Yep, I just mentioned the MS Store because of the $50 gift card in addition to the free game.
Still seems a little early to get an XBone. Looking over the list, the titles that caught my eye were Crackdown and Plants vs. Zombies, and Crackdown is still an unknown quantity, given how iffy Crackdown 2 was. I can’t tell if I’d want Destiny since my only knowledge of the game right now is that it’s a shooter. I’m not much of a FPS player since I suck, but I’ve played the usual suspects (Half Life series, Bioshock, etc.) and enjoyed them.
Made me look, though.
Note that Monaco is also the free game of the month for Xbox Gold subscribers.
Whoops, nevermind. Apparently only the Madden bundle includes the gift card, and none of the three includes the free game.
What? I’m seeing the bundle you described. $399 for a basic XBone, free game, and $50 gift card. Any game that is currently in stock, not just Madden, but it can’t be a pre-order.
I originally thought that you could get this bundle (which includes a digital copy of Madden), plus both the free game and the $50. I failed to see that the free game is not included as part of that bundle. I know Newegg (and I assume most other retailers) are offering the free game with that bundle this week, but that would not include the $50 gift card.
I know everyone in the world has played it already, but my last run was back on the PS2 so take note that Psychonauts is $0.99 on the Humble Bundle page. Worth grabbing while picking up your free Warlock game.
If it’s sitting there on a spinner? Check your email, that’s where you get the key anyway.
Day Two of the SEGA sale at Green Man Gaming features the Total War Franchise. Up to 75% off all Total War titles.
$5 for the Medieval 2 collection (base game plus Kingdoms) which is worth it for the vanilla game alone but becomes a steal when you download the amazing (and free) total conversion mod The Third Age which remakes the game into Middle Earth Total War.
For Rome 2 most of the DLC is on sale. The Caesar in Gaul and Hannibal at the Gates Campaigns are $5.09 each (normally $14.99) and the faction packs are $2.71 each (normally $7.99), except for the Greek pack (which should have been free in my opinion) for $1.99.
Day Two of the GOG 6th Birthday Promo (I could swear GOG has been around longer than 6 years…) is also live with highlights that include:
[ul]
[li]
[/li][li]Might and Magic Six Pack (1-6) - $2.99
[/li][li]Arcanum - $2.39
[/li][li]Master of Orion 1 & 2 - $1.99
[/li][li]Vampire the Masquerade : Redemption : $2.39
[/li][li]Master of Magic - $1.99
[/li][li]Realms of Arkania 1 & 2 - $1.19
[/li][/ul]
Ohhh, I’ve owned Medieval 2 for ages, never played it though. Is this the mod you’re talking about?
That would give me a reason to try it. :)
Brian, even without that mod there is every reason to try it. It might be my favorite of the entire series. Well it’s a toss between that and Napoleon.
But yes, that is the mod I believe, and it is amazing.
I know I am asking one of those perennial questions, but does anyone have an opinion of the current state of Rome 2? I heard that some of the DLC is more focused and the game has been patched heavily over the past year. Is it worth considering and playing at this point or should I just go with Shogun 2 or Napoleon?
Thanks,
Todd
Rome 2 has been patched into a fine game, but if you don’t have Shogun 2, if everything else is the same, get that first. It’s still the far better game, Of course, this sale would start the day after I paid full price for Caesar in Gaul.
Pfui
That’s a tough question!
Rome 2 is very good. It’s been continually patched since release, and the upcoming Emperor Edition update (9/16, free for current owners) will bring even more improvements and significant changes to basically every aspect of the game (including changes to the political system, the resource system, and the building trees, in addition to combat changes designed to make melees last longer). It’s worth picking up by any Total War fan.
Shogun 2 is a better strategy game, though. Fewer, more meaningful units, better general development and diplomacy, more contained map, better technology tree. It’s a smaller, carefully refined game with a tight focus.
If the setting and epic-ness of the Rome 2 battles appeal, by all means check it out. But if the question is what is the single best Total War game I can buy? The answer is Shogun 2. Throw in the Fall/Rise of the Samurai campaigns and you have one of the best strategy game packages ever made.
Shogun 2 Collection (includes Rise of the Samurai)
Fall of the Samurai Collection
I played it last month, and it was still a mess. This was just vanilla though.
The campaign map’s frame rate was all over the place. Unit “walk arrows” would appear and disappear. The tactical battles ran a bit better, but there’s just something “off” about them. It’s hard for me to put my finger on.
Shogun 2 is still by far the superior game.
As for Napoleon, I actually fired that up directly after trying Rome 2 to sate my TW fix. It unfortunately had really bizarre problems in the tactical battles. Like, half of my troops would not animated correctly when moving around the map. They would be static just sliding along the ground, then suddenly their animations would make it look like they were running ten times faster than normal. They also were stuttering around their movement paths… like sometimes they would warp 100 feet forward.
No idea what’s up with that. Maybe a new patch broke everything? I played it a bit back in the day and this behavior never happened…
I played Napoleon recently, in the last two months actually, and it isn’t any patch as far as I can tell. I dunno what to tell you, but who knows what’s going on in your system. All I can say is I’ve played around 100 hours of Napoleon this year and never observed any major bugs.
That is Third Age, and it is glorious. It makes Medieval 2 (requires Kingdoms expansion) into an amazing LoTR-themed game, for FREE.
Both are excellent. Keep in mind though that on September 16th Creative Assembly is scheduled to release Rome 2 : Total War - Emperor Edition. Emperor Edition will completely replace the current retail version, and all owners of the current version will receive the Emperor Edition free via Steam update. In addition to a brand new (and FREE) campaign (Augustus) the new version of Rome 2 will feature a complete overhaul of the politics and civil war mechanics, an overhaul of construction/city building, including new buildings in the tech trees and lands/resource on the strategic map, and minor changes to the economics of many of the factions. Early feedback from the beta has been very favorable. With these changes Rome 2 could finally be the game long-time franchise fans had been hoping for out of the gate.
Steam today: Space Pirates and Zombies - $1.99 - (80% off). Keep these guys fed so they can work on SPAZ2.
Steam midweek #1: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Franchise Pack - $19.99 - (50% off).
Steam midweek #2: The Banner Saga - $9.99 - (50% off).
Humble Bundle has MX vs ATV Reflex for 1$ (95% off) for the next few hours. Any good?