What I would have spent (if the games had been normal prices): 495.00$

What I thought I'd spend: 200.00$

What I actually spent: 155.00$

I didn't plan to buy Saints Row: The Third (bought because it dropped to 12.49$), PAYDAY: The Heist (bought because all of my friends decided we should play it over the week) and Bastion (bought it because I couldn't resist the low price and had planned to put it on my wishlist). The rest of the games I bought were all on my Steam wishlist (which was essentially a "to-buy" list for me for the Steam Summer Sale 2012).

Here is a full list of what I've bought so far:

• Alan Wake
• Alan Wake's American Nightmare

I haven't played a lot of survival horror games since I played through Cry of Fear and wet myself, but I had been anticipating Alan Wake coming to PC since I first heard about it getting ported over. I almost bought it when it came out, but decided I'd wait for a sale. I'm glad I did, because I got a great price on both of them.

• Arma 2
  
• Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead

Most people nowadays are buying Arma 2 for DayZ, a popular zombie mod that just came out. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people don't want to experience Arma 2 for what it is, I just think that people have taken a sudden interest in it since DayZ came out. I've tried Arma 2, and to be honest I'm actually enjoying it more than DayZ, probably because I'm impatient and get frustrated when games glitch a lot, even if they're in Alpha.

• Bastion

I hadn't heard of Bastion until a few weeks before its release, when someone from GameSpot mentioned they were working on it. I never really took an interest in Bastion, as I figured it would just be another RPG that I'd have to spend 10 hours on before I understood, but I was completely wrong. The game isn't easy by any means, but it isn't so complex that it turns users away. I'm glad I got Bastion.

• The Binding of Isaac

I bought this one (not just because I share the same name as the protagonist) because I'm a big fan of Edmund McMillen's games (i.e. Meat Boy) and I had played it with a friend a few days prior, and I really enjoyed it. I can't really compare it to anything, since this game is one of the most unique ideas out there, and to get a real feel for it, you've gotta play it for yourself. It was on sale for 1.25$ and will probably go b ack to that on the last day of the sales.

• Cities XL 2012

Out of all the games I bought, this one is probably the least popular among reviewers and my friends on Steam (I'm the only one out of all my friends who has it). It's actually a really fun game, but I do agree that it isn't even close to being as good of a city simulator as SimCity.

• Crysis
• Crysis Warhead
• Crysis 2

These three games were at the top of my wishlist, and there were a few times where I almost just bought them at Best Buy, but decided not to because they would have cost me 70$-80$ for both. I was planning to get Crysis 2 when I bought my computer to help me test it out, but instead I got a bunch of other games during the Steam Summer Sale 2011, back when Crysis 2 wasn't on Steam.

• DiRT 2

A few weeks ago, I realized that I didn't have any racing games for PC, so I started looking at the DiRT games and the Need for Speed games, and the one demo that I had the most fun with was the DiRT 2 demo, so when I saw this drop down to 4.99$ I had to pick it up.

• Fable III

I still can't believe I managed to get this game for 12.49$ (75% off). I've heard it's not a great Fable game, but I've always wanted to try Fable, and this is the only one they have on PC.

• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

I wanted to buy a racing game during the sale, and it was really a toss-up between this and DiRT 2, and they were both on sale for 5$ so I bought them both. This is definitely my favorite of the two, and it is a very fun and addicting game with a great sound-track.

• PAYDAY: The Heist

I never thought I'd be buying this game. I only bought it because my friends said they were getting it (since they did), and told me "It's only 5$, you should buy it". It's a fun game, but I don't think I would have paid any more than 5$ for it, because it's pretty repetitive and there aren't a lot of missions.

• Saints Row: The Third

I did not expect that I would be buying this one, either. I didn't really have too much of an interest in this game, but I did think it looked like fun (but not the 50$-worthy kind of fun). When I saw it at 12.49$, like Fable III, I jumped at the opportunity and bought it right away.

• Sid Meier's Civilization V

I just bought the regular one, not the Game of the Year Edition for the extra five bucks. The reason for that being because I've never owned a Civilization game before, so I thought I'd try it out, and if I really like it months from now, maybe I'll pick up some of the DLC. I'm a big fan of Sid Meier's Pirates, which is the main reason I thought I'd get into Civilization.

• Sonic Generations

A few of my friends recommended this one to me, and it looks like a game I'd enjoy, because I played a lot of 2D and 3D Sonic games while growing up.

• Train Simulator 2012

I honestly only bought this because it was 90% off. I'm not really ashamed of that because I was interested in it awhile back due to how much DLC it has (over 1000$ worth).

• Tropico 4

I was going to buy Tropico 3 because it was half the price, but for another 3.50$, I figured I might as well upgrade to the newest version.

• The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition

These, along with Crysis and Alan Wake, were at the top of my list. I'm really excited to play these, especially because two of my friends gave The Witcher 2 their Game of the Year award.