Hello and welcome back to Game Bundles Of The Moment! This feature highlights several discounted game bundles in a weekly manner. Well, this feature would technically be considered “Weekly” if not for the fact that both Torchlight II and Borderlands 2 had entered a certain reviewer’s life (hint; mine) three weeks ago. Expect the Borderlands 2 review soon, but in the meantime let us go forth and slay the monstrous beast of internet retailers and acquire some loot!
First up to face our slaughter is the F.E.A.R. Ultimate Pack, available from Amazon.com right here. The bundle contains FEAR Ultimate Shooter (the original FEAR plus its two expansions), FEAR 2: Project Origin, and F.3.A.R. for the price of $10 US. While the first FEAR game is DRM-free, both its sequel and the third installment use Steam, so DRM-conscience customers should be wary. If you are looking for a recommendation or more warnings, I cannot help you. The original FEAR was one of those games that passed me and its successors never caught my interest.
The next bundle is the Batman Arkham Action Pack, once again available from Amazon.com right here. The bundle comes with the two Rocksteady Batman games, Batman Arkham Asylum (Game of the Year edition) and Batman Arkham City. Not only do both games use DRM in the form of Steam but they also use the dreaded Games For Windows Live system, so this might as well be off of the radars of PC gamers who dislike DRM. However, if you can get over the gripes, $10 US for both games is one of the best steals I have seen.
On the opinionated side, the Rocksteady Batman games are superbly well-done and are the only games in recent memory that really nail the feeling of being Batman. Admittedly, the games don’t necessarily make the player work to achieve the status of being Batman; the majority of the combat is more focused on spamming the attack button and occasionally pressing the dodge button when necessary, the detective bits are lacking in much real detective work, and the stealth sections are relatively easy compared to more traditional stealth games. However, all of the mechanics work wonderfully well and create a varied game that can carry itself quite a ways. The games are power fantasies in bat suits and I would not have it any other way. If I were to be a bit more critical, both games are poor at having a good amount of enemy variety, with even Arkham City interrupting its boss fights for the more common group-vs.-Batman encounters. I also believe that the story in Arkham City is a bit too over-the-head of non-hardcore Batman fans as some of the main plot-points involve characters and ideas that have never come across well (or at all) in the mainstream adaptations of Batman. Also, the story of Arkham City emphasizes time constraints so much that exploring the large open world feels like more of a waste of time rather than rewarding.
Finally, we have the Double Fine Bundle which can be found here on Steam. The bundle contains Costume Quest, Psychonauts, and Stacking for a small $14.99 US. Having yet to try any other Double Fine game besides Psychonauts, I cannot comment on Costume Quest or Stacking. However, I will sing Psychonauts to the highest praise that I can if only for the fact that it is a masterpiece of creativity. Every level in Psychonauts is unique, has charm, and is worth your time.
And that’s it for this week! Tune in next week and it might be possible that the Humble eBook Bundle will have video games!
