Valve's Steam Holiday Sale Makes An Encore, Popular Game Deals Back For Final Showing

As the ancient proverb so accurately states, all good things must come to an end. At least where Valve's ultra-popular winter Steam sale is concerned, though, a last chance is being given, allowing you to take advantage of some of the HOTtest deals you may have missed during the sale's two-week tenure.

Unfortunately, whereas most of the Steam catalog is on sale during the event, that's not the case with the encore. What that means is: If you missed out on getting a modest sale on a game that's not listed on the front page, you can expect to see it listed for full price. Why Valve decided to take this route, we're not sure, but it's the reality anyone who waited to see if their game would hit the front page will have to face.

The upside: A large number of top-rate games have been put back on sale; here's some of the more notable ones:

• Anno 2070 - $7.49 (75% off)
• Batman: Arkham Origins - $24.99 (50% off)
• BioShock Infinite - $9.99 (75% off)
• Borderlands 2 - $7.49 (75% off)
• Dark Souls - $5.99 (80% off)
• Far Cry 3 - $7.49 (75% off)
• Metro: Last Light $13.59 (66% off)
• PAYDAY 2 - $13.49 (55% off)
• Saints Row IV - $19.99 (60% off)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - $7.49 (75% off)
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown - $9.99 (75% off)

Of all these, I can vouch for Borderlands 2 and Saints Row IV being well worth their cost-of-entry. There's no denying the extreme value some of these other games bring at these prices though - the amount of gametime that $7.49 would get you in Skyrim, for example, would result in pennies on the hour.

Unless Valve has something unique up its sleeve, the next mega-sale is expected to go down this summer, so if you're on the fence about any of these games, it'd be wise to take advantage of them now.