Steamin’ Hot Coffee: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PES 2014, Syder Arcade

Steamin’ Hot Coffee with the Caffeinated Gamer is a weekly series (every Friday) dedicated to gaming on Steam. Each week I choose random games to talk about, which are usually titles that have been recently released. Also, with all the deals that Steam has going on, I’ll select a favorite game or two from either the weeklong deals, midweek deals, or weekend deals. All these deals are still available on Friday, so it’s the ideal time to discuss the sales. If I’m playing it on Steam, I’ll more than likely be talking about it here!

Make sure to check back every Friday for new coverage that includes screenshots, videos, and interviews with developers. I’ll even provide live streams to Twitch and previews of upcoming games.

Now let’s get to the good stuff!

Hurray for the Steam Fall Sale. Last week, Steam had its own sale going on during the Thanksgiving break, discounting a majority of the games on the platform. I knew it was coming so I preloaded my account to grab some of the titles I missed out on.

I finally added every Ghost Recon title to my list of games, a series that I adore on the Xbox and Xbox 360. I can’t wait to jump back into those games again, even though it’ll be primarily for its single players campaign rather than multiplayer. I used to player multiplayer all the time, day and night.

I also decided to grab Papers, Please, Spelunky, Fez, Stealth Bastard Deluxe, and Monaco, along with others that I’ll probably feature at some point when I’m not too busy with new releases. Overall, it’s been a great Fall Sale that ate up my wallet.

Now to gaming!

Now Playing: Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game I greatly enjoyed when it originally released, so no doubt I had to get my hands on the Director’s Cut version. It comes with an enhanced visual presence, which I needed to take screenshots to really notice the difference. The improvement is definitely there, and in the images below you’ll see a coloring adjustment and some minor detail changes. It certainly looks better and I’m able to notice it more as I continue to play.

Other changes with the Director’s Cut include The Missing Link DLC being integrated into the game and enhancements to the boss fights, game balance, AI, and combat.

When I first began playing through the Director’s Cut I had forgotten how difficult the AI can be. The need for using cover is significant, which is a reason why I love this game so much. I always appreciated its gameplay and difficulty, and the need to take cover at all times. This is a stealth game first that has many routes around the bad guys instead of just straight up shooting through them before reaching the objective.

There are so many little things to like with the game as well. Whether it’s hacking a computer or a gun turret, or simply appreciating the music that helps set the atmosphere in some of the situations; it’s all great. I also became reminded that when enemies turn their backs on the player that they sometimes take another peak back in their direction before continuing onward. I almost got caught in the open when a guard just happened to take a quick peak behind him right as I was about to run out into the open.

Adam Jensen is definitely a great lead character and makes playing through the game even more fun, whether players go guns blazing or take a more stealth-like approach when dealing with enemies. I’ll never get tired of using the augmented abilities to enhance Jensen, and taking enemies down with the special up-close and personal blades is always a good option.

I also had another good moment during a boss fight at the beginning where I meant to switch weapons but accidently swallowed an entire bottle of whiskey instead. Yeah…that went well! It was a rather funny moment for me.

For anyone who hasn’t played this game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut is a must buy. The story and gameplay is just too good to pass up on. If anyone has played the previous version, then get ready to noticed small changes in the overall detail of the game.

Now Playing: Syder Arcade

Syder Arcade has a pretty short and seemingly simple campaign to play through. It shouldn’t be hard for most casual shooter fans to find themselves progressing through its short stages. It does feature a good amount of enemies that make things difficult for numerous reasons. Players deal with different bullet patterns and homing weapons that they’ll have to avoid. This becomes increasingly difficult when playing survival mode.

The bosses don’t come across as that difficult either, especially the final boss. They are certainly entertaining to play, though, so it does have that fun factor involved. Overall, the entire short campaign isn’t something that completely wowed me by any means, but I certainly appreciated its style of being able to freely switch between going to the left or to the right at any time to attack enemies out in front or approaching enemies from behind.

Survivor Mode is the biggest challenge. That’s the mode that will keep hardcore players around for a while as they learn the scoring system to dominate on the leaderboards. It’s a fun and quick game for players to replay over and over again while they work their way up the leaderboard. That’s what shooters are all about, and Syder Arcade gets it right with good replay-ability in Survivor Mode. Just remember to turn up the difficulty all the way to get the highest possible score out of every run. Check out the video below!

Now Playing: Pro Evolution Soccer 2014

I’m a big FIFA guy and have been playing those games consistently over the past 5 years now. I’ve always appreciated PES, though, and I’ve stayed up to date with the series over the years even though I haven’t been as impressed with it. I must say that I can’t stand brain dead defensemen, and FIFA 14 drove me up a wall this year with its defensive gameplay. So coming over to PES 2014, which so far has solid defending, has been a wonderful adjustment for me.

I’m a defensive minded player first who loves to pass around the ball to create beautiful plays. Sometimes I pass the ball too many times because I accidentally hit the pass button to shoot. I’m still adjusting to the button layout, though I probably should have switched it. The first thing I noticed with PES 2014 is that space with the ball doesn’t really exist. It’s hard to get any open room and a lot of the time it leads to a bad pass. I can’t stand stupid looking passes, though it makes sense some of the time when it happens if space gets tight and my player doesn’t have time to settle down with the ball to turn properly and make a nicely laid out pass.

One thing that has me confused with PES 2014’s gameplay is that I’ve seen times where my player makes a beautiful pass when it looks like he shouldn’t and also makes a ridiculous pass when it appears as if it should be the easiest pass in the world. The gameplay is an adjustment, and a lot of that could be because I’ve spent more time with FIFA lately than PES. However, once players get the gameplay down and understand the tight spacing, it leads to a better understanding of the game that they’re involved in. I played three straight games without scoring and not able to get more than a couple of shots on goal. By the fourth game, which I also decided to finally switch over to Liverpool, I started playing much better and got a significant amount of chances and ended up scoring 3 goals and winning my first game.

Of course, I want to say that I started playing better and won because I finally switched over to my favorite team. I know that had everything to do with it!

I’ll never get tired of scoring goals in PES 2014, it’s always an exciting moment to see that ball hit the back of the net. While I can’t say that PES 2014 is my favorite from the last couple of years, it’s certainly still a fine title to own for Steam users who need a new soccer/football title for this season. Gameplay takes a lot of patience, and some games can be a completely frustrating time, but it’s wonderful when everything falls into place.

Video of the Week: WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship

Here’s a rally game that doesn’t come with the prettiest of graphics, but it sure does provide a lot of good fun for those who want to slide around in the mud. It took me a while to get a handle on the steering, especially in some of the tight zones. However, it’s an enjoyable time once players get a handle on things. It also comes packed with a career mode and multiple quick modes that allow players to participate in quick stages. Here are the videos of the week which don’t necessarily show the best driving in the world, but gives a good idea of what to expect from a typical race in the game.

It’s Free This Weekend: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Here is one of my absolute favorite racing games. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a decent title, but Sonic Racing Transformed took things to an entirely new level by transforming the gameplay itself. First of all, each course is a love letter to all Sega fans, so that’s something significant that fans can appreciate. This includes stages based on NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Skies of Arcadia, Jet Set Radio, Panzer Dragoon, and more.

When it comes to the racing, though, this is where the game wins. I absolutely love the unique vehicles each character has, but it’s even better when the karts turn into planes or the planes turn into boats. Winning the race isn’t just about winning on the ground, but also depends on each user being able to handle each aspect of gameplay. That’s especially true when it comes to using the power-ups.

Sonic Racing Transformed is a must have for all Sega fans. It’s an incredibly good game that can entertain for hours and hours. Plus, I’m sure players will get to enjoy the online competition for this weekend, at least. The game is free-to-play until Sunday and costs $4.99 to purchase. Do it!

Remember to check back next week for more Steamin’ Hot Coffee with the Caffeinated Gamer! Follow me on Twitter and Twitch.