The first-person shooter Team Fortress 2 came out in 2007, but its active user base and constantly updated content mean it’s never too late to get addicted. Players select a character class from nine options ranging from the flamethrower Pyro to the supportive Medic. You’ll do battle in teams of two in traditional gameplay modes, such as Capture the Flag and King of The Hill. One of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, League of Legends places players in the role of “summoners,” who send “champions” into battle on the Fields of Justice maps. Competing in teams of three or five, champions are tasked with destroying the opposing champions’ Nexus fortress. Not only will champions clash in battle, but each Nexus is defended by turrets, minions and monsters. This free-to-play, collectible-card game has more than 40 million registered users and is as addictive as it is simplistic. Featuring characters from the popular World of Warcraft series, Hearthstone offers five gameplay modes, including matchmaker-arranged rounds against similarly experienced players. Other modes include player-versus-computer adventures and duels, where you can play against your friends. Developer Blizzard managed to make lightning strike twice with this sequel to one of the most beloved PC games of all time, adding better matchmaking and new units to the already addictive real-time-strategy-focused franchise. Divided among three stand-alone chapters, StarCraft II gives equal time to its three playable species. Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm focus on Terran Jim Raynor and Zerg Sarah Kerrigan’s respective quests for revenge against the tyrannical Dominion. In Legacy of the Void, Protoss leader Artanis discovers an enemy against which all three races must unite. Tomb Raider gives the treasure-hunting franchise the reboot it sorely needed, bringing Lara Croft to the 21st century with serious character development and gorgeous visuals. This gripping action-adventure game presents the tale of Lara’s first escapade, avoiding captors after crash-landing on a mysterious island. Shadow of Mordor places you in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels and in the boots of a Ranger named Talion, who is out for revenge. You’ll have to slay orc after orc, but these enemies are given character through the game’s innovative Nemesis system. Each orc has a randomly generated name, personality, voice and — most important — set of skills and weaknesses. Platform gaming may be synonymous with blocky 8-bit graphics, but the beautiful hand-drawn visuals of Rayman Origins breathe fresh life into the genre. This Game of the Year nominee stars the titular, limbless Rayman, who has made the mistake of snoring loud enough to agitate the creatures from the Land of the Living Dead. Rayman Origins supports local co-op play for up to four gamers. BioShock: Infinite places you in the cloud city of Columbia as former U.S. Cavalryman Booker DeWitt. In this first-person shooter, your quest to end corruption revolves around the rescue of Elizabeth, a lifelong prisoner of the city. Elizabeth is one of the most helpful AIs we’ve seen in a game, actively procuring ammo for Booker and tearing open gateways to alternate realities. Manny Calavera is the travel agent of death, but when a wrongly judged soul arrives in the Land of the Dead, it’s up to him to right this wrong. A re-release of the 1998 puzzle-adventure classic, Grim Fandango Remastered features improved character graphics, a new score and a director’s commentary track. A story of lost love and personal growth, Braid puts you in control of Tim, whose quest to save a princess from a monster is a cover for a deeper narrative. You’ll be faced with increasingly difficult puzzles that require you to manipulate time, fast-forwarding and rewinding the world around you. The game takes place over six worlds, each of which requires you to master a different reality-altering trick. As mankind begins to enhance itself with technology, former SWAT commander Adam Jensen is forced to undergo cybernetic augmentation. Players will utilize Jensen’s new abilities in stealth, combat and hacking gameplay modes to unravel a global conspiracy. The role-playing game offers a mix of first and third-person vantage points to give you both useful and utilitarian views. A puzzler that the whole family can get into, Broken Age is a point-and-click adventure title with an all-star cast and gorgeous hand-drawn visuals. The game tells the tale of teens Vella (voiced by Masasa Moyo) and Shay (voiced by Elijah Wood) who have been put into difficult situations by their communities and seem destined to collide. Players switch characters throughout the game. This first-person exploration title puts you in the shoes of Kaitlin Greenbriar, who has just returned home from overseas to discover that nobody is waiting for her. From unlocking the front door to solving the mystery of what’s happened to her family, Gone Home takes users on a slowly building adventure through the house. You’ll unlock doors and voice-over narration clips by finding mementos. Child-soldier-turned-cyborg-ninja Raiden takes center stage in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Armed with a series of blades, you’ll chain together hacks and slashes to defeat the Desperado private military company in this action game. Unlike other installments in the Metal Gear Solid series, Revengeance’s gameplay revolves around actively engaging enemies in combat, instead of sneaking through bases. Civilization V looks to appeal to both die-hard fans of Sid Meier’s civilization-building franchise and new would-be world rulers. Though similar to previous editions, this newest installment features a hexagonal-based gameplay grid, which is an upgrade from the square tiles from earlier chapters, increasing the game’s complexity. Survival game This War of Mine gives gamers control of a pack of civilians struggling to survive life during wartime. Your civilian characters have no military training, and will rely on skills acquired before the war, such as cooking and repairing household items. There is no victory; the goal is to survive until a ceasefire. Her Story gives players of this full motion video (FMV) game the challenge of solving a missing-person case, armed only with a searchable database of live action video footage. By listening and paying close attention to the testimony of a woman named Hannah Smith, you’ll figure out what to search for to discover the truth behind her husband Simon’s disappearance. As XCOM commander, you lead the last rebel forces on Earth in raids against the Advent, an alien race who conquered humanity. This gripping, engaging strategy game develops its characters so well that you may feel an emotional pain for each comrade lost in battle. You won’t get bored of the game’s visuals, as its randomly generated levels offer something different every single time. The noir tale of Don’t Starve places you in the unfortunate shoes of Wilson, a scientist who has been transported to a bizarre wilderness by a demonic gentleman. To avoid starvation and survive the elements, you’ll need to craft tools from raw elements like rocks, twigs and flint in this action-adventure. This never-ending race against time is quite frustrating to lose, as the price of death is the loss of all of your progress. Fans of Tim Burton will love Don’t Starve’s stark aesthetic. And what could be more rewarding than surviving an incredibly difficult game? Lauded for its gripping storytelling and strong character development, The Walking Dead: Season 1 leads you through five chapters of jump-scares and split-second gameplay decisions. Fans of the popular TV series will be excited to meet Glenn before he went to Atlanta, and to explore Hershel’s farm back when it was still standing. An addictive and difficult 8-bit-style, 2D side scroller, Shovel Knight tells the story of a noble warrior fighting to save a princess from an evil captor. While the game may not have the most original plot, its varied gameplay may get you to live by the code of Shovelry: “Slash Mercilessly and Dig Tirelessly!” Mac owners can join the fun in one of the most popular online PC games in the world, playing against PC and Linux users in the war simulation Counter-Strike Global Offensive. This first-person shooter focuses on updating the game’s graphics and adding new maps to the Arms Race and Demolition game modes. Makoto Naegi entered Hope’s Peak Academy as the Ultimate Lucky Student, but his good fortune ran out when a bloodthirsty teddy bear named Monokuma took his entire class hostage. The captor in this largely text-based adventure game releases only students who can murder one of their classmates and get away with it. As the students are picked off one by one, you’ll investigate their deaths and Monokuma’s identity. Mix Risk with The Walking Dead, and you have the pandemic-creation sim Plague Inc: Evolved. You’ll select from 10 types of diseases, including a realistic bacterial infection, a zombie outbreak and a fungal worm disease that uses mind control to enslave humans. You’ll have to work hard to craft a properly virulent plague in this strategy sim while civilization does its best to develop a cure. Papers, Please gives you the emotionally draining responsibility of an immigration inspector working at the border of the fictitious country of Arstotzka. You’ll compare documents against records and interrogate applicants to make the best decisions for national security. You’ll be faced with bribes in this oddly addictive, retro-looking strategy game, but it’s up to you to admit, deny or arrest.
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