So you have a Mac. You’re a fancy person. You’re the envy of everyone in your introduction to Russian history class. But did you know that your Apple computer is probably capable of running first-person shooters? Ones that are actually good?
If you’re willing to risk your GPA, let us bring you into the surprisingly rich world of FPS games available for Mac. Speaking of history, by the way, Bungie – the developers of a couple little games called Halo and Destiny – got their start with an FPS series for Mac called Marathon.
But there are plenty of great, modern shooters available for Mac. Here are our picks for the top ten.
Flying Wild Hog’s 2013 reboot of Shadow Warrior was a bit of a surprise hit – they managed to make a modern shooter with old-school sensibilities and the results were terrific. As Lo Wang, you fight through demonic forces as you attempt to reassemble the Nobitsura Kage, an ancient sword with legendary powers.
The fact that Shadow Warrior’s combat manages to make swinging a sword in first-person perspective actually fun is a pretty remarkable achievement. That Lo Wang’s cornball one-liners are actually funny might be even more remarkable. The game stays true to the original’s over-the-top grindhouse violence but never, ever takes itself too seriously.
The sequel to the game that redefined what FPS was capable of, Portal 2 really should already be in your library. Portal 2 takes the first game’s mechanics and cleverly adds to them, introducing spreadable fluids with various properties like reduced friction and massive “boinginess.”
It also takes you on a very (literally) deep voyage through the history of Aperture Science, the laboratory that created the portal gun and the omnipresent AI that administrates the facility, the infamous GLaDOS. While you don’t technically “shoot” anyone in Portal 2, it is in first-person and you have something called a gun. Plus it’s one of the best games ever, so it’s on the list.
It was a bit strange that Metro: Last Light got a remaster so quickly after its initial release, but the fact remains that remastered or not, it’s a terrific game. Set in the post-apocalypse Moscow subway system, Metro: Last Light is dark, grungy, and downright scary.
There’s a survival element to the game, too – ammunition is scarce, and “military grade” rounds are used as money. You’ll have to think hard about whether to load these valuable rounds into your weapon, because while they do far more damage than the low-grade rounds made by other survivors, you could be firing away the currency you need to stock up on medkits.
It’s like Diablo, except it’s a shooter. With robots. And in space. Okay, so not really all that much like Diablo, except for the obsession-forming loot system.
Borderlands 2 is all about the guns, really. And there are lots of them. Hundreds and hundreds of them. You can find guns that shoot other guns out of them, for god’s sake.
The greatest part of Borderlands 2, though, is co-op play. Running around Pandora with a couple friends wreaking havoc is one of the most enjoyable (and unintentionally hilarious, at times) experiences in multiplayer gaming in recent memory. You do have to put up with Claptrap, who is basically R2-D2 possessed by a Gilbert Gottfried demon, though.
Now students, what do we do with zombies? That is correct, we shoot them in their horrible, rotting faces. Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty much the high water mark for zombie shoot ‘em ups, and it’s easy to see why: it’s got atmosphere, it’s got tension, and it’s a damn blast to play.
The introduction of new “infected” types really put Left 4 Dead 2 over the top. “Jockeys” will try to leap on players’ backs and try to steer them into zombie hordes, and “spitters” have a nasty ranged acid attack.
The ability to easily hop into and out of multiplayer co-op matches is the icing on the cake – and if someone does quit mid-match, their character will immediately be taken over by an AI that may or may not have eaten paint chips for breakfast.
We all know how Wolfenstein games work by now. You find guns and you shoot Nazis. That’s basically the formula. It’s a simple one that has proven pretty effective.
So it’s kind of remarkable that Wolfenstein: The New Order managed to weave a startlingly effective story into the mix. William “BJ” Blaskowicz is no longer just the furtive face at the bottom of the screen, he’s a veteran suffering from a traumatic brain injury he got while assaulting a Nazi stronghold in the alt-history version of WWII. Coming to in a rest home in Poland in 1960, Blaskowicz finds a world completely ruled by the Nazis, which he quickly determines is just not cricket.
We know how things go from there, but it’s a fantastic ride the whole way through that’s bolstered by a really outstanding cast of characters.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a worthy successor to one of gaming’s best franchises. As Adam Jensen, you are a “security officer” for a biomechanical augmentation corporation in a cyberpunk near-future that’s remarkably yellow for some reason (I like to pretend that it’s because the game is directed by Stephen Soderbergh, which it is not).
Befitting the setting, there are secret societies, double agents, and gruff voice acting. You can approach the game however you like, relying on stealth or brutality to make your way through the game’s many international locales. There are rewards, however, for making it through the game without killing anyone (aside from bosses, but let’s face it, they’re jerks anyway).
Be sure to get the “Director’s Cut” version of the game, which adds some narrative and rebalances some boss encounters to be much less enraging.
This one’s easy to recommend – Team Fortress 2 is not just a terrific online shooter, it also lets you play with and against your smarmy PC-owning brethren. And did we mention that it’s also completely free? Because it is.
This game made it onto our list of Best Free Steam Games, and that’s because it’s a really great game. Yes, it’s a shooter, but the Pixar-esque art direction and animation keep anything from ever getting grim or serious. There are many classes to play, so you can pick one that suits your personal style, and plenty of game modes to choose from as well.
When Valve eventually takes over the world and the entire global economy is based on hats, remember that you heard it here first.
The BioShock series is fairly uniformly excellent, and has served to launch many a gaming-related thinkpiece. While some critics have questioned Infinite’s handling of issues like race and gender, there’s no denying that the game is fascinating: In an impossible city in the sky in an alternate 1912, you team up with a woman (who’s slightly short in the fingers department) who can travel between dimensions.
Your job as Booker DeWitt, however, is fairly straightforward: escape with Elizabeth and dispense large amounts of lead in the general direction of everyone who gets in your way. Like the other BioShock protagonists, Booker also has a collection of supernatural abilities to bring to bear as well: you can fire Palpatine-esque lightning bolts from your fingertips, possess people and machines, and even summon a gang of crows to attack enemies.
It’s a gorgeous game too, with a look that marries Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with art deco into a strange and violent post card from O Brother Where Art Thou. Well worth your time, we say.
Counter-Strike players have a word for people who play other competitive online shooters, and that word is scrubs. This is a game that encourages – demands, even – mastery, not only of weapons but of maps, tactics, and team dynamics.
It’s a team- and objectives-based game, where you battle to control areas, arm or disarm a bomb, rescue or secure hostages, or just shoot the hell out of each other (there is a deathmatch mode, but it’s well down the list of most-played game modes).
Like Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive supports cross-platform play, so you can totally ice that guy down the hall who keeps yammering on and on about “PC Master Race.”
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