Video game sales update thread

[John]

For the next 48 hours, the classic post-apocalyptic CRPG Fallout is absolutely free on GOG.com! The version of the game offered by GOG.com works Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 (both 32- and 64-bit versions) and contains no DRM. You can't beat this price, and you can't beat this game... get it while it's hot!

[DanD]

For the next 48 hours, the classic post-apocalyptic CRPG Fallout is absolutely free on GOG.com! The version of the game offered by GOG.com works Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 (both 32- and 64-bit versions) and contains no DRM. You can't beat this price, and you can't beat this game... get it while it's hot!

Aw man! I just purchased this a few weeks ago from them

[John]

Want a great deal on one of the best strategy games out there? Want to be able to participate in upcoming PEBACiv events? Check out this thread and purchase Civilization V and its DLC before 1 p.m. ET on Monday, May 28!

[Jim]

I just got an email from Amazon.com that MLB 2K12 PC download version is on sale for $9.99 (usually $29.99), this weekend only.

I purchased my copy. I thought others might be interested in the deal.

[John]

A more retro-style sale is happening at GOG.com this weekend, where the entire Ultima and Wing Commander series are 50% off. You can pick up several games at once for as little as $3! Considering these are amongst the greatest games in PC gaming history, it's well worth the plunge!

[Mike Dunn]

Warlock: Master of the Arcane, turn based fantasy, Civ V meets Master of Magic.

On sale now at Steam for a measly $10, not too long after it was released at $20. There's a demo, too.

I'm picking this up, having seen raves about it on forums. One described it as Civ with ADHD. Another said,

It's basically simplified versions of Panzer General and Master of Magic mixed together, and given some of the fastest turn resolution magic and one of the very best AIs in TBS-dom.

Warlock is exactly the kind of throwback guys like me have been begging for for more than a decade.

Video overview

Because you need more games.

[Bill]

Hmmm...that DOES look good....

[Evas]

I tried this one. Kind of buggy...

Cool concept though and it plays exactly like Civ 5, only bizarrely without and keyboard shortcuts., That is a little annoying, but not a deal breaker.

But for $10 it isn't a bad bet. If they smoothed out some rough edges it could be a lot of fun.

[John]

Can anyone give us a moderately in-depth review of Warlock: Master of the Arcane? I had being eying this game for its appealing concept of Civilization in a fantasy world setting, but the reviews I've read have been decidedly mixed. Maybe a review or two from your guys would help me make up my mind.

I really wish it had a multiplayer mode... I would be much more likely to go with it if we could all play together. I do note this promising tidbit from their FAQ, though:

Q10: Will there be multiplayer in Warlock: Master of the Arcane?
A10: Yes, multiplayer will be added during the summer.

[Mike Dunn]

I haven't committed to getting it, even at the sale price, much as I held off on getting Civ V when it was on sale -- too many games and life demands, not enough time.

That said, I played the game's demo this morning. I look for one thing with this type of game: does it have the 'just one more turn' addictiveness that can keep you playing past your bedtime? I believe this does. Its very well done, and seemingly simple to pick up on. $10 for a fantasy TBS released just one month ago? That's hard to resist.

In terms of the reviews linked on the metacritic page, I place great stock in the Gameshark critic, Bill Abner (who, by the way, is big OOTP fanatic**). He gives it a B, and his review seems to fall in line with many of the comments I've read on forums. So a B, not an A. But not a C. Multi-player to come -- and just $10. Ah, resistance is futile.

Another note -- this deal is part of the Steam Paradox Weekend Sale, and apparently they're doing daily specials that bring particular titles even cheaper. So game forum advice is to wait until Monday, the last day of the sale, to see if Warlock drops even below $10.



**In 2009 I listened to Bill Abner on the strategy gaming podcast Three Moves Ahead. They were talking about Bloodbowl, but Abner segued into a discussion of a baseball sim called Out of the Park Baseball. I'd never heard of it before, but the game sounded intriguing and I decided to check it out... So Bill, in a way, got me to the PEBA-verse.

[John]

Another note -- this deal is part of the Steam Paradox Weekend Sale, and apparently they're doing daily specials that bring particular titles even cheaper. So game forum advice is to wait until Monday, the last day of the sale, to see if Warlock drops even below $10.

Oooh, good tip! I may just wait, then. If it went down a couple more bucks, I think I would be sold.

In 2009 I listened to Bill Abner on the strategy gaming podcast Three Moves Ahead. They were talking about Bloodbowl, but Abner segued into a discussion of a baseball sim called Out of the Park Baseball. I'd never heard of it before, but the game sounded intriguing and I decided to check it out... So Bill, in a way, got me to the PEBA-verse.

We owe you a great debt, Mr. Abner.

[Mike Dunn]

Here's a cool game account found on a forum, in a discussion of Warlock's AI:

We had a large pitched battle going on with me trying to take over a size 13 city that was loaded down with defenses. Elite spears, some minotaurs, a few shamans, etc... The AI seemed to be devoting all of its resources to defending the city and I was having to pull in units from the far corners of my empire to keep the pressure up. Eventually it became obvious that I was going to take the city. I was destroying more units than I was losing and had brought in some of my super-buffed Old Trolls to take on the city itself. The constant stream of reinforcements stop and I'm thinking I've run the AI out of resources and reinforcements. 2 - 3 more turns to mop up the remains and to get those damn regenning nobel werewolves out of out the city and it will be mine.

Then, out of no where, 2 minotaurs, an archer and 2 shamans come out of the fog of war in a completely different area of the wizards border and hit one of my cities. The AI had organized that force together, had it stage in a location out of my vision, and marched them in as a unified strike. Caught me off guard. Had to teleport a druid to the city and chain-cast firestorms to hold onto it.

I've never had an AI do that before. AIs in TBS seem to throw their attention at whatever you are currently attacking. This AI recognizes a lost battle and knows not to keep throwing units at it. It knows to pull back, organize, and come back in with a strike force. It will end-around your units and hit a lightly defended city with a superior force.

As mentioned, it's not brilliant, but it's a far cry better than most TBS AIs I've run into.

[Denra44]

Mount and blade will be today and Crusader Kings 2(can't wait) tomorrow, will be the daily deals.

[John]

Mount and blade will be today and Crusader Kings 2(can't wait) tomorrow, will be the daily deals.

Good tips, Joe. Thank you!

[John]

As Joe foretold, Crusader Kings II is 75% off ($10) for the next 24 hours. You can also pick up the full Crusader Kings II collection (which includes all the DLC) for a measly $12.49. There are a number of reasons to consider jumping on this deal before it expires Monday afternoon:

• Though it features a running clock that can be sped up, slowed down, or paused altogether, Crusader Kings II is very much in the spirit of turn-based strategy games, a genre I know some of you enjoy.
• If you're a history buff, this game is a must. Crusader Kings II is fanatically historically detailed and oriented. It covers a period of time beginning in 1066 A.D. and ending in 1453 and features true-to-life characters with full, detailed, and accurate genealogies and relationships. In-game character pages are even linked to their respective Wikipedia pages for further research.
• Crusader Kings II has received fabulous reviews.
• Crusader Kings II features a multiplayer mode that provides PEBA members with another opportunity to compete against one another.
• Crusader Kings II is available for both Mac and PC and has very modest system requirements; you can play even if you have a very old computer.
• Are you a fan of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series? A total conversion mod transforms Crusader Kings II into an awesome retelling of Robert Baratheon's overthrow of the Mad King Targaryen.