When it comes to gaming, the PC beats any console hands-down. We've put together a list of 32 must-have PC games.
20: Fallout 2
Where the original Fallout created a post-apocalyptic world that practically bled style, Fallout 2 opened that world up into an extravagant, non-linear RPG. Packed to bursting with Easter eggs, pop culture references, and plain old great gameplay, it proved what a developer could do with humour, mature content, and a universe of conspiracy and mayhem to draw from. In a little less than a month, Bethesda is bringing us back to the world of the Vaults with Fallout 3, and we can't wait to see how it shapes up. Until that time comes, though, Fallout 2 will stay on our playlists. This is one damn fine game.
19: Supreme Commander
The biggest maps in the genre. And the biggest units. And the biggest explosions. And that fact that, when you get right down to it, it's basically a really big version of Total Annihilation. Supreme Commander is just plain big, and that size extends to everything, from the monitors you'll want to buy to play it (big) to the graphics card you'll need to make it shine (also big). Not that we mind, of course. We're computer gamers, after all, and we like to think big. That's probably why we like Supreme Commander so darned much.
18: TIE Fighter
As the recent release of The Force Unleashed can attest, Star Wars is freaking amazing. To be more precise, Star Wars' Expanded Universe is the best. And the Empire, being Imperial, is patently über. So when you combine the Star Wars Expanded Universe with the Empire, and then add in Grand Admiral Thrawn, TIE Defenders, and a massive, seven-act campaign, you get a game that has, unsurprisingly, topped best-of charts for years. It wasn't the original space combat simulator, and it wasn't the last, but it ranks among the best of the best.
17: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
It started out as a great game, but its expansions have turned it into a phenomenal one. Dawn of War took one of the best sci-fi universes in geekdom and transplanted it from the tabletop to the desktop, rendering the tumultuous battles of Warhammer 40K in all their imagined brilliance, right on your monitor. Relic didn't stop at that, though; they introduced new gameplay features like squad reinforcements and the control point system, let you paint your own armies, and even gave melee infantry fatalities, letting them execute downed opponents with flair. Feel free to let the hammer fall: This is what war is all about.
NEXT PAGE: Battlefield 2 and The Longest Journey
- The games no PC owner should be without
- Grim Fandango and Deus Ex
- Indigo Prophecy and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
- Fallout 2 and Supreme Commander
- Battlefield 2 and The Longest Journey
- Sins of a Solar Empire and Diablo II
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Starcraft
- Our must-have PC game
Comments
John Mackie said: THE SIMS 2 IS FUNNY LOLO
amiga said: Im happy to be without 95 of the games in that list
Si said: World of Warcraft at No1 and no Call of Duty Grand Theft Auto or footy sims Whats wrong with you people
gamer said: World of warcraft number 1 WTF you have got to be kidding me right
Blufox said: 32 best pc games of what Computer games history I think not I would like to now the criteria is been used to choose this list because there is a lot to disagree
Gavin said: For starters you have Crysis finishing above Half Life and Deus Ex Crysis may have looked nice but the gameplay was very averageWould have been better if backed up by actual sales figuresetc
Dragon said: This list has to be posted by a male I am not a warmonger nor a shootemup fan Apart from Peggle I wouldnt touch most of these with a 10 foot bargepoleDream Chronicles 2 tho not 1 amp Magic Encyclopaedia are good and make you use your brainsI did buy the Warhammer game for my grandson whose 2nd home is the Game Workshop Not my cup of tea at all
gooner said: Did your reviewer start gaming in 2004 - where is DOOM or even DUKE NUKEM