Monthly Steam Game

[Clockw0rk]

I stole the idea from Something Awful's forums - basically every month we pick a classic game on Steam that costs around the $10-$15 mark and play through/discuss it. It's a good way of getting through all those games we swore we'd get around to but never did, and might be a way of discovering some hidden gems.

I'm down for spending $10 a month on some oldschool fun, there's not a lot coming out right now and I'm tired of the games I've got so it'll be a fun way of killing time.

So, we're agreed then! Each month we'll purchase and play through a different oldschool game. We'll try to cover a mix of genres as we go, all suggestions are welcome.

Potential games list:
The Longest Journey, Deus Ex, Far Cry, The Maw, Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Hitman 2, GRAW, Second Sight, Full Spectrum Warrior, Quake 2, Unreal Gold, I-Fluid, Gish, Abes's Oddysee/Exoddus, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Runaway, Rogue Trooper, Advent Rising, Hexen, Hexen 2, The Dig, Armed and Dangerous, Freedom Force, Penumbra... and anything else under $10.

THE GAME FOR AUGUST IS:
STAR WARS: REPUBLIC COMMANDO (http://store.steampowered.com/app/6000/)

THE GAME FOR SEPTEMBER IS:
SACRIFICE (http://store.steampowered.com/app/38440/)

THE GAME FOR OCTOBER IS:
ODDWORLD: ABE'S ODDYSEE AND ABE'S EXODDUS (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/949/)

THE GAME FOR NOVEMBER IS:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL (http://store.steampowered.com/app/4500/)


We're taking a break until February to run through the backlog of holiday games. See you then!

[Laveidem]

Republic Commando for sure.

[ThePhotoshop]

BEYOND GOOD & EVIL BEYOND GOOD & EVIL BEYOND GOOD & EVIL

I have to do it again for work anyway. Convenient, and awesome!

[Laveidem]

Hey Photo, anyone with half a brain has played that at least 10 times through by now, if they haven't they should be ashamed.

[Watchers]

I played the demo of Republic Commando and it blew. I did pick up Monkey Island Remake the other day, if I can pry myself away from other games to play it.

[Creedy]

I've been playing Aquaria, yes I know it's $20USD but I certainly haven't regretted buying the game. It's pretty much a Metroid style game where you explore the games environments and aquire various abilities to reach other areas.
There is a demo for it but surprisingly it's not available onb Steam. You'll have to Google it. I'm pretty amazed at this game considering only 2 people developed it.

[Beinkasaurus Rex]

I like this idea.
Why, I really like this idea! I believe there needs to be much stronger interest to motivate me, however =O

[Clockw0rk]

Yeah, I was hoping for a bit more interest.
Come on, there's plenty of people with $10 to spare per month!

[ThePhotoshop]

Hey Photo, anyone with half a brain has played that at least 10 times through by now, if they haven't they should be ashamed.
Then this will make it 11!

[Surgeon.]

Yeah, I was hoping for a bit more interest.
Come on, there's plenty of people with $10 to spare per month!

*shows interest*

[Silverwolf]

Pick a game and i'll play.

[Laveidem]

Then this will make it 11!

But I like 10, it's a nice even number. :(

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I'll give it a go. I've been looking for some cheap games to play.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

SO is this happening?

[Clockw0rk]

Aargh I forgot this thread!
the_watchers_eye voted against Republic Commando, does anyone else have suggestions for a $10 classic game we could play? I still wouldn't mind having a crack at Delta Force.
I figure we've got until Saturday to pick one so we can play it over August.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Which is great, because I only have 150mb download to last me until August!

Not to sound ignorant, (but it probably will)but where do you go to find a list of steam games?

[Surgeon.]

the_watchers_eye voted against Republic Commando

Since when does anyone listen to Watchers Eye? :p

Took a look in the less than $10 games at the steam store. Not a whole lot there . . . Silent Hunter 3 is a great game that no-one played but I doubt people want to learn a submarine sim. In any case, I doubt that we're all going to agree on a game before we start playing it. Probably better to just choose something and hope that people give it a shot.

Also noticed that ThePhotoshop mentioned this idea on Akimbo.



Not to sound ignorant, (but it probably will)but where do you go to find a list of steam games?

http://store.steampowered.com/

You can sort by price in advanced search.

Might also be worth taking a look at whats on offer at Good Old Games.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I'd be up for Republic Commando. The copy I have doesn't work with Vista :(

[Clockw0rk]

Alright, Republic Commando it is. We'll play through it over August and pick another one at the end of the month :)

[Creedy]

The Dig is available for $5USD, it's an old school Lucasarts click adventure game. It's only 631meg. :o
Freedom Force: Freedom pack is also $7USD and is apparently meant to be good.
Hexen and Hexen 2 are $5USD each.
Armed and Dangerous is $10USD.
Penumbra is $10USD and is meant to be quite scary.

The Longest Journey, Deus Ex, Far Cry, The Maw, Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Hitman 2, GRAW, Second Sight, Full Spectrum Warrior, Quake 2, Unreal Gold, I-Fluid, Gish, Abes's Oddysee/Exodus, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Runaway, Rogue Trooper, Advent rising.

There is heaps to choose from for under $10USD.

[Clockw0rk]

We'll be spoiled for choice over the next few months then :) Can see quite a few games in that list that I've always wanted to play.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Sweet. Now I just need to wait for August when my download limit resets.

[Thraxas]

Ok I'm also definitely up for this...

That's a nice list there Creedy. A few weeks ago they had the 3 Penumbra games for $5usd as a weekend special. I got them but haven't had a chance to really play them yet.

In fact sometimes the weekend specials are awesome value.

Sweet. Now I just need to wait for August when my download limit resets.

Does your ISP charge you for going over your limit? Mine just slows me down to dial-up speed. I just leave stuff downloading over night if I ever reach my cap.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I have mobile internet through 3 Mobile. I get charged an extremely unreasonable amount for going over my limit. It resets on the 1st August, though, so I only have to make my 150 mg last until the end of Friday, and considering I have 200mg left on Monday, I think I'll be ok.

[Surgeon.]

So we're definitely doing republic commando first?

Edit - Just checked first post, so I guess it is.

Also, might be an idea to put all the potential game ideas in the first post.

[Clockw0rk]

I'll keep the first post updated with the month's game and a list of potential ones. Since we're only doing one per month there's over 2 years worth of suggestions up there, so future titles are open to discussion and we're spoilt for choice really :)

[Watchers]

Republic Commando is shit. Have fun with that.

[ThePhotoshop]

It's actually one of the best Star Wars games out there. You will have fun with that.

[Watchers]

Lies and slander.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Lies and slander.

It's a good game. The main complaint I have with it is that it's too short. And I want a sequel, dammit!

[Clockw0rk]

Republic Commando is shit. Have fun with that.
Sorry for not picking one of your many suggestions. Maybe you'll be a bit more on the ball in September.

[Surgeon.]

Sorry for not picking one of your many suggestions. Maybe you'll be a bit more on the ball in September.

He won't be, he's just going to suggest Air Rivals.

[Ashmaran]

This seems like a decent idea, and the list of potential games is pretty good. I added in a steam link to the initial post for the lazier people like myself heh.

[Clockw0rk]

Thanks! I made your link more awesome :)
I had thought about doing that but most of my posting has been done at work where I've been sneaking posts in here and there.

[Watchers]

He won't be, he's just going to suggest Air Rivals.

I suggest Air Riv- hey wait a minute.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Just remembered I have 1 gb of data on my iPhone plan, so I've tethered it up and am now downloading!

Edit: Not so good. Game download is 2GB. :(

[dinopoke]

Halt, Hammerzeit, you should get someone who has bought the game to back it up, burn it on a CD and mail it to you.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I have a copy of it, but it doesn't work with Vista. $10 is a cheap enough price to get it again. I'll have it tomorrow now anyway.

[Clockw0rk]

My card is maxed until Wednesday thanks to AC/DC :(

[Spudzilla]

Let's play Left 4 Dead.

Okay, I'll go load it up.

[Silverwolf]

Let's play Left 4 Dead.

Okay, I'll go load it up.

If you were actually online on steam at all, we could play!

[Spudzilla]

That's true.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

So has anybody started this yet? I'm having fun getting back into it. I'm about half way through the ship level (I've just hooked back up with all three of my squad members). I'm wishing there was a bit more tactics about it now. Not being a big FPS player I'm not sure if games go much past the "Snipe from here" or "Shoot anti armour from here", but I'd like to have a bit for squad control, like hang back with me and don't get shot!

[Surgeon.]

So has anybody started this yet? I'm having fun getting back into it. I'm about half way through the ship level (I've just hooked back up with all three of my squad members). I'm wishing there was a bit more tactics about it now. Not being a big FPS player I'm not sure if games go much past the "Snipe from here" or "Shoot anti armour from here", but I'd like to have a bit for squad control, like hang back with me and don't get shot!

Yeah, started to play it yesterday. I'm only a couple levels in at the moment, blowing up some generator or something. I agree that the squad commands seem a tad basic. Basically you just tell them 'put explosives here', 'man this turret', 'use bacta station' etc. Nonetheless, I'm still enjoying it. I like the helmet hud and the cinematic quality of the game.

Unfortunately I do keep comparing it to Jedi Outcast, which I don't think it can compete with.

[Clockw0rk]

You mean Star Wars: Dark Forces 3: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast?
I couldn't get into that game. I'm sure it was good, but I enjoyed Star Wars: Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight a lot more.

Keen to start on this though. Roll on Payday!
(I know it's only $10 but I cbf'd paying off my credit card til then).

[Ashmaran]

I'm downloading it now, its 2GB so will take a while. At least it's unmetered!

[SOX]

I've been itching to get Jedi Outcast, hoping it'll appear on GOG but I'm doubtful. I'm sure it'll come to Steam so I'll just grab it then - can't wait!

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Yeah, started to play it yesterday. I'm only a couple levels in at the moment, blowing up some generator or something. I agree that the squad commands seem a tad basic. Basically you just tell them 'put explosives here', 'man this turret', 'use bacta station' etc. Nonetheless, I'm still enjoying it. I like the helmet hud and the cinematic quality of the game.

To me, it's everything a SW game should be, minus the Jedi, although I've never really liked playing as a Jedi in any SW games (except The Force Unleashed). It's fun, there's good single player aspects, as well as the squad portion of the game too (even though it is basic). I do find it good to be able to direct one of the squad to slice a computer and cover him myself, just because the AI doesn't seem capable of protecting me when I start getting hit (and some terminals take over a minute to slice).

[Ashmaran]

I put in a bit of time, it's pretty cool. I wish there was a "don't get molested by the elites with the giant laser" squad command heh. I find it's a lot more useful getting your squad members to snipe etc, because they seem to have infinite ammo. F3 also gets them to defend a spot so that's handy if you want them to stay put.

I'm enjoying it so far, my only real complaint is that the weapons don't seem that satisfying.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I put in a bit of time, it's pretty cool. I wish there was a "don't get molested by the elites with the giant laser" squad command heh. I find it's a lot more useful getting your squad members to snipe etc, because they seem to have infinite ammo. F3 also gets them to defend a spot so that's handy if you want them to stay put.

I didn't know about the F3 thing. That could be quite handy. You can also get all your squad to focus on one target by targeting the enemy and pressing "F". I find sniping the Geonsian Elites is the best way to kill them off quickly.

I'm enjoying it so far, my only real complaint is that the weapons don't seem that satisfying.

Not sure where you're up to, but you get four permanent weapons (one being the pistol) and you can carry an extra weapon (like the beam weapon, a shotgun or a chain gun like weapon later on), but tehre isn't a real variety of weapons.

[Ashmaran]

Yeah F1, F2 and F3 are your generic squad commands. I did pick up an elite laser and it kicked arse until it ran out.

[Azzaman]

Can we make next months game Company of Heroes? I got that the other day for cheap and it kicks all kinds of arse.

[Clockw0rk]

Company of Heroes is good, but it's $20 which is more than I'm willing to spend. I'd go up to $15 but only if the game was significantly better than one of the many $10 options.

[Watchers]

I'm starting to sound overly negative here, but I found CoH pretty meh.

[Surgeon.]

I'm starting to sound overly negative here, but I found CoH pretty meh.

Boooooooo, Hiss!

[Watchers]

Maybe we should all just play Silent Hunter, hey Surg? We could make videos of it and everything. >_>

[Surgeon.]

Maybe we should all just play Silent Hunter, hey Surg? We could make videos of it and everything. >_>

Funny you should say that.

z9xWswNf38U

Edit - I blame you for having a 3 star rating.

[Azzaman]

I need to get out my copy of Silent hunter 4 now.....

[Rainy Day]

You mean Star Wars: Dark Forces 3: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast?

Whoa, is that seriously what it's called? :D

[Azzaman]

Whoa, is that seriously what it's called? :D

Yeah, it was back in the era of subtitle craziness. I'm still not 100% sure if it was an elaborate corporate in joke or mass hysteria on Lucasarts part.

[Clockw0rk]

I don't know if it officially had the Dark Forces 3 bit, but since Jedi Knight had the Dark Forces 2 tag, it was naturally assumed that this was part of the title.

Getting Republic Commando tonight. Anyone made much progress?

[Surgeon.]

Anyone made much progress?

Nope, hoping to put some hours in over the weekend. Also, hope we'll be able to manage to get some multiplayer at some point.

Must get clockworks blood on my visor. :p

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I'm a third of the way through the campaign (I've finished the Geonosis and ship missions, just Kashyyyk to go) Still pretty fun, although some of the later stages of the ship mission get pretty annoying.

I'd love to get some multiplayer action happening, but I'm not sure my internet connection is up to it.

[Clockw0rk]

Heh, I'm in New Zealand - I'm sure you'll be fine compared to "a farmer counting lines of sheep with zeros and ones painted on them" as Shorty put it.

Do we have enough for a multiplayer game on, let's say Sunday night?

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Heh, I'm in New Zealand - I'm sure you'll be fine compared to "a farmer counting lines of sheep with zeros and ones painted on them" as Shorty put it.

Do we have enough for a multiplayer game on, let's say Sunday night?

I'm on moblie internet through 3.

[Clockw0rk]

"Leet Haxor Skills" - What is this, 2005?
Oh, wait.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I did have a bit of a laugh at some of the dialogue in the game :P

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Finished the game on normal tonight. Quite enjoyable. Might try for a play through on hard, but I'm generally not very good at FPS games.

[Clockw0rk]

I've just finished Geonosis. It is quite good fun, I'd love to see a current-gen version of the same idea.

[Ashmaran]

I think you guys are ahead of me. I'm regrouping with my team aboard a giant ship to get to the bridge and nab some codes.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

That's almost the end of the Geonosis mission.

Playing this game again made me remember how much I love the whole Republic Commando series. There's four books that have been written so far by Karen Traviss based around Omega Squad (the later books feature Delta Squad more prominantly) and deal with the ethical issues with cloning and what a clone that was bred to fight would go through to actually leave the military. The last book was Order 66, which took place at the same time as Revenge Of The Sith, and shows that not all Clones wanted to kill Jedi (some even rebelled and let them go). There's another book being written, but the series has changed from Republic Commando to Imperial Commando (since the Republic didn't really exist after ROTS).

[Ashmaran]

So I'm at the end of the Geonosis mission, and yeah the game can go **** itself.


I have 5 minutes to finish the mission, no grenades or explosive rounds and I have to navigate through corridor after corridor of battle droids. You get 4 explosive rounds on the way, which are useful but not enough. Once I get to the final room I have 1 minute left until the ship explodes, and it takes 1 minute and 1 second to hack the computer for the codes. Plus as soon as you enter droids approach from both sides, and while I take out the auto turrets and pick up some grens / ammo to blow the robots my guys are dying. No matter what approach I take I never have enough time once I get to the final room, and my guys are half dead already.


This is shitty design I cbf wasting any more time on it.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Before you get into the last bit where you slice the computer, there's a couple of bacta stations to the left of that door (into the computer room thing). Take out the turrets first (two on the left, and one or two on the right from memory), clear the droids out of the way. When you're almost done clearing the droids, task a squad member to slice the computer, then task two squad members to take up position sniping from the middle.

That's how I did it.

[ThePhotoshop]

So I'm at the end of the Geonosis mission, and yeah the game can go **** itself.

This is shitty design I cbf wasting any more time on it.
I honestly think you just suck. I had no trouble with that section whatsoever, and had plenty of grenades and sniper ammo. Didn't ever need to use the anti-armour attachment. Ended up getting to the ship with 30 seconds to go.

Anyway, I just finished Geonosis. What exactly do the green grenades do? I know they explode but I'm not exactly sure how they affect enemies.

[Ashmaran]

I gave it another go, and passed it but it took a few tries loading a quicksave before the final room. Still think it was needlessly irritating. Considering how easy it is to die in this game, I think the AI needs to take better cover.

I'm not a big fan of the flying enemies in the next mission that drain your health quickly. Shotgun is nice though.

[Creedy]

I probably won't be playing this game, to busy with The Longest Journey. Brilliant PnC adventure game by the way.

[Clockw0rk]

Fair enough. I'm eyeing up the Freedom Force Freedom Pack for next month, got a friend who keeps telling me to play it.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I gave it another go, and passed it but it took a few tries loading a quicksave before the final room. Still think it was needlessly irritating. Considering how easy it is to die in this game, I think the AI needs to take better cover.

I'm not a big fan of the flying enemies in the next mission that drain your health quickly. Shotgun is nice though.

Shotgun is my favourite weapon in the game. Good for taking down Trandoshans. Unload a shot into them and then use the melee attack to take them down. It's not so good against droids, though.

[Watchers]

Fair enough. I'm eyeing up the Freedom Force Freedom Pack for next month, got a friend who keeps telling me to play it.

I would do that, but apparently there's no online co-op.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Started playing through on hard and I've finished the Geonosis mission. Haven't really noticed any real rise in difficultly apart from there being more enemies. I've been trying to play it using only the pistol, saving my other ammo for big groups of enemies, and that seems to be working so far. Plus, I've only just realised that I have different types of grenades, which makes it a lot easier when dealing with droids and being able to set proximity mines as well. I feel a bit stupid for not noticing that soon.

Have we decided on the game for next month, since it's only a little bit away?

[Clockw0rk]

I'll finish it up this weekend, been pretty lazy since I got Trials HD and Monkey Island.
My vote for next month still goes to the Freedom Force Freedom Pack, but more suggestions are welcome.

[Watchers]

What about Sacrifice? It's currently $9, marked down from $10 >_>

Seriously, I've been wanting to play that for a while.

[Clockw0rk]

I could go for Sacrifice. Hell, I wouldn't even have to download it. Just gotta hunt down the CD...

[Watchers]

Wow, you must've been one of the two people who actually bought it when it came out.

Actually, if we buy it on GOG, we might be able to get some multiplayer going. Don't think you can with the Steam version.

[dinopoke]

I could go for Sacrifice. Hell, I wouldn't even have to download it. Just gotta hunt down the CD...

I'm very jealous. I hope they still sell the Xtreme Gamers Pack these days.

[Watchers]

So we doing Sacrifice, then?

[Clockw0rk]

Wow, you must've been one of the two people who actually bought it when it came out.
It came in a bundle with my graphics card along with No-One Lives Forever and AquaNox. I'd have never even heard of it otherwise.

Sacrifice has been added to the first page so I guess that makes it official, but if anyone wants to suggest something else awesome we could consider it.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Sacrifce looks good. I'm in for that.

Finished the Geonosis mission on Hard and started to play the ship mission. Tried it about four times and got killed each time by those stupid robots that fire lightning. They were annoying on medium, now they're just a pain in the arse. Maybe try it a couple more times, but if this is how I'm handling the easy part of the mission, I'm not looking forward to the later parts.

[tau]

*looks at the huge Sacrifice box on his shelf*

:D

[Watchers]

I stress again: buy it on Good Old Games people! They list multiplayer as a feature, whereas Steam does not have the functionality. Plus, it's cheaper.

[ThePhotoshop]

Guys you need to read the actual GOG website regarding Sacrifice multiplayer. The downloads do not actually inlcude a multiplayer CD key. I'm pretty sure you need to contact GOG directly to get one.

Or I could just give you all mine and we could play via Hamachi.

[Watchers]

But at least you get one. Steam doesn't indicate this at all.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

So are we going with Sacrifice from Steam then?

Also, just as an idea, could we open this up from 'Monthly Steam Game' to 'Monthly Game' and buy cheap games from places like XBox Live, PSN Network and Virtual Console/Wii Ware?

[Watchers]

Just bought mine on GOG. Cheaper and with multiplayer - though Photoshop was right in that you need to request a CD Key for online multiplayer, which GOG will then send you.

[Watchers]

So I just cleared the tutorial missions, and I'm liking what this game seems to be about. A true cross between an RPG and an RTS, there is a lot of potential here. I'm very interested to see how it goes as the game progresses - there's a lot to keep track of, and it sometimes gets a bit much. Hopefully I get used to it as I go.

[Ashmaran]

The month isn't over yet ;)

I'm up to the 3rd (I'm guessing last?) mission in Republic Commando. How much longer is it?

[Watchers]

August is so 27 days ago.

<_<

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Kashyyyk is the last 'mission'. You finish by getting your squad to guns and firing on a sep crusier.

[Clockw0rk]

Woo, Sacrifice is in the mail. Hopefully it'll be here by the end of the week.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

So how have people been ordering Sacrifice? Are we not getting it over Steam?

[Clockw0rk]

Get it however you want :)
Mine's in the mail from my folks' place, there's still a stack of my old games up there. Mum is awesome and sending it in the mail.

[Watchers]

Got mine on Good Old Games. Cheaper, and not tied to my Steam account.

[Clockw0rk]

Sacrifice has Win7 issues and the GoG forums aren't much help. Hopefully I can fix it.

[Clockw0rk]

I'm guessing people stopped playing Sacrifice cos it's too hard?

[Azzaman]

what about braid?

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Sorry, had a lot going on at work and been packing to move so I haven't had time to get it and play (plus, I don't have as much cash at the moment), so I'll have to give this month a miss (any maybe next month)

[Watchers]

I'm guessing people stopped playing Sacrifice cos it's too hard?

I played it, but I'm not sure I like it. The idea is pretty cool, but in practice it's kinda hard to control properly and keep track of things. It just ends up being 'summon more dudes, wonder over to enemy, hope I win, repeat'.

[Clockw0rk]

Bump.
We gettin our Freedom Force on for October?
My other suggestions are Abe's Oddysee/Exoddus and Rogue Trooper.

Guys?

[Watchers]

I never played Abe's, but I'd like to, if it's cheap. Also, if it's not a bust like last month :/

[Creedy]

I have not played any games for the past month at least, what is wrong withme?
I still haven't even finished The Longest Journey yet.

[Clockw0rk]

We don't have any consoles in the flat right now so PC gaming seems like a good idea. Shall we go with Abe, or wait for some more suggestions?

[Surgeon.]

I'd be happy with Abe.

I played the first couple levels on the original psx, but couldn't really get into it at the time.

On steam,

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee: $10 USD
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus: $10 USD
Oddworld Pack (both) $15 USD

[Stevorooni]

I still have the original PC versions on CD!

[Azzaman]

Abe is ok with me too, how about we just pick one though. I say Exoddus.

[Watchers]

Abe is ok with me too, how about we just pick one though. I say Exoddus.

I say the first one mainly because I hate Azzaman, but also because I'd prefer to play chronologically.

Though at $15 I may just grab the pack.

[Surgeon.]

So, has it been decided?

[Azzaman]

So, has it been decided?

Yes it has, Watchers hates me and I hate him. It's a mutual thing.

[Clockw0rk]

I'm gonna grab the pack, but out of the two I'd pick Exoddus.

[Watchers]

Yeah, I'm not going to play the second without playing the first.

[Clockw0rk]

I'll pop a link into the first post, but for simplicity's sake let's just say that the game for this month is Abe's Oddysee/Abe's Exoddus, and people can choose to play one or both.

I always loved how good the cutscenes looked in those games.

[ThePhotoshop]

Oddworld sale on steam - good timing! $3.40US each!

[Azzaman]

Oddworld sale on steam - good timing! $3.40US each!

SOLD! I'm glad I held off for a day or two ;)

[Surgeon.]

Ha, I was reading the Oddworld steam forum just last night and was looking at the fact that they were on special for that price earlier this year.

What are the chances?

[Watchers]

****ing unbelievably awesome timing.

[Surgeon.]

So far made it out of the farms, the outside bit, some forrest area and I'm now doing Scrabania. Decided I couldn't be bothered saving all of the green guys.

It's brilliant, and yet it frustrates the hell out of me. Also, the save system is rather janky.

[Watchers]

This game is hard as ****. I'm trying to save any dudes I come to, so maybe I'm making it worse on myself?

I'll save anyone else the grief and explain how the save system works:

Little green diamond coming out of Abe indicates a checkpoint. You can save anywhere from the ESC menu, but it really only saves your progress to the last checkpoint. You can go back to checkpoints to retrigger a save if you want. Fiddly and stupid, but it beats saving the same dudes 5 times in a row...rage...

[Azzaman]

Apparently if you save more then 50 mudokons you get the happy ending, less then that a sad ending. So there's not really much in it beyond some fmv you could probably see on youtube.

[Clockw0rk]

Munch's Oddysee had 4 endings - Good, Bad, Perfect (save them all) and Evil (kill them all).
I can't quite remember that "them" were - Fuzzles, perhaps?

[texta]

Abe's Oddysee was pretty fantastic back in the day. I'm pretty sure we saved them all, it's pretty tough going because there's some fairly secret areas you have to be on the lookout for.

[Clockw0rk]

In Oddysee, at the main menu, hold down shift and press down, right, left, right, left, right, left up.
Level select!

Apparently my flatmate still remembers that after so many years.

[Watchers]

Apparently if you save more then 50 mudokons you get the happy ending, less then that a sad ending. So there's not really much in it beyond some fmv you could probably see on youtube.

It seems like I'd be missing the point if I didn't save them.

[Azzaman]

this aint no rpg son. I dun care bout no mudokons.

[Surgeon.]

As much as I like the art style and think that some of the puzzles are clever, just about everything else about this game is pissing me off.

The controls are horrible, the save system is woeful and you just tend to die more than is necessary. I always know what I'm supposed to do, but it's always just so incredibly tedious to pull it off the right way.

If I have to do one more 5-stage puzzle where I fail the last section and have to repeat everything over, I just may uninstall this monstrosity out of existence.

[Azzaman]

As much as I like the art style and think that some of the puzzles are clever, just about everything else about this game is pissing me off.

The controls are horrible, the save system is woeful and you just tend to die more than is necessary. I always know what I'm supposed to do, but it's always just so incredibly tedious to pull it off the right way.

If I have to do one more 5-stage puzzle where I fail the last section and have to repeat everything over, I just may uninstall this monstrosity out of existence.

lol, it's a tough game. Try exoddus before you wipe oddworld from you memory

[Creedy]

So I got back into The Longest Journey and quickly finished it off. Good game but nothing to amazing by todays standards, I still pefer the older Lucasarts classics.

I'll start on the Abe games tonight.

[Creedy]

Just finished the first stage with all 28 Mudoken's saved.
hurrah

[Leirith]

Picked up that sweet Oddworld pack deal on the weekend. Sure they're 10 year old games, but also great, if I remember correctly. Haven't had a chance to start yet as Braid and Secret of Monkey Island are still filling my 2D adventure/platform/puzzle need right now (also purchased on the awesome weekend deals!), but looking forward to giving them a go soon.

[texta]

As much as I like the art style and think that some of the puzzles are clever, just about everything else about this game is pissing me off.

The controls are horrible, the save system is woeful and you just tend to die more than is necessary. I always know what I'm supposed to do, but it's always just so incredibly tedious to pull it off the right way.

If I have to do one more 5-stage puzzle where I fail the last section and have to repeat everything over, I just may uninstall this monstrosity out of existence.Maybe you need a game pad?

[Creedy]

I'm using my X360 controller, I think it may just be the gameplay Surgeon needs to adjust to. It is very finicky and your movements need to exact.

If you've played games like Another World, Flashback, Blackthorne, Prince of Persia or even Spelunker HD you may be more accustomed to it's control scheme.

[Creedy]

Just beat the Paramite temple, moving onto Scrabania.
Is anyone else even playing?

[Watchers]

I just got past the bit with the dog things and am now at some sort of temple thing.

[Clockw0rk]

I am but we're over our cap and back to dialup speeds. Steam has stopped working as a result.

At least, I think that's the reason. The flatmates probably broke something and don't want to own up. Can't wait til the PC is back in my room.

[Creedy]

Just start Steam up in offline mode and games will still work.

[Clockw0rk]

It wasn't even starting in offline mode, not really sure what went wrong. It's working now though.

[Surgeon.]

Gave up on Abe's Odyssey, started playing Abe's Exodus. Although it's a huge improvement (quicksave) I'm still not loving it.

It's just an annoying puzzle game.

I think I'm done with platforming/puzzle for a while. S'plosion man & Braid has worn me out.

[Creedy]

TAKING THE FIGHT BACK TO RUPTURE FARMS!!!

I have saved 47 Mudokons thus far.

[Creedy]

Finnished Abe's Odyssey and rescued 95 Mudokans.
Started Abe's Exodus, never played this one before.

[Clockw0rk]

Exoddus is a lot of fun. I remember playing it on my crappy laptop in 1st year of uni.

[turb06]

just buying into the thread.

[Creedy]

I've just started Feeco in Exodus and have rescued 104 Mudokans so far.
The sequel feels much more refined than the first. It's good to finally get the attention of Mudokan groups instead of moving 1 at a time.

For anyone that cares by the way, all the Half Life games have 55.8% off their prices and the first 2 Red Faction games can be bought for $7.50USD each.

[Clockw0rk]

End of the month is coming up.
How did everyone get on?
What's up next?
I got through Exoddus but not Oddysee.

[Creedy]

Im getting close to the end of exodus, 203 of 300 Mudokons.

[Watchers]

Too much other stuff to be played atm, so I kinda put Oddysee on the back burner.

[dinopoke]

Borderlands? :P

The four pack sounds a tad tempting.

[Creedy]

This thread is for older cheaper games that people may have possibly missed out on previously.

[turb06]

well technically borderlands is an older game now STEAM HAVE DELAYED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *****ING SH!T!!!!!

[sheeps]

You guys should do STALKER now that it's only a few bucks.

[Creedy]

If people agree to that I'm happy to play it. I have it already bought and fully modded up.

[Clockw0rk]

Stalker works for me. Should I play Vanilla first time through or go for the OL mod?

[Dust]

I'm tempted to get it simply so I don't have to get the disc out of the box every time I want to play [already own it you see]; and this thread might give me the excuse to do it, yay!

[Fenrir]

Hmm, I might get in on this soon.

You should try to throw an in indie title in every so often, too, guys - it's not like the only games in existence are AAA games and old AAA games. >_>

[Lex]

Stalker works for me. Should I play Vanilla first time through or go for the OL mod?

L.U.R.K. mod. (http://www.moddb.com/mods/lurk)

[Clockw0rk]

Cheers Lex. Again though - first playthrough, vanilla or modded?
One more question - are mods easy to install over a Steam copy or should I try find one in stores?

[sheeps]

I used the STALKER Complete mod last time I played. I got a point where it just felt like too much effort to advance though.

[Lex]

Play modded, vanilla stalker is... bleh. The lurk mod works perfectly with steam stalker too.

[Clockw0rk]

Play modded, vanilla stalker is... bleh. The lurk mod works perfectly with steam stalker too.
That's everything I need to know. Bought!

[Watchers]

I wasn't going to do this (too many other games) but it's currently $4 on Steam. $4!! I'll pick it up now, and never get around to playing it, but $4!!!

[dinopoke]

L.U.R.K. mod. (http://www.moddb.com/mods/lurk)

What does this mod do?

Any, I already own STALKER so I'm good to pick it up again. I haven't played for a while because I got stuck in an army base.

[sheeps]

What does this mod do?

Any, I already own STALKER so I'm good to pick it up again. I haven't played for a while because I got stuck in an army base.

Same. I came up out of a tunnel after being chased by some weird mutant and it was dark and there were enemy torch lights everywhere so I just said **** it and went and played some hand holding game like Gears of War. :P

[Lex]

What does this mod do?
.

Open the link...

[dinopoke]

I'm shaped >___>

ModDB doesn't really give me a rundown of the features aside from the fact that there are new weapons and scopes. What I'm trying to get at is, why are you playing this over OL? :P

[Lex]

Better graphics, better weather, Cooler blowouts, Stealth, better difficulty balance, more weapons, tweaked weapons. Srsly, dem textures, best bumpmapping I think I've ever seen.

[sheeps]

Is it better than Oblivion Lost or STALKER Complete though?

[Lex]

Well...yeah.

[Creedy]

HUZZAH
Rescued 300/300 Mudokans, Exodus is a much better and more refined game than what Odyssey is. I enjoyed both games muchly.
Guess I'll start on Stalker next week if I can.

So the LURK mod is better graphically than then Complete mod?

*EDIT*
Just read this on Gamespot forums.

"Complete: Simulator difficulty left intact, mostly improving on atmosphere and graphics in *lots* of ways. You're not going to find any extra guns, items or gameplay features. Complete 2009 focuses solely on overhauling the graphics (in all ways) and the AI. If you want to keep Stalker how its meant to be with much needed improvements, get 2009.

LURK: If you've played Stalker to death and want a breath of fresh air gameplay wise, get lurk. Rookies will be seen using top tier rifles and pistols. Ammo is plentiful, quests are all over, the A-life has been unhooked for tons of action. Bullet ballistics, accuracy, and recoil have all been adjusted for the AI and you to make the absolute best firefights available.

Complete makes Stalker Vanilla better, LURK overhauls it to a new personnality that is not for everyone."

*EDIT 2*
One of the devs of Complete said this.

"Our teams spoke and we came to an agreement that we are not positioning our mods against each other, since we pursue different goals. This is generalization, but the basic differences, Complete caters more towards first time players by intentionality keeping the core vanilla settings intact, Lurk adds more features, not present in vanilla, which can be enjoyed by new and seasoned players. Both update graphics.

So no need for flame, pick one based one your current needs or play both, you will get different experience each time."

So I think I'll stick with Complete for now.

[Clockw0rk]

I've just grabbed Stalker off Steam (It's still cheap!) and I'm downloading Complete now.

[Creedy]

Anyone been playing this?
I'm to caught up in Borderlands and Uncharted 2 at the moment.

[Lex]

Honestly I'd take lurk because the graphics are SO much better than complete, and the fixed gunplay actually makes it playable.

[dinopoke]

Yep I've picked it up again and gotten past that army base by just camping in the corner and picking them off one by one. So now I've arrived at where Barkeep is and gotten my first scoped weapon. Makes combat so much more enjoyable now. The arena is pretty cool. Does anyone know if you can continue fighting there indefinitely or is there an end to it? Also saw my first zombie.

I've been playing vanilla but when I finish, I'll try out Complete, OL and LURK.

A good tip is to use the Viper 5 early in the game instead of that bigger gun. The Viper 5 is much more superior in terms of accuracy. Don't bother with the shotgun, it sounds great but does little.

[Clockw0rk]

I got shot and died.
What the hell kind of FPS is this? Christ, I need to get better.

[TAT]

I got shot and died.
What the hell kind of FPS is this? Christ, I need to get better.
Yep, pretty much what Yahtzee said.

The game is good because it doesn't hold your hand and when you die you feel very inadequate but it gives you a strong reason to get better.

[Lex]

I remember when it first came out. I uninstalled it pretty much right away, don't care how good the game is, it all felt a little cheap to me.

It's something you really need to get into, it doesn't have the polish of something from a big name company, but that's because it's not, and IMO is better without it.

Was looking at that crysis pack... $15 each, or $45 for both. GG steam, almost had me there.

[sausage]

I know the mods maketh the game better but I've only ever played it vanilla on easy setting and it was the best fun I think I've ever had in a shooter (I don't multi).

Sure I'm lame but I know what I like.

[Lex]

nah dude, definately, even vanilla it's an amazing game, it's just that mods make it much more accessable.

[Watchers]

Finally, some positive feedback for mods.

<_<

[sheeps]

Hahahaha...

[Clockw0rk]

Couldn't really get into Stalker. I tried a few hours but got sidetracked by Borderlands. Definitely a cool game though
With 2 days left in this big sale, should we look at what's on offer and make a choice from that?

There's still the Freedom Force Freedom Pack, of course >_>

[Creedy]

Are we doing a game for the month?

[Clockw0rk]

I'd like to do Freedom Force.
Any objections?

[Watchers]

I object on account of having way too much shit to play already. :p

[Clockw0rk]

I actually agree.
Should we have a break and get back into this in February, once the big releases have dried up?

[Creedy]

Alrighty than.
I was going to suggest Gish as the next game.

[Creedy]

So does anyone want to start this thread again?

[Clockw0rk]

Sure, why not.
I've been looking for an excuse to get Gish, any objections/other suggestions?