One of the complaints we as Mac users hear most from our Windows-touting companions is that Macs are no good for playing games above the complexity of Angry Birds. They say that if you enjoy games, Windows is your only choice. While this may have been a valid argument in the previous decade, it doesn’t hold up nowadays.
With the increasing popularity of Macs as well as the addition of the Mac App Store, large games developers are noticing the platform and putting more effort into making their games available to us. In this post I’ll show you some of the awesome, if slightly brutal, games that are available for our beloved Macs.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Its hard these days to talk about video games and not hear the title COD pop up somewhere. Call of Duty Modern Warfare was the title that set the ball rolling for the franchise; breaking sales records and scoring exceptional reviews. The next in the Modern Warfare line certainly didn’t disappoint (me at least) and while COD3 is out in the wild as well, many consider MW to be superior.
Even if the fantastic single player campaign is considered a little short, the multiplayer is where MW really shines. With plenty of maps and almost endless potential playing time, except for the very dedicated, the game provides hours and hours of fun and violent gameplay. This is the game that really set the franchise going, and it’s hard not to consider it as one of the best first-person shooters of all time, although perhaps a little steeply price for a game that’s a few years old.
Price: $39.99
Developer: Ported by Aspyr, made by Activision
Requirements: OS X 10.6.6 or later
Assassin’s Creed II
In Assassin’s Creed II you play Enzio, an assassin in the 15th century Renaissance period in Italy. With his family murdered and no stranger to violence, you’re gameplay is riddled with stabbings, pushing people off buildings and countless other ways to, sometimes brutally, defend yourself.
The game is an ‘open world’ game, meaning you can roam around the place doing parkour and if you so wish you can for the most part avoid most of the violence – but who does that anyways? As a fresh approach to modern gaming and with a great storyline, Assassin’s Creed II for Mac is certainly a game to look out for.
Price: $24.99
Developer: Ubisoft
Requirements: OS X 10.6.6 or later
Left 4 Dead 2 (Steam)
This gory cooperative first-person shooter is the sequel to the award-winning Left 4 Dead, set in a zombie apocalypse in the deep south of the US. Playing as one of four survivors of this hell you are set with fighting these spectacularly disgusting creatures with a wide selection of improvised weapons, ranging from chainsaws to frying pans.
The gameplay is naturally very violent but great fun and the campaigns are challenging. Despite being a few years old its still just as enjoyable and not hard to see how it picked up several awards.
Price: $19.99
Developer: Valve
Requirements: OS X 10.6.4 or later
Killing Floor (Steam)
On a similar streak to L4D2 this is a survival game, although set in England where a series of military experiments have gone terribly wrong, leaving behind zombie-esque monsters of the non-friendly kind.
With very little of the population left, you and your 5 other survivors are tasked with killing all creatures you come across, which start off easy and progress to more challenging opponents with chainsaws for arms and large beasts. If relentless killing is your thing then Killing Floor may well be for you and while I found it to be slightly less fun than L4D2, it is still action packed and full of tweaks to personalise the gameplay to your liking. And of course the multiplayer mode is a blast.
Price: $14.99
Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Requirements: OS X 10.5.8 or later
BioShock 2
Set ten years after the original, you are plunged into the underwater city of Rapture, where your little sister has been taken capture. As her big daddy, you must protect her against all the perils that face her. Gameplay is an improvement over the original and the way you can upgrade your weapons gives a real sense of progression through the game. The online multiplayer mode can also be pretty fun and is worth checking out.
While I’ve seen better graphics on a Mac game, there are still some great visuals and the sound design is also chillingly well done. A recommendation for those who want a change from the normal first-person shooters of today.
Price: $24.99
Developer: Feral Interactive
Requirements: OS X 10.7.2 or later
Rage: Campaign Edition
After an asteroid collides with earth and leaves behind a vast wasteland with little life left. As one of survivors you have to struggle against mutants, gangs of bandits and the new evil government as humanity tries to rebuild itself.
Weapons are decent, and like several of the other games here you have the ability to use unconventional weapons. Rage is not the best game in the list, and being the campaign mode it lacks the multiplayer mode. Despite this it’s still good to play and while it may lack depth the visuals are pretty strong and it can still be enjoyable to have a fairly open ground to play with.
Price: $29.99
Developer: Ported by Aspyr, developed by id Software
Requirements: OS X 10.7.2 or later
GTA San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto has made a huge name for itself as being a game of intense violence and a seemingly never-ending gameplay with many side missions and tasks to complete. In this game you play Carl Johnson who has been framed for homicide and a whole journey lies ahead of him.
One of GTA’s greatest aspects is that you don’t even have to play the missions. You can have hours of fun just roaming the streets murdering innocent civilians or finding the hidden jumps. However the game really comes to life once you complete missions and unlock new islands and make more enemies. In all this is a game that you can play how you want and still have a great time.
Price: $14.99
Developer: Rockstar Games
Requirements: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Doom 3
Doom was one of the first FPS games and certainly put the genre on the map. While the fifth iteration of Doom is still fairly old itself, dating back to 2004, this game is still very playable and will bring back a nostalgic feeling to those who remember the times before Call of Duty or Crysis.While some may struggle with to cope with the rather last-generation graphics, if you can get past that then you’ll be sure to enjoy the game.
Continuing on the original franchise of Doom, this game takes place on Mars in the year 2145 where a military experiment accidentally opens up a gateway to hell releasing demons to the planet. The game, while similar to the original in many ways, is fantastic to play with my only real criticism being that the constant darkness can get a little frustrating. Nonetheless it’s a part of a classic and highly recommended to all.
Price: $9.99
Developer: Ported by Aspyr, developed by id Software
Requirements: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Prey
This is a game about Tommy, a garage mechanic who ends up abducted by a spaceship along with the rest of his people and he must save earth from these extraterrestrial beings. If you enjoyed Portal (and let’s be honest, who didn’t?) then you will likely get pleasure out of playing Prey. It’s not the typical shooter, instead it’s full of creative puzzles with anti-gravity among other tricks.
Something else that is special for Prey is that despite you’re scepticism you inherit ancient native powers; as a result when you die, rather than returning to a checkpoint, you are sent into the spirit world where you much regain your health by killing these ghost-like creatures. It’s a very interesting twist and refreshing to see a change from the repetitive FPS games.
Price: $14.99
Developer: Ported by Aspyr, developed by Take-Two Interactive Software
Requirements: OS X 10.6.6 or later
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem: the game you waited for forever. Due to the impossible shadow overcast by its predecessor, even if the game hadn’t taken 14 years to make, it would have likely always been a let down. Unfortunately that’s what the last game in our list is; a disappointment. The graphics are PlayStation 2 quality despite being released in 2011 and the level designs are mediocre t best.
However that’s not to say you should cast it aside immediately as there are some fun parts to Duke Nukem Forever. Action scenes are pretty wild and you can go on great rampages through the game. Overall the best you’re likely to get out of this is it being one of those games you can whip out when bored and want to just have some fun – it’s not likely to be something you’ll get hooked on.
Price: $19.99
Developer: Aspyr
Requirements: OS X 10.6.4 or later
Conclusion
Now that you’ve had a look at these games, we hope you have seen some games you like. As always game preference is very subjective, and while first-person shooters like Call of Duty may be one person’s ideal game, running around a city killing civilians and jumping over bridges in cars (all in gameplay, I should add) could be someone else’s cup of tea. So if you have any more favourites please feel free to let us know in the comments and share it with the world.