Humble Indy Bundle V Gets Even Better!: Adds 3 more Games!!
Already an amazing deal, the Humble Indy Bundle V has added three additional games to an already great line up. The first five games: Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP, Limbo, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Psychonauts, and Bastion if you beat the average donation. Now added to the bundle if you pass...
Kotaku‘s artictle by Jason Schreier goes into great detail and includes some great screanshots of the Steam client in Big Picture mode. So, I will keep it simple. This will be a great way to game…Period. Yes having your PC hooked up to your TV is the way to go with this service. But, even without doing that, it will be handy. I know that many games I play on PC through the Steam client work great with a controller. I’ve played Batman: Arkham City, Dead Island, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Saints Row:The Third, and a bunch more games using a controller. And even on my 24 inch monitor I lean back in my chair for lengthy sessions. It just feels right to do so with a controller in hand. So this is where this mode comes in. The UI design is fantastic. The client includes a browser and a great text input interface that should have happened years ago on consoles. Biggest thing might be the browser. 1. Having an easy browser to get into from the Steam Overlay is much better than Alt-Tabbing out of a game (even when not using a controller). 2. A full browser on a pc can access other services such as Hulu and Netflix. And lastly Steam will soon be supporting other apps through its client. So your PC hooked up to your TV could replace consoles as well as other media streaming options. All with an interface you can see from your couch. Even if you don’t want to do this for your big gaming PC, a semi-decent laptop will play more steam games than you think (especially many indie/older titles) and likely fit into the living room better. Sounds fun and it’s nice to have options.
I’m surprised no one else here has picked this up yet. Valve announced yesterday that on September 5th, they will begin selling non-game software on Steam. No titles were mentioned in the Official Press Release, but of course there are plenty of rumors. Titles “will range from creativity to productivity,” and many “ will take advantage of popular Steamworks features.” See the full press release here.
I just finished Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP that I got as part of the Humble Indie Bundle V. It is a fantasy game whose irreverent tone fondly reminds me Sierra Entertainment fantasy adventure games of the late 80′s. It’s not a very long game, three to four hours total play time, so I won’t spoil anything by going into specifics.
I know this may come off as a bit haughty but this is less of a game and more of an interactive piece of art. There are only a handful of action sequences. The majority of the game is spent casually traipsing about a visually appealing pixelated world solving puzzles. The puzzles aren’t overly complicated or esoteric, for the most part they can easily be solved just by goofing around.
What really ties everything together is the Jim Guthrie’s score. It elevates a game that is a quirky adventure game throwback into a true masterpiece.
If you were one of the many that picked up Humble Indie Bundle V then I would suggest not glossing over this game. If you don’t already own this game it is well worth the money. It is available for iOS, Windows and Mac via Steam and on the Ubuntu Software Center.
I won’t be posting every deal on Steam as they change daily. But, this one is great. Saints Row the Third for $16.99 is the weekend deal. $16.99 for a fun game that is less than six months old! It is listed as $59.99 new and $47.99 used at Gamestop as of this post. Insane deal, and reason why I still game on PC. Steam is keeping PC gaming alive almost single-handedly.
I saw the link on the Steam Store to pre-order this movie there. That is unusual itself but appropriate given Valve’s embracing of indie games on the Steam service. It looks amazing. Following the making of the games SUPER MEAT BOY, FEZ and BRAID, you see first hand the passion and sacrifice it takes to make an indie title. Unlike seeing a movie about a famous athlete or movie star making sacrifices for what they love to do, these gifted game creators (Edmund McMillen,Tommy Refenes, Phil Fish, and Jonathan Blow), are so much more identifiable. Also amazing is the amount of community support as the finance of this movie was due in large part from two very successfull Kickstarter campaigns. You can purchase the movie on steam for $8.99 and it’s also available to purchase on iTunes and via direct download from indiegamethemovie.com. Out June 12th.
As many of us use the Steam service for the majority of our PC gaming needs, I found the newest feature quite interesting. The recent update allows users to remotely install new or old games in their steam library onto their PC from a web browser or the Steam apps available for iOS and android. In other words, one could plan a game night with friends or buy and install a game which recently went on sale from work and have it ready to play as soon as you get home. Awesome. I only hope my hard drive can withstand another holiday sale.
