PC GameSource Blog

Just when I started winding down from the recent onslaught of daily Steam deals, Valve caught me offguard with their latest sale, entitled Perils of Summer. You can find a veritable pant-load of games and even entire publisher collections on sale… many of them even 50-75% off of their regular prices.

Check out just a tiny selection of the deals to be had:

• Got $5? Why not get the entire Overlord Complete Pack–that’s a lot of bang for a few bucks!
• Still haven’t checked out Bioshock 2? It would be a shame not to for $15.
• Find the indie fantasy platforming gem Trine for only $4–you can’t go wrong here.
• DiRT 2, my new favorite racing game on the PC alongside Burnout: Paraside, is only $10. Yes, $10!
• The newly-updated Counter-Strike: Source is going for only $6.80, practically a steal.
• Get (almost) every Unreal game for a total of $13.60 with the Unreal Deal Pack. Yes, this even includes Unreal Tournament III Black Edition!
• Get all of the Call of Duty games up through World At War for $29.99
• Better yet, why not get every 2K game released on Steam (except Civ V) for $89–a 75% discount.
• THQ is also offering their entire collection for only $50, half off an already amazing deal.

This is barely a fraction of the games available in this sale, and many of these are only on sale today (June 24th) other than the publishers collections, which will be available for the duration of the sale.

Don’t miss out, but don’t spend all your hard-earned money today–check back tomorrow to see if Valve has anything else in store during this truly outstanding sale.

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• Valve announces Perils of Summer sale on Steam (vg247.com)
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• Steam Summer Sale Begins (cinemablend.com)
• Counter Strike: Source Hits Mac, On Sale [Mac] (kotaku.com)
• Counter-Strike: Source strikes the Mac, receives update (joystiq.com)
• Counter Strike: Source Now Available to Buy on Steam and Play on a Mac (crenk.com)
• Counter-Strike: Source now available for Mac (!) (crunchgear.com)

When I saw the first advertisements for Batman: Arkham Asylum I thought, “Great, another mediocre Batman title pops out of nowhere and will fall through the cracks just as fast.” But as I looked a little bit more into it, I was surprised to see a very high quality title containing an excellent presentation and some amazing fighting. But what was even more surprising, is it only got better from there!

I have very few qualms with the new Batman title from Rocksteady Studios. It’s a tighter and more polished game than I could have imagined, given past game offerings with our favorite caped crusader that left a lot to be desired.

The look of the game resembles the latest Batman flick (Dark Knight) a bit, however the setting is different, the voice acting is different, the story is different, and I’m happy to report that the game is entirely original!

Anyone remember those old Batman cartoons that were so huge in the ’90s? If so, you’ll be ecstatic to know that many of the voice actors are the same! Batman, the Joker, and other characters’ familiar voices don’t take long to bring back that sense of nostalgia.

The story, while decidedly darker and more violent than the cartoons, is well-written and flows well throughout at least the first part of the game (we’ll have to give our full review at another time–this reviewer is still thoroughly enjoying the 10 to 12-hour single player campaign).

During my initial couple of fights, I was not overly impressed with the fight mechanics, although the graphics and the way the fight animations are chained together is awe-inspiring. Once you get more combo moves and realize there are a lot of other mechanics going on to be aware of, the fighting itself becomes less of a button-mash, and feels really great.

“No downsides then?” you ask.  Well, almost. I was a tiny bit put off by the whole notion of Batman absorbing “bats” from the enemies he floors. What lore is that from? None-the-less, it’s an interesting concept, and it’s a game, so you just have to let a few minor details slide in favor of a great gaming experience.

Look for our full review soon, however if you’re at all interested in this game, or Batman in general, don’t wait to buy it–I can already highly recommend this game to anyone and everyone interested in Batman or superhero games, and anyone looking for a great new gaming experience.

This is already the greatest Batman video game ever released, and it is my opinion that everyone should get to experience it.