10 Best PC Games 2024 in the US

Since the development of arcade games in the 1970s, there has been an explosion in types of video games. With the advent of the personal computer, they have gone from a relaxing pastime, to take a break from serious work on the computer, to an entire industry which is devoted solely to “gaming”. It's useful to have some idea of what kinds of games have been developed: nowadays, with 3D graphics and high-quality sound, games have become amazingly realistic—a far cry from Asteroids or Tank Combat games of 40 years ago. Here is a guide to some of the best PC games on the market. 

• Action Games: These involve eye-hand coordination. They come in several varieties:

  • Platform games: Here you go through obstacles and ascend through various levels. Donkey Kong was one of the earliest of this type.

  • Shooter games: Here you shoot at an enemy with a variety of weapons. “Call of Duty” is a classic shooter game. You'll see FPS (=first person shooter) games, where the action is viewed through your eyes.

  • Fighting games: Here you fight against an opponent, either another player or the computer, using martial arts or other forms of hand-to-hand combat.

• Adventure games: These involve playing in an interactive story, usually in a one-player format. They involve puzzle solving, gathering and using items, and conducting dialogue with the other characters in the story. Typically the user has to point and click to select various objects. “Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise” is a classic adventure game.

• Role-playing games (RPG) are games in which a narrator tells a story behind your character. You then act out the role of this character over the course of the game. A classic example is “Dragon Quest”.

• Simulation: These are games in which you operate a vehicle, ship or aircraft, encountering the same obstacles and challenges of someone directing these vehicles. “The Sims” is a popular game where you live out various real-life situations. Racing games are another type of simulation game.

• Strategy: These divide into two formats: 1) turn-based strategy games, where the two players take turns trying to obliterate the opponent, and 2) real-time strategy games, which allow both players to attack each other simultaneously. Either way, these games involve thinking and planning, and come in one of three types:

1. Real Time Strategy (RTS) games, where the action is continuous, and you are required to act in accordance with the changes in the game. “Age of Empires” is an example of a Real Time Strategy game. There are also Real Time Tactics (RTT) games, where the emphasis is more on tactics (such as unit formations) versus strategy (such as resources, economic management).

2. Artillery game: This is a game in which you fire at your opponent with a variety of weapons, depending on your strength. They are more sophisticated than typical shooter games. “Worms” and “Tanks” are examples of such games.

3. 4X games: Here you control a civilization, and try to eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate a competing civilization.

• Sports: These are simulations of the major team sports: baseball, basketball, soccer, cricket, etc. An example would be the “FIFA Football” or “FIFA Soccer” games, marketed by Electronic Arts.

• Logic Games: These are typically puzzles, such as mazes or shape-fitting. “Tetris” and “Minesweeper” are classic examples.

• Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games: These are games that you can play with opponents over the Internet. These can be online combinations of the genres listed above, such as Role-playing games (MMORPGs), Real-time strategy games (MMORTSs), or sports/racing simulations.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Internet connection speed: Some games require you to download updates, or maybe even the bulk of the game. If you have a slow Internet connection, it might be difficult to access the entire game.

• Violence: There has been a lot of criticism about the violence in action games increasing the violence among today's youth. Therefore, some prefer the games where you are motivated to work with the other players, as being helpful in building social relationships.

• Complexity: The role-playing games tend to have greater complexity, where you have to work out a strategy according to the narrative. The action games are more straight-forward, although they may also come in tactical or strategy types.

• Hardware compatibility: There are computers that are factory-made for gaming purposes. If you just have a regular PC, you'll have to make sure that your computer meets all the hardware requirements: motherboard, processor, memory, disk space, video card and sound card.

• Peripheral devices: Make sure that you have a gaming mouse and keyboard that are suited for the game that you want to play. You can probably get by with a regular mouse, but you might feel fatigue if you play for an extended period of time.

Rockstar Games—is a video game developer and publisher. They were founded in New York, NY in 1998, by Terry Donovan, Sam and Dan Houser, Jamie King and Gary Foreman. They are best known for Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead, Midnight Club, Max Payne, and The Warriors.

Bethesda Softworks—is a video game publisher that was founded in 1986 by Christopher in Bethesda, Maryland (they now have their headquarters in Rockville, Maryland). They made games for the Atari and Commodore computers in the 1980s, and have made a wide range of games, including The Elder Scrolls, Far Harbor, Automatron, and Terminator.

Warner Home Video-- is a division of Time Warner. They were founded in 1923, and have their headquarters in Burbank, California. Besides having produced movies and TV shows, they also have a division for video games, which include the series of LEGO games (LEGO Jurassic World, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings) as well as the Batman series, Mortal Kombat, and The Witcher.

Blizzard Entertainment—is a video game developer that was established in 1994. They have their headquarters in Irvine, California, and are a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Their first success was the Warcraft game series, which has seen numerous versions and expansions over the years, and Overwatch—Origins.