Great Steam Deals (And other Online Distribution Systems)

[Jorpho]

Technically it was free on Gametap for a long time. Not sure if it still is.

But yeah, it's definitely worth two bucks, at least.

[SlyReaper]

Technically it was free on Gametap for a long time. Not sure if it still is.

But yeah, it's definitely worth two bucks, at least.

You have to pay 2 dollars? In the UK it's only a quid. I wasn't aware the exchage rate had gone back up to 2:1.

[thecommabandit]

£1 is about $1.60 but £1 is a snappier, more attractive deal than £1.24. Those Valve boys can do business, them.

[LTK]

They are. A big banner on the side of the store's homepage with lots of floating "£1"s on it.

They bothered to change it for UK residents? The banner in my Steam window still shows floating "$2"s on it even though it is €2. They still don't seem to be able to wrap their head around exchange rates...

[thecommabandit]

They're better now with dollar-to-pound rates than they used to be, but they still seem to assume that one dollar is the same as one Euro. Someone should write an angry letter.

[defaultusername]

Well, between me never having played Psychonauts and having been told I absolutely have to for years, I don't have much of a choice. Regardless of how good the price is though, having to pay 73% more than UK residents is a bit painful.

[Axman]

It doesn't matter what the currency exchange rate is, it matters what the currency buying power is--otherwise the prices would be completely arbitrary--you have to place things in line with what people's perceived values are. And the USD and the euro have the same buying power, always have, because the euro was started at 1:1 with the dollar.

Also, the tariffs in the EU are ridickulous, particularly on computer stuff.

[LTK]

It doesn't matter what the currency exchange rate is, it matters what the currency buying power is--otherwise the prices would be completely arbitrary--you have to place things in line with what people's perceived values are. And the USD and the euro have the same buying power, always have, because the euro was started at 1:1 with the dollar.

Also, the tariffs in the EU are ridickulous, particularly on computer stuff.

That may be true in theory, but with the globalization that's been going on in the last decade, it just can't apply any more. Because I now have access to online stores that charge me different currencies, the exchange rate of my currency has made its buying power skyrocket. And this is not just online, but in physical products too. Some time ago I heard about a large flow of European tourists to New York - let's call them dollar-tourists - for shopping sprees, since the low exchange rate made everything $$$ look dirt cheap. And some of the retailers are starting to pick up on this, too. The British site play.com, for example, charges its European customers in euros, but tends to keep to the pound-euro exchange rate to keep up competition. This means that I can buy Left 4 Dead 2 from them for €35, while Steam itself charges me €50. I hardly have any reason to buy my stuff locally.

[Jorpho]

The parade of $2 games continues: the Freedom Force pack and the X-COM complete pack!

Also, Trine is $9.99 on Impulse if you missed it earlier.

[novax6]

The parade of $2 games continues: the Freedom Force pack and the X-COM complete pack!

Hell yes. I knew there was a reason I waited to pick up the x-com pack. The two spin-offs are throwaways i'm never going to play, but the first three games are worth the $20 whatever bucks they normally are.

[thecommabandit]

The parade of $2 games continues:

You see now they've just decided that everyone will be paying two of their local currency units. They're selling them for two dollars, two pounds and two euros. Not fair.

[Axman]

Who cares? What does two pounds buy you, anyway? You're dropping the equivalent of a pack of Jaffa Cakes. It probably doesn't make Steam any more money, after they convert it to USD and pay everyone, including England, for the right to sell stuff in the UK.

This is what I was talking about. We do not live in the global village outside of information. Money ain't information, and buying power lags far behind exchange rates (primarily because of the price of gas or petrol or whatever you want to call it (and not the price of oil, but gas, since that fixes what people's perceived value of their own currency best) and it drives the price of most everything else).

[thecommabandit]

I'm a cheapskate. Minor amounts of money lost due to bad rates annoy me =C

[Axman]

Move to a country that doesn't do VAT, heh.

[thecommabandit]

Does Spain do VAT? I like Spain and I can speak a good chunk of the language.

Anyway, on topically: I have a vague interest in the X-Com games. Anyone care to give me a nudge as to what they're about and like?

[SecondTalon]

The EU does VAT. So... yes, Spain does VAT.

[Shivahn]

Does Spain do VAT? I like Spain and I can speak a good chunk of the language.

Anyway, on topically: I have a vague interest in the X-Com games. Anyone care to give me a nudge as to what they're about and like?

I just bought the cheap deal thingies. X-Com is pretty freaking awesome, I've got to say. If you're in to turn-based tactics. The most... gameplay-y? Part of the game is the battlescape, which is basically a grid map. And you move your guys around and fight the aliens.

And then there's the big strategy map, where you decide what you're building and researching and actually, it's hard to explain, just go buy it. I like it, anyway.

Basically, it's a grid-based turn-based small squad tactical warfare game, with a strategic component (deciding what to build, train, and research and where to build bases) as well.

[Vaniver]

Does Spain do VAT? I like Spain and I can speak a good chunk of the language.

Anyway, on topically: I have a vague interest in the X-Com games. Anyone care to give me a nudge as to what they're about and like?

XCOM is a classic turn-based tactics game. You manage both the Earth's ministry of defense against aliens (bases, fighters, squads, budgets) and the combat against those aliens (taking your squad that you hired and equipped on the main screen to battle the aliens that land or you shoot out of the sky). It's pretty fun, and you have to be pretty good with the tactics (I played it on the easiest setting and it was some time until I was reliably winning battles with few losses)- the aliens start off way more powerful but less numerous than you, and then you start getting and figuring out how to use their equipment.

It's worth $2 to pick up (its current price); I didn't play it for that long, because I thought it got tedious (to do the battles right, you need to move forward cautiously- overwatch is a bitch- which means you need to do them slowly). If you enjoy the tactics that work best, though, then the game is fun for some time.


The Steam deals both excite and bother me. I look at things like XCom, where I bought the first one for $5, and now the complete pack is $2. The additional value would be slim, and the extra cost I paid isn't that much, but it's still disheartening to see it on sale. I guess I should be complaining more about Tropico 3, which I bought at full price and now is at a third price, I believe. Perhaps I need to start watching this more carefully and waiting for things to go on sale? Or perhaps I should just not care about other people buying the game more cheaply than I did, because it was worth it to me then and I wouldn't have been able to play it until now if I waited.

[Jorpho]

Indeed, it is quite pointless to ever buy anything on Steam (or Impulse or Direct2Drive) when it is not on sale, especially if you have other things to play. And even then you run the small risk that the stuff you bought on sale might go on sale again at an even lower price.

I almost bought the first X-COM when it was discounted during the holiday sale, but even now that I have it it's still probably going to be ages before I get around to playing it.

[hendusoone]

Really, it's just like buying games from a store new vs. waiting for them to go on sale or picking them up used. Except with Steam, you don't risk buying a game with a scratched disc/no manual.

[Izawwlgood]

For whatever it's worth, X-Com TFTD is one of the best games I've ever played. It is Hard with a capital H. I think the best I've ever done was on normal mode finding the final alien base. Just finding it. Even my most crack team of agents, fitted to the gills with the best armor and weapons, choked a horrible, horrible death as soon as they set foot on the place. It was horrifying. That game, frankly, is horrifying.

(I should buy it again)

[novax6]

For whatever it's worth, X-Com TFTD is one of the best games I've ever played. It is Hard with a capital H. I think the best I've ever done was on normal mode finding the final alien base. Just finding it. Even my most crack team of agents, fitted to the gills with the best armor and weapons, choked a horrible, horrible death as soon as they set foot on the place. It was horrifying. That game, frankly, is horrifying.

(I should buy it again)

That's true, I never finished that one, but I remember it being quite a bit harder then the first game, which was no cake walk itself.

[Jorpho]

Really, it's just like buying games from a store new vs. waiting for them to go on sale or picking them up used. Except with Steam, you don't risk buying a game with a scratched disc/no manual.

Well... Frequently, by the time games go on sale at a store, you'll often be lucky to be able to find a copy, and sometimes even a used copy will require some hunting (assuming DRM doesn't make it impossible for individuals to resell the game at all). In either case, you'll still probably not get the kind of discount Steam regularly doles out.

[ProZac]

Titan Quest + Immortal Throne expansion for $5 on the midweek madness deal. Played it a couple years ago and found it to be a good Diablo 2 clone. Bought it, along with a few friends. Hopefully getting an online game together won't be too frustratingly difficult (as I seem to remember this being an issue).

[Sir-Taco]

Bioshock 2 with Bioshock in the 4 pack is dirt cheap (for a new game). Its only 35 per person! Personally I think its worth it, the usual 60-50$ cost is always a pain to buy something that may be iffy.

[Axman]

Aliens Versus Predator's demo just got made available. Sure, it's not a deal, but it's Aliens Versus Predator FFS.

[novax6]

Aliens Versus Predator's demo just got made available. Sure, it's not a deal, but it's Aliens Versus Predator FFS.

It's also not really that good. I mean, the singpleplayer game might be fun, but the demo is just 8 player deathmatch. Awkward controls and pretty boring, but i'm not going to be playing it for the multiplayer anyways.

[LuNatic]

The PC demo is just a straight port of the xbox one unfortunately. I hope the full version will be better.

[headprogrammingczar]

If the demo is an Xbox port, odds are the actual game is an Xbox port. The dev team wouldn't go to the trouble to make three games (PC, Xbox, PC/Xbox port), when they only need two.

[Phen]

Aaaand suddenly, my interest in AvP waned. Funny, that.

Far Cry 2 is on 50% this weekend. I was just about to buy it in a store at that price, too... But I'm not entirely sure if I should get it yet. Is it worth 15 euro?

[Axman]

In my opinion, Far Cry 2 was one of the best games in the past several years. It does have its flaws and it might seem repetitive, even pointless at the beginning but that's sort of a device that lulls you into the plot.

I've gotten dozens of hours of play time with it, too, if that is any indicator.

[novax6]

Aaaand suddenly, my interest in AvP waned. Funny, that.

Far Cry 2 is on 50% this weekend. I was just about to buy it in a store at that price, too... But I'm not entirely sure if I should get it yet. Is it worth 15 euro?

Nah, not worth IMO. It was entertaining for a day or so, but the core game is set up to be so annoyingly repetitive and monotonous, it strips 95% of the fun out of the game. This isn't helped by the inane and hardly existent story. Just watch the Zero Punctuation review to get an idea of the issues with that game. I enjoyed the first Far Cry, but Ubisoft really dropped the ball on this one, I couldn't even get through the halfway mark.

Edit: sorry Axman, maybe it's your favorite, but I have almost nothing positive I got from that game, just frustration.

[Shivahn]

Aaaand suddenly, my interest in AvP waned. Funny, that.

Far Cry 2 is on 50% this weekend. I was just about to buy it in a store at that price, too... But I'm not entirely sure if I should get it yet. Is it worth 15 euro?

Are you sure it's fifteen? Here in America, it's ten dollars, fifteen is for the pack that gets both games.

Which I just purchased.

I should play it after I beat X-Com.

Haha, that was a joke. I don't beat X-Com, X-Com beats me.

[LTK]

That's actually surprisingly close to my thoughts about it. X-COM? Beats me.

By the way, you still have about 72 hours left to buy the Bioshock 1+2 4-for-the-price-of-3-pack with 10% off.

[Phen]

Aaaand suddenly, my interest in AvP waned. Funny, that.

Far Cry 2 is on 50% this weekend. I was just about to buy it in a store at that price, too... But I'm not entirely sure if I should get it yet. Is it worth 15 euro?

Are you sure it's fifteen? Here in America, it's ten dollars, fifteen is for the pack that gets both games.

Which I just purchased.

I should play it after I beat X-Com.

Haha, that was a joke. I don't beat X-Com, X-Com beats me.

Yes, 15 euro, 20 for the whole pack. That's because Valve hates us.

[SoapyHobo]

This is fine for non-Steam stuff too, right? Anyway, not so much a deal as a giveaway:
Tiberian Sun is now available for free from EA's site
(Along with Red Alert (1) and Command & Conquer (Tiberian Dawn), but I'm sure they've been available for quite some time).

[Mo0man]

Mount and Blade is now 85% off. I haven't played it yet, but I've heard good things

5$

[Jorpho]

I do believe I shall purchase Puzzle Quest for $5. I had my eye on that for a long time, but kind of gave up when I managed to find Galactrix DS for $5.

Nothing else of interest in the current THQ deals, alas.

[novax6]

Mount and Blade is now 85% off. I haven't played it yet, but I've heard good things

5$

Played the beta, very fun game. Definitely worth more then $5

[Goldstein]

Definitely get M&B for $5. If you're still not sure, the game's 'demo' is basically the full game up until you hit level 7. What's more, I'm pretty sure you can carry that game on once you've paid.