EUIII Complete + the newish Heir to the Throne Expansion (which is not included) is one of the best games I have played. If you like grand strategy, or that time period 1400-1800, it is a must buy IMO.

HOI3 is still a bit rough. They are putting out an expansion pack for that on June 6th which is supposed to help out a lot, I won't be pre-ordering the XP like I did the base game though.

Is Hearts of Iron good deal?


I've always liked WW2, and there is no too hardcoe strategy for my tastes.

And would the complete pack be better pick?

It's a tough one for me. I absolutely LOVED Hearts of Iron 2. I don't think I have ever played any game as much as I played that, probably my favorite game of all time. Also Paradox is probably my favorite developer.

If you really like WW2 and complex and detailed strategy games you might like HOI3, there are some problems with it though. I personally just don't enjoy playing it right now, but there are a lot of people on the forums over there who do. There are also a lot of people over there who don't like the game and are calling it "unplayable" and "broken." The strategic AI is not very good ATM, the war in the Pacific doesn't work quite right are two big examples. The modding community for Paradox games is great and there are some mods out there that do a good job in fixing, or hiding, a lot of the problem. As I said the Semper Fi expansion which comes out on June 6th is supposed to fix a lot of that plus more. Based on Paradox's track record I think HOI3 will end up being a very, very good game. It may take another year a few more patches and another paid expansion pack to get there though. I can't really recommend it at this point in time but there is a lot of good things in the game right now.

Have you played HOI2 before? If not HOI2 complete might be a good way to get into the series with a good stable balanced game to see if you like the idea before taking the plunge on HOI3.

There is also a game called Arsenal of Democracy. It is a game developed by HOI2 fans under license from Paradox, I have heard good and not so good things about it. They took a great game and added a lot of good things to it, but with a game of this complexity it sounds like they are still having some problems getting the balance right so all of the inter-connected systems work together properly.

I've never played HoI2 before.
I might check it out.

Old games tend to be better anyway

Yep, play that for a few months and check back and see where HOI3 is at that point if you like it.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/05/26/half-life-2-titles-30-off-on-steam/

Online Strategy Guides often sound like a waste of money.
Why buy an online strategy guide when you can find many for free such as GameFaqs?

downloading the massive (in size) updates now.. was already looking for an excuse to revisit half-life 2 and episode 1, the new achievements might just be a good motivator.

Just how big are the updates?

Looks like it's mostly for mac compatibility and with some achievements thrown in for fun. Is the update really that big?


Not that it matters much for me I don't have the game installed at this moment. Maybe I'll re-install...

Half Life 2 is 600MB and Episode 1 is 350MB. Not sure about Episode 2.

It's engine updates along with achievements, for Mac and PC. I might consider this a good excuse to replay the games...especially since I was playing GTA3, but the latest update from Rockstar broke the game so hard it's unplayable. :flame:

Half Life 2 is even prettier than before. They updated it, and Episode 1, to the Source 2007 engine, meaning it has HDR, Very High texture quality option, and all the little improvements that Episode Two had.

Ooh, I look forward to checking out the HL Engine updates and achievements sometime soon!

Looks like I will finally have some motivation to finish HL2 now.

I was playing through HL2 again but got side tracked. Probably will start playing it soon.

I've been wanting to pick up HL2 for a while (if only for all the [free] mods it makes available). Now, for various reasons I probably shouldn't be going around spending money, though I can probably spare a bit. So I'm tossing up whether to get the full Orange Box ($25AU, all up), just HL2 ($8.80AU), or neither.

TESF Hive Mind, please help me/make the decision for me .

EDIT: spelling error.

The Orange Box. It comes with HL2, episode 1 and 2, TF2 and Portal.

Best deal ever.

Oh, definitely The Orange Box. You get all HL 2 games so far, Portal, and TF2. If you get bored with the single player games and want to have some fun with an online shooter, TF2 is a great choice.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/26/star-wars-empire-at-war-on-steam-lucasarts-adventure-pack-50-o/

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, LOOM and The Dig all for $5.

Alright, you've pulled me off the fence. Bought it .

Ah, brilliant, the moment I get my new laptop I'm installing the Orange Box

DoW2 plus Chaos Rising is $20 right now for the weekend deal.
I liked DoW2 even though it wasn't as great as the first.
Never bought CR is it any good?

I really liked it, the missions had a lot more variety than DOW2.

Can i use one of those visa birthday cards to make a purchase?