Author: Ringo Starfield

DiRT Rally 2.0 is a racing game by Codemasters. The game has a very descriptive name – the “dirt” part is accurate as many of the game’s races take place off-road, sometimes in poor weather conditions as well. The “rally” part is accurate as well, as rally and rallycross are indeed the main focus of the game. DiRT Rally 2.0 is very realistic, featuring many complex models to ensure the accuracy of the gameplay. For example, weather affects how well the tires grip the road or the ground. The track deteriorates as cars drive on it, which isn’t a purely visual effect either. Cars themselves can suffer damage as well, which can make driving more difficult or even result in an automatic loss if the condition’s got too bad. With all these complexities, it is understandable that the game is considered a simulator. People who care about simulation accuracy may be further reassured by learning that this game is a part of the Colin McRae Rally and Dirt video game series. The series is named as such because Colin McRae, a World Rally Championship driver, was Codemasters’ chief advisor when it came to all these details. And while newer games, like this one or DIRT 5, did not directly benefit from his assistance, seeing as he passed away in 2007, Codemasters are obviously still applying what they’ve learned from him. The game is available only on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Nonetheless, it is still possible to play DiRT Rally 2.0 on Mac, and to learn how to do it, you’ll have to read the guide below.

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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, an Action-RPG developed by Ubisoft, is the 11th game in the Assassin’s Creed game series, with Assassin’s Creed Origins as its predecessor and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as its successor. The game, just like other games in the series, is played from a third-person view, and provides the player with a choice between stealth, melee combat, and ranged combat. Indeed, there are three skill trees in this game, “assassin”, “warrior”, and “hunter” that directly correspond to those three ways of approaching the game. Of course, you can’t make an Assassin’s Creed game without a historical narrative, and Odyssey is no exception to this rule. This time, the players will experience history during the Peloponnesian War. And while the game’s retelling of the event was, of course, made inaccurate for the sake of both the story and the gameplay, Peloponnesian War is real, and took place some 2500 years ago. From the beginning to the end, Odyssey was designed to give the player more freedom and choices than previous games in the series. It is the reason why it’s set in such a distant past – to make sure that the players’ choices will not interfere with the established canon. Though, as the game does aim to be historically accurate (in broad strokes) the players will still be unable to change the outcome of significant events. Available on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, the game lacks a Mac port. But with our guide, you will be able to play Assassin’s Creed on Mac despite this shortcoming.

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Elite Dangerous, developed by Frontier Developments is a space sandbox game and the fourth installment in the Elite video game series. It can also be considered a bit of a reboot for the series, since the third game came out all the way back in 1995. The game sticks to the simple premise of all the games in the series: you are a spaceship pilot in an open-world galaxy, with almost nothing to your name sans the spaceship and a very small amount of money. Now go explore, trade, fight, earn money, and rise through the ranks of pilots to reach the coveted rank of “Elite”. And while the premise is indeed very basic – essentially it’s just a sandbox with a rank system to serve as motivation – Elite Dangerous builds upon it masterfully, leveraging modern technology to create a massively multiplayer world that is a 1:1 scale replica of the Milky Way galaxy, with hundreds of thousands of star systems crafted according to the actual scientific knowledge of these systems, and the rest – procedurally generated, also in a realistic, science-based manner. In this vast universe, the players can trade, mine asteroids for materials, engage in piracy, explore anomalies, operate space stations, and that’s not even all. The game is currently available for Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, though Frontier has recently made an announcement stating that the console versions will no longer receive content updates. A Mac version was also available at one point, but was completely discontinued since. It is still possible to play Elite Dangerous on Mac, however, with the help of the guide below.

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Batman: Arkham Knight by Rocksteady Studios is the latest released game in the Batman: Arkham series (not counting spinoffs and mobile games). It is an open-world game played from a 3rd person view. Naturally for a game about Batman, it is set in Gotham City – a fictional city where he canonically resides and operates. Faithful to the comic, the game implements many of his abilities and tricks. The players will engage in melee combat, use stealth, and even use detective skills to solve mysteries, much like Batman from the original stories. His liberal use of technology is also reflected – the game has plenty of gadgets for the players to use, including, for the first time in the series, the famous Batmobile. The story of the game is best experienced by those already familiar with the franchise, but it’s accessible enough for the beginners, too. A supervillain named Scarecrow attacked Gotham City, causing many residents to flee. Batman, naturally, plans to confront Scarecrow about this, but, unbeknownst to him, Scarecrow has a plan, to unite Batman’s enemies against him. What’s more, an enigmatic person, known only as Arkham Knight, saw fit to help Scarecrow with his nefarious plan. The game is available only on Windows, PS4, and Xbox One. But it can be played on OS X as well – read our guide to learn how to play Batman: Arkham Knight on Mac.

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Lost Ark is a MMORPG game by Tripod Studio and Smilegate RPG. Similar to many other Korean MMORPGs, it is set in a fantasy world. The game mainly focuses on non-competitive gameplay: discovering locations, completing quests, and fighting computer-controlled enemies. The game was praised for its graphics and accessibility, and even won several awards at 2019 Korea Game Awards. Another widely-acclaimed part of the game is its combat, with many critics noting that it plays more like an Action RPG than a typical MMORPG in this regard. Lost Ark is also free-to-play, which can, admittedly, push some people away from the game in fear of aggressive monetization. Their fears, however, are unfounded. The game does, indeed, sell items that provide in-game benefits, but there are no paywalls – all content can be accessed by free players. Obviously, paying is still a competitive advantage, but that’s not very important considering that the competitive elements are a very minor and optional part of the gameplay. Originally released in South Korea in 2019, the game recently became available to play in other regions as well, specifically in North America, South America, Europe, and Russia. However, it supports Microsoft Windows only. For those looking to play Lost Ark on Mac, that’s bad news. This is where our guide comes in. Even though there’s no Lost Ark version for Mac, you can still play it by reading the article below.

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Developed by Square Enix, Final Fantasy IX is a solid title in the Final Fantasy series. Much like other games in the series, it is a JRPG that is split into three game modes, world mode, field mode, and battle mode. Breaking the trend that started with Final Fantasy VI, IX does not feature science fantasy elements, instead opting for a more classic, medieval fantasy setting of the first five Final Fantasy games. Gameplay is very similar to other games of the series, but, of course, with plenty of changes to keep the game interesting. A new “Trance Mode” is introduced, which activates when a character takes a certain amount of damage, and changes their moves. Characters also don’t just take turns one after another, rather, the order of moves now depends on their agility stat. The story begins with a kidnapping of a princess named Garnet – in a twist, the band of protagonists is the one doing the kidnapping. That doesn’t mean we’re playing as the evil guys this time – the princess intended to flee either way, to escape the queen’s strange aggression. A novel system called Active Time Events enhances the story by occasionally letting the player experience the events from a perspective of other characters, providing more facets both to the characters featured in ATEs and to the story itself. Owing to the game’s popularity, it received plenty of ports – Final Fantasy IX can be played on PSX and PS4, iOS and Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Windows. It can be played on Mac as well, though you’ll need to read the guide below to discover how, as the game doesn’t have a Mac port.

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