In Which I Betray My Ideals (And Kind of Like It)

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To my shame, I’ve slowly been converted into a Steam user over the summer.

I used to avoid that thing like the plague. I originally passed on the F.E.A.R. sequels because they required Steam. I’m still waiting and hoping for a GoG release of Far Cry 3. I actually bought a physical copy of Fallout: New Vegas only to then play a cracked version so I could avoid dealing with Steam. I am a card-carrying, haterpants-wearing guy-who-doesn’t-like-Steam.

But everything changed when Borderlands 2 was announced and could only be found on Steam. They’d got me. I had to take the leap — but that didn’t mean I was ready to admit defeat.

“Fine. But I’ll uninstall Steam as soon as I’m done with Borderlands.” Well, I’ve got 80 hours logged between three characters and three groups of friends, and I still haven’t finished it. So much for that plan. Then it was, “Okay, Steam actually has a lot of nice features when it comes to multiplayer stuff, but I absolutely refuse to buy singleplayer games that just use it for straight-up DRM and nothing more.” Then someone gifted me a bunch of singleplayer games. Then I saw Rage on Amazon for six bucks. Then…

Well, then I ran into the current Humble Bundle, a bunch of games I’d basically resigned myself to the knowledge I would never get to experience. Dead Space should be right up my alley, as the world’s biggest Doom 3 fan. I’d heard nothing but awesome things about Mirror’s Edge. Even Crysis 2, when I hadn’t cared for the original, looked kind of neat. But egh! — Steam. I refuse, I refuse, I refuse.

…as cheap as one dollar, you say?

And now, whether I like it or not, I think I’m committed to this whole Steam thing.On the plus side, Dead Space is pretty rad so far, despite having the narrowest, tunnel-visioniest field of view I have ever seen in a videogame ever, to the point that it makes me sick if I play for too long. But the weirdest thing is that I haven’t even fired up Crysis 2 or Mirror’s Edge because I’ve been to busy playing Burnout: Paradise, of all things. I… don’t even like racing games. How come this is so much fun?

Yeah, so Steam and I? Still fighting. But it sucks you in, man. Take it from someone who’s already a lost cause.

Steam — Not even once.

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