What are some of the Best PC Games in 2008? This is a question that many gamers ask in order to determine their next purchase. Here’s our take on some of the essential games that came out in 2008.
(in no particular order)
Fallout 3
Genre: RPG
Vault 101 — Jewel of the Wastes. For 200 years, Vault 101 has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.
Mass Effect
Genre: RPG
Set 200 years in the future in an epic universe, Mass Effect places gamers in a vast galactic community in danger of being conquered by a legendary agent gone rogue. A spectacular new vision from legendary developers BioWare, Mass Effect challenges players to lead a squad of freedom fighters as they struggle against threatening armies to restore peace in the land.
Mass Effect is the first in a trilogy of games with an overarching story. As the first human Specter – sworn defenders of galactic peace – your mission is to halt the advancing armies of a legendary agent gone rogue. But as you lead your elite team across hostile alien worlds, you will discover the true threat is far greater than anyone imagined.
Sins of a Solar Empire
Genre: Strategy
Sins of a Solar Empire is a real-time space strategy and the first chapter in an epic science fiction saga. The independent Trader Worlds must unite and form the Trader Emergency Coalition to defend themselves against the return of their exiled brethren, “The Advent” and the arrival of the desperate remnants of the ancient Vasari Empire.
Explore and conquer nearby planets and distant solar systems by applying brute force, cunning strategy, elegant diplomacy, economic mastery, and researched technology. The gameplay features seamless transition between epic strategy and tactical combat modes.
Grand Theft Auto IV
Genre: Action
GTA IV reinvents the series with a renewed version of Liberty City detailed to the last pothole and rooftop vent. There are now four boroughs to explore plus extra area outside of Liberty City proper. With the ability to climb obstacles, drive cars, steer boats and pilot helicopters, the world of GTA is more accessible than ever before.
In this fourth installment of the popular series, players take on the role of Niko Bellic, a rough-around-the-edge chap from Eastern Europe. Niko has arrived in America, in Liberty City — a land full of promise and opportunity. His cousin convinced him to emigrate, to join him in his mansion and life of luxury, but as soon as he steps off the boat, Niko discovers the truth about the American way. Still, the wealth, the comfort, the bliss of the good life, it all really is here … And it’s all for the taking.
Far Cry 2
Genre: Shooter
Caught between two rival factions in war-torn Africa, you are sent to take out “The Jackal”, a mysterious character who has rekindled the conflict between the warlords, jeopardizing thousands of lives. In order to fulfil your mission you will have to play the factions against each other, identify and exploit their weaknesses, and neutralise their superior numbers and firepower with surprise, subversion, cunning and, of course, brute force.
Far Cry 2 immerses players in an entirely new kind of gaming experience, featuring a custom-made video game engine built from the ground up. Players discover a true open world gameplay set in Africa, brought to life by high-definition next-gen technology.
Dead Space
Genre: Action
Gamers step into a third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that promises to deliver the ultimate in psychological thrills and gruesome action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke – an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It is not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare when he learns that the ship’s crew has been ravaged by a vicious alien infestation. He must fight through the dead silence and darkness of deep space to stay alive.
Left 4 Dead
Genre: Shooter
Setting out to do for co-op gaming what Counter-Strike did for team combat, Left 4 Dead is an ambitious survival horror game. Running on the Source engine, Left 4 Dead leaves four armed survivors of a world overrun with zombies, and they must fight their way out to escape the outbreak.
Designed for co-op play, the four players must work together to finish each stage of the game, lending each other artillery support, sharing ammo and rescuing each other when zombies are on top of them. In addition to the standard four players as humans, another four players can be amongst the masses of assaulting zombies, seeking to take down the other players. Zombie players might even find themselves become one of the four mutant “boss” zombies, who have unique powers that can be used to devastate, injure, tie up, mark and track, confuse, or even humiliate the gun-toting human survivors.
Crysis Warhead
Genre: Shooter
In Crysis Warhead, players will don the Nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known as ‘Psycho’, one of the most memorable characters from Crysis. More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience Psycho’s parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho’s Nanosuit is just as capable and he’s equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customizable weapons and new vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any situation.
Crysis Warhead is a parallel story to Crysis, one of the most critically-acclaimed first person shooters and PC games of 2007. The game is first title to be developed at Crytek’s Budapest studio, and built on a new, enhanced and optimized version of Crytek’s CryENGINE 2 technology.
Call of Duty: World at War
Genre: Shooter
Call of Duty: World at War is the fifth instalment in the Call of Duty franchise and throws out the rulebook of war to transform WWII combat through a new enemy, new tactics and an uncensored experience of the climatic battles that gripped a generation.
As U.S. Marines and Russian soldiers, players will employ new features like cooperative gameplay, and weapons such as the flamethrower in the most chaotic and cinematically intense experience to date.
It’s not quite as ground breaking as Modern Warfare, but it’s still an essential purchase if you enjoy Shooters.
Race Driver: Grid
Genre: Racing
Grid is a true evolution for Codemasters’ acclaimed racing series, which first appeared as the TOCA (DTM/V8) Touring Car games (1997–2000) and became the TOCA (DTM/V8) Race Driver series (2002-2006).
Challenging players to become the number one race driver in a new world of exhilarating motorsport, Race Driver: Grid takes players on a tour like never before; to beautifully realized racing locations through Europe, the U.S., Japan and beyond. The game will feature the most extensive range of events in the series, combining official circuit-based championships with road races and urban street competitions.
