This “legendary lost project” from Capcom, off the radar for over two decades, was revived last year for recreation. A modern 8-bit classic out of time, Dark Void Zero is a commercial demake of the best sort, with retro stylings and intense action alike. It’s sure to please those with coin-op nostalgia to spare, and is even easier to recommend now that it’s only a buck.

Store Page
$0.99

As its name suggests, Defy Gravity Extended is based on gravitational puzzles wrapped in an old-school platforming shell. Revolving around the use of a gravity gun that lets its brave heroine bound about the levels twisting the laws of time and space, the indie game takes players on a space-bound quest across many dozens of levels. It’s cheap at its normal price of $3, so there’s little reason to not pick it up for less than half that during the sale.

Store Page
$1.35

Bad news: you may have already missed the daily deal on this one a few days back when it rang up for just a couple dollars. Good news: it’s still easily worth the $6 asking price. While all your cool, up-to-date friends are bounding around BioWare’s latest Star Wars RPG, The Old Republic MMO, dig down and find your inner hipster by playing the game that started it all. While the first world is linear and dull, stick it out past that and you’ll be rewarded with one of the most shocking storylines and best roleplaying experiences of the past decade.

Store Page
$5.99

On a uniqueness scale ranging from Call of Duty to Viva Piñata, DEFCON ranks just shy of three Katamaris and a Frozen Synapse. That is to say, it’s awesome and wondrously different from most anything else you’ve played before. The TL;DR of it is that you nuke your friends before they can nuke you, and then everybody dies in white-hot clouds of radiation stabbing the night sky as you cackle maniacally and pet your villainous talking cat. Just buy it.

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$2.49

This one’s an oddball. Blocks That Matter is an indie puzzle game that pays homage to retro puzzle games in its mechanics and presentation alike, asking players to create tetronimoes to overcome platforming challenges. It’s as if Braid and Tetris had a cute baby whose cheeks you just want to nibble on. Seriously, it’s got really cute cheeks. Usually a bargain at only $5, it’s a steal now at $1.25.

Store Page
$1.25

Yeah, yeah, I know: yaaaaaaawn, another Tetris-like puzzle game. You stop yawning this instant, young man or woman, because Critical Mass is a great puzzle game for fans of Bejeweled and its ilk. You match three blocks and rotate the three-dimensional jumble o’ cubes in the middle as fast as you can to whittle down the daunting pile. Simple, fast to learn, tough to turn off.

Store Page
$1.25

Here’s something different: a humorous point-and-click puzzle game in the vein of classic LucasArts adventures. Perfect for those who don’t like games that take themselves too seriously, this one’s worth a look for any adventure fans out there. Perhaps best of all, Ben There, Dan That! is packed together with a second game, Time Gentelmen, Please! for double the adventuring at 75% off the normal price.

Store Page
$1.24

A cutesie indie platformer that’s deceptively simple and light-hearted, Eversion under its unassuming exterior is a harrowing and utterly different game. It pushes the envelope of what 8-bit graphics can do for a game’s atmosphere and should be experienced by all gamers at some point. Though there is a totally free version hosted by the developer, the Steam release gives players the chance to support the developer financially with some extra goodies and “HD” graphics thrown in as well.

Store Page
$1.25

Smart Shopping

Remember, as always with these Steam sales, buying right away isn’t always the cheapest route, as some of these games may pop up on Valve’s Daily Deals each morning through January 1. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine any of these games’ getting much cheaper at this point, and a dollar or two for any one of these titles is an absolute steal. So have at it, we say! Be sure to drop us a note in the comments if you’ve stumbled across hidden gold yourself, and happy shopping out there.

For comparison’s sake, the Nintendo 3DS sold close to 210,000 units its second week in stores and 482,200 units last week. Even the aging PSP, Wii, and PS3 managed to outsell the sleek piece of hardware, as the Vita did not sell through its initial 500,000 unit shipments. Even though it seems rough for older hardware to be outpacing a hot new item, remember that Nintendo’s had a great software holiday with Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, and Monster Hunter 3G for its handheld. In contrast, Sony didn’t have an abundance of highly sought-after software for the Japanese market in time for launch.

Don’t get all glum though, as the Vita still has plenty of time to make up ground. The 3DS got off to a relatively slow start over its first few month, but has been able to turn things around with strong software and a big price cut. A similar price drop could things around for Sony as well but is unlikely due to the unit’s high cost and expensive hardware.

The classic platformer Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee is under a buck. In fact, it’s bundled with three other entries in the Oddworld series for only $3.74, so if you’re willing to cough up a few extra bucks you’ll have plenty of platforming to get you through the meager winter months.

Store Page
$0.62

Alientrap Games knocked it out of the park with Capsized, a side-scrolling combat-focused game set on a deadly planet. It’s got local co-op built in for your friends to join in the fierce fun as well. This is one of the best indie games of 2011 for a couple of dollars, so jump on it before it jetpacks itself away.

Store Page
$2.50

Way too meta for its own good, Inside a Star-Filled Sky is a heady shooter with nearly infinite gameplay. It’s easily worth the original $8 asking price, so at 75% off it’s a no-brainer. Pick this one up if you’re a fan of top-down shooters with a little substance underneath their skin.

Store Page
$2.00

Anyone who’s followed the indie gaming scene for any amount of time has heard of Braid, but I know I didn’t jump on board until it was old hat. It’s never too late though, so be sure to hit up the massively discounted price while it lasts. Time manipulation, fancy-schmancy art style, and clever puzzle solving make up the bulk of the appeal for this 2D platformer.

Store Page
$2.50

Gaslamp Games brilliantly combined the difficulty and randomization elements of the traditionally inaccessible roguelike genre with the point-and-click ease of dungeon crawlers, flinging the door wide open for all to enjoy. Even if you missed the $1.24 daily deal last week, it’s still simply one of the best gaming values around right now, so don’t miss this one.

Store Page
$2.49

Alright, so technically this one is a Daily Deal, but it was too good not to mention: groundbreaking Star Wars FPS Dark Forces is just over a dollar today, or you can grab the entire Jedi Knight collection for a pittance. Whether you’d like to reminisce over yesteryear or experience this for the first time, plunk down the buck. You won’t be disappointed.

Store Page
$1.24

A Zelda-inspired roguelike from half of Team Meat of Super Meat Boy fame, The Binding of Isaac was already a bargain at $5–so there’s no reason not to strongly consider this little gem at half-off throughout the sale. It’s dark and gritty and difficult and worth the two-fifty even for all you cheapskates out there.

Store Page
$2.49

I don’t know that I ever passed the first mission in the debut Commandos game, but I sure had fun trying. The Commandos series is a tough-as-nails tactical strategy that focuses on a hardened group of soliders, each with his own special abilities to help you traverse levels and complete special assignments. For just under four dollars it’s hard to ignore this pack of gaming goodness.

Store Page
$3.74

A Few Tips

Remember, if a game hasn’t hit a Daily Deal yet, it’s entirely possible that Valve has it in store for a future day of the sale. At the same time, the games above are so insanely cheap that you would only be saving a dollar or two if you did manage to hold it until that game’s moment in the spotlight. Long story short, giving some awesome developers an extra buck isn’t going to hurt too much if you end up buying a few hours too early.

Have you found any great deals on Steam or other services’ holiday sales? Be sure to drop us a note below, and stay tuned for more deals as we continue to plumb the depths of Valve’s latest bargain bonanza. Oh, be sure to actually play the games you buy too, so you won’t look forlornly at your list of 100+ Steam games you’ve never touched years from now. It happens to the best of us.

10 million copies of the game have shipped to retailers, as distinct from actually being sold through to consumers. Still, it’s an impressive feat for any game, let alone an RPG–a genre that traditionally doesn’t move as many units as its shooter brethren. Equally impressive is the success the game has found among PC gamers, as Zenimax claims it’s outsold all other PC games three-to-one since release. We’re not sure precisely where Zenimax got those numbers or whether they reflect traditionally secretive Steam tallies, but if it’s anywhere in the ballpark of the accurate numbers it’s a huge triumph for Bethesda.

Skyrim also apparently is the fastest-selling Steam game in the service’s history, validating the publisher’s decision to integrate Steamworks and promote the digital release alongside the traditional retail copies. Valve was similarly enthusiastic about the sales volume across its platform:

Bethesda's commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received. We are delighted that Bethesda chose to use Steamworks to support Skyrim both at retail and digitally.Jason Holtman, Valve Corp

No matter how you slice it, Skyrim‘s an absolute monster, and should only further the acclaim and recongition of the two-decade old RPG series.

For a game that was made available solely through digital download, that’s pretty impressive. Publishing manager Thomas Paincon believes the low price and ease of digital purchasing helped prod the game along to success:

There is less risk releasing a new game digitally. At retail, if you don't have a 90 Metacritic score and millions of fans, it's very risky to launch a new game. Look at From Dust, we sold half a million units on XBLA and PSN. Why? Because the prices were lower, but also because it was a new experience and people using digital platforms are more willing to test a new IP.Thomas Paincon, Ubisoft

He went on to praise Microsoft for its Summer of Arcade promotion on the Xbox Live online platform, adding too that the game’s summer timing helped it avoid becoming lost in a sea of new holiday releases. We’re hopeful that the game’s sales figures will inspire more talented game designers to make games that take risks. You can check out DeltaGamer’s full review of From Dust to find out more about how the innovative god sim plays.

Here’s how it breaks down: Super Mario 3D Land apparently moved more units more quickly than any other handheld Mario game to date, over 500,000 copies to be more precise. The plumber’s portable efforts helped to effect one great week for Nintendo 3DS hardware, as Reggie Fils-Aime has indicated a 325% sales increase over the previous week–a week which already was up 49% from the period prior. The popularity of the handheld at retail has pushed it over a significant milestone, as it sold more units than the Nintendo DS did in its first year in only eight months’ time.

We know that Black Friday and that entire week is a key selling week, and it is important for products like ours to have a jump in momentum, and we were fortunate to see that. For us, it really was driven by unique and powerful software and what gives us confidence is that we still have more software to launch in the balance of this holiday period.Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America

Nintendo was also eager to paint a rosy picture for its home console sales, in spite of the lame duck Wii console ready to be phased out in favor of the Wii U next year. Consumers picked up over half a million of the games console, making for the best Black Friday the popular system has seen yet–not bad for a five-year-old device. The sales were no doubt driven by the first full Zelda Wii game since the system’s launch: Skyward Sword sold 535,000 copies, becoming the fastest-selling game in series history. With the battle-hardened games company flying in the face of gloom-and-doom predictions, it seems plausible that Nintendo will overcome once again.

Today’s most impressive options: Portal 2 for just $10.19, either Mass Effect game for only $5, and the relatively recent Orcs Must Die! for a mere $3.74. You can have a long, drool-inducing gander over at the Steam Store page, and be sure to check back every day through next Sunday if there’s something you fancy that isn’t on offer yet: if previous Steam sales are any indication, it probably will be before Valve is through.

Though the games originally didn’t sell very well on their Xbox 360 digital release–selling about 75,000 combined since April 2010–they’ve found a home on the PC. Since hitting the platform in July, gamer response has been pretty incredible, and Boyd is “ecstatic” about the success:

The days of worrying over whether or not we could support our families while making games we would want to play ourselves are behind us... There is obviously a definite audience for quality console-style RPGs that are aggressively priced on the PC.Robert Boyd, Zeboyd Games

The pricing certainly helped, as the bundle goes for only $3 regular price (though it’s on offer for just $1 as part of the Steam Autumn Sale right now). It also helps that the games are simply quite good, and for whatever reason have resonated far more with the PC audience than they did on the Xbox console. Though Zeboyd’s next project will be a continuation of the Penny Arcade games, we can only hope for further 8-bit RPGs sometime in the future.

In fact, the game outsold those two games’ combined units over the week, an impressive feat for a game on fledgling system like the 3DS. But fortune may begin to smile upon Nintendo: the company today revealed that 3DS sales have actually outpaced the original (and very successful) Nintendo DS handheld, which sold 2.37 million units in its first year on the market. The 3DS by way of comparison is sitting at 1.65 million sold–when you add projected holiday sales, you’re looking at the 3DS beating its predecessor handily.

“With the success that LIMBO has achieved, we felt this was the ideal time to fully regain our independence,” stated Playdead CEO, Dino Patti after confirming that a Mac version of the game will be made available “before the end of the year”. He continued:

We are grateful to everyone who supported us over the past few years, and look forward to forging new partnerships that will both let us reach new heights as a studio and give our director, Arnt Jensen, room to grow creatively.

So yeah, expect the Mac version to hit really soon.