Keeping an eye on our budget is important for everyone, particularly your gaming budget. Whether you’re spending your discretionary money on crowns, cards, games, or any non-essential, it’s a good idea to take stock of your purchases. At least that’s what I tell myself every year after every Steam sale. Here’s my report card:
Fair warning: this post is as much for me as it is for everyone else. I really am a big proponent of surveying the damage after a buying binge and trying to determine whether a purchase was a good one or something I probably could have done without.
First off, this Steam sale had absolutely no moments where a price was so low I ran for my wallet. Just nothing that really blew me away. Here’s a review of my purchases during this past week’s Autumn Steam sale:
Mount and Blade Warband: Napoleonic Wars DLC (ESRB: M) – This is a DLC for one of my favorite single-player games, but it’s multiplayer only. While I really like multiplayer games, I don’t have any actual friends who play this one. I’m not quite sure I’ll get my money’s worth out of it. Grade: C-
Don’t Starve (ESRB: T) – Not sure if I should count this, because I already own the base game and the Reign of Giants DLC. I bought this one as a gift for my daughter so we could play together when the Don’t Starve multiplayer patch is released. I don’t think that she would enjoy playing it solo, but together I’m confident we’ll have a good time. Grade: B-
Dead Island GOTY (ESRB: M) – Another fun game that doesn’t really shine until you go multiplayer. I have quite a few friends who play this one, however, and I really hope we’re going to have some good, zombie-smashing fun. Grade: C+
Divinity: Original Sin (ESRB: M) – An absolutely incredible game that I’ve been watching for quite some time. At first glance, it’s an old-school RPG in the vein of Baldur’s Gate or Fallout 2 that rewards interaction with NPCs and the environment as much as destroying the badguys and looting them. After an hour of play, however, one realizes what a ‘modern’ game this is. It’s a lot of fun both single-player or with a friend, and this is the purchase I’m happiest with. Grade: A
Dishonored (ESRB: M) – The stealth first-person game that is everything the new Thief should have been, Dishonored is a great game with cool gameplay and a captivating story. I had been considering purchasing it for some time, but had never pulled the trigger. As happy as I am to have it installed, I don’t know how much playtime I’ll get in. Grade: B-
Castle Crashers (ESRB: T) – A frenetic little side-scrolling beat ’em up, this one has been on the periphery of my radar as a multiplayer game for some time. It’s exactly the kind of game my daughter and I like to play together, and the fact that it supports 4-player means I can gift it around to friends for groups of us to get together (but don’t tell them…it’s a secret!). That said, I don’t see myself ever getting any single-player time in on this one. (It was crazy inexpensive, however. I mean I paid more for lunch at Panda Express on Sunday than I paid for 8 copies of the game.) Grade: B
So I’ve got just beneath a 3.0 average this past Steam sale, which isn’t bad. There’s definitely room for improvement once the Winter sale rolls around later this month.
I also noticed I didn’t really purchase any family-friendly games, which is kind of sad. I wish there were more really solid PC titles that were rated E or E10, but beyond Wizard and Pirate there really aren’t any that I’m interested in. Maybe you all could help me out there – what family-friendly games (outside of Wizard and Pirate) do you play on your PC?
Oh hello, can you you add me to steam? My steam name is ill. The profile is a picture of Kim Jong Il and I am level 4 just to be sure. I really want to be friends with a Wizard101/Pirate101 player.
I’ll see if I can track you down later this evening and if I can find you I’ll send a friend invite. 🙂