PC GAMES FOR $30 OR LESS
The Walking Dead
When the dead attack the living,
there are no easy choices
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Surviving is one thing, but living with yourself is another in Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead. Its survivors skirt around the comic and television series, telling a new story of the zombie apocalypse come to Georgia. A smattering of adventure game puzzles and action segments bow to its adaptive narrative—this game is all about making choices. Characters live and die by your words and actions; who appears and what happens in each episode depends on who you help and who you forsake. It’s up to you to decide what’s most important, but remember, a little girl is watching and learning about how to live in the new world.
Payday 2
Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Overkill Software
A good heist needs a bit of planning, plenty of communication, and a touch of intimidation to end with duffel bags full of cash. A bad heist just needs ample ammunition and body bags to clean up the mess. Robbing a well-secured institution involves many moving parts—not just squirming hostages. Keep in mind that Payday 2’s extended scenarios track your performance over multi-mission arcs, rewarding your team for precision strikes with less police interference, friendlier criminal cohorts, and more cash.
Kerbal Space
Publisher: Squad
Developer: Squad
Ever looked at a space shuttle and thought, “I could do better?” Well, it’s time to put your rocket science where your mouth is, buddy, because Kerbal Space Program is all about putting adorable little green dudes on the moon. Or at least in orbit. Or at least somewhere above the... oh, nope, they just crashed into a plume of fire and broken dreams again. KSP is goofy and challenging; chances are, you’ll fail dozens of times before finally building a space-worthy rocket. But that doesn’t mean you won’t feel like Neil Armstrong and Elon Musk rolled into one when your Kerbal crew leaves its first boot prints on an alien world.
GAMES FOR $20 OR LESS
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Publisher: Frictional Games
Developr: Frictional Games
There are jump scares, and then there are dark, quiet horrors that tie stomachs in knots and submerge their sufferers in nauseating suspense. Amnesia: The Dark Descent generally
goes for the latter. Despite inspiring a renaissance of firstperson horror, Amnesia’s penchant for producing boundless dread remains unmatched. Players must balance physical health, mental fortitude, and all-important lantern oil as they explore a dingy castle full of unsettling sights and freakish monsters. Fighting its native horrors is out of the question, so you’d better keep an eye on the nearest closet or dark corner to hide in... and hope you’re alone in there.
Counter-Strike:Global Offensive
Publisher: Valve
Developer: Valve
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive doesn’t fix what isn’t broken. The original CS helped propel competitive PC gaming to its industry-defining state today, so a graphical overhaul, a few
equipment tweaks, and some new modes are more than enough to modernize the lethal classic. Veterans of de_dust and bomb-defusing neophytes alike can find a lot to love in this
update. Classic modes like hostage rescue and bomb defusal remain intact, but an official Gun Game mode (called Arms Race here) should be enough to get anybody on board. Don’t let the terrorists win. Unless you spawn as a terrorist.
Mark of the Ninja
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Klei Entertainment
When a guard sees his partner strung up from a chandelier just in time for the lights to go out and 180 pounds of ninja to land on his chest, you begin to wonder why stealth sucks so much in every other game. Mark of the Ninja takes the simple act of sneaking around in a 2D environment and builds, polishes, and simplifies until it’s more or less a lifestyle choice.
You don’t have to stay quiet in Mark of the Ninja if its gratuitous combat beckons, but you seldom need to bloody your blade if you prefer wearing the shadows. Whichever path you decide to take, a generous checkpoint system and ample replayability means each scenario can (and should) play out a dozen ways. This is easily one of the best ninja games ever made.
Rogue Legacy
Publisher: Cellar Door Games
Developer: Cellar Door Games
In this brilliant fusion of lethal Castlevania-inspired exploration and persistent RPG advancement, you can get rich and die trying. Every hero that delves into Rogue Legacy’s sidescrolling dungeons will find a treacherous new layout to map and plunder. But death is just an intermission: you can begin again as one of your character’s descendants, who benefits from all the cash, equipment, and abilities his or her forebears found and
purchased. Each descendant has a distinct class and genetic quirks like color blindness or gigantism, so getting to know your new character is almost as fun as exploring the ever-changing environment.
Metro 2033
Publisher: THQ / Deep Silver
Developer: 4A Games
You need to do a few things to survive in the tunnels under Moscow: scavenge everywhere and everything, always keep a few gas mask filters on hand, and try to save the good bullets for special occasions. Metro 2033’s wrecked tunnels and brief, terrifying surface interludes make a unique setting for a grim first-person shooter. Its story of tenuous survival in a nuclear winter (which destroyed the surface world and produced scads of
deadly mutants) is based on a Russian novel, but this ain’t no Tolstoy.
Teleglitch
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: T3P
Teleglitch looks like Doom fan fiction. Instead of a first-person romp through a moon base, it’s a tense top-down shooter with scarce ammunition and plentiful enemies. Fortunately, your lone survivor is clever, and junk like tin cans and nails can be crafted into deadly weapons. Teleglitch’s randomly generated environments are pixelated, but subtle
perspective shifts and distortion create a surreal sense of motion. Mind your woeful line of sight and you just might make it to the exit.
The Witcher 2:Enhanced Edition
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: CD Projekt Red
The Witcher series has a complex story with many significant characters and compounding player choices. But main character Geralt of Rivia is an amnesiac, anyway, so it’s not like
anybody can expect you to remember them if you didn’t play the first game. You, on the other hand, will remember The Witcher 2’s intricate towns, deep plotlines, and intense,
fight-for-your-life battles. You’ll also remember how good it is to be a PC gamer when you get all this for just shy of $20.
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