Valve’s ever-popular content delivery platform Steam has taken its first steps into the mobile world with the launch of two apps for iOS and Android users. Despite both being available for anyone to download on the App Store and Android Market, Valve have so far only allowed a small number of users use the service.

Currently in beta, both apps provide quick access to  friend statuses, chat and the store front where games can be purchased using saved credentials. In addition to this there is a “Friend Activity” area that logs purchases, achievements and other events and news sections for updates from blogs and Valve themselves.

As it stands these news sections are pretty bare, but the game catalogue is complete and fully functional, allowing for the purchase of full titles from your Android or iOS device. Valve’s president and co-founder, Gabe Newell, said:

“Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale — these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam.”

Don’t worry if you’re not in the beta just yet, simply by downloading one of the apps and logging in (as well as providing the Steam Guard code sent to your email address) Valve will add you to the list of users awaiting beta entry.

If you’ve been lucky enough to get beta access already then let us know what you think!

Download: Steam for iOS @ App Store
Download: Steam for Android @ Android Market

Source: Steam

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Steam_Logo_300.png" alt="free steam games" />Content delivery service Steam is a real money-spinner for Valve, prompting href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/waste-time-free-eas-lineup-freetoplay-online-games/">publishers like EA to shy away from it in pursuit of their own system. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of free gems in the service, and all you need is a Steam account in order to play.

The service is free to use and no credit card or other payment information is required for a bog-standard account. Those of you who already have Steam up and running can install any of the games below in a flash via the [Install] link which launches the Steam client.

If you don’t have Steam yet, you can href="http://store.steampowered.com/about/?snr=1_5_9__11">click here to grab the auto installer and register a free account. Let the games begin!

War Inc. Battlezone [ href="steam://install/107900">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/107900/">View on Steam]

Released in July this year, War Inc. Battlezone is a free-to-play online third person shooter that features both 8v8 and 16v16 shoot-outs. Of course, being free-to-play means there are additional perks to be earned from registering a paid special account (such as the ability to host your own games).

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pQDsThft7FU" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

Still, the free option’s not bad either. With no time limits, a proper server browser, XP to earn and a nice big unlock tree to climb there’s enough here to keep your average shoot ‘em up fan interested. It’s not bad to look at either!

Note: If you’re having trouble downloading War Inc. Battlezone then this is probably due to regional restrictions enforced by Steam.

Global Agenda: Free Agent [ href="steam://install/17020">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/17020/">View on Steam]

Ah, don’t you just love futuristic post-war dystopia? How about frantic MMO goodness? Jolly good, because that’s just what Global Agenda: Free Agent delivers.

What’s more the free-to-play model is very lenient indeed – all game content can be accessed without any payment whatsoever. If you do indeed decide to pay, your account is updated to Elite Agent status which accelerates your rate of progression (more XP, essentially) and provides access to an in-game auction and mail system.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xm97cZeoyDo?hd=1" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

The game is FPS by nature, with RPG elements like character upgrades drizzled in an online co-op sauce. Did I mention the jetpacks? Tribes and Team Fortress fans might want to check this one out!

The Cat And The Coup [ href="steam://install/95700">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/95700/">View on Steam]

Here’s a game with a difference – a documentary game, following the assassination of Iran’s first democratically elected Prime Minister in which you play… a cat.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yBSa3IIfArU?hd=1" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

As a feline it is up to you to guide the PM through significant events in his life by doing typical cat things like knocking over objects and scratching your owner. I think this is one of those games that should be played rather than described.

CrimeCraft: Bleedout [ href="steam://install/38830">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/38830/">View on Steam]

Taking the frantic FPS genre, applying RPG and MMO elements and sticking it all back together seems to be pretty trendy these days, and CrimeCraft: Bleedout is another of these offerings. Set in Sunrise City, a near-future metropolis recovering from the collapse of the global economy, Bleedout features online 20v20 player vs player multiplayer, a dearth of typical MMORPG elements (crafting, guilds, missions, trading etc…) and a single player campaign to boot.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6LQeqo8JPEw?hd=1" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

You’ll need to pay in order to access the full campaign, but basic online multiplayer and the first episode of the single player story is available completely free – for as long as you like!

Champions Online: Free For All [ href="steam://install/9880">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/9880/">View on Steam]

Ever fancied donning a lycra playsuit and prancing around like you own the place? Sounds like you’ll get on fairly well with Champions Online, a free comic-book themed MMORPG. Undoubtedly going head-to-head with the likes of DC Universe Online (another free-to-play title), Champions Online requires no subscription and allows you to progress up to level 40 for free.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/udxOjR8rTN8?hd=1" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

Of course once you’ve hit the level cap you’ll need to cough up the cash, but there’s plenty of opportunity to decide if you like the game. Choose your superpowers, choose your costume and explore some distant realms in this huge MMORPG.

Freebies We’ve Mentioned Before

We’ve already mentioned a couple of the best free Steam games here at MakeUseOf, but I can’t resist highlighting these quality free titles for those who missed them first time round:

Alien Swarm [ href="steam://install/630">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/630/">View on Steam]

Check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/alien-swarm-topdown-opensource-shooter-valve/">our full review of Alien Swarm, a free top-down shooter straight from Valve.

Moonbase Alpha [ href="steam://install/39000">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/39000/">View on Steam]

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/nasa/">NASA’s flagship online lunar experience invites you to team up and work efficiently to repair Moonbase Alpha. I href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/virtual-astronaut-nasas-free-moonbase-alpha-game/">reviewed this game last year, and it’s a blast.

Spiral Knights [ href="steam://install/99900">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/99900/">View on Steam]

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spiral-knights-free-browserbased-massively-multiplayer-role-playing-game-sega/">Reviewed earlier this year, Spiral Knights is a fast-paced co-op MMO experience that is totally free to play, with optional paid items for those who are happy to pay.

Team Fortress 2 [ href="steam://install/11020">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/11020/">View on Steam]

What more can be said about TF2? The sequel to one of the greatest Half-Life mods of all time is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-actionpacked-shooter-games-windows/">now completely free. Capture the flag mayhem we can all enjoy!

TrackMania Nations Forever [ href="steam://install/11020">Install] [ href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/11020/">View on Steam]

Fancy building your own tracks, sharing them with friends then gloating because you’re 10 seconds faster than your friends? I’m going to be bold and call TrackMania Nations Forever href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/muo-games-the-best-free-online-racing-games/">a classic. It’s Scalextric for the broadband generation!

Conclusion

Phew, that’s a lot of free games. Of course there are thousands of titles on the Steam platform, and 99% of them cost real money. On the upside there are always deals on a handful of Steam titles, check out href="http://store.steampowered.com/">the store for this week’s hottest special offers. If you’re looking for top rated games on the Steam platform (usually at pretty good prices) then check out href="http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Metascore&sort_order=DESC&category1=998">this list too.

Any favourite free Steam games from this list? Any paid Steam games you’re passionate about? Let off steam in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/steamaltthumb.jpg" alt="downloading games" />For PC gamers, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/steam-games-management-shop-redesign/">Steam is an incredible boon. Valve’s digital download service has insane deals, offers excellent customer support, an easy-to-use interface, and provides a wonderful selection of games. There is very little to find fault with.

With that said, Steam can’t do everything or provide every game made, so there is room for competitors to survive or in a few cases, thrive. There is also, inevitably, going to be some who don’t like the intrusive nature of Valve’s service – why tie your games to an account if you don’t have to? These three services should help you blow off Steam.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.direct2drive.com/">Direct2Drive

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/steamalt1.jpg" alt="downloading games" width="570" height="356" />

Formerly owned by IGN Entertainment, Direct2Drive is now under the control of Gamefly and operates under the motto “Download Today. Own Forever“. Like all of the Steam alternatives here, Direct2Drive doesn’t offer a community or a client, but tries to make up for by stepping out of the way of gamers.

Direct2Drive tends to focus on major titles from large publishers. That’s not to say they don’t carry indie titles, but it seems that the games most heavily promoted by the site are well-known titles. Although this site is not known for crazy blowout sales, it does offer a limited class="vt-p" href="http://www.direct2drive.com/staticpage.aspx?topic=price_match">price-matching policy.

Downloading games from the service is easy. A proprietary downloader is provided and usually the better option, but you can download games without it. Once you have a game on your computer, you don’t need to log into Direct2Drive to play, although you can obtain your class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/use-licensecrawler-to-recover-your-lost-software-serial-numbers/" target="_blank">software keys and re-download games from the website.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.gamersgate.com/">GamersGate

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/steamalt2.jpg" alt="downloading free games" width="570" height="362" />

At first glance, GamersGate looks and feels a lot like Direct2Drive. The website is a bit busy, and when you make a purchase, you obtain a software key and download using a mini-installer. There’s no set client that must be used to manage or play games.

The main difference between GamersGate and Direct2Drive is the focus. The service is a big proponent of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-great-alternatives-portal-2-finished-playing/" target="_blank">indie games, and while it also sells many popular titles from major publishers, you’ll find that niche games are often on the front page.

I personally wish the website was a bit more organized, but that’s really the only knock I have against the service. GamersGate will likely end up your digital storefront of choice if you’re an indie gamer.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.amazon.com/Game-Downloads/b/ref=sa_menu_gdown9?ie=UTF8&node=979455011" target="_blank">Amazon Game Downloads

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/steamalt3.jpg" alt="downloading games" width="480" height="420" />

If it’s for sale, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/amazanian-amazon-search/">Amazon probably has a couple in stock and will happily let you buy it. That seems to be the rule these days, and that goes for games as well.

Amazon’s game download service has never been well promoted. Indeed, for a time I forgot that it had existed entirely, and it’s certainly easy to miss the store in Amazon’s sprawling site. But it does exist, and it provides a reasonably large selection. If it’s from a major publisher, Amazon probably offers it – and when Steam isn’t having a specific sale on a title, Amazon can often beat Steam’s price. There aren’t many indie games available – for example, the recent indie hits like Terraria and Frozen Synapse aren’t for sale.

As you might expect, Amazon’s not interested in creating its own software client. The titles you purchase from Amazon are simple downloads, and once installed the game will act just as if you’d installed it from a retail disk. The familiarity of the website is an advantage, because you probably already have an account and a credit card registered. That makes buying and downloading a game snappy.

Conclusion

These are far from the only Steam alternatives. class="vt-p" href="http://www.impulsedriven.com/">Impulse is popular because it offers a client with features like automatic updates and community support, but also lets gamers play without the client if they wish. However, I’m a bit leery about Impulse now that it has been sold to Gamestop. The Impulse client also advertises deals on its storefront via desktop pop-ups, which are extremely annoying.

Some of the publishers, like Electronics Arts, have their own digital storefronts. It seems rare that they provide excellent deals, but they do exist and sometimes contain older, less popular games that aren’t found elsewhere.

Let us know in the comments if you have any other favorites which are alternatives to Steam.

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Steam, the ultimate online game platform.

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Steam, the ultimate online game platform.

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New video advertising the new Steam application and release of Half Life 2 for Mac OSX. www.halflife2.net