This is a special guest post by Ric Molina, founder at Mac Gamer HQ.
We’ve talked about GameAgent before over at our site, MacGamerHQ.com. GameAgent is a dedicated Mac gaming store and blog, and that alone gives it a permanent spot in our bookmarks. But besides offering tons of Mac games for sale and automatically comparing prices to give you the best deals, it does two things that I love:
- It’s the easiest way to know whether your Mac can play a game or not (thanks to the Mac Match functionality)
- It helps you discover new Mac games with collections
The first is heaven sent. Every time someone asks me whether their particular Mac can play that game or the other, I immediately direct them to GameAgent’s Mac Match. The second is already solid, with nice collections such as The Biggest Mac Games or their Indie Week Picks, and today, it should get even better 
. In cooperation with GameAgent, we’ve worked together to bring you Mac Gamer HQ’s Top 10 Mac Games Collection:
10. XCOM: Enemy Unknown & XCOM: Enemy Within
Who doesn’t love XCOM: Enemy Unknown? Developed by Firaxis Games and ported to the Mac by Feral Interactive, Enemy Unknown is a perfectly balanced mixture of strategy, RPG and tactical shooter mechanics. As hinted in the title, XCOM is about fighting against aliens and stopping them from destroying mankind. And guest what, as squad leader, it’s up to you to make that happen. Every combat is different and will request your full attention. The fact that your squad members die forever makes it an even more stressful affair. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a great game on its own but the latest expansion, Enemy Within, makes it even better. It adds robots and cybernetic enhancements, more enemy types and even a whole new enemy faction. I don’t want to spoil this great story for you but let’s just say Enemy Within has one of the most unlikely “holy crap” moments ever seen in a strategy game.
9. Company of Heroes
While not the newest Strategy game out there, Company of Heroes is still one of my favorites. Even after all these years (the game was originally released on Windows-PC in 2006), the game’s graphics, physics and destructible environments are impressive. No other game will give you that “I’m the Master of Destruction” feeling as Company of Heroes does. Just go ahead and bring down a house full of soldiers with a Tiger Tank and you’ll see what I mean. Company of Heroes offers both a great single-player campaign and a Skirmish mode (editor’s note: Skirmish mode is available on the Mac App Store only) where resource management and the knowledge of a unit’s weaknesses and strengths are key. While not very clear from the game’s official page, the Mac version offers all the single-player campaigns from the original game and the expansions and the Skirmish mode. Talk about bang for your buck.
8. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
If you’re tired of all those me too modern shooters, Human Revolution is for you. The game offers a great story and beautiful graphics, but what I enjoyed the most was its take on missions. While the latest Call of Duties and Battlefields got us all used to running from point A to point B through thigh corridors, Human Revolution encourages experimentation and exploration. Honestly, sneaking up behind enemy lines, making stealth kills and hiding bodies feels way more rewarding. If you don’t agree, that’s fine–Human Revolution also gives you the possibility to run and gun if you prefer. I like doing a little bit of both. What about you?
7. The Walking Dead Season 1
To say that games from Telltale developer are different would be an understatement. They are mostly point and click and usually turn off hardcore gamers. Well, don’t be fooled. Just play The Walking Dead Season 1 and you’ll see what I mean. The Walking Dead Season 1 offers one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in a game for a while. Granted, the gameplay is simple and the graphics look cartoonish but the story-telling and characters are so powerful, you will end up playing it for hours. This game is a good reminder that a game doesn’t need to be complex or have sophisticated controllers. This game is so engaging and fun, you will completely forget it’s a point a click game by the end of the first episode. The most powerful feature this game has to offer is the fact your choices matter. A lot. This means you will need to be careful when picking friends (and enemies). You have been warned.
6. Civilization V & Civilization V: Brave New world
The Civilization series are legendary and the latest Civilization V is no exception. When it was first released on the Mac by Aspyr, Civilization V added 3D graphics, hexagons and better balance between units. It successfully brought the series to modern gaming and was considered by many as the best of the series. However, the game had some serious flaws, such as ineffective strategies and a boring end game. Well, luckily that all changed with the game’s latest expansion, Brave New World. It introduced new diplomacy mechanics, tourism, trade routes and much more. Brave New World improved the core Civ experience in every possible way. I dare you to try Brave New World and go back to Civilization V later.
5. Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 for Mac was a big surprise. It got virtually no marketing and felt like an afterthought for both developer Rockstar and porting company TransGaming. Perhaps the game’s launch was terrible, but luckily Max Payne 3 is so good it doesn’t really matter anymore. Max Payne 3 features both the same trademark over-the-shoulder camera and run-and-gun gameplay as its predecessors while simultaneously introducing a cover mechanic for the first time. But this wouldn’t be a true Max Payne game without the return of the infamous bullet-time slow motion sequences (which is more fun than ever by the way). In a nutshell, Max Payne 3 is pure Rockstar. It offers intense gameplay, great graphics and an amazing story. There’s no better way to wait for GTA 4 (or 5) than with this.
4. Braid
Developed by Indie Studio Number None, Braid is one of the most critically-acclaimed indies of our times. As many old-school platformer games before it, Braid is about a guy that needs to rescue a princess from a monster. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. However, the game becomes unique when you discover that in order to save the princess you will have to manipulate the flow of time and travel through a series of worlds. The game is ultra affordable, gorgeous to look at and very refreshing. You can’t go wrong with this one.
3.Batman: Arkham City
If Arkham Asylum can be considered a great game, Arkham City is simply the best Action Adventure game currently available on the Mac. The game improves on virtually everything the first one did, giving you a bigger world to discover, more fights, meaner bad guys, better gameplay and a better story. Once you start playing this and defeat a group of 10 guys thanks to perfectly-timed combos, you will understand why we love Arkham City so much.
2. Borderlands 2
It’s no surprise Mac Gamer HQ loves Borderlands 2. We named it 2012’s Game of the Year and one of Mac Gaming’s most addictive games. Borderlands 2 offers a mix of first-person shooter and Role playing mechanics; and while the first Borderlands introduced us to the notion of shooting people in the face to get loot, it was Borderlands 2 that perfected the formula. The game takes you back to the planet of Pandora except that this time the looting and shooting are equally fun. Borderlands 2 is also the reason why I fell in love with Aspyr. The port is bug free and Steam Play enabled, meaning you can actually play it with your PC buddies.
1. BioShock Infinite
I’ll go ahead and say it: BioShock Infinite is 2013’s Best Mac Game and perhaps the best Mac game currently available. Developed by the now defunct Irrational Games and ported to the Mac by Aspyr, BioShock Infinite offers one of the most intense and engaging stories ever told in a video game. If that wasn’t enough, the game also offers tight gameplay mechanics and beautiful graphics. More than once I was compelled to just stop what I was doing and marvel at the beautiful scenery Columbia had to offer. Infinite also introduced us to one of the most sophisticated and engaging NPC ever, Elizabeth. You just have to experience the story alongside her to see what I mean.
Your turn
I could continue listing tons of great Mac games for you but 10 should be enough for today. I dare anyone to look at this list and tell me Macs can’t game . In any case, we hope this brand-new GameAgent collection will help you find your next Mac game. I tried to include something for everyone, from Strategy fans to First-Person fans but if you still want to see more, you can always visit our Top 75 Mac Games list. These are our favorite Mac games. What is yours?
The post Play the Best: 10 Great Mac Games That Everyone Should Play appeared first on The GameAgent Blog!.