Halloween Sale 16

The Steam Halloween Sale 2016 is over tomorrow. I picked up a couple of small games but I figured I would finally take a plunge so I picked up the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. bundle on the cheap.

I have hear a lot about the series over the years. You play as a stalker, a mercenary/scavenger in and around Chernobyl and Pripyat.

The very idea is awesome. Sneaking around the nuclear poisoned ruins, dodging enemies and hunting mutants. Really cool, but there is a hitch.

The camera bobbing is hideous. It is extreme to say the least. I'm not prone to motion sickness, but twenty minutes of the first game gave me a headache. A literal headache and mild nausea. I've understood that the two sequels are better in that aspect, but I wanted nothing to do with it.

What also surprised me was that the graphics were so dated in my eyes. Granted, it came out in 2007, but I have played older games that looked better.

In the end I gave up and put in for my first Steam refund, which worked really well. You can't do it through the client, rather you have to go via their online help page. Fill in a short explanation and click send. In no time at all, I got it approved and my funds have been returned as I'm writing this.

Instead, I put down the money and bought Hard West. A reviewer described it as a mix of the old Desperados game, X-COM and the Deadlands rpg. I was sold.

Desperados is one of my all time favorite games. I love the turn based strategy of X-COM. And I ran Deadlands games for years. I really like weird west stuff.

So far, I have only completed two missions and the tutorial. The first one took me three tries, but I aced the second, and I have the game set to easy. The hard in Hard West is true folks, make no mistake. Overall the feeling and the design is excellent, and I'm looking forward to continuing my journey.

There are a few things one has to keep in mind though. Like you can move and then shoot, but not vice versa. That led to the death of my main character as he got stuck in the open with predictable results.

Since I haven't yet played enough to really review it I can't recommend it yet, but it looks really promising, and if you also like the whole wild/weird west thing, you should give it a look.

Alright, that's me done for today. Until next time, have a great week y'all!