking hilarious to see them freak out


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 23, 2010)

Epona said:


> They changed it.


 
the store page  says  it still needs a permanent connection



> A PERMANENT HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION AND CREATION OF A UBISOFT ACCOUNT ARE REQUIRED TO PLAY THIS VIDEO GAME AT ALL TIMES AND TO UNLOCK EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. SUCH CONTENT MAY ONLY BE UNLOCKED ONE SINGLE TIME WITH A UNIQUE KEY. YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 13 TO CREATE A UBISOFT ACCOUNT WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT. UBISOFT MAY CANCEL ACCESS TO ONLINE FEATURES UPON A 30-DAY PRIOR NOTICE PUBLISHED AT http://assassinscreed.com


----------



## bhamgeezer (Dec 23, 2010)

I bought assassins creed 2 in a shop for full retail price recently (only 15 quid and new), remarkably easy to crack.


----------



## fractionMan (Dec 23, 2010)

Games like torchlight but not torchlight?  

There were a bunch of forgotten realms branded similar things on the ps2.


----------



## tommers (Dec 23, 2010)

heh.  I bought recettear, as highlighted by shippy.  £4 well spent I reckon.


----------



## fractionMan (Dec 23, 2010)

Just bought DeathSpank 4.99


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 24, 2010)

tommers said:


> heh.  I bought recettear, as highlighted by shippy.  £4 well spent I reckon.


 
it's worth it for that price

capitalism ho  motherfuckers


----------



## Epona (Dec 25, 2010)

Any recommendations for any games in tonight's slew of special offers?  Didn't see anything that immediately jumped out at me, but happy to take suggestions!


----------



## toggle (Dec 25, 2010)

happy Christmas to me. i seem to have just bought a few bits. 

anyone with recomendations of stuff a parent wants her 12 and 7 year olds playing? they love the lego games, but have them on console. 7 year old would probably do edumacational stuff, 12 year old wants as much blood and gore as i'm prepared to alllow him.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 25, 2010)

YES!

fallout 3 new vagas 14.99    i couldn't justfy it before  but  now  it's mine

will probably play this  before i go back to 3


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Dec 25, 2010)

Amnesia, by the way, seems pretty good so far. Mostly it seems to be about being very very paranoid. I've not even *met* anything dangerous so far, apart from my own tendency to go insane and see bugs crawling all over everything if I spend too long lurking in the darkness, and that makes it all much worse. I will probably make a mess of my chair when the first actual Unholy Thing appears.

It reminds me a bit of a game that was done with Clive Barker a long time ago, only with that, you quite quickly got things like a revolver and magic spells which at least gave you the idea that you had some sort of chance. As opposed to, er, a lantern. I have some laudanum now mind.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 25, 2010)

in todays games  get saints row 2   it's 2.50 and a bucket of fun

in yatzees words
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/312-Saints-Row-2


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 25, 2010)

i got borderlads as well but i'm not sure i'm going to be that keen on it

mainly as i don't really do multiplayer


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Dec 25, 2010)

The Civ4 pack is great value! Been playing it all week and haven't touched Civ5 since getting it...


----------



## Epona (Dec 25, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> The Civ4 pack is great value! Been playing it all week and haven't touched Civ5 since getting it...


 
I love Civ4, it's definitely good value 

This sale is playing havoc with the credit card, I just bought Batman: Arkham Asylum, the X3 bundle, the Monkey Island special edition bundle, and Tropico 3


----------



## tommers (Dec 25, 2010)

X3 is brilliant.  Flawed but brilliant.  The only thing I thought when looking at it was that you'll never really play x2 or x... each sequel improves on the previous one loads.  And check the forums, the mods for it are great, especially the complex constructor kit.  And X-tension.  Do the hub mission. 

I'm thinking about tropico but I've already got a few queued and £4 or £6 a pop soon adds up.

But it is all so damned cheap.


----------



## Epona (Dec 25, 2010)

tommers said:


> X3 is brilliant.  Flawed but brilliant.  The only thing I thought when looking at it was that you'll never really play x2 or x... each sequel improves on the previous one loads.  And check the forums, the mods for it are great, especially the complex constructor kit.  And X-tension.  Do the hub mission.



Excellent will do that!  X-Tension is part of the package.  X3 appealed to both myself and the OH, so definitely worth the money if we both play it - and the other PC can run the older games in the series, so I am sure they will get played when the main gaming PC is in use by the other one of us 



tommers said:


> I'm thinking about tropico but I've already got a few queued and £4 or £6 a pop soon adds up.


 
I've been tempted by it for a while, I love city building/trading type games (my second obsession, after RPGs), and with no big new title in the genre announced yet it might while away a few hours!

The Steam server is creaking under the strain at the moment, I imagine a lot of people are downloading games they got as gifts or have spent their Xmas money there


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 25, 2010)

i got tropico a while back  but  my old grapics card couldn't run it.. forgot to check it after i upgraded


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Dec 27, 2010)

neverwinter nights 2 platinum is  half price on steam

i'm really enjoying the  first one so i've picked this one up while i can


----------



## dylans (Dec 27, 2010)

toggle said:


> happy Christmas to me. i seem to have just bought a few bits.
> 
> anyone with recomendations of stuff a parent wants her 12 and 7 year olds playing? they love the lego games, but have them on console. 7 year old would probably do edumacational stuff, 12 year old wants as much blood and gore as i'm prepared to alllow him.


 
My 11 year old son loves Garry's mod and team fortress. Best games I ever bought him tbh. Well worth every penny


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Dec 27, 2010)

I totally addicted to Civ4 again, damn you Steam sale!!!


----------



## Cid (Dec 28, 2010)

I bought The Void (well, the Indie horror pack), which is er... Very strange. Quite good though, also quite hard.


----------



## Sunray (Dec 28, 2010)

Bah, tried to buy Machinarium and I was 10 minutes too late! 

If you have the machine to play it then Crysis and Warhead for just over 6 quid is a great deal.


----------



## toggle (Dec 28, 2010)

dylans said:


> My 11 year old son loves Garry's mod and team fortress. Best games I ever bought him tbh. Well worth every penny


 
ty


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 28, 2010)

Sunray said:


> Bah, tried to buy Machinarium and I was 10 minutes too late!
> 
> If you have the machine to play it then Crysis and Warhead for just over 6 quid is a great deal.


 

Grab the humble indie pack 2 while you can then,  pay what you want. 
http://www.humblebundle.com/
It has machinium and samorost 2 in it

Arses that's expired now


----------



## tommers (Jan 2, 2011)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> neverwinter nights 2 platinum is  half price on steam
> 
> i'm really enjoying the  first one so i've picked this one up while i can



Just bought that and Amnesia.

Another £12.  

Honestly, part of me hopes the whole thing stops soon.  I've got enough to keep me going the whole year.


----------



## fractionMan (Jan 2, 2011)

neverwinter nights 2 platinum half price again right now


----------



## fractionMan (Jan 2, 2011)

just bought grotesque tactics: Evil heroes for 2.25 too.  I hardly play games anymore


----------



## tommers (Jan 3, 2011)

I think it's over tomorrow.  Thank fuck.


----------



## Epona (Jan 5, 2011)

I missed the last day of the sale because one of the cats pissed on the ADSL filter and it corroded all the metal pin thingies so my internet was up shit creek for a while, did I miss anything good?


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 5, 2011)

missed it too

but the last few days seemed a bit more repetative


----------



## ohmyliver (Jan 5, 2011)

Not really. 

the games that were on special were as follows.
Neverwinter Nights 2 Platinum, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl/Call of Pripyat bundle (only 3 quid for the both), Left 4 Dead 2, Grand Theft Auto IV + Episodes from Liberty City, Empire/Napoleon Total War Game of the Year Edition, The Hitman Collection (Hitman: Codename 47, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman Blood Money), Mafia 2 Dead Space, Plants Vs Zombies Game of the Year Edition, Amnesia The Dark Descent, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, Killing Floor Complete Pack. 

Of that I brought Amnesia The Dark Descent, and Plants VS Zombies, and the latter is stupidly addictive.

I now have a collection of oh-so-cheap games half of which I'm probably not going to actually play (although I will definitely play Ghost Master which looks fun and was 59p).  I think I'm going to have remove my bank details from steam, or edit the windows hosts file so that it redirects the steam purchasing page to somewhere else or something like that.


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## rubbershoes (Jan 7, 2011)

Got left 4 dead 2 and i'm working through that. 

I love some zombie gore action


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## tommers (Jan 8, 2011)

I've started playing Neverwinter Nights 2.


It's disappointingly like Dragon Age.

Everywhere I go things are disappointingly like Dragon Age.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 8, 2011)

what  do you dislike about it (and dragon age)

personally  i think  dragon age  is  a really  good  western rpg.... 

and to be honest  i feel like  most  western rpgs  tend  to  be  fairly  similar in setting..  basically  being a D&D/Tolkien smootiee

basically
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1096-Dragon-Age-Origins


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## tommers (Jan 8, 2011)

I think it's the combat.  I don't like people running off into the middle of a bunch of enemies without me saying so.  I prefer it all strictly turn based.  I have to keep pausing it and telling them not to do really stupid things.  I guess I'm a control freak.  Is there a way of making combat turn based?  I can't see it.

The other thing with Dragon Age (and other Bioware games) I didn't like was the dialogue, the endless dialogue, and the stupid sex stuff.  Oooh, I can make my character have sex with another character.  That really pushes the boundaries.  OMG my elf is bumming another elf, and they're both men!

I mean, I like NWN2 so far.  It's D&D which is good (altho I don't understand all the new rules cos I'm such a fucking grandad) but I didn't realise that DA was basically the same engine and, in fact, uses a lot of the same feats and stuff.  I was hoping it would be a bit more old school I think.

I want somebody to remake Pool of Radiance.  I want little lead figures.  I want graph paper. I want to control each member of my party.  I want swords +1 and I want lots and lots of orcs.


And maybe, like, a Beholder or something.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 8, 2011)

i didn't think it was the same eingine... though i did here they mocked up DA lavel in nwn2


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 8, 2011)

the sex stuff was a bit... odd  but  hey  such is life

unfortunatly  i can't really  see turn based combat turning up much


it's  more of a JRPG thing  when it comes to gaming


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## Epona (Jan 8, 2011)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> i didn't think it was the same eingine... though i did here they mocked up DA lavel in nwn2


 
It's not the same engine.  NWN1 & 2 used the Aurora engine (and The Witcher used a version of it too), and DA:O used Bioware's own newly developed Eclipse engine.  The games do have a similar feel though (some stuff from Aurora was used when building Eclipse), but at least in DA you have more control over your party using the tactics screen.


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## tommers (Jan 8, 2011)

Yeah, OK not the same engine as such but the same combat system, same view, same perks.....  it feels like I'm playing DA again.


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## tommers (Jan 17, 2011)

I think I was a bit harsh.  It's well good.


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## grit (Jan 17, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> Just bought DeathSpank 4.99


 
Is it any good? The fact its a Ron Gilbert game has me interested.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 18, 2011)

grit said:


> Is it any good? The fact its a Ron Gilbert game has me interested.


 
it's.... alright... it's mildly humorous  but a bit empty  the game mechanics are fairly damn basic  and it all boild down to  go to a new are and click some enemies to death just with a bit of humor stuck in

without the jokes this would be a shitty rpg with the jokes it's a somewhat funny shitty rpg

not sure if it's really worth a tenner... but i did buy it and it's sequel and i don't really regret it


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 28, 2011)

this weekend
Penny Arcade Adventures: Precipice of Darkness Combo Pack £2.25
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/7135/

it's two fucking quid...  

go look here 
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/

if it's even mildly funny to you buy  the game


it's a rpg  with a steampunk lovecraftian paintjob  mainly sold on comedy


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 28, 2011)

Anyone know if Civ 4 will play nice on a geforce 7300se? My 4870 has died and can't afford a proper card for a while yet and was just getting into civ 5 nicely.


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