Bargain Thread 2011 Edition

[Tyjenks]

I am not digging it either. You match and move things around to make chains. The streams are an interesting twist and if I enjoyed games of this ilk even a little bit more, I am sure I would like it. When people say, “It is not JUST a match 3 game”, I now expect something that really breaks the mold like Dungeon Raid. I did pay the $1.50 based on universal praise. I will just pocket 16 extra Advil from work to offset the cost.

[Eduardo_X]

I don’t get the love for Tidalis here. I just tried the demo, and it’s a match-3 game, with no depth at all, and the meta-game is complete garbage. At first blush, it looks different from match-3, but finding groups of like-colored blocks and lining up their arrows so they point at each other is still the same root mechanic as match-3. You can, in theory, line up combos, but it’s pretty much like lining up combos in any match-3 game since Bejeweled it’s far more about luck and chaos than actual planning. It’s made worse by the fact that most modes are timed, so you don’t have the luxury of trying to make what rudimentary planning would matter.

What really puts the icing on the fact that it’s a mindless browser game are the “rewards” for finishing a level. You’ll “collect” stuff like 135 old tires. It’s random junk, and serves no purpose at all. The game doesn’t even remember most of what you collected, it throws away everything but the current “high score,” i.e. 400 or so toy robots. It means absolutely nothing, not even as a scoring mechanism.

Dungeon Raid, it ain’t. Just to make things worse, the demo didn’t uninstall correctly, so now Tidalis appears permanently on my list of Steam games. No files, but it’s there.

The junk is supposed to be a joke, I guess.

[Tracy_Baker]

I don’t get the love for Tidalis here. I just tried the demo, and it’s a match-3 game, with no depth at all, and the meta-game is complete garbage. At first blush, it looks different from match-3, but finding groups of like-colored blocks and lining up their arrows so they point at each other is still the same root mechanic as match-3. You can, in theory, line up combos, but it’s pretty much like lining up combos in any match-3 game since Bejeweled it’s far more about luck and chaos than actual planning. It’s made worse by the fact that most modes are timed, so you don’t have the luxury of trying to make what rudimentary planning would matter.

What really puts the icing on the fact that it’s a mindless browser game are the “rewards” for finishing a level. You’ll “collect” stuff like 135 old tires. It’s random junk, and serves no purpose at all. The game doesn’t even remember most of what you collected, it throws away everything but the current “high score,” i.e. 400 or so toy robots. It means absolutely nothing, not even as a scoring mechanism.

Dungeon Raid, it ain’t. Just to make things worse, the demo didn’t uninstall correctly, so now Tidalis appears permanently on my list of Steam games. No files, but it’s there.

The neat thing about Tidalis is that if you don’t like it, you can tweak it substantially until you do. Tom’s review does a nice job of explaining how great it really is: http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3606/Tidalis-Review.htm

And this explains some of the options and modes: http://www.outofeight.info/2010/07/tidalis-review.html

Tell you what, Gus. I’ve gotten a lot out of your posts over the years, so buy the full version and if you still hate it after seeing all it can do I’ll gladly PayPal you $1.50.

[Wade42]

The beauty of Arcen Games titles is that they are completely DRM free. Even if you buy them from steam, you can plug the CD Key into the versions you download from the Arcen website just fine.

This is what nudged me into a purchase, so thanks for sharing. The game is not really doing it for me, but I’m happy to support those who don’t treat their customers like criminals.

[Creole_Ned]

Steam Daily Deal for August 24 is LEGO Batman for $9.99 (50% off).

Mid-week madness is the various Serious Sam games/packages for 66% off.

[Juan_Rayo]

So there´s a sale on Impulse today: Dream Catcher Sci-fi bundle for US$15. It includes:

Aquanox, AquaNox2: Revelation, Chaser, SpaceForce Rogue Universe, SpaceForce Captains and Genesis Rising: the Universal Crusade.

Now I haven´t played any of these, but the price seems nice for 6 games and if only 2 of them are decent I´ll consider it a good buy. So, any of you guys played those and can offer some ideas? thanks in advance!

[MSUSteve]

IntKeys is selling Deus Ex Human Revolution (PC) for $29.99.

[Rock8man]

IntKeys is selling Deus Ex Human Revolution (PC) for $29.99.

I’ve never heard of Intkeys before. Has anyone bought from them before? Are they legit? Should I trust them? They say that they scan the side of the box and send you the image so that you can prove that you own a legitimate copy of the game. That seems like a good way to do it. I know that when Steam wants me to prove I bought a game (they locked me out), they ask me to take a picture of the side of the box. So if that happened here, I should be able to send them the picture that Intkeys sent me, right?

[flyinj]

I know that when Steam wants me to prove I bought a game (they locked me out), they ask me to take a picture of the side of the box.

I’ve never heard of this before. This actually happened to you?

[MSUSteve]

I’ve never heard of Intkeys before. Has anyone bought from them before? Are they legit? Should I trust them? They say that they scan the side of the box and send you the image so that you can prove that you own a legitimate copy of the game. That seems like a good way to do it. I know that when Steam wants me to prove I bought a game (they locked me out), they ask me to take a picture of the side of the box. So if that happened here, I should be able to send them the picture that Intkeys sent me, right?

I’ve used IntKeys before and had good results. I used PayPal to complete my purchase and a few hours later received an email with a scanned CD key. In my particular case, the CD key was from a Russian retail version of the game, but Steam accepted the key without any problem and I got the full English version of the game.

[Telefrog]

I’ve used them before. The key is legit. I think it falls into the grey area of legality since they are selling you a key from a retail game outside of your distribution area. I haven’t had any issues, but I do know that Activision made a stink about Black Ops keys that were sold there previously and Steam revoked people’s keys due to the pressure.

I do find it funny that they cite this as being “in the package” since you’ll never get it.

•Highly collectable Adam Jensen action figurine designed by Play Arts Kai

[Omniscia]

IntKeys is selling Deus Ex Human Revolution (PC) for $29.99.

And yet that’s still more than Green Man Gaming had it for a while back.

[Gus_Smedstad1]

Gosh, if I’d known Tom had written such a glowing review of Tidalis, I would have known I wouldn’t like it.

I’ve gotten a lot out of your posts over the years, so buy the full version and if you still hate it after seeing all it can do I’ll gladly PayPal you $1.50.

I appreciate both the kind words and the offer, but I’ve seen enough of the game to know it doesn’t interest me. Like most match-3 games I’ve seen, Tidalis is primarily about trying to spot possible moves, and not about thinking about those moves, even in the non-timed variants. Dungeon Raid deliberately stepped away from that model. The available moves are almost always obvious in that game, largely because the group-selection rule is very lenient. In Dungeon Raid, the short term decisions are about weighing possible moves, not trying to see the moves, and there are significant longer-term decisions that aren’t present at all in games like Tidalis.

[LockerK]

And me, thanks! – SUNNY-SAVER-20PEC

Still looking for decent ways to save on:
Rage
Skyrim (if we have 100% confirmed it’s Steamworks!)
Saints Row 3

Help me Bargain Thread, you’re my only hope!

Saints Row 3 is $38.20 right now on Direct2Drive using the CAG 15% off code CHEAPASS15. I seem to recall the 15% referral codes not stacking with preorder discount, so this is a decent deal.

[Tracy_Baker]

Gosh, if I’d known Tom had written such a glowing review of Tidalis, I would have known I wouldn’t like it.

Heh. Fair enough.

I still think you’re selling Tidalis short, but there’s never going to be a game that appeals to everyone. I’ll have to find some other way to pay you back for your excellent Dungeon Raid strategy writeups.

[Telefrog]

I don’t get it. Tom’s review specifically says Tidalis is not time-based.

Most of the stuff I saw was time-based. What happened?

[Fugitive]

There’s at least one puzzle mode where no blocks fall and you just have to figure out the right order in which to clear things so that no blocks are left over. I forget what other modes are available.

[Gus_Smedstad1]

There’s at least one puzzle mode where no blocks fall and you just have to figure out the right order in which to clear things so that no blocks are left over. I forget what other modes are available.

There are at least a couple of non-timed modes. The “Zen Garden” mode mostly closely resembles Bejeweled - you start with a full map, and when you remove blocks, new ones fall from the top to replace all of them. That’s the mode that held the most interest for me, because you have time to think and theoretically set up combinations. In practice, though, it’s like Bejeweled, for the same reasons. You may not have many choices for legal moves, and if you do have choices, the results are so chaotic it’s very difficult to plan more than one move ahead.

Besides Dungeon Raid, the only game that I’ve seen do really interesting things in this space is Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Which isn’t really a Might and Magic game at all, it’s just branded that way.

[JoshV]

There are at least a couple of non-timed modes. The “Zen Garden” mode mostly closely resembles Bejeweled - you start with a full map, and when you remove blocks, new ones fall from the top to replace all of them. That’s the mode that held the most interest for me, because you have time to think and theoretically set up combinations. In practice, though, it’s like Bejeweled, for the same reasons. You may not have many choices for legal moves, and if you do have choices, the results are so chaotic it’s very difficult to plan more than one move ahead.

Besides Dungeon Raid, the only game that I’ve seen do really interesting things in this space is Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Which isn’t really a Might and Magic game at all, it’s just branded that way.

Did you ever play the Tetris Attack or Pokemon Puzzle league series of games? It totally spoiled me for match 3 games, as they allow more long term planning compared to the Puzzle Quest line of games. It had a two player versus mode that could get very epic with its battles.

[Gus_Smedstad1]

Did you ever play the Tetris Attack or Pokemon Puzzle league series of games?

No, I haven’t. But Clash of Heroes was very, very good in this regard. Of course, the mechanics aren’t quite match-3, but they’re similar.