What is the best game on MAC?

[TheCyberAthlete]

I am very excited to get into my iMac, I get it this weekend, and I have never gamed on PC/Mac and was wondering what is the best game or games to get? Also one other question should I get a controller if so which one to get, I herd wired 360? Thanks alot!!

[Tufty94]

Photoshop.

[Robert1234]

Tf2, even tho I don't have a MAC lol xD. I don't even know how I got into the MAC subforums =/

[Un0va]

There really aren't very many good Mac games besides the ones made by Valve.

[thom-22]

Keep in mind that Steam is not the only (and probably not the best) place to find games for Mac. Check out this article for a direct answer to your question: Top Mac App Store Games of 2011. The first one is an original Mac game based on iOS predecessors, not even made for PC. The indie games mentioned are available on Steam as well, but the major-publisher titles (Batman, Bioshock, COD4) are not. Also note that for some major titles, boxed versions can be found from places like Amazon.com for lower prices than the digital versions.

Perhaps if you tell us what kinds of games you like, we could give you more suggestions.

[TheCyberAthlete]

Originally Posted by thom-22

Keep in mind that Steam is not the only (and probably not the best) place to find games for Mac. Check out this article for a direct answer to your question: Top Mac App Store Games of 2011. The first one is an original Mac game based on iOS predecessors, not even made for PC. The indie games mentioned are available on Steam as well, but the major-publisher titles (Batman, Bioshock, COD4) are not. Also note that for some major titles, boxed versions can be found from places like Amazon.com for lower prices than the digital versions.

Perhaps if you tell us what kinds of games you like, we could give you more suggestions.

I saw that "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is on Steam and my buddy said looks 3x better than 360 version, would love to play Battlefield3 or Batman: Arkam City?

[apdonato]

Originally Posted by TheCyberAthlete

I saw that "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is on Steam and my buddy said looks 3x better than 360 version, would love to play Battlefield3 or Batman: Arkam City?

Splinter Cell: Conviction is a good choice but keep in mind that even though it is available on Steam, Ubisoft's draconian DRM will stop you from playing the game offline.

If this isn't an issue for you then enjoy, I heard it was a good port.

Here is a list of games that I ran very well on my Mac without any problems:

BioShock
Civilization V
DiRT 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 Episode One
Half-Life 2 Episode Two
Left 4 Dead 2
Portal
Portal 2
Team Fortress 2

If you try to run Assassin's Creed II or Assassin's Creed Brotherhood I can't guarantee that you won't run into problems.

Here are some other games that I recommend but haven't played yet on my Mac:

Call of Duty 4
Batman: AA
Borderlands
Starcraft II <--(evil DRM)
...and a few others I can't remember

Hope this helped a bit.

[TheCyberAthlete]

Can you play Splinter Cell online? Does anyone use controller or keyboard & mouse?

[apdonato]

Originally Posted by TheCyberAthlete

Can you play Splinter Cell online? Does anyone use controller or keyboard & mouse?

You can play it online, but you will have a tough time getting it to work offline.

The Mac port probably doesn't support controllers.

[TheCyberAthlete]

Are you serious, I am mad now!!

[thom-22]

Originally Posted by TheCyberAthlete

I saw that "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is on Steam and my buddy said looks 3x better than 360 version, would love to play Battlefield3 or Batman: Arkam City?

I don't know much about the Battlefield franchise, but I don't think later games have been made for Mac. This company ported Batman Arkham Asylum for Mac recently, and it seems likely we'll see Arkham City at some point as well. But it takes time to convert a PC game to Mac. If it's important to you to play the full range of major titles and/or play them immediately upon initial release, then you'll need to go with console or Boot Camp.

[localhost]

Counter-Strike:Source

[TheCyberAthlete]

I herd from friends that graphics on pc/mac blow away consoles, how does CS:S look?

[apdonato]

Originally Posted by TheCyberAthlete

I herd from friends that graphics on pc/mac blow away consoles, how does CS:S look?

Well coming as no surprise, CS:S looks a lot like Half-Life 2. We're talking about a 2004 game which was still Pre-HD era and is quite noticeable. Don't get me wrong, CS:S doesn't look BAD, it was ahead of it's time plus the many graphical upgrades it went through over the years.

I would wait until CS:GO comes out.

PC/Mac games look better than their console counterparts but this mainly depends on the power of your hardware.

[Astarle]

If you enjoy FPS, I highly recommend Team Fortress 2. For RPG, I'd probably recommend Torchlight. Casual and/or Tower Defense, Plants vs Zombies. Jamestown is pretty awesome if you like shoot 'em ups, plus it features local co-op. And of course, there's the ever loved Portal and Portal 2... though I would probably prioritize other games if you've already played them on console.


The graphical quality of games will depend on your hardware. I'm sure if you shared your Mac's specs the community would be able to tell you whether or not you'll have any issues running the games you're looking forward to playing.

As for controller support: I prefer keyboard + mouse, but I've used a controller before. I cannot guarantee that a controller works with Splinter Cell Conviction though.


In general, just like you would on a PC, you should read the minimum and recommended system requirements for every game. If you have even a hint of doubt about whether a game will run with your hardware specs, search or post on the forums.