BioShock

[HappinessNow]

I just bought BioShock for $5 on Steam (one day only price), glad I held out on buying this! :P

Holiday deals are awesome!

Now if only their servers would free up so I can download it!

EDIT: servers freed up and downloading now :)

[~sHyLoCk~]

Played it last year. Good game. :)
I like such dystopian games/movies. Fallout3 was the best one made ever! I think there's gonnabe a fallout movie. That'd be awesome. I hope fallout4 comes out soon, then a few more windows days will follow. :P

[HappinessNow]

Played it last year. Good game. :)
great to hear! I just hope it's worth $5, I never used Steam before either. Honestly I would rather have the CD/DVD instead of installing by a download.

[HappinessNow]

I like such dystopian games/movies. Fallout3 was the best one made ever! I think there's gonnabe a fallout movie. That'd be awesome. I hope fallout4 comes out soon, then a few more windows days will follow. :PNever played Fallout, it's still pretty pricey.

[bashveank]

great to hear! I just hope it's worth $5, I never used Steam before either. Honestly I would rather have the CD/DVD instead of installing by a download.

What if you loose your disc? What if in 10 years the DVD drive has been replaced with some other format, not backwards compatible?
Steam gives you access to the download on any computer, at any time. It does have its issues, but I'm at the point now where I prefer the Steam/Impulse/D2D/GoG download every time.

On Bioshock: GREAT game. Story is par none, just make sure you listen to the audio files that you pick up. They're not just meaningless collectibles.

If you're having trouble downloading, you can pick a different server somewhere in the settings panel.

[~sHyLoCk~]

On Bioshock: GREAT game. Story is par none, just make sure you listen to the audio files that you pick up. They're not just meaningless collectibles.

Good tip. This will help you while you are playing.
The starting of bioshock is just amazing. I will not give any spoilers here, but I hope you have a decent video card to experience it's awesome graphics.

[pwnst*r]

you HOPE it's worth $5?!?!?!?! you're nuts. that game is AWESOME and i payed full when it came out for the PS3 and bought my brother the game also.

[jpeddicord]

Good tip. This will help you while you are playing.
The starting of bioshock is just amazing. I will not give any spoilers here, but I hope you have a decent video card to experience it's awesome graphics.

I was very tempted to plop down the $5 for this on Steam today, but alas I have an Intel graphics chipset. (Did buy Torchlight though, still working on getting that to run in Wine :D)

[HappinessNow]

What if you loose your disc? What if in 10 years the DVD drive has been replaced with some other format, not backwards compatible?
Steam gives you access to the download on any computer, at any time. It does have its issues, but I'm at the point now where I prefer the Steam/Impulse/D2D/GoG download every time.

On Bioshock: GREAT game. Story is par none, just make sure you listen to the audio files that you pick up. They're not just meaningless collectibles.

If you're having trouble downloading, you can pick a different server somewhere in the settings panel.Thanks for the pointers overall and Thanks for confirming that Steam is actually a good way to go...I like that I can access my games on any computer. I wonder if I can load my own games to Stream, like American McGee's Alice?

[HappinessNow]

you HOPE it's worth $5?!?!?!?! you're nuts. that game is AWESOME and i payed full when it came out for the PS3 and bought my brother the game also.hehe I was being a bit sarcastic there. :P

[blueshiftoverwatch]

FPS is one of my favorite video game genre's and after playing the demo for PS3 I decided to not get BioShock. The whole experience just felt kinda weird and wasn't fun for some reason. I can't really explain it. The game's control scheme also didn't feel "solid" like some of the other games I've played. But for that matter, Half-Life 2's control scheme didn't feel nearly as "solid" as the original Half-Life's either. I can't really explain what "solid" is, it's just something that a game either has or doesn't.

What if you loose your disc? What if in 10 years the DVD drive has been replaced with some other format, not backwards compatible?

Steam gives you access to the download on any computer, at any time. It does have its issues, but I'm at the point now where I prefer the Steam/Impulse/D2D/GoG download every time.
What if in 10 years Valve goes out of business, Steam is discontinued, the servers that Steam users must use to validate their games over the Internet are no longer online, and nobody can use any of the products they bought because of the DRM system?

[~sHyLoCk~]

I was very tempted to plop down the $5 for this on Steam today, but alas I have an Intel graphics chipset. (Did buy Torchlight though, still working on getting that to run in Wine :D)

Well I don't think you will experience the crisp,snappy graphics it has but still the game's great.
I haven't played torchlight but I did play thief and thief2 using wine. They are great game as well. Although I played thief 3 in windows.

[bashveank]

Thanks for the pointers overall and Thanks for confirming that Steam is actually a good way to go...I like that I can access my games on any computer. I wonder if I can load my own games to Stream, like American McGee's Alice?

Certain games (I think only ones made by Valve) will let you import the CD key into Steam. Otherwise, you can give Steam the path to a game, and it will show up in your games list, but it wont give you any of the additional features of a native Steam game.

[bashveank]

What if in 10 years Valve goes out of business, Steam is discontinued, the servers that Steam users must use to validate their games over the Internet are no longer online, and nobody can use any of the products they bought because of the DRM system?

Valve is very profitable, and one of the most good-willed gaming companies out there. Valve going out of business is highly unlikely, and their going out of business and not providing some kind of solution for their thousands of customers is even more unlikely. With the competition from non-DRMed services like Impulse and GoG, I wouldn't be surprised if Steam went DRM-free soon like iTunes did.

[HappinessNow]

Certain games (I think only ones made by Valve) will let you import the CD key into Steam. Otherwise, you can give Steam the path to a game, and it will show up in your games list, but it wont give you any of the additional features of a native Steam game.
Good to know, Thanks.

[alphaniner]

What if in 10 years Valve goes out of business, Steam is discontinued, the servers that Steam users must use to validate their games over the Internet are no longer online, and nobody can use any of the products they bought because of the DRM system?

This. I have nothing against Steam et al but I'll take a disc I can copy or image over the alternative any day.

Regarding Bioshock, it was a gorgeous (darkly so) and compelling game but after a few levels I just didn't have the energy to go on. I'd rather watch the movie, or read the book. If they existed, that is.

[Gizenshya]

Never played Fallout, it's still pretty pricey.

Fallout 3 is, IMO, one of the best RPG's ever. It's worth it.

That being said... get the Game of The Year Edition of Fallout 3. It has the 4 expansions, as well as the game itself. I think it's about $50. But with that you've got a good solid 100 hours of gameplay. Then you get into the expansions. And even then, there is replay value in beating it again. There are some choices that you make that rule out quests and paths, but open up others. And after that (or during any of the above), there is a huge modding scene that adds hours upon hours of fun. And after that, you can make your own mods and quests.

I prefer Oblivion and Morrowind, though. I like the levelling systems better in those (even though all three games have different systems).

By the way, might I suggest Oblivion or Morrowind? Oblivion is about $20-$30 for the Game of the Year Edition, which has at least as much gameplay as Fallout 3. And I like it more.

I don't know where you can get Morrowind, but it is worth whatever they ask (which probably isn't much, since the graphics are a bit dated now).

Bioshock is a good game, IMO. Great deal for $5. I enjoyed it. It is the last game I get from them until they change their DRM, though. It was a pain in the rear to install, because not only is an internet connection required... but part of the game must actually be downloaded, even though I got it in a store on DVD! I had no internet on the computer, and the only internet I had was 56k, which couldn't download the large file. The nerve... well, shame on them.

I read the backs of games now for intrusive "online activation" and the like. On one just the other day it said that online activation is required, and it must connect to Steam to work.

I much prefer a physical disk for my games. What if I lose the disk? We have a legal right to make a backup of the disk, and I do. I've lost them before, and it isn't a biggie when you're prepared.

The only downside of a physical disk is wear on your DVD drive. But just go to www.gamecopyworld.com, and get patches to make your games load from a hard drive instead of the CD/DVD, so you don't damage your optical drive. I went through about a dozen opticaldrives before I heard about that site :'(

With steam there are a lot of down sides. Bandwidth issues with your ISP, Steam not living forever, a lack of internet connection at all on your part, or a slow internet connection, they can at any time disable the game you bought without compensating you-- through error or their choice. Basically, you are completely dependant on a third party vs dependant on you keeping track of a disk you use once and archive.

Even then, if you have a fire and it destroys the disk and computer, get in your safe and get your receipt, with your CD Key written on the back. That is, if you haven't registered at all with the company-- if you have, just mail them. I've had WestWood Studios send me a disk for Red Alert 2 before (that I broke). They shipped it at no cost actually. Now most would probably ask you for shipping, which is understandable of course.

And the other day, when I was buying games, at the counter there was an option for one of them to pay an extra $2 to register my game for insurance right there. So, if something ever happened to the disk, they would ship one out at no further charge.

So yeah, I see no advantage to steam (over physical disks), and several downsides, each of which are clear deal-breakers.

[HappinessNow]

Fallout 3 is, IMO, one of the best RPG's ever. It's worth it.

That being said... get the Game of The Year Edition of Fallout 3. It has the 4 expansions, as well as the game itself. I think it's about $50. But with that you've got a good solid 100 hours of gameplay. Then you get into the expansions. And even then, there is replay value in beating it again. There are some choices that you make that rule out quests and paths, but open up others. And after that (or during any of the above), there is a huge modding scene that adds hours upon hours of fun. And after that, you can make your own mods and quests.

I prefer Oblivion and Morrowind, though. I like the levelling systems better in those (even though all three games have different systems).

By the way, might I suggest Oblivion or Morrowind? Oblivion is about $20-$30 for the Game of the Year Edition, which has at least as much gameplay as Fallout 3. And I like it more.

I don't know where you can get Morrowind, but it is worth whatever they ask (which probably isn't much, since the graphics are a bit dated now).

Thanks for the post I have been wanting to try Oblivion and Morrowind for some time.I am also now interested in FallOut 3.

Also, this is my first time using Steam, I may or may not use them again.

[HappinessNow]

Sounds Awesome!...I can't wait for the download to complete!...at 58% now.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

One of my favorite games ever. It's fun to learn all the different ways to use things as weapons. My favorite is always to get the freezing + health leeching wrench combination and just destroy everyone with melee. When you get the camera always take as many pictures of a certain kind of enemy as possible. This will allow you to get unique upgrades like the wrench combo I just mentioned.

[Rainstride]

Fallout3 was the best one made ever! I think there's gonnabe a fallout movie.

damn right! I was just playing fallout 3 in wine a minute ago. LOVE that game. its not a fallout movie, but there is some movie called "The book of eli" coming out that's basically the fallout 3 environment with a completely different story.

[MellonCollie]

What if in 10 years Valve goes out of business, Steam is discontinued, the servers that Steam users must use to validate their games over the Internet are no longer online, and nobody can use any of the products they bought because of the DRM system?

You won't have to worry about that if you tell Steam to remember your username/password, launch each of the games you've bought once, (Edit: then start the Steam client once in offline mode) and then back-up your entire Steam folder. You'll be able to play your games forever.

[megamania]

Valve is very profitable, and one of the most good-willed gaming companies out there. Valve going out of business is highly unlikely,
Have you ever heard of Atari? Its shareholders thought the same thing. :-)

[bashveank]

Have you ever heard of Atari? Its shareholders thought the same thing. :-)

The Atari situation is unique because the corporation went through several splits and mergers. Valve isn't publicly traded, anyway.

[bashveank]

Thanks for the post I have been wanting to try Oblivion and Morrowind for some time.I am also now interested in FallOut 3.

Also, this is my first time using Steam, I may or may not use them again.

I second the Morrowind motion. Oblivion is fun too, but play Morrowind is so much more immersive, but if you don't play it first, its difficulty level will get to you.
On any Bethesda game, though, you want to mod it up like crazy. I mean, play through the game for a few hours first so that you get a feel of the vanilla game, but user created content is what puts the game into the world class leagues.
You do have to be careful with mods though, if they aren't compatible, your game will become very unstable. I'd recommend only sticking to precompiled (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Recommended_Mods) lists (http://morrowind2009.wordpress.com/), at least at first.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

but there is some movie called "The book of eli" coming out that's basically the fallout 3 environment with a completely different story.
So basically, it's just another post-apocalyptic movie that has nothing to do with Fallout.