Merry Monday, friends. Hope this one hasn’t hit you too hard, and you enjoyed whatever you were doing at the weekend. Me? I was dead to the world on Saturday, still recovering from my week of living with 15 young people, and at work all day Sunday. Then I caught up with the sport. What a day! Congratulations Murray and Hamilton. And congratulations to the Portugal football team. I’m beyond excited to visit there in September.
None of this has anything to do with video games, I just wanted to tell everyone about my life. Now onto my picks from this week’s Steam Sale!
Firstly, and most importantly, BroForce has 60% off this week. The title means exactly what you think it does; blood, guns, action and men. Big, heroic, no-poops-given men. You play as various characters from famous movies and television shows, who have shown badassery throughout their franchises. Think Rambo, Judge Dredd and Terminator, as well as Blade, Neo and James Bond. There are three female characters to play as, which are The Bride from Kill Bill, Cherry from Planet Terror and Ellen Ripley of the Alien series. We all know there are a tonne more women they could include, but for the purposes of this unadulterated piece of fun, it’s all about the classic hero. I’m sure in the future there will be more female characters to choose from as women become better represented in movies, but for now it’s all about the action characters we grew up admiring.
Each character has a different abilities, weapons and animations. It’s the best thing about the game, so it makes sense to sell it as such. Your mission is to rescue comrades and defeat evil tyrants bent on destroying the world you love by blowing parts of it up. Classic. Levels are short and frantic, and the whole thing can get really addictive. There’s local co-op and even competitive modes to play, the environment is totally destructible, and it’s set in a pixel-graphics world of colour and simplicity. The sprites are almost cute, and it adds to the charm of this game.
Why Am I Dead at Sea is a string of words I never thought I’d type, but here we are. It’s another pixel graphics indie game, though it’s about as far away from BroForce as you can get. You are on a ship, and have to solve the mystery of your own death. That’s right, you’re dead. It’s not that big a surprise I suppose, given the title of the game, but it’s certainly an original concept.
The game is in the style of 8bit RPGs, and plays wonderfully so. It’s up to you to take possession of other’s bodies in order to connect the clues and find answers. Were you murdered, or did you merely slip on a wet deck? Character development and atmosphere make this game compelling to play, and the unique story means you have to see it through to the end. Get it now at half the normal price.
Planetbase has 30% off this week, for those of us who want to think about how best to start a colony on another planet. It’s something many people imagine doing, thinking about how you might come up with contingencies for any sort of problem that may arise, and with Planetbase, we can. You can pick which sort of planet you start on, choose how your base expands and how to power it, and use your resources to ensure the survival of your colony. That is, until the inevitable robot takeover/alien invasion/flesh-eating virus. Have I been watching too many movies?
Finally this week, I’m recommending the Teddy Floppy Ear bundle, which is literal pennies. 90% off this week, which is cheaper than any of the games individually. Teddy Floppy Ear is a classic children’s cartoon character from Poland who goes on adventures, learning about the basics of life, along with the children who watch him. In the series of games, Teddy Floppy Ear teaches as he entertains, with mini-games based on colours, counting and the importance of recycling. The bear is seriously charming, and will capture any child’s attention for long enough to get the dishes done or have a read or whatever. I don’t know, I don’t have kids. I’m tempted to play this myself however, as I believe it’s always good to learn more about the world around me.
Have a great week, everyone! I’m a third of the way through my 21 day stint at work. I’m dreaming of Portugal and escaping with Teddy Floppy Ear.
