Should be Playing - Steam Sale Edition 1

Given the steam summer sale is in full swing, I figured why not spend this “should be playing” talking about the games that are on sale. Time permitting, I’ll keep this up for the duration of the sale, letting you know what you should check out, and what is and isn’t a good deal. Let’s start with my top 3 picks for today (July 12th)

Number 3

Legend of Grimrock

Remember “Eye of the beholder”? No, because you’re not like 40? Ok fine. Legend of Grimrock is a role playing game that focuses on the exploration and discovery. It’s a throwback to a time when you needed to play games like this with a notepad, and knowing what buttons to push to make a fireball happen made you a god among your friends. You are confined to a grid and move in first person, but the graphical detail keeps it from feeling “retro”. It’s challenging, it’s intelligent, and it’s good fun. A steal at $4

Number 2

Faster than Light (FTL)

You command a ship, with the focus on that command. You send Jim to the engine room and tell Jane to take the helm while you deal with the aliens that just beamed on board. You make choices based on a randomly generated set of encounters, you buy and sell resources, and you upgrade your ship. Plus you die. A lot. This game is scaled so that dying is almost a sure thing, even on the low difficulty level. But that’s just fine; the game is FUN and starting over means more fun. Plus when you do win (which I’ve done twice over 3 or 4 dozen attempts) it’s all the more rewarding. It’s sometimes TOO random, the games only flaw and what keeps it from being number one.

Number 1

XCOM

Turn based combat at its finest. Build a base, handle research and manufacturing of special weapons, equip your people, and take them out on mission to stop alien invaders bent on world domination (or something). Combat is rich and enjoyable. Light RPG elements and permanent death makes a connected with each of your solders, and the base building elements are just enough. Add in great writing and fantastic mission variation, and it’s not hard to see why XCOM has been recognized with hundreds of PC game awards. Well worth it at full price, but for $9.99 you would be crazy not to.