Words about games
SavyGamer Downtime: I’m off to Glastonbury
It’s that time of year where I take some time off from informing you about cheap games. I’m going to be spending the next week and a bit at Glastonbury, so there won’t be many updates on SavyGamer til I get back (on Monday the 27th). Don’t go doing anything crazy like start buying games for full price. Hopefully the other contributors will be around to pick up some of the slack.
What better time to consider donating or subscribing to SavyGamer? Festival cider is expensive. A big thanks to all the people who have already subscribed and/or donated.
Follow my festivals antics here, and give me a shout if you’re going to Glasto too.
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Brink, PC – Review
Brink, PC – £14.85 delivered
Registers on Steam.
Review by Lewie Procter
I often feel like I’m too old to properly get into multiplayer shooters these days. I’m only 23, but in my teenage counterstrike heyday I could keep up the pace in online games, whereas I just get slaughtered playing CS these days. It’s hard to say whether Brink having successfully sucked me into a team based FPS is a huge success of design, or just it being a game that is in tune with my skills, or a mix of the two, but I’ve been kicking ass at Brink online, and thoroughly enjoying myself in the process. Here’s why.
7Darkspore – Review
Darkspore, PC – £23.49 delivered
Review by Ben Tyrer
When I heard that Darkspore was comparing itself to Diablo, a favourite series of mine, I immediately knew I would have to take a look and see what all the fuss was about. I was surprised that Maxis had decided to have a stab at creating something a little more daring than their usual expansions of the never-going-to-disappear Sims franchise. I just didn’t think Maxis had it in them to create a visceral action RPG, but was I counting my loot before it had been identified?
8My new Eurogamer thing: Cheap This Week
Check it out kids, starting today I’m going to be doing a weekly roundup of deals for the fabulous Eurogamer.net. You can read the first instalment of Cheap This Week here.
So if round the clock deals from SavyGamer, and my RPS Bargain Bucket every Saturday aren’t enough for you, pop along to Eurogamer every Wednesday for a selection of the best deals across all platforms.
Big thanks to everyone at Eurogamer.
4Details on free PC/Mac version of Portal 2 with the PS3 version
Valve just put out a press release, including this information:
Steam on the PS3 provides access to all of these features once the player has linked their PlayStation Network account with a Steam account, which is done right within the game. A Steam user can login to an existing account, and anyone new to Steam can create an account with the click of a button. In the spirit of Steam Play, linked players of the PS3 version of Portal 2 can also access and play their copy of Portal 2 on any PC or Mac by redeeming an in-box access code on their computer. The Steam client verifies the linked customer and then lists Portal 2 among their library of Steam games for PC and Mac.
So, it sounds like you need to have a PS3 connected to the internet, and to pair your PSN account with your Steam account (with Portal 2 in the PS3). Once you have a Steam account that is linked with a PSN account, you register the single use serial on the PC version of Steam to get Portal 2.
This indicates the following:
Two people can play co-op together (One on PC/Mac, one on PS3) with just one copy of the game, as long as you used a different PSN account to the one paired with the Steam account being used.
You will need to own (or have access to) a PS3 to be able to register for the free PC version.
Once you have registered the PC/Mac version, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you trading in the PS3 version.
You can get the PS3 version for £29.99 delivered here.
Edit: This is somewhat speculation on my behalf, I don’t have any more information that you, but I guess we will find out for sure soon enough.
19Trading in: Avoid being a mug in a mug’s game (2011)
This is an updated version of a guide previously posted on SavyGamer in 2009.
Trading games in is damn convenient, but it is an easy way of haemorrhaging money without even realising exactly how much you are spending. There is a technique that you can use to massively improve the return you get on trade ins, that makes it almost good value.
22SavyGamer: Now with optional subscription option.
I have decided that I am going to ask you fine people if you would like to consider optionally donating some money to me for running SavyGamer. I explain everything in detail on the donation page here, but feel free to ask me any questions about it in the comments here.
49A TV programme about Video Games
Specifically the Dare to be digital student games competition. This is what SavyGamer contributor Will Templeton has been working on recently and last year. It’s designed to be watched by a general audience, so everything’s explained clearly. One of the saddest things is seeing Realtime Worlds (who were mentors to some of the students) still being referred to as one of Dundee’s giant studios.
You can watch it on 4od here, and parts 2 & 3 are on over the next two weekends.
Well done Will.
6Free App Hero – Let me tell you about this app
As you may have noticed, there has been much more activity in the iPhone category for iThing gaming bargains recently. That’s because Stu Campbell has taken the Savy Reigns for that area. Since I am far from an expert, and he has a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of the iPhone gaming scene, he’s far more capable than I.
Another thing that he does is Free App Hero, an iPhone App for tracking free games.
It has one section dedicated to games that are permanently free, and one constantly updated section with temporary giveaways. It does not include any ad supported games, “lite” versions or freemium games, and unlike every other free app tracker I have seen, every single game posted has been hand selected, rather than automatically scraped from the store. Every game has a snappy review, so you can decide whether it’s even worth your time installing.
It has a lot of the same ethos as what I try to do with SavyGamer, and I’d say if you have an iThing and like games where you use your fingers to touch the screen, it is a must have.
It’s available for £1.19, or a free version, which is ad supported and is missing some games, and Stu wrote about it himself here.
7Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light – Review
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, PC – £3.39
PC version review by Ben Tyrer
Right now, this game is on offer over at Steam as part of the Square Enix week promotion. What better time to share my thoughts on the latest escapade of beloved raider of tombs, Lara Croft?
0Zavvi announce 3DS price drop
Alert SavyGamer reader Justin just let me know that Zavvi have emailed him to let him know that they will be dropping the price of the 3DS tomorrow.
They’re currently selling the console for £217.85, much more than the best price elsewhere (£197 from Amazon).
Here’s the email in full:
2Hi *Customer*,
Thanks for placing your order with zavvi.com. We are pleased to let you know that we will be reducing the price of your 3DS. A refund of the difference you paid upon placing your order will be processed automatically back to your account shortly after despatch of your order. You can view the new price tomorrow Click here.
Should you have any further questions please contact us through your online account message centre or on 0844 264 0702 and we will be happy to help you.
Many Thanks,
The Zavvi Customer Care Team
Zavvi 15% off coupons now expired
It seems that despite the initial terms and conditions for Zavvi’s 15% off coupons saying that they would be valid until the end of March, The Hut Group have decided to end the promotion early.
The Britvic “Reward your Thirst” promotion page has been updated with this message:
Zavvi.co.uk (The Hut Group Ltd) has announced its withdrawal from the Reward Your Thirst collector mechanic as of 04.02.11 in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.
The web site looks like this if you are curious.
It also looks like they have revoked any previously issued coupons (none of mine are working). No word on whether they will be cancelling preorders or not, let me know what happens to any of yours.
We had some good deals I suppose.
15Massive Zavvi currency glitch
Edit: It appears that although this seems to work on most items, it doesn’t work on everything.
It looks like Zavvi have just updated their £/€ exchange rate, but made a mistake, and switching from pounds to Euros actually significantly reduces the amount you have to pay.
If you add items to your basket, then click on the “Euro” flag in the top right, you will save about 25%.
This can be used in addition to the 15% off coupon.
No idea when they will notice this mistake, but don’t tell them you heard it from me.
Here are all recent SavyGamer Zavvi posts.
Cheers ran93r.
Update: Here are some nicely discounted items to consider ordering:
Nintendo 3DS [Black] – £158.26 delivered
2,100 MS Points – £9.86
Dead Space 2, Xbox 360 – £23.43 delivered
Dead Space 2 [Limited Edition], PS3 – £23.43 delivered
Pilot Wings Resort, 3DS – £18.65
The Sims 3, 3DS – £18.65
Rayman 2, 3DS – £18.65
Here’s a list of PS3 games you could buy for £47.99
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Killzone 2
Demon’s Souls
Valkyria Chronicles
Little Big Planet
Alternatively, you could buy Mass Effect 2, a 12 month old 360 port, for a whopping £48 on PSN. The same game that is available for the 360 right now for just £6.81 delivered.
The download version, which cannot be resold, should be cheaper than the disc version. It is the same game, only with less middlemen to pay, and minuscule distribution costs.
The PS3 disc version is available for the still fairly expensive price of £32.26 delivered.
Insane.
Via VG247.
915% off Zavvi coupons back on.
Last week you could get coupons for 15% off at Zavvi. Then they ended the promotion because they accidentally were allowing you to use them on items over £100 (and the T&Cs said it was only for items £100 or less). Now they are running the promotion again, but have fixed the coupons so that they no longer work on items over £100.
Currently, the promotion web site is not giving out any Zavvi coupons, but previously issued coupons are now working on the Zavvi web site.
If you’ve not got any, try using these (let me know in the comments if you have used one):
497-2E46-CD79
497-22DB-A724
I’ll update this post when the promo site starts giving out coupons again.
Update
The web site is now giving out coupons again. Here’s the instructions:
1. Head here and register with fake details (using “normal registration”). You will need to enter a valid UK address, but it does not have to be your address.
2. Hit “Send Recommendations”.
3. Enter a fake name and fake email address. Repeat this up to 9 times (you can only send 10 recommendations).
4. For each fake email address, you will get a point. For 3 points you can claim a single use voucher for use at Zavvi.
5. Once you’ve got three vouchers, sign out and repeat the process.
We all know Zavvi‘s service isn’t fantastic, and they are kind of dishonest, but there will be some excellent deals to be had using these coupons.
10Speculation: The 3DS will cost ~£249.99
Nintendo have already announced that the Japanese price for the 3DS will be ¥25,000 when it releases there in February, but we’re still left guessing what the price might be in the UK. With a little bit of creative estimation and number crunching, I’ve come up with an RRP in pound sterling that will probably be not far from the actual price when it does come out here next year.
8Unlimited 15% off Zavvi coupons
Remember when Zavvi were giving out unlimited free 10% off coupons? Well, this is the same, only with 15% off coupons.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Head here and register with fake details (using “normal registration”). You will need to enter a valid UK address, but it does not have to be your address.
2. Hit “Send Recommendations”.
3. Enter a fake name and fake email address. Repeat this up to 9 times (you can only send 10 recommendations).
4. For each fake email address, you will get a point. For 3 points you can claim a single use voucher for use at Zavvi.
5. Once you’ve got three vouchers, sign out and repeat the process.
We all know Zavvi‘s service isn’t fantastic, and they are kind of dishonest, but there will be some excellent deals to be had using these coupons.
21Why region lock a console?
It was recently confirmed that as a first for Nintendo, they will be region locking their new portable console, the 3DS. Previously the DSi was region locked for downloadable content and a very small number of DSi enhanced DS games, but ~99% of the library of DS games would work on consoles from any region.
12New category: Mac games
I’ve just created a new category for Mac games. Up until now, there wasn’t really anywhere that had Mac games for cheap regularly aside from Steam, and since those were always for Windows too, I just mentioned which ones were also for Mac.
With the launch of the Mac Application Store, now there are sometimes Mac only games on sale, so I have created a category specifically for it, which you can find here, and subscribe to via RSS here.
If a deal is just for the Mac, I’ll post it in the Mac category, and if it is Windows/Mac, I’ll include it in both.
2There are probably some cheap games on the Apple Application store right now…
…but, because I don’t own an Apple computer, I’m not allowed to look at it.
It seems strange that there isn’t a web frontend or something that I can look at from any other type of computer. I wonder what they’ve got to hide from the non-Apple using world.
Anyway, there’s no way of me finding out what games are on special offer from a Windows PC, so short of someone buying me an iComputer, or you lot/publishers emailing me to let me know of discounts, you’re going to be on your own.
Edit: Aha! James in the comments points out that there is a web front end. Although it appears to just be a list of all games in a given category, in a seemingly random order, with no pricing details until you click on a link. Extremely close to useless without being totally useless. Brilliant work Apple.
8Back again
Basically this, but every time they say “Dilated”, imagine they are saying “Savy”, and every time the say “People”, imagine they are saying “Gamer”.
Since the problems which I suspect were the fault of my previous host, QIQ, I’ve been working around the clock to try and get SavyGamer back up and running properly.
There’s a few fiddly things that need to be changed that I’ll sort out over the next few days, and I’m on a newer version of the theme so there are a few small changes. Let me know if you see anything not working correctly.
Ironically, I gather that the downtime over the past few days has got the attention of some new people. Hello you! If you’re new, make yourself at home. SavyGamer is a web site that is constantly updated with the best deals on video games from all sources. If you want to save money on games, then stick around. <3
Cheers for your patience whilst I’ve been sorting this out.
4Do not go on SavyGamer.co.uk, or click on this link.
I hope you’re reading this from somewhere safe, like an RSS reader.
Basically the problems that my host had said that they had sorted 7 days ago are actually not sorted, and so there is some nasty malware embedded somewhere on the site. Microsoft Security Essentials is successfully detecting the malware, and preventing it from infecting my PC, so if you suspect you might have been infected, I recommend using that.
I suspect this is going to force my hand and make me move to somewhere else. I’m currently looking into my options, but will be posting deals to twitter.com/savygamer in the meantime.
I’m really sorry about this, I’m doing everything I can to fix it.
0Steam Christmas Sale leak?
Does this really count as a leak? I think probably. Either way, I bet I got your attention with that question mark headline, sucker. These are some indie packs that have been added to the Steam registry, which I don’t know what it is.
Indie Smart pack: Lumines, Droplitz, Puzzle Agent, Quantz
2D pack: Bullet Candy, Geometry Wars, Super Laser Racer, VVVVVV, Galcon Fusion
Heavy Hitters: Audio Surf, Shattered Horizon, World of Goo, Zeno Clash
Fright Pack: The Path, Zombie Driver, Scourge Project, The Void, Burn Zombie Burn
Fantasy Pack: Spectromancer, Fairie Solitaire, Fortix, Bob Came in Pieces, NyxQuest
Flight Pack: Every Day Shooter, Gratuitious Space Battles, Dogfighter, Flotilla, Guns of Icarus
Adventure Pack: Gish, And Yet It Moves, Mr Robot, Samarost, Jolly Roger
Kids Pack: Toki Tori, Crayon Physics, Secret of Magic Crystal, Max & Magic Marker, Delve Deeper
Beat Pack: Rhythm Zone, Beat Hazard, Turba, Chime, Bit Trip Beat
Future Pack: Uplink, Twin Sector, Hammerfight, System Protocol, Hacker Evolution
Brain Pack: Big Brain Wolf, Windowsill, Zen Bound 2, Diamond Dan, Puzzle Bots
Mix Pack: Darwinia, Defcon, Cogs, Eufloria, Plain Sight
It certainly looks like the kind of sale items Steam might have over Christmas. 12 indie bundles for the 12 days of Christmas? It’s also about time the phenomenal Every Day Shooter goes on sale too. Going by the pricing of the Thanksgiving sale, these packs will probably be £3.99/£3.50 each.
There is also one massive indie pack:
Indie Potato Pack: Amnesia, Bit.Trip.Beat, Toki Tori, Red Orchestra, Killing Floor, Darkest Hour, Audio Surf, Wonderful End of the world, Defense Grid, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, The Ball, Cogs, Braid, Super Meat Boy
Also mentioned are:
TellTale complete pack
Alien Breed pack
So maybe hold off buying any TellTale or Alien Breed games in the meantime.
If you want a reminder of what the last Steam Christmas sale looked like, check out this post on it.
Thanks LovingSteam of Neogaf for being in the know.
10SavyGamer no longer a virus
Gosh what a lovely/horrible week the last seven days have been.
I’ve been away since Wednesday last week, and after thinking I’d finally got everything sorted following my fairly incompetent hosts allowing mine and several other people’s websites redirect to spam for a period of ~15 hours, I got inundated with messages of people telling me that their browser/antivirus was flagging SavyGamer as containing malware. In a moment of madness, whilst at ATP, I tried to fix in on my phone, but that didn’t get very far.
I’m pretty sure that this infection was my host’s fault, but I don’t actually know for sure, so I can’t say for definite that it was their fault.
Anyway, SavyGamer has now got a clean bill of health, and short of any other major unexpected disasters, ready for another year of saving gamers across the internet money on those games that we all love so much. Let me know if there are any particularly good deals I’ve missed over the last few days.
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