War Games / PC – $5 each

Direct2Drive, an online retailer who specializes in downloadable games, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a month-long sale of PC titles for $5. Each week offers a new category. This week the theme is “war.”

WAR! (HUH!)

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

A bunch of really bitchin’ games, it turns out.

Of the list of titles that are on sale, most of them are worth playing. Let’s visit them in descending awesomeness.

Company of Heroes Gold (93 at Gamerankings) is a real-time World War II squad-level strategy game that’s both fun and easy to play. GameChronicles said “Relic smacks you in the face with some of the most intense battles and amazing gameplay I have ever experienced in my 15 years of gaming.”

World in Conflict Gold (89 at Gamerankings) is another real-time squad-level strategy game, this one set in an alternate history where the Cold War escalated into open war in Europe and the Pacific Northwest. Your task? Defend Seattle as waves of Soviets invade the shores! Games Xtreme said, “World in Conflict is an enjoyable robust game that really pushes the boundaries of the modern warfare RTS. It removes the base building and resource mining and replaces it with tactical play and unit management.”

They say this is a game play video, but I’m skeptical. Still, fun:

Editor’s note: notice the similarity with this clip:

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (87 at Gamerankings) is a realistic WWII shooter, based on the the stories of Staff Sergeant Harrison C. Summers and the 3rd Squad, 3rd platoon, F Company Paratroop Infantry Regiment. GamingExcellence said, “The plot and setting (although not necessarily the characters) are of Hollywood worthiness and the gameplay is stunning in both single and multiplayer modes. Visuals are vibrant and crisp but at the same time faithful to that “lived in” look. Authentic sound effects, understated music, and well-delivered monologue during chapter interludes also contribute to the drama. In short, this game represents a WWII tactical shooter done right; it conveys the often grisly realities of war but at the same time provides an exciting and rewarding gaming experience.”

Here’s the trailer for Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30:

Supreme Commander (87 at Gamerankings) owes much to Total Annihilation and Starcraft; it’s a strategy game with a massive scale, set in a future that has three different factions battling for the Earth. play.tm said “Supreme Commander is the real-time strategy experience that fans of the genre will have been waiting for. Its complex, finely tuned, gorgeous to look at and includes extensive online support for those who have ‘pwned’ the single-player mode, so to speak, and fancy taking on the world.”

Supreme Commander trailer here:

Rounding out the Direct2Drive list:

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade (86 at Gamerankings)
• Hearts of Iron II (83 at Gamerankings)
• Battlestations: Pacific (77 at Gamerankings)
• Delta Force: Land Warrior (73 at Gamerankings)
• Codename: Panzers (64 at Gamerankings)
• Delta Force: Task Force Dagger (50 at Gamerankings)