Steam – Page 2 – Obsolete Gamer

Impact: Gaming Communities

This week on OGS we talked with Casey Scheld from Raptr about how that community has grown over the past few years into successful gaming community where gamers can read reviews, share achievements, earn all types of goodies and just hang out and have fun. There have been a ton of gaming communities that have brought gamers together like Dwango, HEAT, Kali, Gamespy and Steam. On the panel, we discuss the impact these communities has had on gaming culture and the marriage of social media and gaming.

Blog

J.A. Laraque

Steam Halloween Sale

You know what this game and Halloween had in common? This game was like going up to a really awesome looking home fully decorated with the best Halloween swag and you are given mini bibles instead of candy. Yes, the game blows that much, but for half off I guess it’s worth checking out for yourself.

Interviews

Honorabili

We Interview Chris Avellone From Obsidian Entertainment: Part 2

Well, in terms of influential yet obscure, that cuts a lot of games out – I feel a lot of the more common games have had a big influence on my designs (Portal, Chronotrigger, Ultima Underworld). If I were to name some “obscure” ones, I’d probably say System Shock 2 is the top of the list (it’s basically a design doc for how to make a great game), Amnesia: The Dark Descent for introducing a challenge mechanism that could simultaneously terrify you, Bastion’s narration mechanics, and Wasteland for proving to me how you could use game mechanics in the context of a “conventional” RPG to make some truly brilliant levels if you took a step back and thought outside the box.

Blog

J.A. Laraque

Deep Space Bundle: Pay What You Want for 8 Space Themed Games

In space no one can hear you bundle. In Deep Space, on the other hand, you can definitely enjoy eight excellent indie games for a pay-what-you-want price as the second bundle by Kyttaro Games , Bundle In A Box: Deep Space, was released today. It’s the only thematic bundle around, will last for 14 days and offer all games as DRM-free downloads (but not exclusively so; most games are also available on Desura and/or Steam ). Bundle In A Box is a thematic pay-what-you-want gaming bundle, that helps new games debut, supports charity and directly strengthens creators via the Indie Dev Grant. As more people buy it the minimum price drops and extras get unlocked.

Blog

Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Ten Indie Games that Should be on Steam

In its first day Greenlight, the cunning Steam scheme that lets mainstream gamers vote on indie games and saves Valve the trouble of promoting its service, has gathered over 500 submissions. It is of course quite the mess, though a mess that will ensure that only well-known games with built-in communities make it to Steam, thus bringing Valve even more money. Hoorah! Or, well, not. Anyway. I too did spend a few hours navigating the Greenlight entries and here are the 10 games I would like to see make it on the service. They are of course games I was already aware of, but that’s how things work, isn’t it?

Indie Games

Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Waveform

Not all is perfect though. Especially as things get more hectic the controls can feel a tad unresponsive. Oh, and despite the variety on offer and even them hidden levels, said things can actually get repetitive, especially when you are frantically trying to play through the game for a review… Then again, and in what can only be considered a showcase of spontaneous dialects, it remains both fun and addictive; a bit like Tetris actually. What’s more, Waveform is indeed something one has to definitely try in order to experience an oddly relaxing yet essentially arcade game.

Blog

J.A. Laraque

Bundle In A Box: Adventure Bundle

We will exclusively debut the whimsical The Sea Will Claim Everything by Jonas Kyratzes and offer six more games: Gemini Rue, Metal Dead, The Shivah, Ben There, Dan That!, Time Gentlemen, Please! and –for the first time ever – the downloadable version of 1893: A World’s Fair Mystery text-adventure (previously only available as a physical product). Yes, we are indeed hoping to further fuel the current Adventure Game Renaissance!

Blog

J.A. Laraque

Square Enix Steam Sale

From today until Monday March 26, new and existing Steam members can grab Square Enix back catalogue and recently released games at a fraction of the usual prices. The promotion includes 50% off all Square Enix games and DLC packs throughout the sale period with a number of additional Daily Deals running throughout the promotion. Kicking off the Daily Deals, and for one day only starting today there’s a tempting 75% off all previously released Hitman games. Further details of each Daily Deal will be revealed on the day via Steam and Square Enix members.

Blog

J.A. Laraque

Counter Strike: Global Offensive Official Trailer

Valve is bring back the Counter Strike of old in a brand new edition that will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago. CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.).

Blog

Umar Khan

Will Valve’s New Game Be Free To Play?

Steam, the online game distributor, has recently embraced the free to play phenomenon recently gaining popularity in North America and is now offering this genre an outlet. With games like Champions Online, Spiral Knights, and Global Agenda all feeling resurgence in their populations from this new spotlight its only natural for Valve to try their hand at the F2P model.

Hardware

J.A. Laraque

The Alienware M11x r2 Review

Let me start by saying this review is more for the casual gamer meaning it will not be filled with charts and graphs and a ton of numbers that most would not understand. There are a ton of super technical reviews on the Alienware M11x r2 that provide every benchmark number and rating score you will ever need, this, is for the rest of us.

Editorials

Honorabili

Are game reviews valid?

You might read a game review and be enticed to go buy or play a game but is a review really valid? How long did the reviewer play the game? Does it take into account replayability and updates over the life of the game?

Blog

Honorabili

Games Coming Out December 2010 For PC

Games Coming Out December 2010 For PC by Honorabili I can’t believe December is such a weak month this year

Company Representatives

J.A. Laraque

Martyn Brown: Team 17 Software

“I openly admit hiding behind the sofa, not able to look, when I guided the mighty Lincoln City to Wembley.”

Blog

Honorabili

Games Coming Out For PC On November 2010

My short list of games that actually interest me this month.

Blog

J.A. Laraque

The Obsolete Gamer Show: Episode 7

We started off with a recap of last week’s show which featured MMO’s and then moved into our Facebook fanpage question of the week which asked which our fans preferred to play PVE or PVP type games. From there we talked about our Insider Discussion question of the week which asked our panel which had a bigger impact on PC gaming RTS or FPS games.

Humor

Umar Khan

There Are Games On Macs. It’s True!

The scenario I described does sound a bit immature but I assure you that the internet is serious business. From personal experience, playing TF2 since the Mac launch I have seen Mac and PC users alike verbally assault one another in a brutal fashion and even personally attempt to dominate the OSX or Windows lovers specifically. It has brought a new flavor to gaming online in Source games and it’s a welcome rivalry that I think many are glad to finally play a more aggressive stance in. The only downside I find in all of this is when someone asks me if they should buy a Mac I can’t say “There are no games on a Mac.” With World of Warcraft and Source’s amazing multiplayer online games that’s all you’d really need to have as a Mac user.