Oh, it is that time of temptation again. It is the dread Summer Sale at Steam.
For 10 days Valve will tempt us with incredible discounts on a wide variety of game titles.
This will lead many of us to buy titles we might not otherwise consider… and, often enough in my case, games that I certainly should not have considered.
But the price… the games can be so cheap! I have seen things marked down 80% or more off of retail. For example, the first day’s featured deals.
But look at the mark downs!
This is how I ended up owning the entire PopCap library despite the fact that I really only wanted Peggle Nights. And no, it was not cheaper to buy the whole library. I was just swept up in the moment and 90% discount.
This year I am going to stick to things on my Steam wishlist. That is a reasonably well vetted list of games I am actively interested in, though I do see a couple of games I left on it back when Valve had a contest that would win you the top 10 games on your wishlist, but only if you had at least 10 games. I will have to drop those, as my wishlist is now big enough not to need padding.
And, on day one, right out of the gate, two items from my wishlist came up.
The first was Portal 2. Having played through the original Portal at last, I put the sequel on my wish list.
Also popping up on day one was Harvest: Massive Encounter, a little game that looked interesting, but not quite interesting enough until it was marked down. I put it there as park of my search to find more tower defense games, though honestly nothing has stacked up to Defense Grid: The Awakening so far.
Total cost for the pair, $7.49.
I haven’t had a chance to look at Portal 2 yet, as it was a sizable download. But Harvest was small, so I was able to launch it almost right away.
It appears to be a mix of RTS and tower defense with a few game mode and level choices, but otherwise very simple in design. It is kind of what I hoped Gratuitous Space and/or Tank Battles would more like. (Neither of those titles quite clicked with me.)
Anyway, worth the $2.50 it was list at.
Now what will Valve throw at me next? And can I stick to my plan?
I am kind of hoping that Endless Space will make the cut for a discount, because I really need yet another game like that to distract me. (Isn’t the updated Civ V enough? No?) I have seen a bit posted about it. However, it just launched, so it might be too soon.
What is on your list for the Steam Summer Sale?
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
Valve have upped the ante this year with “Flash” sales that are only available for a few hours. I feel like they are gradually training us to be completely addicted to these sales.
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Apologies, I forgot to answer your question. The only game I was really looking for was Shogun 2 which popped up on day one, hurrah. I would also like to get Operation arrowhead if it ever falls below a tenner so I can try out Dayz. Other than that it will just be impulse purchasing. I will do my best to resist however. My plan is to use the list of as yet unplayed games from the last Steam sale as a deterrent.
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Endless Space is a rip of of Gal Civ II, right down to the nuts and bolts, so I’m going to pass on it.
Disciples III is on my list this year, along with some smaller indie/cheap games, but I realized in looking over my list, the rest is just nostalgia and nothing I am really itching to play at the moment. Which, of course, is the dangerous thing about these Steam sales, as you’ve noted before.
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I have virtually no interest at all in any games other than MMOs and I already have many, many more of those that I want to play than I have time to play.
I have a Steam account but so far I have never bought anything from it and unless they sell an MMO that I haven’t already
a) downloaded for nothing
b) pre-ordered
c) bought at launch
(very unlikely)
chances are I will never buy anything form them even if they sell it at 99% off.
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So far I’ve tried to buy Shogun 2 and The Binding of Isaac, both of which I’d forgotten I already bought in previous sales and never played.
Oh, and I bought Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and all it’s DLC today. (Because if you’re going to get a game you’re unlikely to play any time soon, you may as well grab the DLC as well.)
Steam has figured out how to access the part of my brain that makes poor financial decisions.
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@aufero
lol! Yes Valve is evil that way. Was perfectly happy to get Saints Row 3 for $12.50, but no sprung for the dlc pack because wow! Such value for the money! Now I can dress up as a nun or astronaut while I play thru what is basically a really poor fps with over the top set pieces : p
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I’m not really motivated to buy anything that I don’t immediately want to play since there will be another sale in 6 months.
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I enjoyed Sol Survivor as another good tower defense game, not sure if you’ve tried it. I’d classify it as my second favorite after Defense Grid. It’s not precisely the same mechanics as Defense Grid, which has polish and designing fiendish mazes/paths as its main schtick, Sol Survivor is more about turrets and the support skills of the commander you pick.
Revenge of the Titans, Anomaly: Warzone Earth and Sanctum are the weirder but decent cousins. The first is pixelated free placement of turrets. The second reverse tower defense, interesting concept but lacking in replayability, imo. And the third is FPS tower defense, which is odd, but interesting to try out.
What is somewhat alarming about this Summer Sale is that I’m finding out I already own most of the good game offers (defined as 75% off, preferably $5 and below, $7.50-$10 for major titles.) I did pick up Payday: The Heist today, wanted to try it, but not at full price.
Hmmm.. forgot that Space Marine has DLC that is also off. Played it madly at launch but tired of it after a couple weeks, multiplayer only goes so far – the Dreadnought is tempting though.
Not much left on my wishlist, eyeing Two Worlds (already at 75%, might get on the last day), Risen (at 50%, has a chance of going to 75% on a special?), Dinner Date (which has finally fallen to a good tryout price of $1.50), Puzzle Quest (also at 50%, may fall further?), Hydrophobia (at $1.24, that sounds about right to try out a potentially weak game) and Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity (also at 50%, chance of dropping to 75% also.)
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Space Marine for $8, Alice for $5, Shining Force 1 and 2 for like $2 total. Yes!
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The marked down prices have been haunting me as well. I’ve fallen into the trap of buying items off my list a couple of times already. I’m glad to see another Defense Grid fan! I’m not generally a big tower defense fan, but that game is excellent.
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