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Halloween 2018

Planning Early for Halloween!

Halloween is my second favorite holiday. There’s just something about that spooky, suspenseful atmosphere that I’ve always enjoyed. Of course the memories of dressing up as a kid are great ones. Some costumes I remember enjoying were ghost and Batman. To get into the spirit of things, I like to play dark or scary themed games. I started this tradition last year, and I enjoyed it so I’ll continue it for as long as it lasts.

I’ve got a short list below, and I’d love to get your opinion on what game(s) you’d enjoy watching during this spooky time of year. I’ve also written on some of these games in the past if you want to know a little more:

What games would you like to watch for a Halloween stream?
  • DOOM 25%, 9 votes
    9 votes 25%
    9 votes - 25% of all votes
  • Hunt: Showdown 22%, 8 votes
    8 votes 22%
    8 votes - 22% of all votes
  • The Black Death 19%, 7 votes
    7 votes 19%
    7 votes - 19% of all votes
  • Vermintide II 14%, 5 votes
    5 votes 14%
    5 votes - 14% of all votes
  • Dead Frontier II 8%, 3 votes
    3 votes 8%
    3 votes - 8% of all votes
  • Left 4 Dead 2 8%, 3 votes
    3 votes 8%
    3 votes - 8% of all votes
  • Space Hulk: Deathwing 3%, 1 vote
    1 vote 3%
    1 vote - 3% of all votes
Total Votes: 36
Voters: 20
September 20, 2018 - November 1, 2018
Voting is closed

Some other games that I might play that aren’t on the list include:

  • Alien: Colonial Marines – One of the worst video games ever? Might find out!
  • Goatman – You must hunt down an urban legend terrorizing a modern countryside!
  • Resident Evil titles – Zombies, ’nuff said.
  • Killing Room – Twitch interactive game where I have to entertain YOU for points.
  • Some surprise VR titles!

You can leave any extra suggestions in the comments below. All this should be starting up towards the end of October. Most likely the last week in October, but I’m waiting on some vacation dates to solidify so I can nail down a good schedule.

Halloween Stream Theme Update

I’ve created all new Halloween themed bonuses for the stream! There are all new spooky alerts, a creepy new starting soon screen, an AFK screen graveyard that grows with new follows, and a background graveyard that grows with each sub during the month!

Each new Follow will add a tombstone to the AFK screen, and each Subscription allows you to customize a tombstone with your own battlefield-death themed epitaph! At the end of the month I will put up a YouTube video showcasing everyone’s creative causes of death.

 

As always, thank you guys for all your support. Be it a simple follow, leaving a lurk, chatting me up during a stream, donating bits/subscribing, or just using one of my partner links to buy a game you want. I really appreciate it. I’ve found a lot of great games so far this year, and met a lot of awesome people. I literally couldn’t do it without you.

As always, you can find me on Twitch, or catch me on Twitter if I’m offline.

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Multiplay May

There’s a few games that have all managed to present an opportunity to play together. A couple are at REALLY good prices, and a couple are hitting a big release with some new content. I’ve outlined them below with some quick thoughts of my own. I’ve provided affiliate links, so I do get a commission if you buy through them. Let me know here, on stream, or Discord if you pick any of them up so I know who to look for!

Gloria Victis

This is a medieval MMORPG that is buy and play, no subscription fee. It’s $4.36 in the Humble Wargamez Bundle currently, and the cheapest price I have ever seen Gloria Victis go for. I’ve been following it since just before launch, and I’ve mentioned it several times here on my website. The graphics and sound are great, and it has crafting and PvP involved. I don’t think the player base is that big, but I think it’d be worth the money even if we only got a small group going.

Destiny 2

A Sci-Fi MMOFPS, which is an MMORPG in FPS view with an emphasis on shooting. It’s just $12 in the Humble Monthly, and is the cheapest price for Destiny 2 anywhere right now. The reviews are not great about this game, but a lot of it is due to lack of content. For $12 (plus the other games you get from the monthly) I can’t imagine there isn’t enough content. The game looks beautiful, and I’m only level 12 so it’d be really easy to catch up if you jump in now. No subscription fee, but there are two expansion DLCs out. They will cost extra, but might be worth it if you end up enjoying the game enough.

Conan Exiles

I played Conan Exiles when it launched into Early Access, the devs were awesome enough to give me a key. It is a survival game (Think ARK) set in the Conan universe. I clocked in over 100 hours in game! I really enjoyed the building aspect, and that is probably what I’ll spend most of my time doing in game. MSRP is $39.99 on most sites, but you can get Conan Exiles with a 10% Discount using the code MAY10 over on Fanatical. (Fanatical is NOT a grey market site, it is an authorized Steam key re-seller.) Conan Exiles is a great game, and I’ll also be doing a giveaway of a key or two provided by the devs on my stream Friday May 11, 2018!

Space Hulk: Deathwing

space hulk deathwing terminators

This game is a Left4Dead type horde shooter set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is definitely better than the reviews let on. It had a bad launch, but has improved greatly since then. It does take a little time to find a group, but I’ve always managed a full group. MSRP is $39.99 on most sites, but the best price for Space Hulk: Deathwing is with a 10% Discount using code MAY10 over on Fanatical. I do expect more sales closer to/on release day. I really enjoy this game, and am looking forward to the extra customization features on May 22nd. The majority of the enhanced edition features are already out for PC. I’m hoping to do a full playthrough on stream with viewers.

Update: 60% off sale in the Humble Store!

One More Consideration

I’m looking really, really hard at State of Decay 2. It’s a 3rd person arcade style survival game. From the little gameplay I’ve seen, it looks a lot like the original State of Decay, but has multiplayer co-op in it! It’s only $29.99 in the Microsoft store, but no Steam unfortunately. The good news is, console and PC should be able to play together! So if you have an X-Box, you can still join me. I haven’t pre-ordered yet, but once I see more about how the co-op play is, I’ll make my decision. There’s also a free trial available if you want to try before you buy from what I’ve read.

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales 2017

Games I Want

  • Rainbow 6 Siege – Tried the free weekend and liked it, but missed the sale due to work. [PURCHASED]
  • Warhammer End Times: Vermintide DLCs – Love this game so far, but I don’t like to replay maps over and over so this DLC really needs to be cheap to be worthwhile. [PURCHASED]
  • Gloria Victis – This game was $10 not long ago and I passed on it. It’s a medieval MMORPG, buy and play.

Games I’m Watching

  • Star Wars: Battlefront 2 – All the drama could mean a hefty cut to boost sales. I’d buy it at the right price.
  • Destiny 2 – Never played the first one, but the second one was recommended by a friend. It’s also a Blizzard/Activision game, and I love to support Blizzard.
  • Dawn of War III – I enjoyed Dawn of War 2, but 3 is focused on base building. Still, it’s Warhammer 40k so we’ll see.
  • Lawbreakers – Had fun on the free weekends, but a little leery of the low population killing the matchmaking quality.

Games I Recommend

  • Foxhole – I love this game! It’s probably my game of the year.
  • Ghost Recon Wildlands – Another amazing game, probably my #2 for the year.
  • Company of Heroes 2 – My all time favorite RTS.
  • Warhammer End Times: Vermintide  – This game is probably going to be really cheap and worth picking up if you don’t have it yet. Only the party leader needs the DLC!
  • Space Hulk: Deathwing – Like Vermintide, but set in the Warhammer 40k universe.
  • Battlefleet Gothic: Armada – An RTS using capital ships, also set in the Warhammer 40k universe. Should be REALLY cheap considering a normal sale put it at $10 not long ago.
  • *Total War: Warhammer II – I recommend this if you have the first one. It’s a really amazing game. Loads of fun, and a super value if you own the first one (mortal empires campaigns).

Legitimate Websites to Shop

I only recommend licensed key resellers.

  • Some publishers/developers are giving decent discounts already through their launchers (Ubisoft Uplay, Blizzard launcher, etc).
  • Amazon – Might have to wait a day or two for a physical copy, but might be worth it.
  • Humble Bundle – Sales have already started.
  • Fanatical (Formerly Bundle Stars) – Sales have already started.
  • Indiegala – Sales have already started.

 

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Monthly Gaming Intel 2017.5

Big Twitch Gains From Foxhole

Last month was a big month. Foxhole was a huge winner on Twitch, bringing in 200+ followers to the channel. I’m finally starting to get the hang of Foxhole, and getting to know each of the different maps. Lots of friends and followers are playing, and I’ve met a couple of streamers too. Look for lots of Foxhole this month! It’s a really great game, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Lawbreakers comes out today, August 8th! It’s an FPS lobby shooter with a zero-g spin. I had a lot of fun with the first beta weekend. I killed it with the Juggernaut! They made a lot of changes to the Juggernaut, and pretty much all the classes, for the second beta weekend. I wasn’t able to play in that at all due to work, so I have no idea what the balance is like now. I was really surprised at how well I did during the first beta, and all the changes make me hesitant to risk $29.99 on it since I’m usually not so good with the FPS lobby shooters.

Sudden Strike 4 is a new strategy game coming out. It’s a WW2 RTS coming August 11th. The US is a playable faction, so I’m interested! I watched a little bit of gameplay, but I’m not completely sold it. It looks good so far though. Haven’t had anything yet that can compete with Company of Heroes 2, so all competition is welcome! You can pre-order it now and start playing, and it comes with 15% off.

The Black Death has been doing a lot of big updates. It just keeps getting more and more interesting! They’ve added a new looting area called Reaper’s Rest, as well as Relics which are legendary items that only one player at a time can control. There are more updates, but these are the two that interested me most. Surviving in a medieval world has never been this fun!

Oculus Rift is here! It finally arrived after about two weeks. I’ve got several games for it, and several more free ones to choose from on the Oculus Store. There are also some pretty cheap games to choose from, one of which is a D-Day experience for $2.99 that I will probably get first. Expect VR streams and content SOON!

Space Hulk: Deathwing is keeping steady with its updates. Update 7 brings a few minor changes, but the big addition is the brand new Chaplain class. Mass group summons and revives! This game keeps getting better and better, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like come launch time for consoles.

Wild West Online should be heading into Alpha testing soon. I’m hoping to make the press key list! I’ve also got Secret World Legends waiting for more. It seemed pretty popular, but there’s SO much going on this summer it may have to wait till things settle down. Fortnite was an often requested game, and I finally managed to get a copy. I still have a lot to learn, but there are several people playing so I have plenty of help. Saurian is also finally out. A bit of a rough launch, but I can’t wait till more comes. Multiplayer is a promised feature, so there’s plenty of potential.

July 2017 Gaming Stats

The Black Death Open World Survival $9.99 7
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone Lobby Shooter $14.99 10
Secret World Legends MMORPG Shooter $9.99 6
Recession Lobby Shooter $9.99 3
Foxhole Open World Shooter $0.00 31
Angels Fall First Lobby Shooter $19.99 2
Squids from Space Lobby Shooter $9.99 2
For Honor Lobby Fighting $0.00 2
Left 4 Dead 2 RPG Shooter $19.99 2
Orcs Must Die Unchained Lobby Shooter $0.00 2
Space Hulk: Deathwing Lobby Shooter $0.00 1
Dead Rising 3 Open World Shooter $29.99 3
Insurgency Lobby Shooter $2.49 1
Battlefleet Gothic Armada Lobby RTS $0.00 1
Arma 3 Lobby Shooter $0.00 3
Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds Lobby Shooter $0.00 5
Citadel Forged with Fire Open World Survival $0.00 1
Total War Warhammer Open World RTS $0.00 1
# Games Purchased 3
Average Per Game Savings $8.96
Average % savings 51%
Total Savings $26.88
Average Game Price $17.31
Total Spent $25.59
Total Worth $242.36
Total Hours Played 176
$/per hour MSRP $1.38
$/per hour Bought Games $4.27
$/per hour Total $0.15
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Top Picks for the 2017 Steam Summer Sale

My Recommendations for Best Value in 2017 Steam Sale

I’m changing up the release day for posts back to Tuesdays. That’s when I get the heaviest traffic to the site, so it just makes sense. As you may or may not know, the Steam summer sale is in full swing. I had 26 games from my wishlist on sale, which is about half. I’m honestly surprised it isn’t more. I decided to take a look back over the past couple of years, and go through the games I already owned to see what was on sale. I picked out the best games with the best discounts that I simply can’t recommend enough. There were quite a few surprises considering the age and heavy discounts of some of these games.

Battlefleet Gothic Armada: $13.59

Probably the biggest surprise because of the HUGE discount having only been out for a year. This is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. A strategy game of capital ship combat in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The campaign part of the game gets lots of praise, but I really enjoyed the skirmishes versus AI. The multiplayer queues are a bit slow, and imbalanced, due to the small population. That might change with this sale though.

Fortified: $4.94

This is probably the surprise hit of the sale for me. I’ve been playing a lot of Foxhole lately, so when I started checking out the developer I found this game. This is a third person shooter style game where you build up your defenses to defend from an alien invasion. A different style of tower defense game. It all takes place with vintage 1950s science fiction stylized graphics. It has a hint of humor in it too. While you can play solo, I really recommend you have a friend along for the ride. The devs have been pretty quiet for almost a year so the game may be ‘finished’, but it is a lot of fun for less than five dollars.

Helldivers: $9.99

I wasn’t much for top down shooters, aka twin stick shooters, until I found Helldivers. It’s heavily influenced by the movie version of Starship Troopers. You fight bugs, cyborgs, and robots alongside up to four friends. All your missions take place on procedurally generated planets. This is another of those must-have-friends games to get the most out of it.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3: $24.99

While I don’t normally play singleplayer games, this one really surprised me. It’s an open world stealth shooter, meaning 90% of what you do is going to be sneaking and sniping. Taking place in modern day eastern Europe, it’s a great story about an American sniper and his brother. The game has great graphics and great sniping kill cam effects. A huge discount too considering it just came out this year.

Total War Warhammer: $20.39

If you missed the Humble monthly sale, this is the next best thing. A Warhammer fantasy strategy game done by the Total War team. There is tons to do in this game if you enjoy battling with the available factions, even without the DLC. It will also add to your campaign world if you purchase the upcoming Total War: Warhammer II. All of the DLC is on sale as well if you want to pick up a little something extra.

Space Hulk Deathwing: $23.99

This game is a Warhammer 40,000 first person shooter. A colossal failure when it first launched, but 6 updates later this game is amazing. The dark and gothic environment visuals are on point, as well as the weapon effects. If you enjoy horde-mode style games, blasting away at waves of enemies with your friends brothers, this game is for you.

Company of Heroes 2: $4.99

This is probably the best deal on Steam right now or ever. World War 2 era RTS with no base building. This is my favorite strategy game, and for this price you won’t find anything better. This game has a campaign, multiplayer, and even a mod community for all kinds of new maps. The devs outlined an 8 year lifespan for this game when it launched, and there’s a good 4 years left to go.

DOOM: $14.99

Yet another game that has just plummeted in price being just barely a year old. It dropped to $16 during the Black Friday sales, but now the legendary first person shooter is even cheaper. A great Sci Fi experience, battling demons with the baddest weapons mankind has to offer. There’s plenty of player created maps as well thanks to the easy to use SnapMap editor. While it is a reboot of sorts, this is a great addition to the DOOM series.