Everyone knows that summer is a slow time for games. Very few new releases come out and by this time most of the Triple-A titles are beginning to lose their steam. Here are five games to keep the fires going during the summer slump. They’re cheap and you won’t need a super computer or even a PC to play them.
1. Insurgency ($14.99)
Insurgency is New World Interactive’s premiere game. It is a passion project for the small team, who set out with intentions of creating the best hardcore tactical shooter out there. They succeeded.
If you are tired of arcade-like shooters then Insurgency is just the right cure. Most guns will kill in one to two shots and there is absolutely no HUD. That’s right. No mini-map, no ammo counter, no crosshairs, no gamer tag hovering over enemy players. Nothing. Insurgency really gets the adrenaline pumping. Perhaps the best part about this game is that the devs are continuously releasing free DLC. No catch, it’s all free.
2. Left 4 Dead 2: Helm’s Deep Reborn ($19.99)
Practically half of the gaming population owns Left 4 Dead 2. However, few have played the Helm’s Deep Reborn map from the Steam Workshop. It’s a free add-on and it will change you L4D2 experience forever. I have literally become close friends with people playing this map. It’s a survival mode in which you re-enact the battle of Helm’s Deep from the Lord of the Rings (you don’t need to be a LOTR fan to enjoy). Killing zombies at Helm’s Deep is crazy enough, but the truly insane part is to win you have to last 30 minutes. That may not sound so hard, but if you and three friends give this a try you will likely be spending the next several weeks trying to beat it.
3. Halflife 2: Deathmatch ($4.99)
Tired of shooting and blowing up your friends online? Try launching saw blades and melons at each other instead! Forget all the weapons (besides the crossbow) in Halflife 2: Deathmatch. Stick to the gravity gun. Set gravity to zero on every map and have a blast launching the most random objects at each other. Killing a friend with a projectile toilet is especially entertaining.
4. Fistful of Frags (FREE!)
A sort of wild west version of TF2, Fistful of Frags is free (and always will be). Pick from various old school weapons like six shooters, double barrels, bows and arrows, and even little prostitute guns. The better your weapon, the more kills you will get. The poorer your weapon, the more points you get per kill. It’s a very well balanced system. A huge plus side is to regen health you have to drink alcohol.
5. Hotline Miami ($9.99)
Many of heard of Hotline Miami but few have tried it out. If you do you should just turn off all the clocks and the phones because you won’t want to stop until you beat that next level. And the next one. And the next one.
Total Price: $49.99 + Tax
Five great games all for less than a Call of Duty. All of these games have great replayability and even if you don’t think so you may never be able to beat some of them. Between these games there is more than enough fun to turn the summer slump into a season you won’t want to end.
Now hold on. You are a console player? You can’t stand the master race PC elitist gamers? Not a problem. Four out of these five games run on the source engine and the one that doesn’t looks like an arcade game. Also, they are all available for Mac on Steam. So even if your laptop is four years old or you have a mac, you can play these games with no problems. The friends i play these games with have computers ranging from an ASUS laptop to a five year old Dell computer. These are truly accessible games.
