Autotelik

I know most of you are console players, but I'm thinking some of you might still be using the PC for games.
I haven't been playing video games for many years, and recently bought a new computer (Core 2 Quad to replace my Pentium 3!) and have a new video card on the way too..... so I'm ready to dip my feet back into the gaming pool.

Steam seems to have some good deals going on right now with games, but I've never used it/them before.

I know it's a digital download compared to buying the actual physical disc/box/manual in store.

Are there any disadvantages to using Steam that you guys have noticed? Is the game obtained via Steam the EXACT same game I would get if I buy it in store? What about the patches- can I simply install patches for games I've downloaded from Steam and would that work fine too? And do I have to remain connected to the internet to play single-player games I downloaded through steam? Or is it once I downloaded the game, I can play it without having to connect through Steam unless I want to do a multiplayer thing?

Just curious.... and Bioshock for $5 sounds pretty good. I saw the trailers and reviews and looks pretty amazing.

darkside

I use Steam and the only disadvantage is not getting the physical box. Once you have downloaded a game you will need to start it up once while online to activate it. Then you can set it to offline mode and play it without needing the Steam client to check it every time.

The big advantages to Steam include constant updates for games come automatically and it patches them for you. Also you can activate Steam and play your games on multiple PCs. The only limitation is you can't play online with more than one copy of your game at a time. For instance you can't buy Team Fortress 2 and install your copy on two machine and have two people log on at once to play with your account. That is only fair though. Outside of that you can have your games on multiple PCs and redownload games as many times as needed.

Steam is an awesome service and the only way I buy PC games now (besides Good Old Games which is DRM free and very inexpensive for old games). Thanks for the heads up on the big Holiday sale. Bioshock for $5 is an awesome deal.

msdmoney

Steam is a great service. I guess the one major disadvantage of Steam is that Steam is DRM. But in my opinion it's DRM done right. Having games tied to an account rather than any specific computer means you can download and play the games on any computer, and if you ever have a computer crash all you have to do is download Steam, and all your games are right there. You have to redownload them, but it's much more convenient IMO, than going through the install process of most games.

Generally I think the games through Steam are the same as games in store, and Steam patches games automatically, so you don't have to search for the latest patch. You can also use mods.

Steam's getting even better with Steam cloud which will store saved games and keyboard/mouse settings online so you can use them from any computer.

You should definitely give Steam a try with Bioshock for $5. A great game, plus if you don't end up liking Steam you're only out $5.

Autotelik

Thx. Sounds like it is definitely worth a try. I've been out of gaming for so long that I didn't even know what DRM and securom are, and ended up spending a bit of time reading about the potential problems they can cause on a computer. It appears though that at least games obtained thru Steam don't install securom on your computer. I don't mind protection systems that check for a disk in the drive but having stuff installed on my computer that can change my hardware usage without my knowledge is not ok.
Long story short, it appears Steam is a better option and for $5 bucks I think it would be nice to try it out.

definitelymaybe

I have been using Steam for Audiosurf, and it is VERY addicting. The problem is that I've found it takes up almost half of my system's memory. And I don't have a crappy old machine from years and years ago. My machine is a decent one for gaming (it runs WoW flawlessly), but Steam just eats up the memory like crazy. Also I can't even turn it off. I can't close it with task manager..something about no permission to do so even though I'm on the admin account. It could be that I'm using Vista, not sure.

Drexl

I've bumped this thread because I was in the same boat as you. I had been playing Oblivion on the PS3, and was tired of reading about bugs that could be fixed on the PC version. I also didn't like how many console games run at 30fps and may still slow down (Oblivion was again guilty of this). On the PC, at least I have the option of turning down details if I want it to run more smoothly. Plus, I wanted access to the plugins and mods, which I couldn't get on the PS3.

So, I got a new video card and I'm getting into PC gaming, at least for first-person games that play better with a mouse and keyboard.

I've been reading about this copy protection stuff as well, and I found that Bioshock still has SecuROM, even on Steam. At least they removed the limit on activations last summer.

I've decided to try The Orange Box as a first game from Steam. If I'm going to see if I like the service, I might as well do so with a game that I can't play without it.

crazyronin

The Source engine opens up a whole bunch of free mods available through Steam (plus I believe you get TF2 through the Orange Box) so that opens almost a lifetime of gaming.

Autotelik

I did end up trying Bioshock through Steam (hard to pass up a highly recommended game for the price of lunch). I like the service and haven't noticed anything "different" on my PC. If they have other good deals, I wouldn't mind trying those too.