Primarily @ non-Americans

onomastikon

Hello all,

was away for a bit there, good to be back in the mezz and getting my butt kicked again. Thanks all for that! Boy, I got rusty!

Also, great to see some faces even newer than mine! Yey!

I have a somewhat off-topic question, you are the community I trust and respect the most, so I will ask you:

I live in Germany and despise playing games localized to the German language, it often makes me shiver, and so far I have not purchased a localized game in the last 6 years. I wanted to get my hands on

- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (I have the soundtrack, since I adore Amon Tobin)

- Fallout 3

- Deus Ex 2

- The Witcher

but have not been able to find the games in English, only localized versions. Sadly, it appears that something radically EVIL has happened to direct2drive -- I can no longer purchase any of the games, they are removed from my cart due to "country restrictions": only Americans and Mexicans apparently can purchase any of these games. To me, this seems preposterous and defeats the entire purpose of that website.

So my questions is: What to do? From where can I download these games? And barring that, from where can I purchase them in English Original without much problem from a European, preferably: German distributor? I see that I can get some from American distributors, but it is against my religion to pay $12 shipping and handling.

Any tips? Thank you much in advance and hopefully -- see you in the mezz!

Black_Dawn

A few more choices for digital purchases: Game Tap is a good site with most of the games you're looking for. Steam is mediocre and annoying, but may also have what you want.

You have good taste in games, but I have to warn you: Deus Ex 2 is terrible, nowhere even close to the excellence of the first game.

onomastikon

Thank you very much -- and also to you Sooty for the PM and email.

Sooty recommended Steam, I havent tried it yet. (Steam also didnt have Witcher or Splinter Cell). I checked out Game Tap and was not offered any of the games I am looking for. Maybe it automatically recognizes my country or something, but I got not a single hit, and was constantly offered only Civ IV! Argh! Why do publishers make this idiotic deals with distributors which shoot themselves in the feet?!?!?

Deus Ex 2 is really that bad? I heard that it wasnt as good as the first, but I figured that nothing could do that. (Which is probably why there has never been a PLanescape Torment 2.) I've heard good things about the Witcher and FO3.

Black_Dawn

Witcher is pretty good, but very long. I rarely have that kind of time anymore.

Deus Ex 2 isn't the worst game I ever played, but the story is dumb, and the decisions you make don't really affect the world (unlike the first game). For example, in the first game you can save your brother and he will survive. in DE2, you can kill the leader of a faction and the faction will still treat you exactly the same way. Also, they ruined the biomods system and made every gun use the same generic ammo, so the guns that use too much punish you for trying them. blah.

onomastikon

I see. Too bad! But since these games arent offered online, I will have to forget about them anyhow for the moment. Odd that game tap doesnt seem to have anything on that list. Thank you!

brad300man

Hey Ono,

I have a free digital copy of Half life 2 and Hald-life 2 :Episode One on the steam network.

They were included in the last holiday box set and since I already owned those two games, they gave me a free copy to give to someone else. They are worth $19.99 and $9.99 in the steam store right now.

You have been a great new member to the community and if you are interested just send me a PM and they are yours.

I've played the entire half-life series and I think they are good games. All I need is an e-mail to send them to.

Have a good one....