Dishonored

Dishonored is a game about many things. It's about revenge; armed with deadly weapons and supernatural powers, you seek vengeance upon all of those who orchestrated your downfall. It's about a city; the plague-ridden industrial port of Dunwall is lovely to behold, exciting to explore, and seething with secrets. It's about people; an array of vibrant characters await you, and as you get to know them, you are drawn further into their intrigues, hopes, and heartbreaks. But above all, it's about choice. The incredible variety of ways you can engage or evade your enemies makes Dishonored impressively flexible and utterly captivating.

Max Payne 3

Max Payne's home has always been on the PC. The original 2001 game and its sequel debuted on the PC, and though they received console versions--some of which captured the excellence of their PC counterparts and some of which didn't--it was on PC that he first made his mark. Times have changed for Max, and his latest outing hit consoles first and PC second, which may raise concerns about whether, this time around, it's the PC version that feels secondary and the console versions that feel definitive. As it turns out, such concerns are unfounded. Max Payne 3 is just as gorgeous and intense on PC as it is on consoles, and the pinpoint precision offered by a mouse makes the PC version the best way to enjoy this brutal and haunting shooter.

DARK SOULS

Last year, Dark Souls was released on consoles. A towering achievement, its treacherous, interconnected realms offered some of the most absorbing exploration a game has ever conjured, and its intense and grueling combat made victory against even the most common enemies a source of gratification and relief. Now, this masterpiece has made its way to PC as the aptly titled Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition. This version adds a few new areas, improves on the console versions in one sense, and falls a bit short of its console counterparts in another. But ultimately, this is the same incredible game that was released on consoles, and if you didn't have the option to play it then, you definitely shouldn't let this opportunity go un seized.