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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I can’t explain it–I just keep coming back for more. After an hour or two, I’m left wondering why–it’s a very simplistic game full of simplistic game mechanics that have already been done in almost every way imaginable.

But not (arguably) since Diablo have these elements been combined in such a fun way that works so incredibly well. An overly simplistic game is no problem if that game is ridiculously fun–the point is to make you enjoy it and want to continue playing it, and in that sense Torchlight succeeds with flying colors.

The game has been out since October 2009 and it has been on my short-list of constantly-played games ever since. Big-budget $50-$60 titles fall to the wayside to other big-budget $50-$60 titles on an almost-daily basis, but here is this little $20 gem that seems to float to the top against any and all competition.

I am on my third or fourth character, not all of which have reached the end, and each experience is unique. Each class is challenging in somewhat different ways. The loot is simply amazing; that feeling you get when you find a really badass gun in Borderlands–that feeling was here first, and it sure does feel good.

The music is the best thing to happen to fantasy RPGs since Diablo’s music so many years ago (in gaming years, of course). It sounds very much in the same vein as Diablo/Diablo II, which isn’t a bad thing–in fact, it’s a magnificent thing. The soundwork in general is good and lends itself well to the fast-paced action during battles as well as the lull during a trip to town.

The graphics, while being a bit cartoonish as stated, are actually quite nice to look at. The effects make every battle a treat. Take a level 20 or 30 alchemist into a battle, and you’re going to be in for a spectacular light show. Everything just looks like it belongs in the world, and it very quickly stops looking cartoony as you start seeing some of the giant evil creatures and amazing scenery all around you. The variety of the environments between stages can also be quite staggering, and keeps things interesting.

I will admit–it took me a while to get into the game. Before ever trying it, I dismissed it as a low-budget Diablo-wannabe with cartoonish graphics that couldn’t possibly be a deep and engaging experience to even come close to the big-budget titles that have tried to touch Diablo before, let alone surpass most of them and come closest to reaching the original’s greatness. But I’m glad I stuck with it–within an hour, I was fully hooked.

If anyone out there gave any of their life to Diablo (or any number of “clones” since then–Titan Quest, Sacred, etc…) then it would be a shame if you did not give Torchlight a couple hours of your time to try it out. Not the 15 to 30 minutes I see many people giving it before deciding it’s not for them.

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As I seem to be one of the few not giving up on Alpha Protocol in the early stages of the game, I’ve noticed one thing: I really enjoy the soundtrack, and it really lends itself to feeling like a badass spy engaged in some badass espionage action. It is a sort of drum ‘n bass/techno mix and it’s very fitting to the game overall.

Unfortunately the AI structure of, if you trip an alarm, everyone knows exactly where you are until you turn it off, is a flawed system, but it does make for a lot of cool action music whenever you’re spotted.

The sound in general is quite good. The voice acting is very passable, the weapons sound powerful and weighty. The footsteps are a little bit much, but it allows you to really hear them without having to strain yourself.

Anyway, as I was playing through a mission listening to the cool battle music, I decided I needed to let that little tidbit be known.

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