Steam wishlist overview

I've been negotiating some Steam trades lately, so I've had this wishlist on my mind. Why don't I talk about these games that I'm interested in?

X-COM: Enemy Unknown

I heard a lot of good things about this game, both from critics and from word of mouth. I read up on it and it has lots of elements that call to mind other games I've enjoyed in the past. There's no way in hell I'm paying the sticker price of $50, but someday the price will drop and it will go on sale, and I'm in no rush. For now, it sits at the top of my list.

Dark Souls

Much like X-COM, this is a critically acclaimed game that's similar to other games I enjoyed. Also like X-COM, I'm not going to pay full price for it. Really, you could cut-and-paste my description of X-COM here.

Sega Genesis Classics Collection

This one is a big ol' bundle of Genesis games ported onto Steam. (Shining Force II is from this pack.) Since it's a bundle, it's not actually on the list, but it's there in spirit. I know I could get an emulator and download roms for free, but it's not the same as owning the games. I'd like to own them. If this bundle were on sale for $10 or less, I would buy it and be as happy as if I'd bought an actual Sega Genesis and a bunch of games at a yard sale for the same price. Well, not really--I'd rather have the actual hardware. I think it's a fair rule of thumb for the price point, though.

I'm sad that Rocket Knight Adventures isn't included. I guess they couldn't get the rights to it.

Far Cry 3

This is a good example of how a strong trailer can sell a game. The trailer for Far Cry 3 shows off all the important gameplay elements while providing glimpses into what looks like a fascinating storyline and compelling cast of characters. Contrast this with the trailer for Skyrim (a similar game), which zooms onto a stone tablet, pans over some scenery, shows a cinematic of a guy fighting a dragon, and does not interest me in the slightest.

The reviews are good too.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

You've gotta have a racing game, right? Hey, I don't know, but I do get a craving for that kind of gameplay every now and then. This one looks as good as any. I do get a kick out of all the Sega characters, even if their cast isn't quite as cool as Nintendo's (sorry, Sonic).

I noticed it mostly because it was prominently advertised on the Steam store homepage and it caught my eye with its tie-in to a franchise I'm already a fan of. Like the games above, I'm not likely to buy it, but I'd be pleased if I found an opportunity to trade for it, and if it were on sale for cheap enough, I might drop a few bucks on it.

 Mark of the Ninja

I heard this game was good, and it got good reviews, and it's by the same guys who did Shank, which I thought was good. So I figure it's probably good. I'm not in any rush to play it, but there's plenty of keys for it floating around and I'm hoping to snag it in a trade. It's also possible for it to show up in a Humble Bundle, in which case I'd jump on it faster than you can say "2D stealth ninja gameplay."

Hotline Miami

I heard it was good and it got good reviews and the trailer looked interesting. These seem like common themes, don't they? Like Mark of the Ninja, I like my chances of finding a trade here.

Sonic Generations

Actually, I get to take this one off the list because I just traded for it earlier today!

It was on my wishlist because as much as I ragged on it for being worse than the original games it copies, I do still have nostalgia for those old games, and I am curious how they play in their new incarnations.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Episode 1

I expect it's only going to disappoint me, but I feel like it deserves a chance. Especially since it really is an attempt to go back to Sonic's roots.

Ticket to Ride

It's like an online version of the board game? But the board game is pretty cool, so...I dunno. Why do I want this, again? Eh, whatever.

NiGHTS into Dreams

Supposedly this is a cult classic game centered around flying. It's been recommended to me a couple times. If I got the opportunity to trade for it, I'd give it a shot.

BIT.TRIP CORE and BIT.TRIP VOID

These two are on my list because I liked BIT.TRIP BEAT and semi-liked BIT.TRIP RUNNER. The series has earned some goodwill from me. Both of the last two showed up in Humble Bundles, so I'm holding out hope that these ones will, too.

Rocket Knight

Yeah, they made a new Rocket Knight game. I know, right? The first one was awesome! The sequels were cool too. I did play the demo, and I can already tell it's not as good as the original, or else it would be much higher on my list. Still, I am a fan of Sparkster.

BioShock

I heard this game is really good, and it got really good reviews, and...yeah, that old story, etc. I'm not entirely sure it's the kind of game I'd, personally, enjoy. But I noticed a lot of people offering it for trade, so I put it on my wishlist because I'd be interested in trading for it and finding out what it's really like.

Zombie Shooter 2

What can I say? I liked Alien Shooter and I'd play a game that's more of the same. It's pretty low on my list because I already have two or three other games that are more of the same, and you only need so many of these.

Defense Grid: Containment DLC

Defense Grid is a pretty cool game. I liked it, anyway. I wouldn't mind the DLC for it.

Orcs Must Die! and Orcs Must Die! 2

At some point I think we got to the part of the list that I'm only vaguely interested in. These are two such games. They seem...vaguely interesting. Much like a Dungeon Defenders optimized for a single player rather than a group. I noticed that they seem to be reasonably popular. They look cute, anyway. Maybe they're good. They'll probably show up in a Humble Bundle anyway, since they're big-name indie games.

Torchlight II

Miles asked me to buy this game so we could play co-op. I refused because I'm not spending $20 on a sequel when I didn't even like the original. I promised I'd keep an eye out for trades, though, so that's what I'm doing, albeit without a terrible amount of enthusiasm.

LEGO Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, et al.

Because I liked LEGO Star Wars. I'm not sure if it would be as much fun without a co-op partner. Probably not, which is why it's so low.

DeathSpank and DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue

I put these on my list because I ended up liking The Baconing. In retrospect, I didn't like it that much. It was cute, but it spent a lot of time trying to be funny and falling a little flat. I assume the other two in the trilogy are similar. But this is why they're at the bottom.

The thing with my current computer is that it just flat can't run a bunch of my games. That means there are a lot of games on my to-play list that I want to play, but can't. But very soon, I'll be running a brand-new laptop with vastly superior specs. This is exciting; it means I can dust off all the titles that I'd left on the bench for technical reasons.

• Batman: Arkham City: I really liked the first game, even though it didn't run well on my computer either. I've been waiting for quite some time now to pick up the sequel, and I finally ended up snagging it for free in a giveaway. Arkham Asylum had this great flowing combat system with a Metroidvania-style setting to gradually explore, and it was frosted with delicious Batman flavor. It was fun and polished and a good experience, and it left me wanting more.
• Darksiders: I just got this one in the Humble THQ Bundle (which, by the way, I recommend picking up -- it's very good value) and I've been doing a bit of research on the games in said bundle. From what I can gather, Darksiders has a Zelda-esque adventure element with emphasis on third-person combat action; that sounds like something I'm likely to enjoy, and I'm eager to try it out.
• Magicka: I can't even remember how long ago I bought this game. It was on sale, and I'd seen the trailers and read reviews and had it recommended to me and I was all excited to try it out, so I dropped a couple dollars for it. After I bought it, I tried to run it and it wouldn't start. It didn't crash, it didn't lag -- it simply wouldn't run at all. When I looked at the tech support for the game, it basically said "Don't use a goddamn crappy Intel integrated laptop chipset." Frustrating. So frustrating. I wrote it off for a long time, but now I'm finally going to have a chance to get my money's worth.
• Trapped Dead: Okay, so my first impression of this game was that it was kinda lame, but I tried playing it for a while and I ended up actually sort of getting into it. The problem was that as the levels got more complex, the lag flared up to unplayable levels and I had to stop. Which left me hanging, you know? I want to keep going and see what it's like once there are more party members and game mechanics and so on.
• Revenge of the Titans: This is one from the Humble Bundle 3 that gave me a lot of trouble during last year's Steam Winter Sale event. I kept trying and trying to get the winter achievement, but the game was constantly crashing on me. Eventually I went to the tech support forum and, like Magicka, the solution they gave was "Intel chipsets are garbage and the game will keep crashing until you get a better graphics card." I don't even know if I'd like this game -- it's a combination Tower Defense and Real-Time Strategy thing -- but it looks so cute and interesting that I really want to play it.
• Overlord II: I traded some coal for the Overlord complete pack last winter. I started playing Overlord II, but it was difficult to maintain an acceptable framerate, so I gave it up. I'm still interested in the game, though. I guess the first game is older, so it might run better on my current machine... but I figured the sequel would probably be better, so that's where I started. Anyway, I can pick up where I left off.
• Hard Reset: This is a cyberpunk first-person shooter thing that I got in an Indie Royale. I kept trying to poke at it for the Quest for Value's sake, but even at minimum settings it was unplayably laggy. My guess is it'll be more along the lines of a Serious Sam than a Half-Life, and granted, I do have three Serious Sam games I could play instead. I just liked the trailer for this one.
• Dungeon Defenders: In fairness, I can play this one now. I just can't play any of the bigger maps, because my graphics card can't handle all those enemies in the game at once. As soon as I get to the later waves in the Eternia Shards missions, I inevitably lag out and become useless to my team. This is sort of a barrier to my progression.
• Quantum Conundrum: Like Arkham City, this is a game I was interested in for a while and ended up getting for free in a contest. My interest level was a lot lower than with Batman, granted, but I was curious. Actually, I'll confess, I haven't tried running it on my current machine. I'm a little scared to attempt it. I haven't had good luck with modern games lately. I know that Quantum Conundrum is a first-person puzzle game made by a lot of the same people who made Portal. From what I've heard, it's not as good as Portal, but I'd like to take a shot at it, and I'm holding off for those improved specs so I can be sure it'll work.
• Atom Zombie Smasher: This is another one like Revenge of the Titans where I tried it for the Winter event last year and was sort of intrigued by it, but couldn't possibly try it out for real because of performance issues. In this case, it's less an issue of frames per second than seconds per frame (about 3-4, on the main menu). I'd really like to give it a fair shake for the Quest for Value; it has that sort of glint to it that could be a trick of the light but might be a hidden gem.
• Space Pirates and Zombies: FTL hooked me into the space exploration thing, so I'm curious about this one now. SPAZ isn't, like, unplayable for me now, but performance is not so hot. I want to give it a try, but not so badly that I want to put up with lag, so I'm waiting.
• X-COM: Enemy Unknown: Okay, maybe this is cheating, since this is a game I don't even own. But it looks fascinating and I've heard great things about it; it sounds like the sort of thing I like and I want to at least try the demo. But I can't run the demo, so I don't hold out much hope for the full game. Think of this one as planning ahead -- I've got it on my wishlist, and I'm likely to buy it when the price drops and it goes on sale for cheap. I want to be able to run it when that time comes. And I at least want to be able to run the demo -- come on.

Wow, that list turned out longer than I thought it would. Looks like I've got an agenda. And I'm still working on Illusion of Gaia, too. Mmm, lots of things to do.