Top 30 MAC OS X Games

No matter what type of game you enjoy, there's now something for everyone on the Mac.

1. Dragon Age : Origins

Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (Mac): Screenshot

It's a few years old now, but-in the absence of a Mac version of Skyrim- Dragon Age: Origins is still probably the best role-playing game ever released on the Mac. It's all standard RPG stuff - dungeons and dragons, warriors and wizards - but it has much more depth than simple click and slash games such as Diablo and Dungeon Siege, As well as the epic central story that pits you against an invading army of demons, there's a great cast of supporting characters including a comedy golem and Alistair, a medieval sex symbol and illegitimate heir to the throne. Many of these characters also have strong subplots and quests of their own that help you to feel really involved in the game.

Company : Electronic Arts

URL : www.ea.com/uk/mac

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.2, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £14.95

2. Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II (Mac): Screenshot

Like its predecessor. Dragon Age II is set in the fantasy world of Ferelden, but it introduces an entirely new cast of characters and a new storyline as your hero-known only as Hawke- rises from obscurity to become a mighty champion. The focus on politics and intrigue means that DAM lacks the epic good-versus-evil story of the original, but other aspects of the game are genuinely improved. The graphics are even more spectacular, and the combat is fast and furious, with characters leaping around the screen, waving their swords and firing spells all over the place. There are also two expansion packs that you can download for about £6 each.

Company : Electronic Arts

URL : www.ea.com/uk/mac

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.2, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £14.95

3. World of Warcraft Cataclysm

Its cutesy graphics aren't to everyone's taste, but World of Warcraft is still the game that rules the massively multiplayer online scene, with over 10 million subscribers playing as wizards, priests, warriors and rogues. Part of that success is down to the release of regular expansion packs, such as last year's Cataclysm, which - quite literally - shakes up the landscape, destroying some old areas and introducing new zones for you to explore. There's plenty of new material to keep experienced players happy, and to attract new players. Blizzard has recently announced a Starter Edition of the game that allows you to play for free until your characters reach level 20.

Company : Blizzard

URL : eu.blizzard.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £29.99 (plus £8.99 per month subscription)

4. Borderlands - Game of the Year Edition

If you're not turned on by the Dungeons and Dragons style of roleplaying game, then you should definitely try Borderlands. The futuristic world of Pandora is a wasteland populated by fortune hunters and mercenaries, and it's your job to fight your way through them all in order to locate The Vault -a treasure trove left behind eons ago by an ancient alien race. The game has a distinctive cartoon-style graphics -with exaggerated cartoon violence and humour to match -and allows you to play as one of four different characters, each with their own different combat skills. Vou can play solo, but there's also a four-play to op mode that's great fun too, and this Game Of The Year Edition for the Mac also includes four extra add on packs, such as The Zombie Island Of Dr Ned, to keep you going on those cold winter evenings.

Company : Blizzard

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £20.99

5. Knights of the Old Republic

Originally launched in 2003, KOTOR has bounced back since Apple launched the Mac App Store, and is now one of its top 10 grossing games. The action is set 4,000 years before the Star Wors films, at a time when the Jedi are being hunted down by the armies of the Sith. You play one of the last Jedi Knights leading an army of freedom fighters on a series of missions across planets such as Tatooine and the Sith home world of Korriban. Your choices affect the outcome of game, deciding whether you save the galaxy or fall to the dark side of the Force.

Company : Aspyr

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £13.99

6. Two Worlds II

The original Two Worlds wasn't released on the Mac. so you're kind of coming in halfway through the story in this sequel. That won't matter too much though, since the story isn't particularly original. You can start the game by breaking out of prison and then setting off on a quest to rescue your sister, who has been enslaved by an evil emperor What rescues the two Worlds II from cliche is the sheer quality and scale of the game. The world you travel 'across is vast and depicted with excellent 3D graphics. There are stacks of quests to keep you busy and help you gain in wealth and experience, and the combat and skill system gives you great freedom to develop your character.

Company : Zuxxez

URL : www.zuxxez.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.3, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 512MB VRAM

Price : £34.99

7. FIFA 2012

FIFA 2012: Screenshot

A new arrival on the Mac. FIFA 12 provides the same features and game modes as the Xbox and PlayStation versions, including the new Impact Engine, which realistically mimics the way that players jostle each other (or possession, and a Precision Dribbling feature that provides fine control of the ball There's also a Pro Player Intelligence system that allows computer-controlled players to react like their real-life counterparts (so Tevez will refuse to play at all, and Rooney will threaten to quit unless he gets another pay rise). The main Career mode will take you through the season, but there's also an Online Friendly mode that allows you to play matches against your friends too.

Company : Electronic Arts

URL : www.ea.com/uk/mac

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.2, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £29.95

8. FlatOut 2

Racing games on the Mac have rather faded away recently, but FlatOut 2 is an old-timer that's still a lot of fun. There's no attempt to simulate real-world physics or recreate actual race tracks here- FlatOut 2 is an out-and-out arcade game in which you just drive like crazy and smash anything that gets in your way. The main championship mode lets you choose from 34 different vehicles, and then progress through a series of increasingly difficult races set in locations such as the LA storm drains and Rocky Mountain forests. There's also an online multiplayer mode, as well as a series of mini-games and Destruction Derby Arenas where you can really let loose.

Company : Virtual Programming

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £6.99

9. Football Manager 12

As the name implies. Football Manager puts more emphasis on the management side of things. You can control any team from 50 different countries, and then sit on the bench to give instructions, make substitutions and generally shout and wave your arms around. You get to argue over transfers and contracts, and this version of the game includes a Tone System for team talks, which allows you to cajole players or get angry and throw stuff at them, there's a free demo version to try out.

Company : Sega

URL : store.steampowered.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £29.95

10. Let's Golf 2

Let's Golf 2: Screenshot

Let's Coif is very much a family game, rather than a technically accurate golf simulation, but you can still challenge yourself in the mam Career mode, which includes weird and wonderful courses in locations such as winery Greenland and the Aztec Jungle. You can choose from four different players. who each have their own special golfing strengths, and there's a multiplayer mode as well so you can play against family and friends.

Company : Gameloft

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.6, Intel processor

Price : £2.99

11. Asphalt 6 : Adrenaline 

The Mac version of the popular iOS game is one of the best racing games on the Mac at the moment. One nice feature is that it allows you to drive both cars and bikes, including classic models from Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. You can take part in 55 different events set in locations such as Los Angeles, Tokyo and the Bahamas, and fine-tune the performance of your vehicles to cope with different tracks and conditions. There's an online mode for up to six players, and it's great value at just £4.99.

Company : Gameloft

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.6, Intel processor

Price : £4.99

12. Colin McRae : DiRT 2

DiRT 2 is the best racing game we've seen on the Mac for a while, great 3D graphics and responsive high-speed racing actions. You start out as a rookie driver and then work your way up through dozens of events to take on the professionals in the X Games events. You can choose from 35 different cars, and customise them to handle different types of events such as rally cross and trailblazer. Locations range from Battersea Power Station to Utah desert to the jungles of Malaysia, and there's an online multiplayer mode too. However, the game is picky about its system requirements, so check the technical details before buying.

Company : Feral

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.7, 2GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £27.99

13. StarCraft II

StarCraft had only just been released when we last did a games roundup, and it kept us playing for months. You play the role of freedom fighter Jim Raynor, who leads the forces of humanity into battle against the alien Zerg and Protoss. The main single -player campaign provides a variety o( challenging missions, ranging from small raiding parties to large-scale battles with big stompy robots. This is only the beginning though, as there are two expansion packs planned that will continue to tell the story from the point of view of the Zerg and Protoss too. 

Company : Blizzard

URL : eu.blizzard.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £44.99

14. Civilization V

Another year, another version. The basic formula remains the same - you start with a bunch of cavemen and progress through history in order to create a civilisation that will rule the world. However, this has some new features, such as a diplomacy system that allows you to get down to some serious negotiating with the computer-controlled leaders of your rival nations. The 3D graphics have been improved, and the game also gives you a set of animated advisors who can help new players get started.

Company : Aspyr

URL : www.aspyr.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.4, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £29.99

15. Starfront : Collision

Starfront started out on the iPhone and iPad, but recently made the leap onto the Mac screen. There are undoubted similarities with StarCraft, as the game pits the forces of humanity against against rival races of aliens and robots, as they compete to control the supply of Xenodium crystals on the planet Sinistral The storyline and gameplay aren't as deep as StarCraft, but the game includes 20 missions and a skirmish mode where you can hone your strategy and combat skills. There's also a four player co-op mode that's good fun too, and at £6.99 Star Front is an affordable introduction to RTS gaming.

Company : Feral

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6

Price : £6.99

16. Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III: Screenshot

It's getting on a bit now, but Age Of Empires III is still a thoroughly enjoyable strategy game. It's set during the colonial era, and lets you control one of eight European nations, such as Britain or France, as they set out to colonise and control the newly discovered Americas. The 3D graphics are attractive and finely detailed, despite the game's age, and you can either work through the main single player campaign or dip into its skirmish mode for a quick fix every now and then.

Company : Microsoft/Destineer

URL : www.play.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.4, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £29.99

17. Rome Total War - Gold Edition

Rome Total War lets you play as the head of one of three Roman families, fighting a series of battles across Europe before finally attempting to conquer Rome itself. The 30 graphics aren't exactly state-of-the-art, but the epic battles are great fun as you watch thousands of soldiers clashing on screen all at once. The Cold Edition includes an expansion pack called The Barbarians, that lets you war against the invading hordes of Attila The Hun.

Company : Feral Interactive

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, 1.4GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £20.99

18. Europa Universalis III : Chronicles

Europa Universalis III combines diplomacy and strategy as you develop your own world-conquering empire. However, it focuses specifically on European affairs in the period 1399 to 1820, and allows you to play any of 250 different countries. There's great attention to historical details, so you may find that you have to contend with religious intolerance among your population, or groups of rebels rising up against the ruling aristocracy. This edition includes both the original game and a number of expansion packs, including Napoleon's Ambition, in which you have to deal with the intentions of the diminutive French emperor.

Company : Virtual Programming

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.8, 1.4GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £20.99

19. Batman : Arkham Asylum

It's frustrating to see that the sequel, Arkham City, has already come out on the PC. but Arkham Asylum is still a must have game. The lunatics have well and truly taken over the asylum, which means that Batman has to enter Arkham and fight his way past a series of his most deadly foes, including The Scarecrow and Bane, before finally confronting his arch-enemy The Joker The game provides a terrific combination of stealthy prowling and action, using a freeflow system that allows you to smoothly string together a variety of different combat moves Throw in a bunch of cool Bat
gadgets and a showstopping performance from Mark Hamill as The Joker and you've got probably one of the best Mac games out there.

Company : Feral Interactive

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.8, 1.4GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £27.99

20. Portal 2

Portai came out of nowhere to dazzle gamers with its mind-bendingly fiendish puzzles back m 2007. and this sequel is even more challenging You return to the Aperture Science labs and find yourself once again Trapped m a maze of interconnected rooms controlled by the murderous GLaDOS computer system The basic formula remains me same, so you have to escape from the lab by using special weapons that create dimension-twisting portals - create a portal in the wall in front of you and you may fin yourself stepping through into a room that's actually behind you. There are. however, a number of new elements that mate this sequel even more intriguing, such as a co-op mode that allows you to work alongside a friend, and a more developed story line that starts to explain how this situation actually got started.

Company : Valve

URL : store.steampowered.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.7, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £19.99

21. Mafia II : The Director's Cut

Set in America during the 1940s and 1950s, Mafia II casts you in the role of Vito Scaletta, a small-time crook who rises through the ranks to become head of a Mafia family In order to prove that you've got what it takes you need to demonstrate skill as a strong-arm enforcer, get-away driver and marksman, which means that the game combines hand-to-hand combat, driving skills and action-packed shootouts The game has an atmospheric soundtrack of original period music, and this Director's Cut is good value for money as it includes both the original game and the three expansion packs that followed it. The action's a bit grisly, though, so it's not suitable for younger players.

Company : Feral Interactive

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.8, 2.0GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £27.99

 

22. Grand Theft Auto Trilogy 

Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: Screenshot

After years of waiting, three GTA games have arrived on the Mac in one go - GTA III, GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas They are all seriously politically incorrect - you steal cars, drive like crazy, and slap people around in order to take control of whichever city the game happens to be set in. in many ways it's those cities that are the real stars, as they provide you with huge, sprawling playgrounds where you can explore and do pretty much whatever you want. The boxed trilogy costs £35. but you can pick up each game individually for £10,49 on the Mac App Store.

Company : Rockstart Games

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £10.49 each

23. Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition

Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition: Screenshot

The Assassin's Creed games are a kind of medieval version of Batman. The second game in this popular series casts you as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a nobleman in 15th century Italy, who turns assassin in order to avenge his murdered family. You get to sneak around in the shadows and swoop across the rooftops, cutting down your enemies with a variety of weapons and gadgets. Alternatively you can use stealth skills to blend in with the crowd and evade pursuit. You can chase ground on horseback or ride a gondola, and you even get to fly in a medieval helicopter designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. If you like this then there's another game in the series, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, that's also available on the Mac.

Company : Ubisoft

URL : store.steampowered.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel processor, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £14.99

24. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare : Screenshot

The Mac has fallen behind with the latest entries in the Call Of Duty series, but Modern Warfare is still one of the top-selling games on the Mac App Store (although you can save yourself a few quid by buying the game directly from Aspyr's own GameAgent store instead). As the name implies. Modern Warfare comes forward in time from the WWII setting of the earlier games and pits you against a modern terrorist threat. The 3D graphics are gritty and realistic, and the single-player game takes you to locations all around the world, fighting on the ground and in the air using helicopters and armed gunships. There's also a popular multiplayer mode to keep you playing time and again.

Company : Aspyr

URL : www.aspyr.com

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Processor, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £14.99

25. The Sims Medieval

The Sims Medieval: Screenshot

The Sims Medieval is an unusual addition to the popular series. The game lakes the familiar Sims formula, but plonks it down into a setting full of kings, queens and scheming nobles, all plotting to outdo each other There are elements of both strategy and RPG games thrown in too. You can create a variety of characters, such as merchants, priests, wizards and knights, and expand your kingdom by building new churches, castles and towers. There's also a Pirates and Nobles expansion pack available that adds a dash of swashbuckling action to the mix.

Company : Electronic Arts

URL : www.ea.com/uk/mac

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, Intel Core 2 Duo, graphics card with 256MB VRAM

Price : £14.99

26. Lego Star Wars - The Complete Saga

No home should be without at least one Lego game, and if you pick up The Complete Saga you get the six games based on the Star Won films for just £21 The sheer fun of playing with the lego versions of Luke. Han. Yoda and Darth Vader will appeal to both adults and children. The six games in this pack offer a variety of different scenarios, including space battles, light-saber duels, and the famous battle on the ice planet of Hoth. If you're a Star Wars fan, feral has also released a new Lego game based on the Clone Wars cartoon series, and there are other Lego games based on the Batman, Harry Potter and Indiana tones films as well.

Company : Feral Interactive

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, 1.5GHz Intel Processor, graphics card with 128MB VRAM

Price : £20.99

27. The Secret of Monkey Island - Special Edition

This year's Special Edition is an update of the original classic Monkey Island. It tells the same story but decks it out with up-to-date graphics and music. The game casts you in the role of Guybrush Threepwood, a swashbuckling young pirate searching for hidden treasure on the legendary Monkey Island. Along the way you have to solve all sorts of puzzles, defeat the ghostly pirate LeChuck and win the heart of the beautiful Elaine Marley This version also includes a new help system that can give you the occasional hint for solving puzzles. Fans of the original will appreciate the option that allows you to switch between the original graphics and the new version whenever you want.

Company : Aspyr

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.4, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, ATI X1600 or Nvidia 7300 or later with 128MB VRAM

Price : £29.99

28. World of Goo

World of Goo: Screenshot

The Mac version of World of Coo is more expensive than the iOS version, so it might be worth checking out that first if you've got an iPhone or iPad But whatever you play it on. its a charming and unique game. You are presented with a series of puzzles that are solved by combining blobs of goo to create various structures such as bridges and towers. Sometimes it's not immediately clear what the puzzle is, so you have to figured that out first and then learn about the properties of different types of goo in order to work out the solution.

 

Company : Feral Interactive

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.5.8, 1.8GHz Intel processor, ATI or Nvidia graphics with with 128MB VRAM

Price : £6.99

29. Osmos

Osmos is a puzzle/action game by Hemisphere Games that is popular on the iPad, although it first appeared on the Mac and PC. You play the part of a lowly Mote, which looks like a single-celled organism. The goal is to become larger than all the other Motes on screen. Accomplishing this is simple - but not easy. When you collide with another Mote that is smaller than you, you absorb them and become that much larger in mass. Colliding with larger Motes on the other hand has the opposite effect and you quickly get swallowed up by them.

Company : Hemisphere Games

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.4.1 or later

Price : £6.99

30. Machinarium

Machinarium is an charming, old-fashioned point-and-click adventure full of puzzles. You are cast as an adorable little robot who must find his way back home, rescue his girlfriend and stop a gang of robot hoodlums setting off a bomb. The beautiful, well-realised setting is a steampunk robot world where the inhabitants speak in thought balloons and pantomime. It's an immersive experience and the haunting music and sound effects are wonderful. It may remind you of Pixar's animated film Wall-E. but Machinarium doesn't suffer from the comparison.

Company : Amanita Design

UK sales : The Mac App Store

Requirements : Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Price : £2.99

It's a question that has plagued many a prospective computer user - which is better, a 

Windows PC or an Apple Mac ?