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• Deleted Member

  
   

  November 1, 2012 1:49 PM EDT

  After a few months to possibly a year after getting a computer I started using Steam, a program that I really like.

  Quite a lot of people don't like it, but personally I really do. I know a lot of people don't like the fact that it's DRM but I'd say that for me at least, the good outweighs the bad.

  The Halloween sale just ended and I got 4 (Well, 7) games for 20 dollars, all where 75% off. Killing Floor, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Magicka 4-pack, and Rock of Ages. 2 for 5 dollars, 1 (4) for 7 and a half dollars, and 1 for 2 and a half.

  The sales are arguably the best feature. Every day literally as far as I can tell there are usually around 5-15 sales ranging from a game that's just about to come out nudge to get it 10% over to a fully fledged 75%, and 50-75 are very common. You can easily get games for anywhere from 3-8 dollars very often, and good games too. You don't see Amazon selling games at that price that often. (Not to mention shipping)

  Then of course you have a feature that I really like, even if it doesn't really matter, it's just kind of cool - Steam counts how many hours you've played of each game. Which is kind of cool. It of course as well keeps a nice clean place to keep all your games and automatically updates them, though in some cases you may not want that, though I'm sure there are ways to roll-back, or that if the new update really sucks someone will make one.

  It also makes it really easy to talk to and co-ordinate with my gamer friends and I know when people are online. No emails or chat services required cause it comes with one. You can also easily gift games to people and see what games they have.

  And of course probably the second best feature of Steam, the in-game overlay. If you press Shift+Tab in-game on most games it'll usually pause the game if it can and the game gets grayed out and a bunch of windows instantly are there. You can chat, browse the web, look at profiles and games and stuff all within the game without tabbing out - which on some games can cause problems.

  But yeah, I really like it. I think that's the features and stuff I wanted to mention. Anyway, why or why don't you use Steam? And this will probably turn into a DRM hating discussion, so post about that - Origin and the DRM of consoles too. Whatever you want that's related to DRM, Steam, etc. and anything else that pops up that can remotely be related to this.

  Comment below.

• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  November 1, 2012 5:55 PM EDT

  I like Steam as well, I see it as the gaming platform that connects all PC gamers just like Playstation and Xbox have their platforms. Steam offers a way to buy games easy, and cheap with many sales and you never have to worry about losing your cd or cd-key that comes with a game, once installed it's bound to your profile eternally and there's no way to lose it. Steam makes it easy to play games with your friends which is very usefull and offers an easy way to chat with them out- and ingame.

  PS. Have fun with Vampire: The Masquerade it's a difficult game (only at the endgame with horrificly difficult bosses) but it's a lot of fun. I reccomend playing as a Tremere, they have some really cool powers and at one part they're the only race that can refill their blood with an offensive power. Nosferatu are fun as well.

• Kyrielle Atrinati

  

  • 291 posts
   

  November 1, 2012 6:10 PM EDT

  I like steam.  I was able to get Hearthfire and Dawnguard on sale, which made me very happy.  But mostly, I like how it keeps track of some of my game stats for me.  I like the screenshot feature, which works MUCH better than the default game (especially if I have the HUD turned off).  Plus, I like that it automatically updates my game (thankfully, there haven't been any more updates that cause mod problem) and allows me to sign up for beta patches.

  My only gripe is the Workshop.  Sorry Steam, but it just doesn't compare to Nexus.  However, I like that it helps newbie modders feel less intimidated about where to start modding.

• Deleted Member

  
   

  November 4, 2012 4:11 PM EST

  Thoughts on the games I bought so far:

  Vampire: The Masquerade - I've played about 3 hours of it and it wasn't what I was expecting, but it's pretty interesting. I'll definately play it more at some point.

  Magicka - Very fun game, it's actually pretty tactical and it's cool to figure out the differant combinations and spells that you can make with the elements, as well as a whole bunch of special spells that require certain elements in a certain order and have special more specific affects. Crash to Desktop is hilariously OP XD As well as hazardous to your own health.

  Haven't played Rock of Ages yet, but I have very high hopes for it.

  Killing Floor - Very, very fun shooter. You survive for a certain number of rounds/waves without the 1-6 of you dying, while earning cash and then at the end of the wave you go to the trader and can buy armor, grenades, ammo, and weapons. There are perks as well, but they aren't what you think - Each perk is based around certain weapons, as you progress by usually either killing a certain number of zombies with your weapons, doing damage with your weapons, or getting headshots with your weapons depending on the class you progress to Level 6 in your perk. Choosing a perk allows you to have discounts on your class/perk's weapons, maybe do more headshot damage, and even eventually start off with a class-specific weapon that isn't your 'crappy' little 9mm pistol.

  And then when you start going on to the heavily, heavily, modded servers... Magnifique...  I highly recommend Killing Floor.

• ricardo maia

  

  • 133 posts
   

  November 4, 2012 4:43 PM EST

  I use Steam since 2010, when it wasn't a great program yet. Now most of its previous shortcomings have been corrected and it works wonderfully with all my games (Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim, Borderlands I, Heroes of Might and Magic VI, Civilization V, and some others). The store is easy, delivers immediately and has some good trades; the library allows some administration over all your games, you can download patches and DLC`s, and even change PCs, without fear of losing control over your games settings and preferences; the community allows chatting, even inside the game, the workshop brings some new mods every day and the mod integration is sweet; the offline mode allows playing without internet and there are some useful tools that I'm still learning how to use.

  I don't know if there's some other game platform as good as Steam, but to be better it would have to be damn good and easy so that even a techno illiterate like myself could use it.

• lanep25

  

  • 377 posts
   

  November 4, 2012 4:53 PM EST

  At first I hated it. I was first forced to download it when installing Empire Total War. I was quite furious that I had to install a third party software in order to play the game. That was some time ago.

  Now I love it. It's a great way to manage your games, see others stats, and game with others. There's even a chat system. They also have great holiday/seasonal sales where you can get games for really cheap.