 Website review: Steam
Tallulah Habib
Website, online store and gaming platform - what Steam is actually intended to be is a digital distribution platform.
Developed by Valve – creators of titles like Half Life and Counter Strike - as a method of distributing their games digitally, Steam now has over 25 million users and controls approximately 70% of the digital distribution market.
If you’re looking to buy a game, have an internet connection and a credit card, then buying off Steam is convenient. You will be able to find games from Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft, LucusArts, Capcom games and many other publishers.
Buying a game is always risky without giving it a play first, though, so Steam also provides screenshots, trailers and a number of demos for download and play. Occasionally one will even be able to find a free game or two – for example the widely popular Portal was recently offered on the site for no charge for a limited period. Additionally, Steam provides automatic updates for your games, such as patches.
The Steam platform is free to download, and after installing it, you can play the games through it and have access to additional functionality such as in-game chat. Your downloads through the platform can take place over time and will simply pause should you lose your internet collection, which is comforting if your connection is capped.
If you are not sure which game to buy, even after viewing videos and pictures and playing the game, the site has a statistics section where you can see what everyone else is busy playing. There is also an entire Steam community at your disposal, where you can ask questions, and a support section for technical issues.
Steam provides everything a gamer needs at his or her fingertips. The only downside is that it is a site, like so many, based in the USA and aimed for people with no bandwidth constraints. It's bulky and relies heavily on having an internet connection online, 24/7. Luckily, with the latest uncapped offerings, South Africans may finally be able to make use of sites like this. |
