When was the Steam Summer sale, just a month ago? Seems like forever. I managed to get through some titles, called the Summer Sale momentum, more games than usual for me. Here’s snapshot reviews.
Watch Dogs: I got this one before the sale itself, kind of a placeholder until Steam starting kicking. Highly anticipated, didn’t live up to the hype, etc etc. But I have no complaints—enough of a GTAV thing going to keep me interested. The story was okay. I could have done without the mini-games; the completionist in me didn’t not like their tedium. So I didn’t bother going for 100% after I finished the story. And I had no real interest in the multiplayer. Might try that later, when the stream runs dry.
Bulletstorm: Loved this game when I played it eons ago on the Xbox 360, so grabbing off the Sale for cheap was a no-brainer. I breezed through the campaign and laughed all the way. This game is seriously under-rated. If you like shooters, you’ll like this game.
Batman Arkham Origins: A podcaster I listen to has a boyfriend or something who loves all the batman games. I recall trying the demo for Arkham asylum back in the day and feeling meh. But this was one was on sale, so why not: and worth it. The combat has a steep learning curve (for me) but once mastered was very satisfying. I liked the story well enough, and I might even go back for 100% someday, although that involves a lot of repetitive play that I’m not really interested in. But gliding around the city scape was fun, reminded me of jumping around in City of Heroes (something I miss a lot) so that might be enough to get me back in some time this winter.
State of Decay: Zombies! Cheap! RPG-ish? I played this one for an hour or so. Maybe I’ll go back and finish it. Or play more. But it felt kind of muddy and the zombies were nothing special. People say good things about this one, so maybe I just haven’t gotten far enough in.
Containment (the Zombie Puzzler): Zombies! Puzzles! This is a twist on the Match-3 genre (but it’s not a match-3 game really) and it’s light n easy. A little bit of humor, and some challenges without being full of hidden trick n gimmicks.
Tomb Raider: People talked about this reboot and it was on sale, but by the time I’d finished it I sort of wished I hadn’t bothered. If I wanted to watch a movie I’d turn on Netflix. And no, showing me scene and then flashing a button press on the screen doesn’t count as interaction. The only enjoyment I got was stalking the bad guys and getting as many headshots with the bow as I could. Also, the story was nothing special—I don’t like deus ex machine supernatural elements wrapping things up for me. Arbitrary collectibles, pointless boss fights, cliché’d characters..l altogether not for me.
Lego Lord of the Rings: The wife and I fell in love with Lego Batman back in the day, and Star wars of course, and tried our hands at Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Carribean. So I figured I’d try LotR to tide me over for a while. But it’s sort of tedious. Maybe I was spoiled by Star Wars, but I feel like the later Lego titles try to do too many things at once. So I don’t know if I’ll finish this one or not.
Guacamelee: This came up for free on the Xbox One, and I grabbed it and was immidietly hooked. What a fun liitle game. Reminded me of one of the first games I ever got 100% on for the Xbox 360, an early arcade title called Cloning Clyde. I loved the “old Mexico” music, the Day of the Dead imagery, and the whole temp of the thing. It’s got some seriously hard parts (I may never get 100% on this one) but allows for some surprisingly satisfying exploration for a 2D platformer. Guacamelee is easily in my top ten of all time.
Marvel Heroes 2015: This is free on Steam, a Diablo-like that is super simple and a no-brainer for comic book fans, hack-n-slash, fans, free-to-play fans. I only played a little bit but its sitting there beckoning for me whenever I have a few minutes t spare (Not unlike Diablo itself). I’ll report back later if I end up playing it more.
Hearthstone: always, Hearthstone. As of this writing the second wing of the Naxxramas Adventure has been opened, and I’m through all the bosses, heroics, and class challenges. Each one has been a lot of fun, but I have to say, so far the Hunter class challenge was the best—all you get in your deck are 1/1 web spinners for 1 mana, with a deathrattle that puts ANY random beats in your hand. Throwing those down and getting a buff from his spores (deathrattle: give your opponent’s minions+8 attack) and the result is a hilarious beat down on his 75 life.
Swords and Poker: heard about this one on a Podcast, and it’s a free download on iOS, so why not. It’s by Konami, and you have a few playing cards in your hand and a board with more cards—you make poker hands to do damage to your opponent. Along the way you earn gold to buy weapons and shields that effect what happens when you make those poker hands. Has your typical “limited plays per day” thing on free-to-play stuff. I’ll poke at it some more when all I have handy is an iPad but it’s not something I see myself spending a lot of time with.
I think that’s about it. As for what’s coming up: I played a little bit of the Destiny beta, and it was fun, but I didn’t do very much compared to everyone else. The Games with Gold selection for August don’t look at all the interesting (one of ‘em I already own) so I’ll probably just be playing Hearthstone and maybe a bit of WoW. And Diablo. And Threes. And watching my wife play PvZ2. Sigh.