Steam is a distribution platform that thinks "because it's a Tuesday" is a good reason to cheapen up some games. As such, it's only to be expected that bigger milestones are an excuse for even bigger sales. Reasons like "because it's a Friday," or "because Greenlight is a year old". It's the latter that's cause for some series discounts, with an Anniversary event that flays up to 75% off some titles that have made it through the digital pageant.

Fifty Greenlight titles have been discounted, including great games like Euro Truck Simulator 2, Papers Please, Receiver, Rogue Legacy, Kentucky Route Zero, Surgeon Simulator 2013, and Euro Truck Simulator 2.

Did I mention that you could get Euro Truck Simulator 2 for 66% off? I did? Okay then.

Since its introduction, Greenlight has sparked controversy and criticism, but it's hard not to look at the list and - however grudgingly - admit that it's done some good. There are some genuinely great, and often interesting games being approved, and it's heartening to see them find a home inside Steam. Yes, there's also Dragon's Lair, but I guess there's no accounting for taste.

There are definitely flaws to the system, too, most notably that it isn't very transparent. Other factors are seemingly as important as votes, and the approval process can often appear arbitrary. Even Gabe Newell has spoken critically about the process, although an alternative has yet to surface. Still, with the recent bulk approval of 100 games, it seems the bottleneck is starting to be resolved.

To reminisce on its one year anniversary, has Greenlight had much impact on your Steam purchases?

And so it was that August 30th, 2013 did come to be known as the Day of The Deals. Internet denizens bravely descended on their stores, dodging pay-what-you-want here, and 75% off there. Could any make it through this budgetary gauntlet with their wallets unharmed? That, dear reader, is for you to find out...

Look, basically what I'm saying is there are a lot of cheap games today. The first of which is a staggeringly good Humble Weekly Sale featuring entrées from the Paradox plate.

Here's what's inside:


War of the Roses: Kingmaker
Warlock: Master of the Arcane
Leviathan: Warships
Dungeonland
The Showdown Effect
Europa Universalis III Complete


And, if you beat the average (currently at $5.80):


Crusader Kings II
Magicka


Taken as a full bundle, it's an absurdly good deal. Of the games that I've spent much time with: Crusader Kings II is an excellent strategy centred on lineage and intrigue, Magicka is a satisfying and funny co-op wizard-'em-up, and Warlock is a quick 'n light action-focused 4X. All of the others have reviewed reasonably well, too.

Alternatively, you could get "The Big Kahuna", which costs a flat $125, but comes with 48 games - essentially, all of the publisher's games, with the exception of Europa Universalis IV. The downside of that deal is that you also get Gettysburg: Armored Warfare, but it's okay, you can just ignore it.

The sale runs for another six and a bit days.

Dust off your ghillie suit and shoulder your missile launcher: the new Arma 3 community guide video has you in its sights. Produced by Arma community member Dslyecxi, the new guide deals exclusively with sniper tactics and launcher strategies in the Bohemia Interactive military sim.

Dslyecxi's advice and commentary is straightforward and refreshingly jargon-free, which is helpful considering the level of complexity that awaits players new to the Arma series. Of course, we want that complexity, but it's also great to have an experienced hand to guide you, especially at the beginning. Previous videos in the community guide series include tips on team tactics, helicopter piloting, and the alpha/beta development process that has led the game to the brink of release.

For a better understanding of where you might be setting up your next sniper overwatch station, be sure to check out our recent guided tour of Altis, the game's gigantic main map. Arma 3 leaves beta and officially launches on September 12.

 

World War 2 combat simulator War Thunder has come a long way since it got Steam Greenlight approval back in February. Russian developer Gaijin Entertainment has released a gorgeous new CGI trailer for the free-to-play MMO, giving us a slow-motion glance at the human side of its incredibly mechanized battlefield of planes, tanks, and naval warships.

It's not in-game footage, but the video is a good reminder that a cockpit simulator game like War Thunder only benefits when players get a sense for the story and characters that populate its universe. We see in the trailer a cross section of humanity on both sides of war, from the leather-clad pilot ace to the spittle-spewing German commander shouting orders from the deck of a battleship. It's obvious that War Thunder is a game that wants to communicate the scale of its ambitions, even if you run as a lone wolf and don't look too far beyond the boundaries of your Supermarine Spitfire.

War Thunder is free to download on Steam.

The Humble Origin Bundle is over. The Electronic Arts-sponsored sale concluded yesterday with a grand total of $10.5 million in sales according to the Humble Bundle Twitter account.

More than 2.1 million bundles were sold, with almost all of the proceeds (tips to the Humble Bundle organizers are the only exclusion) going toward charities such as the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Watsi, the Human Rights Campaign, the American Red Cross, and the American Cancer Society.

The bundle, which launched on August 14, offered redeemable keys for Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Burnout Paradise, Mirror’s Edge, Crysis 2, and Medal of Honor under the standard Humble Bundle “name your price” deal, with Battlefield 3 and The Sims 3 added if your price beat the average. EA and Humble also added two games—Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Uprising and Populous—on August 22, for those who paid more than the average price.

The Origin bundle was easily the most successful sale Humble Bundle has offered, crossing $7 million in sales in just five days. While most companies participating in Humble Bundle promotions can receive a cut, EA donated all of its proceeds to charities. Good on you, EA!

Midnight City, a new indie distribution label led by games industry veterans Casey Lynch and Doug Kennedy was announced today, giving independent game developers another outlet for logistical, marketing, and community building support, according to a press release. A division of Majesco Entertainment, the new project has 10 games slated for release on a range of platforms that can link with digital distribution, including the PC.

Lynch worked previously as an editor-in-chief at IGN and Kennedy joins Midnight City after heading up Reverb Communications, a video game marketing and public relations company.

"Having been front and center watching the tidal wave of independent games coming through IGN, Majesco's move to get behind these games truly speaks to the commitment they are making to the independent development community," said Lynch in a press release. "Over the years we have seen tons of really great games coming from smaller independent studios and our vision at Midnight City is to offer these games and development teams a wide range of services and support. We're here to help with everything from first-party relations, QA, promotion and community building and to put a spotlight on the titles while freeing the development teams to focus 100% of their energy on building the best games possible."

Independent game studios are—by definition—operating outside the conventional channels of game development and publishing. As indie games leave the margins of the industry and become more and more mainstream, it's only natural and welcome that different support structures emerge to help small teams get their creations in the hands of players. Based on Lynch's comments, it's apparent this is a shift he has witnessed first-hand and sees potential in.

The label's initial batch of games covers a variety of genres, from RPGs, to racing, to puzzle platformers. For some footage the games Midnight City is currently working with, check out the video above.

Image via coryschmitz.com. Hat tip, Venture Beat.

Diablo III's controversial in-game gold and real-money auction house has been such a point of contention that even the game's former lead designer admitted that it "really hurt the game". While it will remain for upcoming expansion Reaper of Souls, an updated loot system - which will go live for all players via a free patch just before the expansion launches - has been created specifically to draw players away from the trading post, and back towards the streets and corridors of gib-prone monsters.

When asked about the loot system changes, lead content designer Kevin Martens told us that, while trading is a perfectly legitimate way to get an item, playing the game should always be the most effective. "It is fun to go buy something instantly, the instant gratification feel, that sugar high," he said, "however it's not the core fantasy, it's not the most fun and by the endgame, for a variety of reasons, they tend to check the auction house first and play the game second."

"That's not what we intend, and we do want to address that, so the loot system and the enchanting and crafting systems are both intended to cut the legs out from the auction house; to make it unnecessary to go on it to some degree, where the most fun way to play the game becomes the best way to play the game."

'Loot 2.0' will add "smart drop" items, which are tuned to your character. More legendaries are also planned, with extra effects, such as a staff that can spawn hydras from dead bodies. A new artisan, the Mystic, will be introduced, letting players transmute items - transferring the stats of one over to another. In addition, the new Loot Run mode will randomly generate a new 15-20 minute dungeon, letting you go treasure hunting without repeating the same locations.

Martens explained how the new system will ensure that the most efficient method to get gear is also the most fun. "So we say 'Oh, you want efficiency? How about efficiency, like Loot Runs, how about you definitely get the best gear from there. Mathematically, that's the best.' Then they can stop doing that Alkaizer run in act three that everyone does."

Lead writer Brian Kindregan noted the benefit of keeping people away from Diablo 2's risky third-party trading sites, but clarifies that "we want the Auction House to be your last resort, right?"

"You play the game to have the fun, get the loot," Kindregan said. "If you can't find one particular thing, you craft it. If you can't craft it, okay, then you go to the auction house."

Despite its problems, Blizzard have no plans to simply cut the auction house. "Trading's not invalid," said Martens, "it's just that its been skewed so if you're a character who's spending money maybe you're getting eighty percent of your gear from the Auction House, and 20 percent in game. It should be the reverse at best. It's more fun to kill monsters. It's the same thing I said about Loot Runs. If you wan't the best gear, let's put it in a place in-game where you're killing monsters."

For more details, check out Tom's run-down of the expansion's new features.

As of writing, 123 people have pledged actual dollars on Kickstarter so that the infamous cinematic irritant Uwe Boll can make the movie Postal 2. Are you one of these people? Do you know one of these people? Can you find one of these people? Because if so, I would very much like to hear their explanation as to why. I guess the fact that Uwe Boll is crowdfunding this "film" is also news, of a sort. Especially because it looks so brutally stupid.



Er, what?

Of course, he's not serious, right? Oh no, it seems that he is.



"POSTAL 2 will be a controversial comedy in which we take up current political issues. We take the biggest scandals of our democracy, like the happenings about Julien Assange and Edward Snowdon and show that there is no difference between our democracy and the prison camps in Russia or China."

Ha, no, but... what?

Boll is looking for a completely reasonable, not at all ridiculous $500,000. So far, he has raised £5,319. Which doesn't sound like much, but is still too high for comfort. In case you'd forgotten, the adaptation of Postal holds a 22 rating on Metacritic. Even the terrible video game Postal 3 managed more than that.

Remember, if you find yourself wanting to back a Uwe Boll Kickstarter, please do the responsible thing and just throw your money in a woodchipper or something.

There's another trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5. Except, wait, apparently this one is The Official Trailer. Does that call in to question the legitimacy of all the previous videos? Not at all. But given how much action, shouting, shooting and expositing that Rockstar pack into this single minute, it's clear why they'd want it to get the definitive article.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is due out on the 17th September for consoles. That's pretty soon, unlike the PC announcement, which is expected any time between a few month afterwards and never, depending on your general level of optimism. The real test is whether you wait out the unknown period, or cave and grab a console copy for whatever living room box you can get your hands on.

Who are those mysteriously silhouetted, stoic soldiers above? To find out, we sent a veteran squad of top writers. Only Tom Senior returned, steely-eyed and resolute. He'd seen things, man. Things like XCOM: Enemy Within, the giant expansion Firaxis are researching in their tactical underground bunker. Over a massive six page preview, he'll explain to you how they plan to add more choices, more dangers, and more ways to heroically sacrifice your team in service of the greater good.

That's not all. Richard Cobbett celebrates brutal difficulty with fifteen mods that'll toughen up your games. Chris battles the monster of emotion, as he searches his feelings about The Sims 4. Once recovered, he also tests the very foundations of the MMO, in an extended look at Everquest Next. What's more, readers will get £20 of free Warframe in-game currency. The issue is available now, via the App Store, Google Play, or Zinio. Alternatively, you can subscribe to get each issue delivered to your door.



This month we...


Take an early look at Total War: Rome 2, Starbound, Rise of Venice, Outlast, Rain World, Infinite Crises, and Magicka: Wizard Wars.
Discover how XCOM: Enemy Within adds more of everything.
Visit the Sims 4 dollhouse, to learn how it's all about the feels.
Find out how Everquest Next is carving a new path through the MMO landscape.
Challenge you to make your games harder with the 15 most brutal mods.
Review Dota 2, Saints Row 4, Teleglitch: Die More Edition, Halo: Spartan Assault, Dark, Mortal Kombat: Komplete, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, Rise of the Triad, Shadowrun Returns, Teacher Story, Cubetractor, Savant: Ascent, Super Splatters, Cloudberry Kingdom, Bit.Trip Fate, Divinity: Dragon Commander, and Papers, Please. We also investigate Under the Ocean, for advice on whether you should dive into the alpha.
Round up the fastest SSDs for your rig.
Regale you with stories about CS:GO, Avernum 3, Spelunky, Left 4 Dead 2, and dealing with a semi in Euro Trick Simulator 2
Revisit the monkey-filled corridors of System Shock 2.
Examine the many updates of PlanetSide 2.
Attempt to reach the Mun in Phil's Kerbal Space Program diary.
And loads more!


Please note, Warframe currency codes are limited to one per account.