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Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Soldato
Joined
31 May 2005
Posts
15,640
Location
Nottingham
I have only ever used STEAM and although I have noticed others that exist, have never been tempted to use them till now.

Wondered where else you guys get your content from and are there any ones you would recommend/AVOID and if you could share your experiences from the other sites.

STEAM
http://store.steampowered.com/
  • Unlimited downloads
  • Prices sometimes higher than other services (Taking into account the additional STEAM services though and unlimited downloads, maybe this is worth it)
  • Weekend Deals/Special offers are AMAZING.
  • No need to "Install", just download and play.
  • Community/Freinds?Achievement Features.
Gamersgate
http://www.gamersgate.com/
  • Unlimited downloads
  • Never used it before though.
  • Has content not on STEAM.
Direct2Drive
http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/
  • Limited Downloads which seems a little backwards to me although this is apparently only on certain titles (unverified).
  • Probably least likely to try these to be honest.
  • Appears to have content not on STEAM.
Impulse
http://www.impulsedriven.com/
  • Unlimited downloads.
  • Very specific games available only (e.g. Demigod, Sins of a Solar Empire).
  • Doesn't have to be running in order to play the games (reasonably good bonus)
  • Friends features aren't very good.
E.A Link/E.A Downloader
http://www.ea.com/games
  • Obviously, only supplies E.A games.
  • You can "link" newer games to your E.A account and download them anytime you wish with no additional charge.
  • Prices are in no way competitive in relation to the service it offers.
  • Direct Digital purchases are only available for a year unless a fee of £2.99 is paid which extends this to 5 years although some report unlimited downloads and not having paid an additional fee.
Play Greenhouse
http://www.playgreenhouse.com/
  • Unlimited downloads
  • Mainly appears to be Indy content.
  • Allows Community features and Achievements via Greenhouse’s own Nitrogen SDK.
Good Old Games
www.GOG.com
  • Mainly for older titles, but they are tested and work with both xp and vista.
  • Competitive pricing.
  • Unlimited downloads.
Sprocket Idea
http://www.sprocketidea.com
  • no info.
 
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Impulse -
Unlimited downloads.
Very specific games available only (e.g. Demigod, Sins of a Solar Empire).
Doesn't have to be running in order to play the games (reasonably good bonus)
Friends features aren't very good.
 
Gimpymoo said:
I was able to bind the product key to my EA downloader account and it is there for me to download as many times as I like.
Click to expand...

Ah, that's good to know. Burnout is about the only Retail game I've bought in the past few years, and I'm already tired of installing from DVD :p

Currently using Steam and Impulse. Are you going to consolidate all the information into the first post?
 
Gimpymoo said:
Short, but to the point.

Just to point out, I purchased Burnout Paradise at retail.

I was able to bind the product key to my EA downloader account and it is there for me to download as many times as I like.
Click to expand...


I tried that with my Battlefield 2 Special Forces Key, it got denied :( they don't do that game for download.

Plus they deleted your games after 6 months don't they?
 
Aye, it only works with the newer games, well, more specifically Burnout.

The 6 months limit was I believe a limitation of the E.A Downloader before the service got rebranded to E.A Link.

You now get a year for free and it is £2.99 for a 5 year "lifespan".
 
Steam is the only decent content distribution service out there, Its the solution to piracy, cheap games+no bs.
 
The one thing about STEAM which does worry me is that if your account gets hacked and VAC banned, you loose EVERYTHING.

I can see why this needs to be done but seems harsh and a little scary.

If it is reported stolen they should give you the benefit of the doubt or have other systems in place to prevent hacking, maybe even the ability to restrict access to your account via MAC addresses you specify?
 
To add to Steam, you dont even need to install the game, which is quite an advantage imo. Download, and play :).

The EA Download manager, i didnt have a problem with this, until EA cocked something up on my account which blocked me out of my 2 C&C games (launching then gave me some license error). After weeks of contacting them, they told me to make another account and they would activate the games on it. My normal account already had other games on it so this was ridiculous imo, having to switch between accounts to play my damn games. Not using them ever again, and the 1 year download thing is absolutely ridiculous, why the hell do that when other services (and more popular ones) offer unlimited ? Aint going to get customers that way.

Also, i think the only games you can register on it are the recent ones with online activation, the retail release and ea store release are basically the same, with the cd key input removed when installing through the download manager.
 
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GOG.com

Mainly for older titles, but they are tested and work with both xp and vista
Competative pricing
unlimited downloads
no friends list as it's download and install
 
I don't mean to be a misery guts pedant, but If the first post is going to be a consolidation, it might be an idea to format the list, eg:

Good Old Games
http://www.GOG.com
  • Mainly for older titles, but they are tested and work with both xp and vista
  • Competitive pricing
  • Unlimited downloads

Play Greenhouse
http://www.playgreenhouse.com/
  • Unlimited downloads
  • Mainly appears to be Indy content.
  • Allows Community features and Achievements via Greenhouse’s own Nitrogen SDK.

:)
 
Gimpymoo said:
Diect2Drive -
Limited Downloads which seems a little backwards to me although this is apparently only on certain titles (unverified)
Probably least likely to try these to be honest.
Appears to have content not on STEAM.
Click to expand...

I've used up all of my installs on a couple of games with Direct2drive - the good thing is you submit a ticket online and they reset the count. Usually a response within 8hours or so saying it's been reset without any problems.

One that's been missed:

DLGamer
Very fast download rates
Limited to timecards/mmo style games mostly
Prices can be very hit/miss, generally slightly on the high side even for digital downloads.
 
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