Walking Dead is independent from the show and only got a few cameos in the first episode that don't matter at all. It and Spec-Ops are the most depressing things I've played and having them both in the same sale means Steam is trying to tell us something.

...Tempting.
Very, very tempting.

MID-SALE DAMAGE REPORT: Mauve's purchases and reviews thus far.

Christmas Sale:
SCRIBBLENAUTS UNLIMITED: I am constantly surprised - and amused - by the sheer volume of this game's vocabulary. I know nothing about this game/franchise's develpment, but I imagine the testing period was uber long and intensive as the game seems to accomodate a huge number of off-beat, bizarre word combinations and "solutions." There is a lot of humor in this game; mostly created by the player but definitely enough written into the game itself via weird situations and strangely appropriate pop culture references sprinkled throughout. A fun game to explore alone or play with an audience to egg you into making stupid decisions. It can, however, become boring if you try to play for too long. Take breaks to restore your creative energy.

TALES OF MONKEY ISLAND (Five episodes): I've only made it through 1 1/2 episodes thus far, but I remain impressed. The same voice actor who played Guybrush in Escape from Monkey Island returns, which is rad. The art style is fun and suits the franchise well, the character designs are interesting--particularly the mer-folk Vaycaylians-- the humor is fantastic; there have been several gags that have made me chuckle aloud, and thus far the plot has been pretty solid. There have only been a few puzzles that stumped me longer than a few minutes, and one puzzle actually bugged out to give me an item without actually completing the challenge. Even so, I'm never bored from a lack of difficulty or frustrated by the opposite. The only big issue is controlling Guybrush. Using the recommended "click and drag" method to move around the world is clunky and tedious-- I'd DEFINITELY recommend using WASD keys instead. Also, the inability to run can be annoying.

Whelp, I still suck at Sonic games.

(Got Sonic the Hedgehog 2... for 2 bucks.)

Fun fact: "Bigoted" is a valid adjective in SU. I'm slightly frightened to find out what it actually entails in this game.

Also the create-an-avatar thing is a bit of a pain in the ass to work with, particularly where legs are concerned. But still nice to have.

Driver San Francisco is at 75% right now and if you ever liked a racing game with free roaming, this is one of the very best you could possibly ever ask for.

And if Crusaders King II gets the 75% flash sale, i'll pick that up too.

Also Tony Hawk HD is dirty cheap and Virtua Tennis 4 is at 50%.

Man, i love Virtua Tennis... i think i might fall for it...

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22...snr=1_4_4__810

..Well.

Erm, there's only like 40 minutes left on it because I was silly enough to go to bed and also go outside this morning, but Giana Sisters is at 66% off flash sale and is a really really nicely made, cleverly designed retro-like platformer that brings to mind the SNES Donkey Kong Country games. Also has a fantastic soundtrack from Chris Huelsbeck and Machinae Supremacy.

Great, simple games!
 

Let's see, it's been on daily sale (48 hours!), flash sale and won a community vote.

Obviously I need to join your game later to laugh at you.