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PC GAMES FROM 2009 TO 2011

Picture Title Genre Description Where To Buy
Ahhh AaaaaAAaaaAAAaa AAAAaAAAAA! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity Sports It's like skydiving through an acid trip. Steam
Alpha Protocol box art Alpha Protocol RPG / TPS A spy-fi RPG from Obsidian. Interesting plot with a metric fucktonne of choices that have consequences beyond minor details (number of enemies on a mission, different mission objectives). Conversations can be funny as hell as well, but are done through an ingenious/frustrating timed paraphrasing system. Combat is, unfortunately, poorly made with a few glitches here and there (but that's just Obsidian). Other than that the game is free of any game-breaking or game-stopping bugs. Steam
Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent-Cover-Art Amnesia: The Dark Descent First person survival horror The next game from Frictional Games, makers of the Penumbra series. For those that haven't played Penumbra, this is a first-person adventure game with a survival horror theme, making excellent use of light and dark, as well as atmosphere and foreshadowing. If you overthink it, it'll lose some of its appeal, so just relax, get immersed, and prepare your anus. WARNING: May cause anxiety attack causing nightmares in girlfriends/wives/significant others whose anuses are not ready. GOG
Battlefield Bad Company 2 Battlefield Bad Company 2 FPS More Infantry-focused installment in the Battlefield Series. Still needs some new maps and some weapon balancing, which will hopefully delivered with the next patch(es). Also known as «Funfield: Pretty Awesome 2». Brace for broken server browser and tons of useless snipers.One of the best games to play with some bros, many adventures to be had. Steam
Bhu Beat Hazard Ultra Rhythm Shmup Basically, a Geometry Wars/Asteroids clone, which makes levels out of your music tracks and repeateadly rapes your eyes until you eyegasm and become mindless seizing vegetable, which leaks saliva and breaks into convulsions. Yes, it's OBVIOUSLY not recommended for people who are photosensitive. Also, hard, at least, where music of my tastes is concerned. Try perfect playing lastendconductor on Tough difficulty with visual intensity on 200%. Now that's what I call "challenge". Steam
BeforeTheEcho Before The Echo Rhythm / RPG Instead of selecting commands, in this RPG you fight battles with DDR, played to various songs by Ronald Jenkees and Michael Wade Hamilton. There's three tracks of arrows to switch between, the most important being the one that keeps enemy attacks from damaging you. The other two tracks are for building up mana and casting spells. You've got to hit the enemy with enough spells to deplete their HP before either you get killed or the song ends.

Game was originally called "Sequence", but was changed.

Steam
Braid cover Braid Puzzle / platformer Use some very well-done time manipulation powers to save the princess. Or maybe it's a girlfriend. Or candy. Or the atomic bomb. Don't pay attention to the story, just pay attention to the myriad time-powers (and the ending is pretty good too). Steam
Bulletstorm PC cover Bulletstorm FPS A spec ops team goes rogue after finding the "criminals" and "terrorists" they eliminated were innocent enemies of the oppressive government. On the run from their former commander, they end up in a planet full of blood-thirsty mutants. From the creators of Painkiller, this is a sort of anti-Cawadoody: it trades any semblance of realism for some ludicrously fast-paced, over-the-top ultraviolence. You are rewarded for killing with style, such as tossing enemies down the abyss or against exposed electric wiring. It's rather linear, but still, a pretty fucking fun ride.

Too bad it ends with a cliffhanger and it sold too poorly to ever get a sequel. Also, there was a "remaster" from those retards at Gearbox that cost full price for essentially zero improvements. Fuck it, just pirate this game.

Steam
Cargo Cargo! The Quest for Gravity Experimental The most superficially conventional of Ice-Pick Lodge's games, in which you create and pilot a variety of vehicles in your quest to appease an audience of malformed infants. Essentially an interactive dissertation on the arbitrary necessity of fun in games that starts in surreality and grows increasingly abstract. Steam
Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Roguelike / Survival Horror A skill-based roguelike happening right after the zombie apocalypse, with a dash of Fallout. Lots of character and (eventually) vehicle customization. Item crafting is extensive and basically required.The learning curve is made of dying, and as such, you will die a lot. Survive long enough, and you will be rewarded with great endgame content.
Actually a fork of the original Cataclysm, which was abandoned by its creator.
Protip: If you like shotguns or loud vehicles, use Static Spawn.
Wiki
You will need GitHub to download the latest nightly build.
Costume Costume Quest Adventure / RPG Note: Best played around Halloween. You play as a kid trying to rescue your sibling kidnapped by troll-like monsters. However, this game has a nostalgic childhood-like feel to it. The dialogue, the attitudes, along with the general humor and plot can really take you back. In dealing with obstacles, you find, build, and use costumes and their abilities to proceed, such as a light-up toy sword to scare away darkness phantoms. The battles are a little simple, but play well enough and are rather cute and silly, being hilariously exaggerated through imagination. The game is a little short, but the DLC expansion chapter (which is included with the PC version) rounds it out nicely. Steam
Dawn of Discovery PC cover Dawn of Discovery Sim, RTS Also known as Anno 1404 outside the US. An RTS set in the early 1400s, good for anyone who enjoys the building aspect of RTS games. Build your own city from scratch, progress socially, and get more and better stuff to build. The whole game is played out on islands, leading to competition over resource-rich islands. Combat is less ZERG RUSH and more focused on territorial expansion and economic disruption. Watch out, it's super-easy to get locked into over three hour long campaigns while playing. Steam
13053 Dead Rising 2 Action / Adventure / Horror A sequel to the original Dead Rising presently set in the fictional Fortune City which has been modeled after Las Vegas, Nevada. Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion, serves as the protagonist instead of journalist Frank West. This latest installment includes co-op, a satirical multiplayer mode and a dramatically increased number of zombies based roughly around 7,000 according to Joystiq. An exclusive downloadable episode was released a few weeks before this, set three years before the game. Steam (Original)
Steam (Rehash)
Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Pc Deus Ex: Human Revolution FPS / RPG Prequel to the first Deus Ex. Everything you could ask for is in it. FPS/RPG action, multiple ways to complete and objective, hacking, stealthing, conspiracy theories, take downs, incredible detail, "I never asked for this." Slightly more linear then the original, but definitely worthy of the title "Deus Ex" unlike a certain Invisible War. Steam
DinsCurse54 Din's Curse RPG If you enjoyed Diablo/Diablo II, you'll love this game. A dungeon crawler with randomly generated towns, dungeons, NPCs and quests. Skill trees, hybrid classing, stats, all the good stuff. Also features co-operative LAN and online play with NO PLAYER LIMIT AT ALL. Yes, this is a game from 2010 and yes the graphics are fucking shit. PLAY IT. Steam
Dirt2packshotfull DiRT 2 Racing Possibly the best looking racing game in recent years (or of all time for that matter), mainly thanks to the brilliant use of DX 11. Like all racing games, you're better off getting a controller or wheel, as using the keyboard will cripple your hand.
Divinity 2 Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga Action RPG After a year of bugfixing and polishing, Larian Studios' RPG Ego Draconis re-emerged as The Dragon Knight Saga, a bundle which also contains the expansion, Flames of Vengeance. While the combat is fairly shallow, the art direction and quests are very well-done. Roleplaying takes place through BGII-esque conversations (with mindreading available at an XP cost) and the open-ended skill system.Also notable because halfway through the game, the player gets the ability to turn into a dragon and take to the skies. On the Gamebryo engine, but free of Bethesda's bad coding. Very reminiscent of older RPGs, and also rather unforgiving. Save often. 'Also available on 360.' GOG
Steam
Dragon-Age-Origins-pc-cover Dragon Age: Origins RPG Bioware's purported return to classic WRPGs, Dragon Age: Origins plays like a simpler version of Neverwinter Nights. Trading round-based combat for full real time, but maintaining the tactical elements if not quite the same depth, the game takes a serious, unpleasant world and gives the player a rather good illusion of choice, through morally gray dialogue and multiple origin stories to play through. Even if it doesn't quite live up to the nostalgia of older games, Dragon Age: Origins is enjoyable, both for its gameplay and for its interactive storytelling. The only downsides are the 'plasticy' and somewhat unfocused art style, the lore which doesn't quite seem to hit its mark, and the tendency of combat sections to get somewhat long, especially in the Fade and the Deep Roads. GOG
Empire Cover US small Empire: Total War Strategy Empire Total War is a mixture of Real Time Strategy and Turn Based Strategy. In campaign mode, you play as one of 13 or so major nations starting at the year 1700. From there you manage economy, build improvements, be diplomatic, and attack people. When you attack, it switches to a RTS, with the troops you have at your disposal. Unfortunately, it's plagued with a shit load of bugs, even after The Creative Assembly released THREE goddamn patches. Interesting game, but don't start here, go for Medieval, or Rome first. Tip: Don't buy it as a single game but rather in the bundle with napoleon total war for the same price. Steam
FNV box art (US) Fallout: New Vegas RPG / FPS Take Fallout 3, connect it to old Fallout canon in a meaningful way, add a faction reputation system, fully realized companions, and a level of content more reminiscent of Oblivion than Fallout 3. Made by Obsidian with the engine from Bethesda, New Vegas takes you into the Mojave Desert and lets you kick around in a sandbox full of infuriatingly powerful insects. Considered by Fallout fans to be more of a true Fallout game, the potential for roleplaying (and for acting like a moron when you give yourself 1 Intelligence) is greater, though the game can be quite buggy for some people. The Ultimate Edition adds in all of the DLC, which are all at least above average and worth a playthrough.. Also available on PS3 and 360. GOG
Ghostbusters PC cover Ghostbusters TPS The year is 1993, and New York is being assaulted by the supernatural again. The Ghostbusters need a helping hand, and that's where you come in, rookie! This is essentially the third movie, with all the original cast and writing team. Often mentioned as the best game based on this franchise (although the Mega Drive one is also pretty damn good). A downside of the PC port is that it lacks multiplayer, if you really need that get the Xbox 360 version instead.

Removed from Steam to make way for the horrible tie-in to the horrible reboot movie, so feel free to pirate.

Jamestown Legend of the Lost Colony Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony Shmup The year is 1619, and England and Spain are at war for the colonies on planet Mars. Great indie steampunk-ish bullet hell, clearly inspired by Cave's arcades. Lush pixel art and epic orchestral soundtrack. Steam
Killing-floor-20090320110707120 640w Killing Floor FPS / Survival Horror Co-op zombie killing. Originally a free Unreal Tournament 2004 mod, until someone put a price tag on it. It's a nice alternative to Left 4 Dead. It has more zombie types, and only a few of them are the runner kind. Has classes which get various bonuses and can be leveled up in various ways. It also has hilarious British accents, and the game would be worth buying just for that. LOADS A MONAY! Steam
King's bounty armored princess King's Bounty: Armored Princess RPG / Strategy The sequel to King's Bounty: The Legend. Overwhelmingly similar to its predecessor, Armored Princess continues the cheeky yet fun story of KB and improves a few mechanics. Both of these games are great and definately worth purchasing - both are fun and will challenge you to overcome strategic shortcomings in your army builds. Steam
1769 LEGO Harry Potter years 1-4 + 5-7 Adventure It's LEGO combined with Harry Potter, what the hell do you want more? Play as 90+ characters, solve puzzles, cast spells and watch hilarious cinematics. Even if you aren't a Potter fan, know that this is the best LEGO game yet, so its always highly recommendable. First game covers 1-4 and a second game goes through 5-7, so that's always a plus since previous potter games after Prisoner of Azkaban went to hell, culminating on the dreadful gears of Potter games.

On all current gen consoles but but the PC is arguably better since it has nicer visuals and its always easier to play LEGO games with the keyboard. Just avoid the handheld versions, they're lame ports

GOG (Year 1-4)

GOG (Year 5-7)

LEGO Star Wars - The Complete Saga PC LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Adventure An updated re-release of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy which combines them into one game.

There are 120+ characters, hilarious cutscenes, fun gameplay and puzzles, and just plain good. Easily the one LEGO Adaptation Game that started it all and arguably the best.

Steam
Left4dead2cover Left 4 Dead 2 FPS Despite being released just a year after the original, this is a damn fine game to sit down and play with your friends either online, or couch-session. Great graphics, nice additions to the gun list, and new zombies. If you played on Advanced on the first game, expect to get kicked back down to Normal. This game is harder than the first. Feels incomplete, due to the fucking retarded Survivor AI and bugs. Is a glorified expansion, with less fun. Steam
Mass Effect 2 PC-cover Mass Effect 2 TPS / RPG The continuation of the Mass Effect story, this game changed a number of things from the original, and the debate over which is better still rages. It leans more toward the shooter side, playing much more like [insert cover shooter here], and the customization options were drastically cut down. On the other hand, the gameplay is much more polished, different weapons have noticeably different feels, and characters look more 'iconic'. The story changes from a sweeping space opera to a somewhat disconnected character study. The action is bigger and more dramatic, but gone are things like planetary exploration, dialogue skills and hybrid regen shields/healthpack health (it's all regen now). Seems to draw more inspiration from gritty 90's/00's sci-fi than the classic sci-fi of the original. But if you liked the first one (or even if you didn't like it but think you'd like this one more) it's worth it to try regardless; you might like it more, you might not, and you won't know until you try.Also available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Steam
Men of war frontcover large aNEAx0hTw2scgdx Men of War RTS A realistic RTS where you control various armies during world war 2, you can take control of a single person or vehicle and control it using your mouse and arrow keys allowing you to make head shots on enemy soldiers or blow up the tracks on an enemy tank. AI is a little shitty but if you put them in cover they will defend themselves quite well. Has great multiplayer with various game modes.Definition of one man army. Steam
Mirrors Edge box PC Mirror's Edge Platforming / Parkour / First Person Shooter First person action/platformer focused on parkour. If you can get a hang of the controls and keep your cool whenever you mess up, it can be an amazing experience. Almost hospital-like sterile graphics (motherfucking 3 colours, but done with CLASS) and the big city atmoshpere make it absolutely a must-have if you're searching kind of gamer. Playing on max graphical settings is recommended, as it literally becomes "Make-your-wallpaper: The Game". You can make a beautiful wallpaper for desktop from almost every single screenshot. Not for the ADD gamer. Beautiful music. Also on 360 and PS3. Origin
GOG
OrcsMustDie Orcs Must Die! Tower Defense Inspired by the Deception series from the PSX days but with a more humorous tone, you control the War Mage, who is a total dick, and must defend a series of portals from hordes of orcs by setting various traps around the place. Unlike in Deception your character isn't defenseless, and can deliver the beating himself if needed be. Steam
Overlord2 box Overlord II Action / Adventure / Strategy A well-made sequel featuring the son of the previous Overlord that improves on every aspect of the first game. The graphics and animation look more detailed, the combat is more balanced and there's all kinds of new things to discover. Minions can now use mounts and you have to manage your influence over the towns you have taken over. Rather than being good or evil (who'd want to be good in a game about evil anyway), you can be a conqueror or a destroyer. Steam
Payday1 PAYDAY: The Heist Co-op FPS Pretty much Left 4 Dead except with 100% more robbery. Level variety, large "skill" tree, and hilarious voice-acting make this an overall pretty good game. Steam
Plantsvszombies Plants Vs. Zombies Casual Tower Defense A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home, and your only defense is an arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants. Use peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to mulchify 26 types of zombies before they can reach your front door. Each zombie has its own special skills, so you’ll need to think fast and plant faster to combat them all. Steam
Rochard PC cover Rochard Platformer / puzzle When an asteroid mining crew finds evidence of intelligent life out there, they're attacked by space bandits, and soon find themselves as targets of a nasty conspiracy. Excellent graphics and sound, some nice run-n-gun action, and a ton of crazy physics-manipulating puzzles.

Warning: the game's plot ends in a cliffhanger and the developer has closed its doors.

Steam
Serious Sam HD The First Encounter PC cover Serious Sam HD
(2 episodes)
FPS Kicking alien butts, spouting corny one-liners, and exhuding unabashed manliness, Sam Stone is Croatia's answer to Duke Nukem. But the game itself is completely different, far more arcade-like, sporting linear but immense arenas and constantly throwing dozens of very aggressive enemies against you at once. This "HD" version is a remake of the 2001 original with the more modern engine of Serious Sam 3. A frenzied, old-school, very brutal, quite ridiculous, and exceedingly fun game. Humble:
Ep. 1, 2
Steam
Shattered Horizon Shattered Horizon FPS Made by a studio that primarily makes benchmarking software, this DX10 (sorry XP bros) exclusive is fucking awesome. Float around in zero gravity, shoot dudes in the visor or their tank and make them explode, go into stealth mode and stab some motherfuckers. New updates have added several new guns in replacement of the previous swiss-army-rifle as well as three new grenades. It should be noted that it's multiplayer only. Features mouse control, text chat, and graphics settings. Has dedicated servers and is going to receive free content updates courtesy of the awesome devs. Fairly quick learning curve, so don't get discouraged after a map or two.

The community for the game is somewhat dead, so any servers you see will most likely be filled with bots.

Steam
Shatter-playstation-store-icon Shatter Arcade / Puzzle Gorgeous brick-breaker game that redefines the genre with unique physics-based controls (sucking and blowing). Has some of the best in-game music you'll ever hear. Also on PS3, but the PC version has extra features not found on the PS3 version.
Thumb Sonic-Generations-PC-Box-Art Sonic Generations Platformer A true return to form for the blue hedgehog, this game mixes the speedy modern gameplay from Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors up with the classic platforming of the Genesis era. Sonic goes back in time to meet his younger and chubbier self and runs through nine zones from the entire series history, split up into a classic and a modern version each. Even the stage from the shitty Sonic 06 is awesome this time! The main game is a bit on the short side, but counting the challenge stages (which mostly have original layouts), there are 122 levels in total. The controls of Classic Sonic aren't a perfect replica of the original, but they come very close and some would consider the slight differences an improvement.The PC port of the newest Sonic game is surprisingly the best version available, running at 60FPS and being in 1080p with anti-aliasing. A gamepad is mandatory though. Steam
Super Meat Boy cover Super Meat Boy Platformer Ridiculously good and hard platformer with an equally ridiculous premise: You are a running and jumping cube of meat trying to rescue your girlfriend (who happens to be made of bandages) from an evil fetus in a robot suit. Features 300 levels and tons of hidden secrets, including many playable characters from various indie games such as Captain Viridian from VVVVVV, The Kid from I wanna be the Guy, Mr. Minecraft and even a headcrab. Will also be patched with a level editor in January.

The 360 version is also good, but the selection of hidden characters is different and there's no level editor (but a bunch of exclusive stages in exchange).

Steam
Terraria cover Terraria Survival / Sandbox This is a game that is commonly and wrongly referred to as 2D Minecraft, despite being large differences in their genre focus. The amount of content adds up for several hundreds of hours worth in playtime as there is always goals for you to set for yourself such as defeating all bosses, events, collecting all of certain items, etc. Is still being updated and has an official ending. GOG
Saboteur poster The Saboteur TPS / sandbox / racing You are Sean Devlin, hilariously accented Oirishman in hilariously accented France at the time of the Second World War. Plays a bit like GTA with more of an emphasis on stealth and sabotage. Reasonably historically accurate for a game like this, though the historical figure was actually English, not Irish. Graphics get a bit Uncanny Valley at times. Has a 'restoration' motif where color comes back to Paris as you liberate it, as well as a number of racing minigames, since Sean is a racecar driver. Not a great game, but if you want a historical sandbox with more shooting Nazis and less stabbing Templars, it's pretty worthwhile. Also on PS3 and 360. GOG
Witcher2 The Witcher 2 Action RPG A fantastic follow-up to the Witcher that's so vastly polished over its predecessor that anyone who wasn't paying attention to the writing in the first game would say this was made by a different developer entirely. The gameplay mechanics somehow manage to be as intuitive as they are counter-intuitive, and the plot as well as the decisions it throws at you carries a sense of moral ambiguity that's a far cry from the "darth hitler or ghandi claus" paths that are usually presented in most games. Ubersampling recommended if your PC is from the year 2027. Recently a "2.0" patch was added that added some pretty neat new features and at the same time fixed a lot of shit that wasn't working (except for parrying). Even if you already own the game and didn't like it first hand you might feel like giving it another try. You might enjoy it this time around. GOG
Steam
Torchlight Torchlight Hack'n'Slash, Dungeon Crawler (Diablo2-like) Neat Diablo clone with pets. Made by a team formed by old Diablo 2 developers. Pretty worth it for the price, features an infinite dungeon after you complete the main quest. Oh, and it has Steam Cloud enabled. GOG
Steam
Transformice Transformice MMO platformer You play as mice trying to get cheese into their hole. However, stages are hell-bent on killing you. Luckily, the Shaman player will help (i.e. troll) you with magic. Steam
Trine150px Trine Platformer A very charming platformer where you control a thief, wizard and knight with the standard "stop the blight afflicting the land" storyline. Characters can be switched in real-time and each has a different ability - the thief has a grappling hook, the knight is a tank and the wizard doesn't have any real attacks but can create bridges or cubes from thin air. Beautiful graphics and music create great atmosphere. Excellent narration makes you feel like you're playing a bedtime story. It's a budget title, you should get it. GOG
Steam
OMKt Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Ougon Musou Kyoku Fighting Also known as "Golden Symphony of Dreams". The fighting game spinoff of the Umineko visual novels that has some pretty solid gameplay. You pick two characters for your tag team using both melee and magic attacks. Might seem overwhelming as the attacks look rather spammy but you could overcome that once you understand the gameplay mechanics. Although released on the PC, playing with a gamepad is highly recommended. Visuals and audio are very desirable as well probably thanks to the fact that it was made by fans, for fans and supervised by the original writer. Story mode is all in Japanese and may only make sense to people familiar with the Umineko series but who cares, it's a fighting game! An expansion came out called "Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross".
Vvvvvv PC cover VVVVVV Platformer With an art style based on Commodore 64 games and chiptunes for music, you might get the feeling that this is retro indie shit. Well, it's retro and indie, but also fun as hell. Flip gravity back and forth to leap across increasingly elaborate challenges in a quasi-sandbox alternate dimension to incredibly catchy tunes. You'll die, a lot, but a proliferation of checkpoints means you'll rarely lose more than a minute when you die. Official site
GOG
Wolfenstein 2009 PC cover Wolfenstein FPS The unfairly forgotten 2009 entry of the renowned nazi-killing series (plot-wise sequel to RtCW) twisted the old formula by introducing a medallion that grants you supernatural powers, mainly the ability to shift into a parallel reality at any time to find hidden paths. It also added a city hub from where you could take various missions in different orders. The reception at the time was a bit tepid, but in hindsight, it is far more enjoyable than the ones that came afterwards! Developed by Raven Software (Heretic, Hexen, Soldier of Fortune). It's no longer for sale anywhere, so just pirate it.

Note: use this guide to increase the FOV.

Zeno Clash Zeno Clash Action / Fighting Innovative first-person brawler. Surreal and artistic. Sadly rather short, but quite tough. May be too weird for some people, but the more open-minded gamer should find something of interest here. Steam
Zombie Shooter cover Zombie Shooter Arcade-Shooter Like Alien Shooter, only this time you shoot zombies. Was made when the L4D-Hype came up. GOG
Zombie Shooter 2 cover Zombie Shooter 2 Arcade-Shooter Like Zombie Shooter (wait a minute...), only this time it has a plot. By plot it means the archvillain is a troll. No, I am serious, a fucking troll who stole Konami their Metal Gear. GOG