Best pc games 2013 ratings

Prove your skill in the arenas of the future, leading your team of computer-controlled "bots" to victory in the Grand Tournament, or compete with the best of the best via LAN or the Internet in seat-of-your-pants battles. While Unreal Tournament offers the finest in classic "Deathmatch" play, right out of the box you can compete in Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag. Control strategic points on the map to rack up your score in Domination, or test your skills in Assault, as one team defends its base from the other.

Each game type comes with its own special maps and rules, for never-ending variety and challenge. Add gameplay mutators such as Jump Match or InstaGib, and Unreal Tournament will keep your wits honed to a razor edge. Legendary designer Sid Meier presents the next evolution in strategy games, with the most addictive, compelling gameplay yet. Explore the alien planet that is your new home and uncover its myriad mysteries.

Discover over 75 extraordinary technologies. Build over 60 base upgrades and large-scale secret projects for your empire. Conquer your enemies with a war machine that you design from over 32, possible unit types. The galaxy is being consumed by the fires of war as we enter the final act of the Dread Lord saga. New campaign detailing the final chapter in the Dread Lords wars. The Terror Star arrives, capable of destroying any star. Unique technology trees for all 12 civilizations. Unique planetary improvements for each civilization.

New 3D engine powered map editor. New Scenario Editor for creating highly detailed custom games. New Campaign Editor for players who want to create their own custom epic campaigns for themselves or to share with others. Start a new career with Opening Day rosters of the real major or minor leagues, or span through years of history and run any club from the past! Perform drafts, trades, scouting, waivers, team finances and personnel.

Negotiate player contracts. Dive into the more hands-on management and set your team's lineups, pitching staffs, and in-game strategy. You can oversee your league at a high level, or play out each game, managing play by play or even pitch by pitch! User Score: 3. This expansion pack is an old-school add on with 20 hours of new adventures, where players will travel to the land of Toussaint.

New effects: Feel the sun, the wind, the fog and the grass as you walk TrueSwing technology: Take full control over your swing, from straight drives to hooks and draws. Career mode: Purchase new equipment and lessons, hone your skills, and make your way to the top of the career rankings. User Score: 5. Approach each assassination with your own unique style. Use shadow and sound to your advantage to traverse silently through levels unseen by enemies, or attack foes head-on as they react to your aggression.

The malleable combat system allows you to creatively synthesize your abilities, supernatural powers and gadgets as you negotiate your way through the levels and dispatch your targets.

Improvise and adapt to define your modus operandi. As Lt. Mike Powell, member of the famed 1st Ranger Battalion, you'll battle through over 20 levels based on historical military campaigns of World War II.

Fire period weapons and command authentic war vehicles as you silence the gun batteries at Port Arzew, survive the Omaha Beach landing, and more. Myth is arguably the first real-time strategy game to put the player in a true 3D landscape, with an emphasis on tactical battlefield action rather than base construction.

Myth also happens to be one of Bungie's most successful pre-Halo releases, and shows off the company's range and ability in genres outside of first-person shooters. A single player mode features an engrossing and enjoyable plot, with you battling the evil and eponymous Fallen Lords, their evil leader, Balor and all manner of undead creatures, but Myth's multiplayer is where it really stands out. Multiple game modes including King of the Hill, Steal the Bacon and even co-op added huge variety to what was an outstanding and standard-setting game - and it still is.

If ever an older game deserved another visit, it's Myth, with a huge, loyal and highly motivated following. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the next generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Test your piloting skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge.

Wrath of the Lich King adds a rich variety of content to an already massive game. Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 80 and gain potent new talents and abilities along the way. Northrend: Explore the harsh new continent of Northrend, packed with new zones, quests, dungeons, monsters, and items -- and do battle with the undead armies of the Lich King. Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings: Take the battle to another level with new player-vs. New Character Customization: Change how characters look and express themselves, with different hairstyles and dance animations.

Overwatch is a highly stylized team-based shooter set on earth in the near future. Every match is an intense multiplayer showdown pitting a diverse cast of soldiers, mercenaries, scientists, adventurers, and oddities against each other in an epic, globe-spanning conflict. Cutting-edge technology brings you the most accurate representation of Formula One to date.

High-resolution car models include details right down to the very last shut line. Circuits include real life structures, helicopters, airplanes, panoramic skies, animated grid girls, motion captured pit crews, and even bumps in the track surface as they exist in reality. The glossy team-themed user interface puts you in the game and tracks your performance as a real life driver competing against the likes of world champion drives such as Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, and Michael Schumacher.

Immerse yourself in this quintessential medieval fantasy world, where entire nations hang in the balance of your actions, dark prophecies test your resolve, and heroic dreams can be fulfilled at last. Experience the climax of the Hydaelyn and Zodiark story, and encounter an even greater calamity than ever before as you travel to the far reaches of Hydaelyn and even to the moon. Fly 31 types of Russian, German and American planes.

Engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground battles. Multiplay with up to 32 players in dogfight and 16 players in cooperative missions. Use custom paint schemes, squadron nose art, numbering on wings, and national markings for each plane.

Thirty-two years have passed since the Great War. As Terrans and Vasudans struggle to rebuild their civilizations, civil war erupts in the Polaris system. A rogue Terran admiral declares war against the Vasudans, threatening the stability of the Alliance. Without warning, the Shivans return, and Terrans and Vasudans face annihilation at the hands of their Great War nemesis. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has brought a new edge to the Cold War, and in , a one-eyed man with a prosthetic arm appears in the country.

Those who know him call him Snake; the legendary mercenary who was once swept from the stage of history and left in a coma by American private intelligence network Cipher. Snake is accompanied by Ocelot, an old friend who saved him from attack when he finally awoke.

Snake must undertake a solo mission to rescue Miller and prove to the world that the legendary mercenary is not dead and gone. That first step will lead to a path of vengeance against the very Cipher that slaughtered so many of Snake's men, and to a battle that will embroil the whole world What started in Ground Zeroes must finish with "V".

Infiltrate terrorists' positions, acquire critical intelligence by any means necessary, execute with extreme prejudice, and exit without a trace! The world balance is in your hands, as cyber terrorism and international tensions are about to explode into WWIII. Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Kentucky Route Zero is a magical realistic adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it. Crysis is a next-generation PC first-person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of "Far Cry.

At stake: a mysterious artifact uncovered by a team of U. The North Korean government quickly seizes the area, prompting the U.

During the siege the true nature of the artifact quickly emerges, pointing to the existence of an alien presence on Earth, and ultimately the trigger for a massive-scale alien invasion. The battle to save Earth begins as the aliens' flash freeze the tropics into a ghostly-white frozen landscape. As gamers take up arms against the aliens, they will be outfitted with customizable weapons and a high tech Nanosuit, allowing them to adapt their tactics and abilities to a hostile, ever-changing environment and a mysterious enemy.

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world.

Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?

New Player Races: New allies will join the game, expanding the story line and allowing players to develop powerful new characters within the world. Higher Level Limit: The game's level cap is being raised to 70, and with these new levels will come meaningful spell, ability, and talent upgrades for each character class.

New Lands and Battlegrounds: Explore the magical realms of the Blood Elves and Draenei, journey through the Dark Portal into untamed Outland, and visit dungeons and battlefields previously inaccessible to players. Flying Mounts: In Outland, players will gain access to unique airborne mounts that will allow for smoother travel over some of that region's more hazardous terrain. TigerProofing is a revolutionary course-altering system that allows players to modify course dynamics and create the most intensely competitive course imaginable.

Alter tee-box length, width and patterns on fairways and greens, the depth of a greenside bunker, and even the color of the leaves on the trees, course moisture and the season which you play. Eight new licensed courses and two new fantasy courses have been added for a total of 14 courses. New licensed courses for console only include Coeur d?

Alene and Colonial Country Club. Monument Course. Total Precision Swing: New putting and chipping systems allow for more control on the green or when you leave an approach shot short.

An epic 3-D adventure spanning over unique locations across two distinct and detailed worlds. Players can choose to skate with the skills of Tony Hawk, the most legendary pro of all time, or as one of 12 pro skaters from the star-studded lineup. The game's intuitive and solid control scheme allows players to perform hundreds of tricks in a variety of realistic, obstacle-filled, real-world locations.

Jedi Knight continues the story of Katarn as he embarks on a quest into his past and learns the mysterious ways of the Jedi. With this knowledge, he must stop seven Dark Jedi from unlocking the powers of a hidden Jedi burial ground. This task forces Katarn to decide his destiny. If he chooses the Dark side, he will come into enormous power. If he chooses the Light side, he faces seemingly insurmountable evil. Whatever path Katarn chooses will change the face of the galaxy forever.

There, the imprisoned super-villains have set a trap and an immersive combat gaming experience unfolds. With an original script penned by Emmy Award-winning Batman writer Paul Dini, the game brings the universe of DC Comics' detective to life with stunning graphics. Batman: Arkham Asylum offers players the chance to battle Gotham's worst villains with Batman's physical and psychological strength in a graphically distinct and story-driven game.

The year is and the Drengin Empire reigns supreme across the galaxy. But something utterly evil is devouring the Drengin Empire from within. Expand your Galactic Civilizations II experience with espionage agents, player designed opponents, new alien races, new ships, unique planetary environments, asteroid fields, improved graphics and much more.

A story-driven, first-person adventure delivering over-the-top action, tense subterfuge, outrageous villains, and wry humor in the tradition of the great 's spy films and TV shows.

Paradox Development Studio brings you the sequel to one of the most popular strategy games ever made. Crusader Kings III is the heir to a long legacy of historical grand strategy experiences and arrives with a host of new ways to ensure the success of your royal house. In Battlefield 2, players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, China, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition.

Battlefield 2 features immense, richly detailed, destructible environments, from city streets to remote forests, in some of the most notorious hot spots around the world.

Each map in Battlefield 2 adjusts in scale to support the number of players in the world, providing the ideal vehicle-to-player ratio and an optimized game play experience. Enhanced team play features allow players to enter the action on the front lines as part of a formal squad, or work behind the scenes in Commander Mode to direct the strategic assaults of their teammates.

With in-game success, players increase their rank from recruit all the way to General and unlock awards, including new weapons, vehicle decals, medals, and more. This is a rare combination of a roguelike game with a comprehensive, branching story. You, playing as Hades' son Zagreus, have to continually fight your way through Hades the place, not your father over and over until you make it to Mount Olympus. The other famous gods of the Greek pantheon are also there for you to interact with.

They serve as both characters in the story and as your method of upgrading your character with powers and abilities that reflect their place in the pantheon.

Each run means trying out a new combination of these gifts, and every failure still moves you forward. Available from Steam and the Epic Games Store. None of the other best PC games on this list offer you the whole world to play with, but the latest flight sim from Microsoft gives you exactly that, with both a mind-boggling scale and a meticulously detailed hangar of aircraft to pilot.

You have the choice of both light aircraft or huge passenger jets, letting you play as a lone amateur aviator or the captain of a commercial flight. The game promises to model their flight characteristics accurately, which are affected by real-time weather and daylight effects, so it'll be difficult to get a better idea of flying one of these machines without actually stepping into the cockpit in real life. While you can nerd out over every single setting and control of your plane, you can also let the game take care of the tricky stuff while you enjoy flying around, seeing landmarks from across the globe or touching down at one of the game's many detailed airports.

Chances are you've not played this unless you own a PS4 also , and since this version comes with all the DLC packed in, there's no better way to experience this open-world adventure. Somewhere in the US after an unknown apocalyptic event, tribes of humans try to live quietly in amongst the hordes of animalistic robots that roam the lands.

As the outcast Aloy however, you are bound for greater things. While your human enemies are armed with the same array of spears, bows and slings as you are, taking on the machines, particularly the larger varieties, requires a lot more tactical thinking. There is a story to play through, one which helps explain the world and how it came to be this way, and that's quite enjoyable on its own.

But it's exploring the beautiful but desolate urban areas reclaimed by trees and plants, hunting down your metal prey via traps and frontal attacks, and finally bringing it down after a long tense battle that secures H:ZD a spot on the best PC games list. As a high school student, you spend a year living in the town of Inaba, and fighting in an alternate dimension, where you must fight against the Shadows alongside your friends, using 'Personas', manifestations of your inner selves that contain immense power, as your weapons.

Since this is an RPG, a lot of your time will be spent finding new Personas to wield and levelling up your stats, which involves completing various activities with your Investigation Team, meaning you become more powerful and more invested in the characters and world at the same time.

The combat takes a turn-based format, meaning that while fighting against the forces of evil can be stressful, you don't need immense mechanical skill or reactions to succeed. With a lengthy campaign to complete, this is the slow-burner of our best PC games list, and one that'll leave a positive impression on you for a long time. Taking up the mantle of the classic s Sega franchise after decades of silence, Streets of Rage 4 is a beat-em-up for up to four players to fight their way through an army of thugs to take down a pair of evil twins who want to enslave Wood Oak City.

It's a throwback to arcade classics but with plenty of modern polish that means that newcomers will be just as happy playing this as the expert fans will be. Like any good fighter, your chosen character has a long list of special moves to use, but take care as using these moves could cost you health if used carelessly.

For mechanics-fiends, the game's juggling system will let you perform some seriously fancy combos if you put in the practice. As well as the story mode, you also have a boss rush option to fight all the toughest enemies one after another, an Arcade mode that gives you a limited number of lives and the option to fight against another human player if you really want a challenge.

Stealth games usually give you one or two abilities to sneak around the environment, but Wildfire lets you burn it down as just one of a bunch of unique ways to find a way past your enemies, either by yourself or with a co-op partner. Playing as a witch bestowed the power of fire by a crashed meteor, you get to build your skills in this and the other classical elements RPG-style to then use in your mission to banish an invading army from your homeland, rescuing villagers along the way.

This is certainly a best PC game list member, thanks to an excellent score and lovingly-designed pixel art. This can be a fun game to experience just for the story, but the game also offers optional challenges and speedrun targets for people who want to get their teeth into the game's mechanics. It's a fantastic example of the kind of high quality indie games that the PC platform helps cultivate. This sequel to 's Ori and the Blind Forest builds on the original's 'metroidvania' style gameplay - exploring every corner of a large world collecting various abilities and powers, but with additional gameplay refinements and variations and a new story that's just as emotive as the original.

Unlike many metroidvania games which are populated by just you and everything trying to kill you, there are lots of friendly NPCs you can encounter too. They will give you your quests and also help contextualise the world, making it feel like it's worth protecting. This member of our best PC games list is a treat for your eyes and ears too. The artwork was all hand painted and then scanned, making it look beautiful in a way like precious few other games on the market.

The gameplay is stellar, and the graphics are gorgeous. You can even run the game in 8K , if you have the hardware. Doom: Eternal takes everything from the remastered Doom of and turns it up to The game is intense, visually and sonically overwhelming, and is exactly what you would expect a fever dream inspired by Doom would feel like. The gameplay is a seamless first-person shooter where you trek into hell to battle an assortment of never-ending demons and reclaim an overrun earth.

However, this game is all about creating havoc and rushing into battle as loud and as brash as possible. Not only is Doom: Eternal a hell of a ride pun intended.

No game has been as anticipated for as much or as long as Half Life 3. So, as gamers will have to wait a little longer for it, Valve has graced us with what may be the most compelling reason to get a VR headset with Half-Life: Alyx.

Half-Life: Alyx is set 5 years before Half-Life 2. From the interactive puzzles, the well-thought out combat and the fantastic story, this prequel is a welcome dive back into the Half-Life world that has been universally praised for its quality. Microsoft's racing series is only getting better with each release, and in many ways this spin-off has exceeded the main Forza Motorsport line as the best racing games on PC at present.

They're definitely more fun, adding a dash of arcade fun to the strikingly recreated cars and race tracks we've come to expect from Forza. Forza Horizon 4 is easily one of the best PC games you can buy today, and this entry brings the racing to the UK after having explored America, France, Italy and Australia in the previous three instalments of the franchise. Now, you can rip through charming villages, seaside towns and the city of Edinburgh by way of many miles of country roads and dirt tracks in between.

It's fast, frantic and a lot of fun. You can purchase Forza Horizon 4 through the Microsoft Store. You can gain more and more Yokai skills as you defeat enemies. You also have quite a bit of customization available to you for deeper gameplay.

This sequel is a worthy follow up to the first game, also set in a fictionalized, fantastical version of historical Japan, that will have you either squealing in delight or screaming in anger. From Software is a household name when it comes to designing the best PC games. The minds behind the critically praised Dark Souls series have transported PC gamers to some of the most forsaken landscapes and through some of the most challenging yet rewarding gameplay.

Parts of the interface don't work sometimes, inter-match army management is half-baked, and the micromanagement needed to use the game's signature hero units effectively doesn't jibe with the extensive base-building you'll need to support them. The puzzles are uniquely challenging without feeling inaccessible, and the Labyrinths expansion takes the formula further by integrating deeper investigations and adding more puzzle variety.

Despite the stumbling climax and steady learning curve, Hacknet - Labyrinths is one hell of a ride that leads you down the rabbit hole and back again. It uses simple mechanics to tell a complex and engaging story, one that feels particularly relevant right now.

Time will tell if Blizzard will serve up a healthy dose of new content to keep the expansion and game alive a la Mists or Lich King or if it will suffer the fate of Warlords of Draenor, but right now about a month after the expansion's release Blizzard has proven it can still craft an MMO experience as well as--if not better--than anyone else.

It creates an eccentric, thorough world that feels good to exist in and creates characters you can empathise with, despite the lack of a clear plot thread. Quadrilateral Cowboy presents you with a spectrum of moments, and each moment makes you feel great. Every system and piece feeds into others, and your choices make all the difference. It's a triumph of real-time strategy design, and the best the Total War series has ever been.

When combined with truly deep and intricate strategic options, Offworld is a revelation. It's almost unparalleled in the genre.

Each and every game is thrilling. Every moment is a challenge. And the brutality of the free market ensures that you can never rest on your laurels, less you be quashed by the invisible hand. By stripping the pomp of many modern shooters, it reveals the complexity beneath, molding the fundamentals into something exhilarating, something always worth one more try.

It was always about clarity and focus. Kharak isn't new in that regard, but it is special. It shows us that when you get things right--and excel--that formula isn't easy to exhaust.

Kharak does its part to add to that, though. Its use of voice acting and efficient visuals is a brilliant addition that's far from superficial. It helps narrow the scope of what you need to manage, so that it can load you up with as much as your brain can handle.