The Steam Summer Sale has been something of a big deal for the past few years now! It’s a great chance for people to add stuff to their Steam Library -- many a person will buy a good few games in the summer sale, and chances are pretty good that they’ll never play 99% of them. But don’t worry if you’re unable to participate -- there’s the Halloween Sale, the Autumn Sale and the Holiday Sale coming up very soon, and they’ll all give you the opportunity to buy some games which your eyes might pass over for a second while scrolling through your library before you think “naahhh” and continue flicking that mouse wheel. Capitalism, huh? Anyway, here’s some largely retro-centric highlights of what I’ve bought so far -- they might be of interest to you.
Wow, lot of shit going on he--oh wait, there actually is. My mistake.
Crimzon Clover: World Edition
If you’re interested in classic bullet hell shoot-’em-ups, this one may well tickle your fancy. It’s by Yotsubane, AKA Clover-Tac -- a man who built a reputation on some frankly incredible runs of Cave’s best shooters. Clearly he thought those games weren’t challenging enough, so he decided to make one himself! I fancy that whenever I next get the urge to play some bullet hell, I’ll be firing this up.
Chance of playing: Fairly high
Counter-Strike (as in, old school CS 1.6)
Er...for some reason I didn’t have this in my library. I do very occasionally get an urge to go back to 2000 and those glorious evenings where I would stay up late, get on a server, die after 5 seconds, wait for a couple of minutes and then repeat...I’ve never been good at Counter-Strike, although I always wanted to be better. Anyway, this was obviously very cheap and I purchased it for video-related reasons, so it’ll obviously get an outing.
Chance of playing: Very high
Just another boring Black Mesa morning. Barney, why is Gordon pointing a crossbow at me?
Black Mesa
Sticking with the Half-Life theme, I finally bought this too -- the fan-made remake of Half-Life 1 (still Xen-less right now, although some probably like it that way). I have played it a little already back when it was a free mod, and I enjoyed it back then...of course, I mostly just did what I often do in Half-Life -- stick the cheats on, go through the opening and find creative ways to annoy/torture/murder scientists. Don’t judge me. I am on a Valve kick right now, so...yeah, it’s possible that I’ll revisit this effort properly.
Chance of playing: In the middle
SUPERHOT
Ok, this one isn’t retro at all. But jeez...just play SUPERHOT already, it’s great -- I bucked the norm by playing this one as soon as I bought it, finishing it (it's quite short) and I sure didn’t regret it. One of the most innovative first person shooter experiences I’ve ever had -- maybe even the most innovative one I've had since I first played the original Portal. In a word: Innovative.
Chance of playing: Already have. SUPER. HOT.
Many people have bought this game this week. Doesn't mean that they'll play it.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
This one isn’t retro either, but like almost everyone else I bought Shadow of Mordor. It got decent reviews, and it was there for like three quid -- how could you not? And like most of the people who bought it, I doubt I will ever so much as install it, let alone play it. Such is the fate of most games in my Steam Library. Hooray for the Summer Sale!
Chance of playing: Literally none. I could have spent this money on a Big Mac instead. At least I'd make something out of it.
DOOM 3: BFG Edition
As much as I generally love DOOM, I’ve never actually played the third game -- which is...well, getting kinda close to retro now if not quite there yet. This BFG Edition is apparently souped up somewhat and is considered the best way to go about it -- although it is kind of the “odd” game in the franchise, being more directly focused on suspense and horror as opposed to rip and tear. The jury’s out on this game’s chances of being played seeing as I don't actually play games for fun and I already did a video on DOOM, but still -- you never know!
Chance of playing: Eeeehhhh…*scroll down*
In conclusion: The Summer Sale is a weird time where lots of people buy things and then do absolutely nothing with them, as if they’re pretending that they’re people for whom money is no object. Imagine if back in the day you spent £50 (either of your money, or worse yet - your parents’ money) on a Mega Drive game, took it home, put it on your shelf and then never ever touched it? That would be quite the waste, wouldn’t it? And yet these days we just do it without thinking. Thanks Valve! Now where’s that bloody Half-Life 3 already? Mind you, I won’t be buying that until it’s at least 50% off.