Direct2Drive Video Game Download Service Review Discussion

By: Charles P. Jefferies

Game download services are taking over the game distribution role from brick-and-mortar stores. Today we take a look at one example,Direct2Drive, the first of many services in our review queue.

Read the full content of this Article: Direct2Drive Video Game Download Service Review

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interesting... nothing beats purchasing from a shop.. The service needs alittle working on.

 

i think they use encrypted exe's, which makes modding and patching a pita.

 

Eventually, the internet will replace rental type stores completely, it's inevitable.

 

I still prefer Impulse (or gamersgate) over Steam and D2D. Since impulse has a very awesome "minimum DRM" stance on things.

Esp. since I care very little about the social networking features in games.

 

Reviews on all of those services are forthcoming.

 

Oh wow!!! That would be nice. I have used most of the major digital distribution services, and it really is a shame that companies like Impulse or gamersgate don't get as much spotlight as I think they should.

Things from Impulse that I thought were better than Steam:

1) You get to control where things are installed.
2) Don't need to run the impulse client once you get the game installed to play them. In fact, for Stardock published games, you don't even need the client, they (stardock) provide pre-made packages for games that they publish so people that have bought those games can just grab those pkgs and install them on any computers offline. (You do need to authenticate your credentials during the installation though, so you can't just have anyone install these pkgs anywhere (aside, stardock used to let you do this even...) )

3. GOO copy protection, which allows the reselling and transferring of games to another customer.

4. Impulse Reactor

Sorry if this sounded like a fanboy's reply. I truely do love Steam too. But I just don't use the social networking aspect of it enough to want to run the Steam client all the time, and stay logged in online all the time. (Yes I know there is an offline mode, but it is a hassle, and you still need to run the client at least once every 30 days).

 

Interesting reading the comments about the benefits of Impulse/etc. over Steam.

For what it's worth, I've pretty much solely moved to purchasing games on Steam only (the last boxed copy of a PC game I bought was the Witcher). The only other non-Steam related digital game downloads I have would be through the Blizzard Store (where I've registered my game keys for all my Blizzard games).

The points about Impulse's copy protection are definitely good, but I think I've found that I just like the convenience factor of managing my games all through Steam now. I actually feel less like dealing with other game downloading services, even if they do offer various benefits (not to mention all of the sales/etc. that Impulse and D2D do).

Ultimately the biggest thing I like about Steam is that it does make it so simple for me to install/uninstall my games (I've managed to replicate a large chunk of my old retail box gaming collection thanks to various sales where I was able to get old games for usually no more than $5 each) without having to worry about digging up old boxes and CD's/etc. Especially when I am setting up a new PC or a new install, it's really nice to just be able to restore a Steam backup or even just set the games I want to download and install.

I am definitely at a point now where I basically don't even consider buying a boxed copy of a PC game though.

 

Agree on all counts, except the "not buying boxed copy" part.

Steam is convenient, just like malls and supermarkets (for other non gaming goods). But you do pay (money, and freedom) for that convenience.

I miss the good o' days of games coming with a big box, and a hefty manual. The weight of the boxes used to be one of my gaming buying criterias.

Now, most games have really crappy manuals, or worse, they have the same crappy manuals that were meant for the console version of the game...

That is why if I there is a Collector's Edition of a PC game I will go out of my way to get it.
I wish I lived in Europe though, because Europeans seem to get better (and more) collector's Editions.

 

I do get much faster download speeds from Direct2Drive than Steam. I have bought Dirt 2 and Civilization 4: The Complete Collection from their current Spring Sale for $10 each. I wanted to get all my games from Steam but I couldn't pass up these sales.

With my university's internet collection, from Steam, I get a constant 1.4-1.6 MB/s download rate, where one time, I had a very brief surge of 7 MB/s. With Direct2Drive, I had a constant speed of 9.5-10.5 MB/s.

 

I like their prices when things are on sale (like now.) Brick and Mortar stores do not offer CiV4 Compete for 10$.

 

Oddly, what I like about D2D over steam is that it doesn't require an application, I don't have to have steam running to play the game, I can install it where I like and have complete control over it as if I'd bought the DVD, unlike steam. I've had less problems than with gamersgate, which is a nightmare every time due to billing problems.

D2D is still the best for me, the only thing I'm hating is that I have to use steam for copyright protections on some games, I won't buy any more like that. I use D2D to avoid steam.