This weekend’s Steam offers are in their closing minutes now, offering a mix of single racing game reductions and a publisher-themed sale.
The promotional period ends at 6PM UK time, so let’s rush through a selection of what’s on the discount shelves.
Bandai! Namco! Namco! Bandai!
This post covers a Publisher Weekend with a range of games from Bandai Namco Entertainment that includes the Dark Souls and Dark Souls II Action RPGs (and the expanded 64-bit version that’s named Scholar of the First Sin).
Namco’s arcade roots are included via Pac-Man Museum (£3.74, 75 percent off). The superior dot-chomping sequel, Ms. Pac-Man, is sold as a separate add-on, albeit also at a 50 percent discount for £1.99. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ All You Can Eat Edition Bundle (Edition to the MAX!) adds some radiant modern seasoning and more ghost chasing to the Pac design at £2.99 (75% off) and this complete package is the only one to consider if you want to play DX+.
Looking to the skies, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Star Trek offers appear before we return to terra firma with the “That’s a thing?!” Professional Lumberjack 2015. I suppose that could involve a racing of sorts as you BATTLE WITH TREES in a fight to victory or death and “produce different goods from the raw material and sell your product output for profit” but… Okay, no. Do trees even battle?
If a woodland Farming Simulator with “thousands of trees, grass, bushes, traffic, people and more” isn’t your bag, the Publisher Weekend and standalone offers include some reasonable racers. Racing’s part of our site remit – so though it’d have been remiss of me to exclude the other Namco games, it’s time to get to the cars.
Unreal Ridged…
At the ‘Arcade’ end, there’s Namco’s Ridge Racer Unbounded from 2012. During the sale, it’s offered at a discount of 75 percent as a complete DLC bundle for a slim £2.99 price tag or £1.99 for the pared-down version.
Opinion’s always been divided on Unbounded’s worth as a game and whether or not it is Ridge Racer but it has slowly earned praise from those that have looked beyond the name and given it a chance. Perhaps more Burnout than Ridge Racer, I’ve had it sat in my Steam collection for a while. Albeit late to preview for this sale, perhaps it’s time to install the game and have a look at it for ORD!
Anyway, nice price. I’m still not recognising ‘unbounded’ as a word though!
The project…
At least as divisive as post-Ridge Racer Type 4 games, Slightly Mad Studios’ Project CARS is waiting in the pits with a 40 percent discount today. At a sale price of £23.99, whatever your position regarding its ‘Simulator’ status, it is good value if the sensations of driving and racing meet your desires. All I can add is that it rightfully sits alongside the many sim games that I keep installed – and providing a different experience to those, it will be staying there!
If Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo-like “collect ’em all” play is important to you, it might be better to stick to the consoles. However, good racing is there for anyone that’ll give it a chance, it looks and sounds wonderful at times and right now with modern games, there are very few ways to race within large fields of cars or as it’s probably alone as a new game, race for 24 hours – day, night, weather and all.
It can need attention on the control side whether you’re, for example, a wheel or pad player and the menus remain unwieldy at every turn but again, pCARS offers some good racing. Thanks to being supported by SMS post-release, it’s actually improving with each update too.
Moving our gaze to additional cars, the Limited Edition Upgrade Pack is £2.39 today (40% off). Included in the slideshow above, that couple of Pounds adds the following to your Project CARS installation:
- McLaren F1
- Sauber C9
- BMW M1 ProCar
- Mercedes-AMG C-Class Coupé DTM
- 1967 Ford Mk IV
No descriptions necessary. As an OnlineRaceDriver reader, you’ll know if you want those cars or not!
Other packs aren’t on offer at the moment but saying this as someone wary of DLC’s use in the industry, they are nonetheless reasonably priced in comparison to the industry norm.
Each car pack costs between £2 and £3. July’s Audi Ruapuna Speedway Expansion does perhaps push comfort with the price a little, though it also includes New Zealand’s Ruapuna Speedway in a few layouts.
Top tip if you buy it: Drop what you ‘know’ from other games, don’t be afraid to use assists, give it a chance and drive as if you’re in a car. Be progressive.
“It doesn’t drive like Forza!” isn’t a valid criticism. Observation, yes; criticism, no!
Remember: all of these offers close at 6PM (UK time).
Leave a Reply